U.S. Mission to India seeking Proposals for Think Tank Engagement on Indo-Pacific Issues

Deadline: 26 May 2020

The U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section in New Delhi is soliciting proposals from legally recognized non-profit, non-governmental organizations that meet U.S. and Indian technical and legal requirements to develop and implement public diplomacy programs.

Regional and global supply chains offer potentially boundless economic opportunity for India to serve as a global trade base, especially through expanded ties with economies in East Asia and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, including ASEAN countries, Australia, Korea, and Japan. Foreign investors, however, frequently decide to locate production nodes elsewhere in the region, noting the lack of regional integration and resulting costs of using India as a global export base. Successful economic integration into the broader Indo-Pacific is crucial for developing India’s manufacturing sector, stimulating economic growth, and creating jobs for the one million Indians joining the work force every month. What are the options available to Indian entrepreneurs, businesses, and policy makers to attract such investment? What are the main impediments? Specifically, how have investment conditions changed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has regional integration changed business calculations in light of travel and shipping restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic? These are among the many questions requiring deeper discussion, debate, and published analysis.

Through this initiative the successful applicant will bring together Indian and regional thought leaders in New Delhi and across the Indo-Pacific region to discuss, analyze and formulate policy recommendations to improve India’s integration in regional and global supply chains. Rather than merely provide a platform for presentations and academic discussions, these events should be maximally interactive. In this regard, proposals taking a creative approach to intellectual discussion and debate and that integrate modern conference formats are strongly encouraged. Applicants should develop at least 10 audio/visual or other products designed to spark discussion for each topic at these events – for example, extremely brief video recorded interviews with Indian/foreign business leaders offering their views on event topics. At least one of the interviewees should be an American citizen representing a U.S. company.

Project Goal

As a result of this initiative, participants will be increasingly informed on vital economic issues, leading to increased thoughtful published analyses and public debate among think tank analysts, academics, and other thought/opinion leaders. While the applicant may propose the scope of economic issues to be discussed under this project, the changing business and trade environment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a topic that would garner significant interest under this announcement.

Project Objectives

By the end of the performance period, the project should culminate in a list of at least five (5) published policy recommendations for the wider think tank/academic/business community on India’s role in the broader Indo Pacific economic sector.
Project should include a media campaign that results in at least five (5) mainstream media articles and two (2) TV or online enagements.
By the end of the performance period, the project has created 3 joint policy research initiatives that include Indian and regional thought leaders that address one or more of the specifc policy recommendtaions in objective one.

Project Deliverables

The grantee should arrange five (5) discussion events (conferences, workshops, roundtables, panels, meetings, or other formats). Each event should have about twenty-five (25) participants.
Project should facilitate a social media campaign to broadcast policy recommendations, at least (15) posts across at least (5) social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, and at least (1) hashtag.
Grantee should make four (4) thought leaders available for one day of audience engagement to be scheduled in consultation with New Delhi Public Affairs.

Project Audience

The prospective target audience includes Indian and regional experts from diverse fields including think tanks, financial advocacy agencies, academic institutions, financial journalists, policy makers involved in India’s economic issues and representatives from the Government of India. To encourage continuity, Indian participants should mainly be based in, or frequently travel to, New Delhi. Analyst-counterparts from East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Australia, or ASEAN countries as well as regional (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) representatives should participate, as appropriate. At least one participating analyst in each event should be an American citizen. Participants should be carefully selected to represent divergent perspectives of the issue involved.

Funding Information