Deadline: 20-May-21
The Embassy of the United States is announcing a call for grant applications to implement projects to strengthen Kazakhstan’s media market through promotion of professional journalism standards, implementation of innovative approaches in gathering and sharing news, and supporting the development of peer-to-peer exchanges.
The United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan cooperate on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including the support of Kazakhstan’s intentions to increase journalistic professionalism and strengthen the competitiveness of Kazakhstani media.
The Embassy of the United States in Kazakhstan supports the aspirations of the Government of Kazakhstan to further develop the professionalism of Kazakhstani journalists and expand their skills in creating high-quality local journalistic content.
Program Goal
- Strengthen media in Kazakhstan by increasing journalistic professionalism and diminishing negative impact of fake-news in Kazakhstan.
Program Objectives
- Projects can focus on one or more of the following objectives:
- Broaden access to high-quality journalism for young audiences through innovative approaches in gathering or sharing news;
- Promote professional journalism standards across regional and national media outlets by increasing their professional fact-checking, verification, and investigative journalism skills;
- Build capacity of Kazakh media outlets, particularly Kazakh-language outlets, to improve their financial sustainability, secure alternative sources of revenue, and adopt different media-business models and techniques for enlarging their audiences.
- Support the development of peer-to-peer exchanges or grassroots networks of professionals for higher quality reporting, ethical and objective journalism, etc.
- Prevent distribution of fake-news or mitigate its negative impact through effective campaign, which can include analyze of media trends, development of communities or stimulation of distribution of objective reporting
Program Themes
- Theme 1: Innovative approaches for gathering or sharing news, particularly with younger audiences.
- Theme 2: Promote professional journalism standards, particularly fact checking, verification, investigative journalism, and fact-based reporting.
- Theme 3: Support financial sustainability of media outlets in Kazakhstan, including alternative sources of revenue, by teaching media outlets about different business models and techniques for growing their audiences.
- Theme 4: Support the development of peer-to-peer exchanges or grassroots networks of professionals for higher quality reporting, ethical and objective journalism, etc.
- Theme 5: Analyze trends in media consumption, disinformation/misinformation in Kazakhstan, and other biases.
Federal Award Information
- Estimated Total Project Funding: $120,000
- Estimated Award Ceiling: $40,000
- Estimated Award Floor: $10,000
- Funding Mechanism Type: Grant or Cooperative Agreement
- Length of Project Period: up to 12 months
- Anticipated program start date: June 15, 2021
Projects’ Audience(s)
- Projects’ Audience(s) should be journalists, bloggers, media-outlets, media professionals and editors.
- A project should benefit directly or indirectly Kazakhstani media consumers, increasing the quality of the media content.
- The programs and projects targeting news reporters, journalists and bloggers will be given preference.
- The projects are encouraged to target Kazakh-speaking audiences in the regions of Kazakhstan
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations registered in Kazakhstan
- For-profit organizations registered in Kazakhstan
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations registered in Kazakhstan
- Think tanks registered in Kazakhstan
- Individuals
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=332962