Program Office: Public Affairs Section, Embassy of the United States in Nepal
Funding Opportunity Title: Countering Mis- and Disinformation
Announcement Type: Grant and/or Cooperative Agreement
Funding Opportunity Number: PAS-KTM-NOFO-22-02
Deadline for Applications: Friday, May 20, 2022,17:00 hrs., Kathmandu Time
CFDA Number: 19.040
Background:
Current Situation & Problem Statement: Freedoms of speech and press are important components of democracy. However, mis- and disinformation internationally pose a threat to these freedoms and to all democracies. Mis- and disinformation from external and internal factors causes confusion among citizens when making electoral or civic decisions, impedes government officials from getting accurate information for policy, and creates hurdles for media and social media outlets who want to engage in investigative journalism or be fair and balanced.
Review of Past Projects: This project will build on the successes of past Embassy supported countering mis- and disinformation projects. For example, a current Embassy-funded project educates young voters how to identify and curb mis- and disinformation prior to and during the elections. Likewise, a previous Embassy-supported project trained young political leaders on the mitigating the impacts of mis- and disinformation. This training supported them to design impactful social and political campaigns based on the facts.
Proposed Project Introduction: Based on the idea that the best antidote to disinformation is information, this funding opportunity seeks to equip and empower key stakeholders to prevent, identify, investigate, and curb mis- and disinformation. Project implementers will create and deliver training as well as awareness materials to key audiences to learn the critical thinking, technical skills, research skills needed to combat disinformation.
Project Goal:
The U.S. Mission Nepal supports a more stable, democratic nation through improved governance, greater respect for human rights, and credible local, provincial, and national elections. The goal of this project is to educate journalists and tech-savvy youth (and through them, the public) so they can identify and debunk dis/misinformation and make informed choices.
Project Audience(s): The primary project audience is approximately 100 tech-savvy journalists, vloggers, bloggers, social media influencers, high school, and university students from all provinces in Nepal. At least 50% of the participants should be female. While the initial beneficiaries should be the aforementioned groups, secondary audiences could be members of local, provincial, and federal government.
Project Objectives:
The selected partner is required to design a 6-month to yearlong series of comprehensive media trainings (encompassing one or more of the following: digital media and awareness materials, curricula, and public outreach campaign), for up to 6 trainings in total. There should be at least 20 participants at each training with at least 50% females in attendance. The training should cover techniques to detect misinformation and disinformation, identifying and fact-checking information. Based on feedback from and in close collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, the partner will implement these trainings nation-wide for hundreds of public and private media actors. The goal is to help journalists and civil society cultivate tools to identify and debunk misinformation and disinformation so they can better inform the Nepali public on issues related to health, democracy, economics, security, and climate change. In turn, this strengthens the democratic foundations of Nepal. The project should use a combination of in-person and/or virtual workshops, trainings, video messaging, a targeted social media strategy and radio programs to engage young citizens throughout Nepal.
Federal Award Information
Funding Mechanism Type: Cooperative Agreement
Estimated Total Project Funding: $50,000.00
Estimated Award Ceiling: $50,000.00
Estimated Award Floor: $5,000.00
Length of Project Period: 1 year
Anticipated program start date: July 1, 2022
The Public Affairs Section reserves the right to award less or more than the funds described under circumstances deemed to be in the best interest of the U.S. government, pending the availability of funds and approval of the designated grants officer.
Eligibility Information
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Think tanks
- Public and private educational institutions
For more details– NOFO (.docx 51KB)
PMP Template (.docx 76KB)
PMP Instruction (.docx 43KB
Budget Details Template (.xlsx 32KB)
SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance (PDF 163KB)
SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction programs (PDF 1MB)
Applicant Organization Survey (.docx 45KB)
Proposal Template (.docx 44KB)