[liberationtech] Department of State - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) Internet Freedom Annual Program Statement | Office Of Research Support

Wed Jun 4 17:12:22 PDT 2014

Please note corrected posting below.  Apologies for the error.

YC

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) at the U.S.
Department of State has just posted our annual open call for
statements of interest (SOI) on global Internet freedom programming.
Please see the full solicitation for details on how to apply:
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/227048.htm .

The last couple of years, in an effort to make our funding more
accessible to new groups and responsive to changing needs on the
ground, we have experimented with different solicitation structures.
This year, we have one solicitation for ALL program themes, which
include digital safety, advocacy, research, and technology
development.

In addition, there are two deadlines to submit Statement of Interests
(SOI).  All SOIs must be received by July 1, 2014 and/or December 5,
2014.

Please feel welcome to reach out to the DRL IF team with any
procedural questions you may have regarding the solicitation, though
to preserve the competitive integrity of the process, please keep in
mind that we won’t be able to discuss the merits or substance of any
prospective proposals/SOIs.

**Please note that due to the nature of working on human rights in
countries that do not value fundamental freedoms and civil rights,
part of our granting philosophy is that we consider our grants to be
sensitive. We understand that in the human rights field (and Internet
freedom in particular), direct association with the USG could put our
implementing partners in great danger. If you have any questions about
this, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you very much, and we look forward to your submissions!

Sincerely,

Internet Freedom Programs at State/DRL {Steve Schultze, Laura Mottaz,
Betsy Bramon}

On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 5:06 PM, Steve Schultze <sjschultze at gmail.com> wrote:
> Whoah, what happened here? Some bot seems to have mangled a bunch of Duke
> language into the announcement that Betsy posted. Anybody who is interested
> should look at her post. Or am I missing something?
>
> On Jun 4, 2014 7:00 PM, "Yosem Companys" <companys at stanford.edu> wrote:
>>
>> The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces the
>> availability of funding for programs that support Internet freedom.
>> DRL’s goal is to promote fundamental freedoms, human rights, and the
>> free flow of information online through integrated support for
>> anti-censorship and secure communications technology, advocacy,
>> digital safety, and research. DRL invites organizations interested in
>> potential funding to submit statements of interest (SOI) outlining
>> program concepts that reflect this goal.
>>
>> An organization may submit no more than two (2) SOIs per submission
>> deadline of no more than three (3) pages each. SOIs that do not meet
>> the requirements of the announcement may not be considered.
>>
>> Submission deadlines: SOI submissions will be reviewed on at least a
>> semi-annual basis according to the following deadlines:
>>
>> Duke Internal Deadline:  June 9, 2014
>> Sponsor Application Deadline:  July 1, 2014
>> December 5, 2014
>>
>> SOIs must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm (17:00) GMT-5 on the above
>> dates.
>>
>> The official announcement and description of this award may be found
>> on the funding agency's website:
>> http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=256496
>>
>> Statements of interest must address one or more of the following program
>> themes:
>>
>> 1) Technology Expanding Open and Uncensored Access to Information and
>> Communications: Development and support of web and mobile
>> anti-censorship technologies that expand open access to information
>> and communications.
>> 2) Secure Communication Technology: Development and support of web and
>> mobile technologies that enhance the privacy and security of digital
>> communications.
>> 3) Digital Safety: Delivery of support, training and information that
>> contributes to greater digital safety for users in Internet repressive
>> societies and/or at-risk populations.
>> 4) Policy and Advocacy: National, regional, and/or international
>> policy and advocacy efforts that aim to mitigate negative trends
>> toward Internet repression and to promote Internet freedom at a
>> structural level.
>> 5) Research and Evaluation: Efforts should emphasize applied research
>> that can inform and benefit Internet freedom efforts globally.
>> Research should address technological and political developments
>> affecting Internet freedom.
>> Eligibility: Faculty.
>>
>> Award Amount: $2,500,000
>> Estimated Floor of Individual Award Amounts: $500,000
>> Estimated Ceiling of Individual Award Amounts: $2,500,000
>>
>> We anticipate that approximately $18 million in Internet freedom funds
>> will be available for use in this solicitation. Additional country and
>> regional resources may be available to support Internet freedom
>> efforts. DRL reserves the right to award less or more than the funds
>> described, including estimated individual award floor and ceiling
>> amounts, under such circumstances as it may deem to be in the best
>> interest of the U.S. government. In practice, awards in excess of
>> $1,500,000 are uncommon. SOIs that request more than the award ceiling
>> or less than the award floor may be deemed technically ineligible.
>>
>> Internal Nomination Process: Owing to the sponsor's restriction on the
>> number of applications that may be submitted from Duke, anyone wishing
>> to pursue nomination should submit the following materials as one PDF
>> via the upload feature on the ORS website.
>>
>> *  Completed SOI (maximum 3 pages as described in the RFP)
>>
>> *  CV ( NIH or NSF Biosketch is acceptable)
>>
>> *  Letter of support from Dean or Chair
>>
>> SOIs must include:
>>
>> 1) Brief description of the organization, including the organization’s
>> mission statement and previous work in the area of Internet freedom,
>> particularly in acutely hostile Internet environments. Due to page
>> limitations, a general organizational history is not recommended.
>> Information should clearly demonstrate an institution’s record and
>> capacity and may include previous grant management experience, whether
>> funded through private or United States Government resources.
>>
>> 2) Description of how the project is innovative, sustainable,
>> generates positive, lasting impact, and does not duplicatecurrent
>> efforts. See “Additional Information” below.
>>
>> 3) Project description, including estimated project duration and
>> objectives. Outputs and outcomes should also be provided. Outputs and
>> outcomes should clearly link to project objectives and include target
>> benchmarks. Please include the program area(s) and element(s) to be
>> addressed. For more information on program design, please see DRL’s
>> Monitoring and Evaluation Primer
>> (http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/138430.pdf).
>>
>> 4) Brief statement on the methodology to be used in the project
>> evaluation.
>>
>> 5) An estimated total budget figure. The budget should include
>> intended: Primarily Headquarters-Based Costs, Primarily Field-Based
>> Costs, Indirect Costs, and Cost-Share. For more information on DRL
>> budget standards, please see DRL’s Proposal Submission Instructions
>> “Budget Guidelines” section
>> (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/nov_2012/index.htm). Please note that
>> while a detailed budget is not requested at this time, organizations
>> invited to submit full proposals must not exceed the estimated SOI
>> budget figure unless advised otherwise.
>>
>> To Submit Internal Materials: The above materials should be compiled
>> (in the order listed above) into one PDF file. Go to Institutionally
>> Limited Nominations/Current Open Competitions:
>> https://ors.duke.edu/orsmanual/current-competitions, select the
>> appropriate competition and click the Applicant button. Follow the
>> instructions to create a profile; return to the funding opportunity;
>> click the Applicant Button on the Opportunities page and then upload
>> your file. Please remember to click Submit after you upload.
>>
>>
>> https://ors.duke.edu/department-state-bureau-democracy-human-rights-and-labor-drl-internet-freedom-annual-program-stateme
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