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The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for a project that supports media literacy in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian media literacy, as measured in recent national and international surveys, remains low in the face of an ever-increasing volume of dis- and misinformation. Those in civil society and government who understand the need for more media literacy inside and outside of schools often lack the resources, training, and institutional support to launch an effective, whole-of-society media literacy program or struggle to sustain existing efforts in the face of capacity constraints, corruption, malign influence, and a lack of concerted political action to address systemic challenges.

DRL’s goal is that citizens of Bulgaria engage critically with the many forms of media available to them to build a healthier, more vibrant civil society and democracy. The main program objective is to empower citizens with media literacy skills to engage in the information environment in a safe, responsible, and discerning manner, and with tools to detect and reject dis- and misinformation. A preliminary activity should include conducting or leveraging existing baseline surveys or assessments of which populations require media literacy training most and which methodologies will be most effective. Participant demographics could include youth, specific sectors of business and civil society, elderly, religious, racial, or ethnic communities, underserved groups, and/or those living in geographic regions determined to have low levels of media literacy, especially regions outside Sofia.

A competitive proposal will:

• Reflect an understanding of the importance of media literacy and its connection to a healthy democracy.

• Detail a set of local partners/local stakeholders for program implementation (for example: civil society organizations, libraries, high schools and/or universities, community centers, media organizations, etc.)

• Access hard-to-reach or vulnerable populations

• Demonstrate the ability to coordinate closely with other actors and programs in the country and ensure that activities complement or do not duplicate existing efforts.

• Leverage the media literacy design evaluation developed via funding from the U.S. Department of State: Media Literacy Design Manual (included as an attachment in the “Information for the Applicants” section)

• Consider relevant media literacy initiatives in other country contexts in the region to possibly build on them, adopt similar successful practices and methodologies, and/or learn from their missteps.

Funding Information

• Total Funding Floor: $878,045

• Total Funding Ceiling: $878,045

• Anticipated Number of Awards: 1

• Period of Performance: 24 Months

• Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 5 months

Eligibility

• DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.

• Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs.

Post Date: 05-May-2023