Issuance Date: February 28, 2024

Closing Date: March 28, 2024

 

I. SUMMARY:

The USAID Media Program is a five-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX).  The USAID Media Program supports a vibrant, resilient, networked media sector that provides Georgia’s citizens and diverse communities with the civically relevant, fact-based independent information they need to build a more just, prosperous, and inclusive society.

 

II. PURPOSE:

To promote informed citizenship and strengthen independent, fact-based media, the USAID Media Program, implemented by IREX, invites applications from national and regional broadcast media outlets. We seek proposals for producing in-depth, fact-based, civically relevant reporting, through the creation of a program, or a segment of the program, broadcast through traditional media (television and radio platforms). 

Applications should address the following grant category:

• Broadcast Public Interest Reporting: Applicants are expected to deliver comprehensive and sustained coverage of topics which are important and relevant to Georgian people, employing diverse video formats and techniques. Media are encouraged to consider the latest public opinion poll findings of NDI and IRI which highlight issues citizens are concerned about.    

Please click here to download the Request for Application (RFA) and application.

 

III. LOCATION OF ACTIVITIES:

The geographic focus under consideration includes the following countries for regional activities: Georgia.

 

IV. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

1. Preserve and strengthen an enabling environment that fosters press freedom and access to information.
2. Increased business innovation and viability of media outlets   
3. Increase the availability of civically relevant, fact-based, independent sources of information.

 

V. APPLICANTS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

The applicant / application must meet the following requirements:

• Organizational applicants must be officially registered as a legal entity in Georgia and working in compliance with all applicable civil and fiscal regulations, including, but not limited to pertinent local laws and status.  In lieu of official registration, a Sub awardee may show proof of effort to secure registration, exemption from registration, or show cause why such registration is either not optional or practicable.
• Meet the project objectives and principles.
• Contain expected outcomes and results consistent with and linked to the project objectives.
• Have produced a high-quality body of work that consistently demonstrates adherence to strong editorial principles of neutrality, impartiality, and robust fact-checking.
• Be committed to upholding the principles of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics (GCJE), or similarly robust journalism principles.
• The applicant is not a debarred organization or individual.
• Located in Georgia.

Eligible Entities:  

• Georgian Nongovernment Organizations
• National and regional broadcast media 

 

VI. Cost share Requirements:

Cost share is not required.

 

VII. Award Information

Subject to the availability of funds, the USAID Media Program expects to award up to 6 Fixed Amount Awards (FAA) sub-awards to eligible organizations under the Broadcast Public Interest grant pool. The total amount available for this activity is $70,000 with a ceiling of $15,000 per grant. The expected duration of USAID Media Program’s support or the period of performance is up to 10 months, with an anticipated start date of April 1, 2024.  

The USAID Media Program reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.

The USAID Media Program reserves the right to request a pre-publication legal review of stories produced under the grant. This process will be confidential between the applicant and the legal expert and aims to help protect journalists from potential lawsuits or complaints by ensuring that applicants’ work is well-researched, fact-based, and complies with Georgian law.