Your US Tax Dollars at Work

And I thought the Middle East was way ahead in use of Internet tools. After all, al-Quaida, etc., are doing just fine with computers, no?

But does this include Israel or is our country not quite in the Middle East? I think the State Department section dealing with us is the Near East Division.

Funding Opportunity Title: New Empowerment Communication Technologies: Opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa

September 25, 2009

Announcement Type: New

Funding Opportunity Number: NEAPI-09-CA-015-MENA-092409

Funding Competition ID: New Technologies

CFDA Number: 19.500

Date Opened: September 24, 2009

Due Date for Applications: October 23, 2009

Federal Agency Contact: Ms. Jessica Baker

Email: nea-grants@state.gov

Telephone number: 202-776-8524

I. Funding Opportunity Description

On June 4 in Cairo, President Obama called for a broader engagement and a “new beginning” to relations between the United States and Muslim communities around the world. As part of that commitment, the President outlined expanded U.S. support for online learning, networking, and partnership among a range of stakeholders. In support of the President’s vision, the Office of the Partnership Initiative (NEA/PI) announces an open competition seeking pilot proposals that will leverage innovative new technologies to connect people – particularly youth – in order to expand civic participation, increase new media capabilities for civil society, and enhance online educational opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Innovative technologies that enable, encourage and build social connections, especially those operating on mobile platforms and the internet, have created new opportunities for promoting democratic practices, civic participation, and learning. In the MENA region, these new technologies offer means to effectively engage youth and difficult to reach or previously unengaged populations. NEA/PI seeks implementers to educate, train, organize, and empower audiences and interlocutors through technologies such as, but not limited to, social networking, digital video conferencing, interactive online learning, widgets, Wiki-functions, mobile applications, and blogging. These efforts should promote civic and political participation; women’s and youth empowerment; or economic and social entrepreneurship.

Priority will be given to applications that maximize the capability and reach of existing resources, including human, knowledge, infrastructure, technology, and other resources and tools. Partnerships between or among public sector, private sector and nongovernmental entities that meld capabilities to address the announcement’s objectives are particularly welcomed. NEA/PI is seeking applications that are innovative and test technological boundaries by developing or scaling cutting-edge tools to engage, inspire, and motivate.

Proposals may address one of the following three priority areas:

• Social networking – platforms, training, applications, or program modules.
• Increasing new media capabilities of civil society – development of information technology capacity among civil society, including individuals, civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and independent media outlets.
• Enhancing online learning – improved access to and dissemination of online curricula, training, and information, including for NGOs and civil society, especially activists and thought leaders.

...Additional considerations:

• NEA/PI seeks proposals for pilot projects that can potentially be scaled up within individual countries or replicated throughout the MENA region.
• Applicants may propose activities that combine multiple media – for example, activities with interactive mobile phone as well as fully integrated broadcast or traditional media components.
• Applicants should take into consideration internet access penetration, connections speeds, costs to users, and other functional aspects of new media in the region, including censorship, cultural barriers, nuances of local dialect or language, and infrastructure shortcomings when designing projects.
• Proposals concerning e-learning may consider activities to increase demand for, as well as access to supply of, e-learning resources.
• Applicants should take into account both current penetration rates of various technologies and practices and also emerging trends.

• NEA/PI seeks projects that are sustainable and require a diminishing amount of external resources over time.

...More information about MEPI can be found at: www.mepi.state.gov. Information on MEPI's regional offices in Abu Dhabi and Tunis can be found at: www.abudhabi.mepi.state.gov and www.medregion.mepi.state.gov.

Electronic Link to Full Announcement: Go to http://www.mepi.state.gov, click on Funding and Project Opportunities, click on “New Empowerment Communication Technologies” link.

II. Award Information

Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement

Anticipated Total Program Funding: Up to $5,000,000 Economic Support Funds in Federal Fiscal Year 2009

Anticipated number of Awards: 5

Floor of Individual Award Amounts: $500,000

Ceiling of Individual Award Amounts: $2.5 million...

(Kippah tip: Here)