Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0008520
The grant opportunity titled "DRL Seeding Deep Expertise in the Networks of Digital Protection Providers Who Serve Threatened Groups" (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0008520) is a discretionary U.S. Department of State program run through the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). Its central aim is to improve the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in online spaces by reinforcing an Internet that is open, interoperable, reliable, and secure. In practice, the opportunity is focused on helping the people and organizations that step in when activists, journalists, civil society groups, and other at-risk communities face digital threats such as hacking, targeted harassment, surveillance, account takeover, doxxing, data theft, censorship workarounds being blocked, or coordinated disinformation and intimidation campaigns.
The program is designed to strengthen networks of "digital protectors" referred to in the notice as Protection Providers, meaning providers who deliver practical digital safety, incident response, and security support to marginalized, vulnerable, or at-risk groups. Rather than just offering one-off trainings or ad hoc emergency help, the Department is looking for competitive projects that build and deploy sustainable mechanisms inside these protection networks. The emphasis is on seeding "deep expertise" so that these providers can reliably identify new and emerging threats, develop specialized skills and resources to respond, and then use their professional networks to deliver that support quickly and effectively when urgent situations arise.
Funding is offered as a grant, with an award ceiling of $1,500,000, and the opportunity anticipates making one award. The funding activity category is listed as "Other," which signals that the work may not fit neatly into a single standard bucket and is likely intended to cover a mix of activities such as capacity building, network development, and applied technical assistance tied to human rights online. The CFDA number attached to the program is 19.345. The notice was created on January 11, 2022, and the original application closing date was March 17, 2022.
Eligibility is described broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement rather than fully spelled out in the excerpt. In effect, this typically points to a wider set of potentially qualified applicants beyond only U.S. federal, state, or local government entities, often including nonprofits, NGOs, civil society organizations, research or technical groups, and other entities capable of managing a specialized, network-oriented digital protection effort. The key is that applicants should be able to credibly operate in the digital rights and digital security space, coordinate across provider networks, and deliver durable improvements to how threatened communities are protected online.
Overall, this opportunity is less about building a single tool and more about strengthening the human infrastructure behind digital safety: the specialist knowledge, trusted relationships, coordination methods, and repeatable support systems that let protection providers respond to fast-moving threats. The goal is to ensure threatened groups are not left to face sophisticated digital attacks alone, and that the global ecosystem of organizations helping them can share expertise, scale best practices, and provide effective protection in ways that last beyond the life of one grant.Apply for SFOP0008520
- The Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DRL Seeding Deep Expertise in the Networks of Digital Protection Providers Who Serve Threatened Groups" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.345.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 11, 2022.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 17, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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