Notice of Funding Opportunity: ProCON Global Project – US

The overall goal of ProCON Global is to promote open, interoperable, reliable, and secure commercial undersea cable systems around the world. The project will provide technical assistance to key decision-makers, including policymakers, regulators, and technology companies in emerging economies, to promote evaluation processes and investment in secure and trusted vendors when establishing undersea cable network supply chains. Technology companies include telecommunications operators/carriers, major technology and security firms, innovators, and content and cloud providers.

The ProCON Global project will provide targeted regional and national-level technical advisory support to raise awareness of the security risks and quality/reliability issues with using untrusted vendors to build and maintain undersea cables globally. The project will also address the importance of redundancy and resiliency of undersea cables landing infrastructure. ProCON Global will highlight the market ramifications of choosing untrusted vendors, including the significant commercial limitations purchasers will face in monetizing system capacity, when doing business with vendors headquartered in countries with weak rule of law. ProCON Global will identify trusted vendors for procurement of equipment and identify service opportunities associated with undersea cable deployment, operation, and maintenance. ProCON Global will provide partner government officials, industry actors, and other stakeholders with advisory support to develop undersea cables strategies, consider undersea cables as critical infrastructure, and develop policies and laws on undersea cables. ProCON Global will also provide technical assistance to improve the business and regulatory environments for undersea cables across their lifecycle.

In support of expanding secure and trusted undersea connectivity efforts, this project will include a workstream via sub-awards dedicated to a ProCON Global capital expenditure (CapEx) and operating expenditure (OpEx) incubator to support existing private sector infrastructure efforts to expand undersea connectivity and associated ecosystems.

Strategic Program Goals and Objectives

• This project directly supports the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Joint Strategic Plan (JSP) objective in 2.3 to “Support U.S. technological leadership, strengthen competitiveness, and enhance and protect the U.S. innovation base while leveraging technology to improve lives around the world.” The project supports the wider objective articulated in Goal 2 of the JSP, by creating new economic opportunities, sustainable economic growth, and resilience to systemic shocks.
  • Bureau Goal 1: Advance cyber and digital policies that align with U.S. national interests and foreign policy objectives.
    • Objective 1.1: Deepen relationships with existing U.S. allies and partners, forge new partnerships, and engage with a range of countries to advance a common vision for the Internet and digital technologies.
    • Objective 1.2: Leverage key multilateral fora to build relationships, advance U.S. policy priorities, and guard against positions that are counter to U.S. approaches to the Internet and digital technologies.
    • Objective 1.3: Identify, enhance, cultivate, and develop strategic engagements across the private sector and multistakeholder communities.
    • Objective 1.4: Increase secure and open digital connectivity and access to the Internet.
    • Objective 1.5: Implement public messaging and public diplomacy programs to expand key audiences’ understanding and support of U.S. cyber and digital policies.
  • The project will be managed through CDP’s Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership (DCCP) and supports DCCP’s core pillars.
    • DCCP Pillars:
      • Pillar 1: Build Connections by promoting investments in secure, diverse, and resilient ICT infrastructure.
      • Pillar 2: Advance an Open, Interoperable, Reliable, and Secure Internet by promoting inclusive, rights-respecting, multi-stakeholder models of internet governance and procompetition, pro-innovation digital economy policies and regulations.
      • Pillar 3: Grow Global Markets for U.S. ICT goods and services, especially high-quality, interoperable, secure ICT equipment, software, and services.
      • Pillar 4: Enhance Cybersecurity by increasing adoption and implementation of cybersecurity best practices.

Objectives

• Objective 1: Increase understanding of policymakers, regulators, public and private sector stakeholders on the security risks, vulnerabilities, and quality/reliability issues with using untrusted vendors for commercial undersea cable and associated ecosystems.
• Objective 2: Improve regulatory, investment and commercial environments that promote the procurement, repair, and maintenance of secure and trusted undersea cable systems.
• Objective 3: Increase the use of trusted vendors for installation, repair, and maintenance of undersea cable systems and promote the use of undersea cable routes that reduce overall risk.
• Objective 4: Increase trusted global undersea cable routes to ensure diversity, redundancy, and resiliency.

Funding Information

• Total Funding: $10,000,000.00 USD
• Anticipated Number of Awards: 1
• Period of Performance: 24 months
• Anticipated Time to Award: August 2024

Expected Outcomes 

ProCON Global is a direct response to telecommunications infrastructure and down-stream service needs that would enable:

• A positive and affirmative view of an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet.
• An increase in secure, trusted, reliable, connectivity in underserved communities.
• An increase in understanding of policymakers, regulators, and private sector stakeholders on the security risks, vulnerabilities and quality/reliability issues with using untrusted vendors for commercial undersea cable systems and the ability to take action to address those risks.
• Data flowing freely and securely throughout the global network of undersea cables and their connected installations and software.
• Increased global data pathways: diversity, redundancy, and resiliency.
• Governments to designate undersea cables as critical infrastructure.
• Governments to agree to land trusted undersea cables and commit to using trusted undersea cables.
• Implementation of new or improved strategies and screening procedures when selecting vendors for commercial fiber-optic undersea cable systems.
• Regulations introduced to exclude untrusted suppliers and facilitate Cabotage.

Key Considerations 

The following list of program considerations is provided to help applicant(s) develop a responsive, robust proposal. Strong preference will be given to applicant(s) that:

• Demonstrate administrative and technical capacity and experience in administering successful and similar projects with a global participant base.
• Demonstrate thoughtful project design to address the key objectives and activities for the target audiences described in the NOFO.
• Demonstrate thoughtful monitoring and evaluation and report results.
• Prove existing, collaborative, and successful partnerships with U.S. and foreign partners on issues and engagements related to cybersecurity and digital policy including undersea cable infrastructure and technology and related policies.
• Demonstrate adherence to ethical best practices including “do no harm” and gender equity.

Eligible Applicants 

• CDP welcomes applications from U.S.-based non-profit organizations subject to section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) status of the U.S. tax code and U.S. for-profit organizations.
• Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the Merit Review 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. The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR 30, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, and 48 CFR 31 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.