Department of State

Public Notice

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Request for Proposals: Countering Labor Violence in Guatemala and Honduras.

SUMMARY

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Proposals from organizations interested in submitting proposals for projects that enhance protection measures for trade union leaders and members as well as combat impunity for perpetrators of violence in Guatemala and Honduras.

PLEASE NOTE: DRL strongly urges applicants to access www.grantsolutions.gov or www.grants.gov immediately in order to obtain a username and password to submit your application. For more information, please see DRL’s Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI), updated in November 2012, available at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/c12302.htm.

REQUESTED PROPOSAL PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

DRL invites organizations to submit proposals outlining program concepts and capacity to manage projects targeting the following issues:

Combating Labor Violence in Guatemala and Honduras (Approximately $700,000): Threats against and killing of trade unionists, combined with very few or no convictions of perpetrators, have dominated the labor environment in Guatemala and Honduras for several years. Engagement from and between civil society, business and government stakeholders is necessary in order to sustainably reverse this trend.

DRL requests proposals for a 30- to 36-month regional program operating in Guatemala and Honduras that seeks to enhance protection measures for trade union leaders and members and those seeking to form a union, as well as combat impunity for perpetrators of violence. Well-developed proposals will seek to include some or all of the following groups: informal economy workers, women, indigenous persons, youth, disabled persons, and migrants. Well-developed proposals will demonstrate research into and/or experience with existing civil society groups that address violence against vulnerable groups and have a proven track record of engagement with enforcement agencies. Specifically, DRL seeks proposals with program activities that will:

• Build the capacity of local organizations that are actively working with human rights defenders to increase civil society recording of and reporting and advocacy efforts on labor violence with both governments and other relevant stakeholders;
• Improve the capacity of trade union federations to effectively and consistently track threats and violence against trade union leaders, members, and their families, as well as those seeking to form a union;
• Work with NGO partners and other stakeholders to engage the government to advocate for and monitor progress on investigating and prosecuting specific cases;
• Learn and disseminate promising practices to combat labor violence from regional civil society stakeholders, including through regional exchanges of civil society and NGO leaders;
• Work with existing local civil society organizations to develop systems that promote sustainability of project outcomes beyond the life of the project.

DEADLINE AND TECHNICAL ELIGIBILITY

Please refer directly to DRL’s posted Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI), updated in November 2012, available at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/c12302.htm.

Faxed, couriered, or emailed documents will not be accepted at any time. Applicants must follow all formatting instructions in this document and the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI).

Should an application be selected, the applicant should be prepared to start project activities no later than September 30, 2014. Only one application will be selected for funding.

To ensure all applications receive a balanced evaluation, the DRL Review Committee will review the first page of the requested section up to the page limit and no further. DRL encourages organizations to use the given space effectively.

Technically eligible submissions are those which: 1) arrive electronically via www.grantsolutions.gov or www.grants.gov by Friday, August 1, 2014 before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST); 2) heed all instructions contained in the solicitation document and Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI), including length and completeness of submission; and 3) do not violate any of the guidelines stated in the solicitation and this document.

It is the responsibility of all applicants to ensure that proposals have been received by www.grantsolutions.gov or www.grants.gov in their entirety. DRL bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

Once the Request for Proposals deadline has passed, U.S. Department of State staff in Washington and overseas may not discuss competing proposals with applicants until the review process has been completed.

NOTE: In order to process final awards, approved applicants will need to register with www.grantsolutions.gov.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Bureau anticipates awarding grants in the third quarter of FY 2014 (according the USG fiscal year calendar). Programs that leverage resources from funds internal to the organization or other sources, such as public-private partnerships, will be highly considered. Projects that have a strong academic, research, conference, or dialogue focus will not be deemed competitive. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. Projects that focus on commercial law or economic development will be rated as non-competitive. Cost sharing is strongly encouraged, and cost sharing contributions should be outlined in the proposal budget and budget narrative.

DRL will not consider proposals that reflect any type of support, for any member, affiliate, or representative of a designated terrorist organization, whether or not elected members of government.

The information in this solicitation is binding and may not be modified by any Bureau representative. Explanatory information provided by the Bureau that contradicts this language will not be binding. Issuance of the solicitation does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government. The Bureau reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the program evaluation requirements.

This request for proposals will appear on www.grantsolutions.gov or www.grants.gov and DRL’s website, www.state.gov/j/drl.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Should you have any questions regarding the solicitation, please feel free to contact

Marissa Brescia at BresciaMA@state.gov, or DRLProgramInfo@state.gov. Once the deadline has passed, State Department officials and staff—both in the Bureau and at embassies overseas—may not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process is completed.