Department of State

Public Notice

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Request for Proposals: Democracy, Human Rights and Rule of Law for Afghanistan and Bangladesh

SUMMARY

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Proposals from organizations interested in submitting proposals for projects that promote democracy and human rights in Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

PLEASE NOTE: DRL strongly urges applicants to access www.grantsolutions.gov or www.grants.gov as soon as possible 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/nov_2012/index.htm.

REQUESTED PROPOSAL PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

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

AFGHANISTAN

Promoting grassroots reconciliation and local-level conflict resolution (approximately $1,150,000):

DRL’s goal is to support civil society’s role in building an inclusive and sustainable grassroots movement for peace and reconciliation and civil society’s role in resolving local-level conflicts and grievances. The bureau seeks proposals that will promote respect for human and women’s rights while fostering a participatory and bottom-up reconciliation process; engage traditional (religious and tribal elders) and modern civil society actors to support and participate in grassroots reconciliation, including through developing and disseminating peace and human rights messaging; strengthen the capacity of local NGOs to work with – and hold accountable – government institutions and officials on how to preserve and protect human rights, including women’s rights, in reconciliation processes; and increase public awareness and understanding of reconciliation processes. Competitive proposals will 1) focus on fostering and encouraging public advocacy for a transparent reconciliation process that allows for meaningful input from civil society, 2) link Afghan civil society organizations with NGOs from other conflict zones that can share lessons and practices toward creating a substantive role for civil society in facilitating reconciliation, and 3) encourage a sense of engagement among local civil society groups in a national-level reconciliation process.

BANGLADESH

Strengthening Civil Society (Approximately $300,000):

DRL's objective is to increase peaceful civic participation in Bangladesh. The bureau seeks proposals for programs that focus on strengthening civil society organizations' monitoring, accountability, and oversight initiatives through inclusivity and non-violence. The project should build the capacity of civil society to mobilize and lead advocacy initiatives that advance their communities around issues of democracy and human rights. Project activities could include facilitation of coalition-building and coordination among similar civil society organizations and development of public-awareness and advocacy campaigns that can be implemented via multiple media and social platforms. Competitive proposals will illustrate a thorough understanding of the political situation on the ground; provide a justification for the selected geographic area, ensure diversity among participant groups; understanding of the capacity of groups to influence change; build on prior efforts in this space; and be technologically innovative.

Empowering Youth Leaders (Approximately $300,000):

DRL’s goal is to increase peaceful civic participation in Bangladesh by empowering the youth to become agents of positive social change within their communities. The bureau seeks projects that strengthen youth leaders’ knowledge of basic principles of transparency, accountability, inclusivity, and non-violent civic participation; and incorporate a small grants mechanism that change leaders can leverage to work with relevant stake holders to address pressing community issues. For this program, youth leaders should be between the ages of 18-30. Competitive proposals will ensure that the program is situated in the relevant cultural context, provide a justification for the selected geographic area, and ensure gender and religious representation among participants.

For each program area, proposals that have at least a 15-month timeframe will be viewed more competitively.

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/nov_2012/index.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).

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 May 14, 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.

An organization may submit up to three (3) proposals; organizations must submit separate proposals for each program area.

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.

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

APPLICANT/ORGANIZATION CRITERIA

Organizations submitting proposals must meet the following criteria:

• Be a U.S. non-profit organization meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c) (3) or a comparable organization headquartered internationally, or an international organization.
• Have demonstrated experience administering successful and preferably similar projects in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
• Be a registered user of www.grants.gov and/or www.grantsolutions.gov . NOTE: This process can take up to one month for new organizations so please register early. See additional details below.
• Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with in-country entities and relevant stakeholders including non-governmental organizations.
• Organizations may form consortia and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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.grantosolutions.gov or www.grants.gov and DRL’s website, http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/c12302.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Should you have any questions regarding the solicitation, please feel free to contact Inna Pletukhina at Pletukhinai@state.gov ; or Rozina Damanwala at damanwalarr@state.gov or 202.431.9305. 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.