Request for Statements of Interest: Labor Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility Projects in Select CountriesDepartment of State Public Notice Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Request for Statements of Interest: Labor Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility Projects in Select Countries. SUMMARY The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Statements Of Interest (SOIs) from organizations interested in submitting proposals for projects that promote respect for labor rights and effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the regions and countries listed below. This is an initial solicitation to ascertain organizations that may be interested in implementing projects in the above countries or regions and does not constitute a Request for Proposals. Organizations that are invited by DRL to submit a proposal will have an opportunity to expand on their SOIs at a later date. PLEASE NOTE: DRL strongly urges applicants to access immediately www.grants.gov in order to obtain a username and password. It may take up to a week to register with grants.gov. Please see the section entitled, “DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS” below for specific instructions. STATEMENTS OF INTEREST (SOI) - REQUESTED PROGRAM OBJECTIVES The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor invites organizations to submit statements of interest outlining program concepts and capacity to manage projects that address the following objectives: Africa: Botswana, Namibia, and/or Zambia: DRL seeks to support programs focusing on a particular sector of the economy, including but not limited to the extractives industries to 1) encourage socially responsible private sector engagement and public-private partnerships to promote internationally recognized worker rights and/or 2) improve working conditions and labor relations through worker and union education and empowerment. East Asia and Pacific: Philippines: DRL seeks to support programs to improve working conditions and strengthen respect for the right to organize and bargain collectively through capacity building for democratic worker organizations, awareness raising regarding worker rights, and efforts to promote more effective labor relations. Proposals that address conditions within the country’s Special Economic Zones will be most favorably reviewed. Vietnam: DRL seeks to support programs to improve working conditions and labor relations, including efforts to promote collective bargaining, through worker education and empowerment, workplace monitoring, and enhanced dispute resolution and social dialogue. Proposals should primarily target exporting firms and sectors with a history of turbulent labor relations. South and Central Asia: Bangladesh: DRL seeks to support programs to improve working conditions, labor relations, and respect for freedom of association through worker education and empowerment initiatives and/or efforts to build compliance with labor laws among employers in coordination with brands and other supply-chain stakeholders. Proposals should focus on export sectors and ensure coordination with ongoing labor programming. Pakistan: DRL seeks to support programs to strengthen respect for core labor rights, such as freedom of association and prohibitions on child labor, through awareness raising, capacity building for worker organizations, workplace monitoring, and/or strengthening of social dialogue and industrial relations. Proposals that include, but are not necessarily limited to, activities in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Baluchistan, and/or the North West Frontier Province will be viewed most favorably by DRL. Western Hemisphere: Brazil: DRL seeks to support programs to combat forced labor and improve working conditions in Brazil through effective workplace monitoring, increasing collaboration among multinational buyers and local stakeholders, and/or capacity building of organizations that monitor and promote workers’ rights. Proposals that target the supply chains of exports to the United States will be viewed most favorably by DRL. Global CSR: Additionally, DRL invites organizations to submit statements of interest outlining program concepts and capacity to manage projects that address the following thematic program area: Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Competitiveness Initiatives: DRL seeks to support innovative and sustainable multi-stakeholder programs focused on one or more of the following program areas: 1. improving working conditions in global commodity supply chains, and 2. improving working conditions in factories producing for the U.S. market through responsible procurement programs. Proposals focused on collaborative models will be viewed most favorable by DRL. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS Statements of Interest must be submitted as two-page Word documents, single-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font with a minimum of 1-inch margins. Submissions MUST conform to the following format requirements and include the information below: Page 1 1) Brief description of the organization, including mission, previous work in the above countries/regions 2) Project description, including objectives and activities, and duration of project Page 2 3) Project outcomes and outputs, deliverables, and short-term and long-term goals 4) Evaluation procedures 5) An estimated budget. The budget should include 1) Program Costs 2) Administrative Costs (which include Indirect Costs) and 3) Any cost sharing offered 6) Previous grant management experience, including grants funded with private and/or United States Government funding Regional or multi-country program proposals will only be accepted if the Request for Statements of Interest directly specifies a call for such approaches. Organizations that submit SOIs for themes or countries that are not specifically identified in the solicitation will be deemed technically ineligible. An organization may submit no more than four SOIs. SOIs that do not meet the requirements above may not be considered. Organizations must also fill out and submit SF-424 and SF-424B forms as directed on www.grants.gov. Please fill out the highlighted yellow fields and use the following specific information for the below fields:
5b. Federal Award Identifier: Please enter zeros or leave blank. 17. Please enter approximate start/end dates for the project 18. Please enter the estimated amount from the SOI under “Federal” and any cost-share under “Applicant.” Otherwise, use zeros.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor’s Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF) supports innovative, “venture capital” programs that uphold democratic principles, support and strengthen democratic institutions, promote human rights, and build civil society in countries and regions of the world that are geo-strategically important to the United States. HRDF funds projects that have the potential to have an immediate impact leading to long-term sustainable reforms. Projects should have potential for continued funding beyond HRDF resources. HRDF projects must not duplicate or simply add to efforts by other entities. Please make special note that DRL will not consider Statements of Interest 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 bulk of project activities must take place in-country and last between 1 and 2 years. U.S.-based activities, study tours, scholarships or exchange projects will not be deemed competitive. Projects that have a strong academic, research, conference, or dialogue focus will not be deemed competitive. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or scientific 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 also not be rated as competitive. DRL anticipates making $1,800,000 available from FY 2007 Democracy Fund/Human Rights and Democracy Fund to support projects that address DRL objectives outlined above. The Bureau anticipates making 3-5 awards in amounts of $250,000 - $600,000 to support program and administrative costs required to implement these programs. APPLICANT/ORGANIZATION CRITERIA Organizations submitting statements 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), a comparable organization headquartered internationally, or an international organization. Universities are allowable. * Have demonstrated experience administering successful projects, preferably in the above countries and/or region, or similarly challenging program environments. 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. * Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with in-country organization(s). * Organizations may form consortia and submit a combined statement of interest. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant. REVIEW PROCESS Following a review of all submissions, organizations may be invited to submit full proposals. Please note that full proposals must adhere to the program idea and target country that was submitted in the original Statement of Interest. Proposals must not exceed the SOI budget amount. Invitations will be based on a subjective evaluation of how the project meets the criteria outlined, U.S. foreign policy objectives, and the priority needs of DRL. Review criteria include: 1) Quality of Program Idea Proposals should be responsive to the solicitation and exhibit originality, substance, precision, and relevance to the Bureau's mission. The bureau typically does not fund continuation programs but innovative, stand-alone programs. 2) Program Planning/Ability to Achieve Long and Short Term Goals A relevant work plan should demonstrate substantive undertakings and logistical capacity of the organization. The work plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines described above. Objectives should be ambitious, yet measurable and achievable. For complete proposals, applicants should provide a monthly timeline of project activities. 3) Multiplier Effect/Sustainability Proposed programs should address long-term institution building with an emphasis on moving towards sustainability, garnering other donor support, or demonstrating capacity-building results. 4) Program Evaluation Plan Programs should demonstrate the capacity for engaging in impact assessments and providing long and short-term goals with measurable outputs and outcomes. Projects that propose an independent evaluation with a clear plan will be deemed highly competitive in this category. 5) Institution’s Record and Capacity The Bureau will consider the past performance of prior recipients and the demonstrated potential of new applicants. Proposals should demonstrate an institutional record of successful programs, including responsible fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting requirements for past grants. Proposed personnel and institutional resources should be adequate and appropriate to achieve the project's goals. Roles and responsibilities of primary staff should be provided. 6) Cost Effectiveness The overhead and administrative components of the proposal, including salaries and honoraria, should be kept as low as possible. All other items should be necessary and appropriate. Given that the majority of DRL-funded programs take place overseas, US-based costs should be kept to a minimum. Cost sharing is strongly encouraged and is viewed favorably by DRL reviewers. DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Applicants must submit SOIs using www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) Wednesday, April 2, 2008. DRL will not accept proposals submitted via email, the U.S. postal system, FedEx, UPS and similar delivery companies, or courier. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time. Please note: In order to safeguard the security of applicants’ electronic information, www.grants.gov utilizes a credential provider. It is the process of determining, with certainty, that someone really is who they claim to be. The credential provider for www.grants.gov is Operational Research Consultants (ORC). Applicants MUST register with ORC to receive a username and password which you will need to register with www.grants.gov as an authorized organization representative (AOR). Once your organization's E-Business point of contact has assigned these rights, you will be authorized to submit grant applications through Grants.gov on behalf of your organization. Each organization will need to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) and you will need to have your organization's DUNS number available to complete this process. After your organization registers with the CCR, you must wait approximately 3-5 business days before you can obtain a username and password. This may delay your ability to post your Statement of Interest. Therefore, DRL strongly urges applicants to begin this process on www.grants.gov well in advance of the submission deadline. No exceptions will be made for organizations that have not completed the necessary steps to post applications on www.grants.gov. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION This call for Statements of Interest will also appear on www.grants.gov and DRL’s website, www.state.gov/g/drl. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT For questions related to proposal submissions, please contact Mark Mittelhauser at 202-647-3271 or mittelhauserma@state.gov and Teresa Fralish at 202-261-8107 or FralishTM@state.gov. |
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