Request for Proposals: CAFTA-DR Programs

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Request for Proposals: (A) Modernizing Tripartite Structure and Promoting Social Dialogue in Central America and the Dominican Republic and (B) Strengthening Labor Rights through Informal Economy Engagement in Central America and the Dominican Republic

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.

Background:
In the free trade agreement signed by the United States and the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) in June 2004, each party committed itself to effectively enforcing its own labor laws and to developing cooperative activities in priority labor areas. A key priority identified by the CAFTA-DR Vice-Ministers responsible for trade and labor in the April 2005 report entitled The Labor Dimension in Central America and the Dominican Republic (known as the White Paper) was the need to promote a culture of compliance to increase respect for labor standards in law and practice. In the Department of State’s budget for fiscal year 2007, Congress made funding available to support cooperative activities to build capacity and strengthen respect for labor rights in the CAFTA-DR countries. This request for proposals addresses key priorities established by the Vice Ministers in the region by seeking to reinforce a culture of compliance through improved social dialogue on labor issues and greater focus on crucial labor rights issues in the region’s informal sector.

DRL requests proposals that address the following two objectives:

(1) Modernizing Tripartite Structure and Promoting Social Dialogue in Central America and the Dominican Republic:

This solicitation seeks proposals from qualified organizations to undertake activities that bolster tripartite and bipartite social dialogue as well as understanding of the individual and shared roles of government, employers, and workers in modern labor relations. By strengthening social dialogue, the project aims to increase adherence to labor law, build understanding and respect for labor institutions, promote a culture of compliance, and encourage consensus-building on a broad range of issues of mutual interest among government representatives, workers, and employers.

Project components should include:

• Technical assistance to national governments to establish and/or strengthen national tripartite bodies or equivalent entities – per White Paper recommendations citing their key role as dialogue, coordination, and consensus-building organizations;
• Targeted training to social partners on issues of national and priority on a country-by-country basis to build communication and consensus reaching skills; sensitize workers, employers and government on each party’s role and interests; and highlight the shared economic benefits of collaboration;
• Support for a broadening of issues to be discussed and resolved through bipartite and tripartite social dialogue, such as policies on wages and labor relations and assessments of national compliance with labor standards, building on the work of the verification project under CAFTA-DR.

Up to $3,000,000 is available for projects to build social dialogue. The Bureau anticipates making between one to three awards of approximately $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 to support program and administrative costs required to implement this initiative. Proposals must include activities in all six countries: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

(2) Strengthening a Culture of Compliance through Informal Economy Engagement in Central America and the Dominican Republic:

This solicitation seeks to support pilot projects to improve data collection on informal sector employment and to develop strategies to improve the application of labor standards for workers in the informal economy, particularly among vulnerable groups. Projects should focus on developing and implementing approaches for strengthening labor rights for informal sector workers and/or recommending approaches for increasing formalization of employment, such as through reductions in regulatory and administrative barriers to formalization by informal workers and small and medium enterprises. By contributing to a gradual reduction in the size of the informal economy and an increase in formal sector employment, the projects will aim to improve overall respect for worker rights through stronger labor law protections and greater employment security through labor contracts.

Project components may:

• Conduct country assessments of government informal worker data collection systems, and identify design improvement and/or modernization needs;
• Develop training modules for Ministry of Labor officials to improve methodologies for collection of informal sector statistics;
• Provide technical assistance to government officials on mechanisms for extending labor law coverage to informal workers, such as increasing outreach to informal workers and extending – to the extent possible – social safety net protections;
• Conduct country-level assessments and outreach on administrative and regulatory policies that do not encourage formalization by workers and SMEs (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises).
• Institutionalize discussions on the informal sector among national tripartite bodies, employer and worker organizations, and governments with an end goal of developing national policies and action plans regarding informal workers;
• Develop surveys for newly formalized workers, informal sector workers, and employers on their perceptions of the costs and benefits of formalization;
• Conduct workshops and seminars for informal sector workers on the benefits of formalization and how to incorporate informal workers into the formal sector;
• Encourage worker organizations and NGOs to identify and seek to strengthen nascent organizations for informal sector workers and to increase formalization of workers;
• Conduct outreach to employers to advocate for the formalization of their workers and establishments.

Up to $1,000,000 is available for this project. The Bureau anticipates making one or two awards of between approximately $500,000 and $1,000,000 to support program and administrative costs required to implement this initiative. Proposals must include activities in at least two of the following six countries: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Additional Information

The Bureau supports cutting edge, innovative projects that uphold democratic principles, support and strengthen democratic institutions, promote human rights and internationally recognized worker rights, and build civil society. The Bureau 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 Bureau resources. Projects must not duplicate or simply add to efforts by other entities.

The Bureau anticipates awarding grants in summer 2008. The bulk of project activities should take place during a 1-3 year project timeframe. Projects that leverage resources from either funds internal to the organization or partnerships such as public-private partnerships will be highly considered. Projects that have a strong academic or research focus will not be rated highly. Programs that include exchanges to the United States will not be deemed competitive.

Grantees will coordinate with other USG-funded partners carrying out CAFTA-DR labor capacity building programs and will participate whenever possible in ongoing CAFTA-DR labor program implementer coordination meetings both in Washington and in travel to the region, including with CAFTA-DR country Ministries of Labor.

Pending availability of funds, approximately $4,000,000 is expected to be available for projects that address the two objectives above. The Bureau anticipates making between two to four awards totaling approximately $4,000,000 to support program and administrative costs required to implement these programs.

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), a comparable organization headquartered internationally, or an international organization. Universities are allowable.

* Have demonstrated experience administering successful projects, preferably in Central America. 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 grants.gov

* Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with in-country entities and relevant stakeholders including industry and non-government organizations.

* Organizations may form consortia and submit a joint proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.

* Applicants may include subcontracts to institutions in order to provide technical expertise as a component of their proposal.

* An OMB policy directive published in the Federal Register on Friday, June 27, 2003, requires that all organizations applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements must provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number when applying for all Federal grants or cooperative agreements on or after October 1, 2003. Please reference http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/062703_grant_identifier.pdf for the complete OMB policy directive.

REVIEW PROCESS
The Bureau will review all proposals for eligibility. Proposals will be deemed ineligible if they do not fully adhere to the guidelines stated herein and in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI). Eligible proposals will be subject to compliance with Federal and Bureau regulations and guidelines and forwarded to Bureau grant panels for advisory review. Proposals may also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Adviser or by other Department elements. Final technical authority for assistance awards resides with the Office of Acquisition Management’s Grants Officer.

The information contained 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. Final technical authority for assistance awards resides with the Office of Acquisition of Management’s Grants Officer.

Proposals will be funded based on an evaluation of how the project meets the criteria outlined, U.S. foreign policy objectives, and the priority needs of DRL.

Review Criteria:

1. Quality of Program Idea: Proposals should be responsive to the solicitation and exhibit originality, substance, precision, and relevance to the CAFTA-DR White Paper (http://www.iadb.org/trade/1_english/pub/labor-CADR.pdf) and to the Bureau’s mission.
2. Program planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives: An agenda and work plan should demonstrate substantive activities and the organization’s capacity and planning to undertake them. Objectives should be ambitious yet measurable and achievable.
3. Impact/Multiplier Effect: Proposed program should address long-term institution building with an emphasis on moving towards sustainability, and define and reach numerous audiences.
4. Program Evaluation Plan: Proposals should demonstrate the capacity for engaging in impact assessments and providing measurable outputs, outcomes, and short and long-term goals. Inclusion of an independent evaluator to assess program progress is strongly encouraged. Interim evaluations should be carried out-in close consultation with DRL and the CAFTA-DR Vice Ministers of Labor over the course of the project.
5. Institution’s Record and Capacity: Proposals should demonstrate an institutional record of successful program management. Experience managing programs in the Western Hemisphere will enhance the submission. The Bureau will consider past performance of prior recipients and the demonstrated potential of new applicants.
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 appropriate. Cost-sharing is strongly encouraged.

DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Applicants must submit proposals using www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on April 29, 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 3 business days before you can obtain a username and password.

PLEASE be advised that completing all the necessary steps for obtaining a username and password from www.grants.gov can take up to 2 full weeks. 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. Please access www.grants.gov for the all necessary information.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals should not exceed 12 single-spaced pages in length using 12-point Times New Roman font in Microsoft Word with at least one-inch margins. Attachments may not exceed 5 pages. Budgets should be provided separately in Excel or compatible spreadsheets. A separate narrative budget that provides detail on budget line items must accompany the Excel spreadsheet. Please refer to the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) for more detail.

Organizations may apply for funding for one or both of the two listed objectives. Organizations must submit separate proposals if applying for both objectives for a maximum of two proposals per organization. Proposals that do not meet the above requirements may be deemed technically ineligible.

Organizations must also complete 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:

1. Type of Submission: Application
2. Type of Application: New
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.
19. Please enter “c”

TECHNICAL ELIGIBILITY
Technically eligible submissions are those which: 1) arrive electronically via www.grants.gov by the designated due date before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and 2) have heeded all instructions contained in the solicitation document and Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI), including length and completeness of submission. If there is a discrepancy between the PSI and this announcement, please note that this document takes precedence.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS
All proposals must be received at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on April 29, 2008. Please refer to the PSI for specific instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT
For questions related to proposal submissions, please contact Gabriella Rigg Herzog at 202-647-2311 or RiggGA@state.gov and Teresa Fralish at 202-261-8107 or FralishTM@state.gov on all inquiries and correspondence. Please read the complete announcement and PSI before sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFP deadline has passed, State Department officials – both in the Bureau and at embassies overseas – may not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process is completed.