2023 TIP Office NOFO SOI - Request for Proposals.docx

U.S. Department of State Notice of Funding Opportunity – Call for Statements of Interest

Catalog of Federal Domestic

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) is pleased to invite organizations to submit Statements of Interest (SOI) to combat human trafficking outside of the United States. Informed by the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), current anti-trafficking programming and trends, research, scoping visits, assessments, engagements with foreign governments, and in consultation with other U.S. government agencies and offices, the TIP Office identified multiple programming priorities for funding under this announcement.

The TIP Office will allocate funding for anti-trafficking projects through an open, two-stage competitive process. In stage one of competition, also known as the statement of interest (SOI) stage, applicants are invited to submit four-page SOIs for projects designed to address the TIP Office’s 2023 programming priorities in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, the Near East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. All SOIs selected following a technical and programmatic review will be invited to participate in stage two of the competitive process and submit full proposals. Stage two proposals selected following a technical and programmatic review will be funded pending the availability of 2023 appropriated funds. The TIP Office anticipates issuing awards for the majority of priorities in the spring of 2024.

The TIP Office may exercise Non-Competitive Continuations (NCC) for additional years and funds to build on efforts of the base period of performance. Within 90 days of the conclusion of the first period of performance, the TIP Office will notify the recipient of its intention to exercise or not to exercise an NCC after an internal evaluation of the recipient’s performance. The decision to exercise an NCC will depend both on the satisfactory performance of the recipient and on the availability of funds. Please see “Section B. Federal Award Information” below for additional details.

The TIP Office welcomes strong SOIs that address human trafficking challenges on a significant scale, offer the potential to have a systemic and sustainable impact, align with U.S. government priorities and the TIP Office’s 2023 country and regional priorities listed under the 2023 Regional Programming Priorities, among other factors. Strong applications will respond to instructions in the 2023 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Statements of Interest which are included alongside this NOFO in the full announcement package.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Approximate Average Award: $1,000,000 for initial period of performance Floor of Award Range: None Ceiling of Award Range: $1,000,000 for initial period of performance; $6,000,000 for total overall ceiling) (Some Programming Priorities may have lower initial and total overall ceiling award ranges, see below.)

Anticipated Award Date: April 1, 2024 Additional Information: The TIP Office reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase budgets in accordance with the needs of the program and the availability of funds.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 USC §7101 et seq.), as amended (TVPA), established the TIP Office in the U.S. Department of State. The TIP Office leads the United States’ global engagement to combat human trafficking and seeks partnerships with foreign governments, civil society organizations, and multilateral organizations utilizing the “3P” paradigm: prosecuting traffickers using a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach, protecting trafficking victims through proactive identification and the provision of comprehensive, trauma-informed care, and preventing trafficking in persons through targeted programs and by making it more difficult or risky for traffickers to commit the crime. The TIP Office also recognizes the importance of partnerships and collaborative efforts with relevant governmental and nongovernmental actors in anti-trafficking work. TIP Office programs and projects combat human trafficking – a crime involving compelling a person to work or engage in a commercial sex act through the trafficker’s use of force, fraud, or coercion. It should be noted that when a person younger than 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion.

The U.S. government defines “trafficking in persons” as:

· Sex trafficking encompasses the range of activities involved when a trafficker uses force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to engage in a commercial sex act or causes a child to engage in a commercial sex act.

· Forced labor, sometimes also referred to as labor trafficking, encompasses the range of activities involved when a person uses force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the labor or services of another person.

Trafficking in persons does not require the movement of a person. Under the TVPA and generally consistent with the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol), individuals may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented, whether they participated in unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit, whether someone transported them into the exploitative situation, or whether they were simply born into a state of servitude. The TIP Office will not support projects that use alternate definitions of trafficking.

The TVPA requires that the Department of State submit to Congress an annual report assessing the efforts of governments to address trafficking in persons. The annual TIP Report is the primary tool for the Department’s engagement with other governments on human trafficking and informs U.S. policy and assistance priorities to combat this crime. The 2023 TIP Report is available on the TIP Office website, www.state.gov/j/tip.

Since 2000, when the United Nations adopted the Palermo Protocol and the United States enacted the TVPA, the number of parties to the Protocol has reached 180. In addition, a majority of countries have criminalized all forms of trafficking, and many countries have established specialized law enforcement units, set up trafficking victim assistance mechanisms, and launched public awareness campaigns. Nonetheless, the number of victims identified and assisted and the number of traffickers investigated, prosecuted, and convicted remains low relative to the size of the problem; and governments continue to face challenges in effectively implementing anti-trafficking legal and policy frameworks.

The TIP Office works to build the capacity of partner governments and civil society to address these challenges in a number of ways, including through foreign assistance programs. Information on U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts is available at https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/ and a summary of international projects currently funded by the TIP Office is available at https://www.state.gov/tip-office-project-descriptions/.

The TIP Office’s preference is to avoid duplicating past efforts by supporting new and creative approaches. This does not exclude from consideration projects that improve upon or expand existing successful projects in a new and complementary way.

Applicants are expected to submit SOIs that reflect an understanding of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and survivor-informed approaches to anti-trafficking programming. Applicants should also include these approaches in any plans for direct engagement with individuals with lived experience of human trafficking. If possible, applicants are encouraged to work with and/or consult individuals with lived experience of human trafficking in the development of their SOIs. When relevant for the SOIs, applicants are expected to reflect the provision of comprehensive services to victims of trafficking. The TIP Office defines these concepts as follows:

Victim-Centered Approach Placing the crime victim’s priorities, needs, and interests at the center of the work with the victim; providing nonjudgmental assistance, with an emphasis on self-determination, and assisting victims in making informed choices; ensuring that restoring victims’ feelings of safety and security is a priority and safeguarding against policies and practices that may inadvertently re-traumatize victims. A victim-centered approach should also incorporate a trauma-informed, survivor-informed, and culturally competent approach.

Trauma-Informed Approach A trauma-informed approach recognizes signs of trauma in individuals and the professionals who help them and responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, practices, and settings. This approach includes an understanding of the vulnerabilities and experiences of trauma survivors, including the prevalence and physical, social, and emotional impact of trauma. A trauma-informed approach places priority on restoring the survivor’s feelings of safety, choice, and control. Programs, services, agencies, and communities can be trauma-informed.

Survivor-Informed Approach A program, policy, intervention, or product that is designed, implemented, and evaluated with intentional leadership, expertise, and input from a diverse community of survivors to ensure that the program, policy, intervention, or product accurately represents their needs, interests, and perceptions.

Comprehensive Services An array of services that should be made available to a trafficking victim. At a minimum, these services include: shelter; intensive case management; safety planning; crisis intervention; victim advocacy; legal assistance; mental health treatment, including individual and group counseling; support in family reunification and community reintegration; medical care; dental care; substance abuse treatment; assistance with educational and/or vocational needs; life skills training; transportation; and other necessary services.

To maximize the impact and sustainability of the award(s) that result from this funding opportunity, the TIP Office retains the right to execute NCCs. The total duration of any award, including potential NCC amendments, shall not exceed 60 months, or five years. Any NCC is contingent on performance and pending availability of funds. An NCC is not guaranteed, and the Department of State reserves the right to exercise or not to exercise this option.

2023 REGIONAL PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES

The TIP Office has identified regional and country programming priorities for potential funding. These priorities are heavily informed by recommendations from the annual TIP Report, coordination with a broad range of anti-trafficking donors, and engagement with foreign governments and local civil society, and are based on the TIP Office’s current anti-trafficking efforts.

The TIP Office generally prioritizes foreign assistance in those countries assessed below Tier 1 in the TIP Report and where governments demonstrate political will, but lack the economic resources or anti-trafficking expertise, to effectively address the problem. The 2023 select programming priorities below are listed alphabetically by geographic region. Applicants may apply for up to the total amount listed below and should submit funding requests rounded to the nearest $5,000 (e.g., $735,000, rather than $734,097).

The TIP Office may fund activities in high-income countries, but the use of foreign assistance funding to benefit a high-income country requires additional review. Applicants should ensure that inclusion of high-income countries is responsive to the TIP Office's regional and country priorities. The TIP Office considers high-income countries to be those designated as high income by the World Bank using the gross national income (GNI) per capita (Atlas method). The current threshold for high-income countries (based on 2023 data) is a GNI per capita of $13,206 or more.

To be eligible for consideration, SOIs must respond to at least one of the specific programming priority areas and countries or regions identified below. If an applicant is submitting SOIs for multiple priorities described below, the applicant should submit one SOI per priority.

Africa

1. The Gambia, Prevention and Protection($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $4 million for total overall ceiling) Over the last year, the Government of The Gambia has demonstrated increased political will to identify and care for trafficking victims through the adoption and implementation of its national referral mechanism. However, officials and staff lack the necessary training to ensure services are trauma-informed and victim-centered, resulting in potential revictimization.

Request for Applications: The TIP Office requests applications to build on previous and current efforts to: 1) Support workshops and trainings for the staff of Gambian government run shelters (that are non-TIP specific) to provide trauma-informed care; 2) Train government officials to identify and refer victims of trafficking to specialized services, including by promoting coordination among law enforcement, prosecutors, and social service providers; 3) Support workshops and trainings for the staff of government run shelters to offer psycho-social counseling services, vocational skills training, and empowerment opportunities to victims of trafficking; and, 4) Assist the government and civil society organizations to continue operationalization of the national referral mechanism throughout the country. Applicants should specify their approach to training techniques that are applicable to the context of shelters that serve several vulnerable populations, not solely trafficking victims (i.e. referencing specific theory and/or applied approaches). SOIs referencing a “trauma-informed and victim-centered” approach without explanation will not be considered.

2. Tanzania, Protection ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $4 million for total overall ceiling) There is a critical gap in shelter and comprehensive assistance for victims of trafficking in Tanzania. The government recently established a transnational organized crime unit in Zanzibar and specialized anti-human trafficking unit in mainland Dar es Salaam. However, broader anti-trafficking efforts still need support. Vulnerable children and adult and child victims of trafficking identified through these units lack access to shelter, comprehensive assistance, and trauma-informed protection services.

Request for applications: The TIP Office seeks applications to improve comprehensive services for victims of trafficking, including children and adult male and female victims, through the provision of shelter, trauma-informed mental health counseling, medical care, and legal assistance.

Near East and North Africa

1. Jordan, Protection ($2,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $5,000,000 total overall ceiling) The government of Jordan has taken admirable steps to address human trafficking, including an updated National Action Plan and National Referral Mechanism. Nonetheless, many migrant workers remain vulnerable to trafficking due to the current visa sponsorship system and predatory labor recruitment agencies.

Request for Applications: The TIP Office seeks applicants that can work with the government of Jordan to analyze and reform the visa sponsorship system for migrant workers (sometimes referred to as the Kafala system) while also addressing insufficient oversight and accountability for labor recruiting companies. Organizations should ideally have a good working relationship with the Jordanian government, including the Public Security Directorate’s Counter Trafficking Unit, Ministry of Justice (the lead on TIP), and Ministry of Labor and have experience working with source country embassies (such as Philippines, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Sudan) to craft new guidelines for oversight of labor recruitment firms.

East Asia and the Pacific

1. Global, Prevention ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $3,000,000 total overall ceiling) Human traffickers exploit workers in forced labor in cyber scam operations, including fraudulent online sales, illegal online gambling and investment schemes, and romance scams, in which the victim is coerced to enter a fake online relationship with, and extract money from, unsuspecting targets. Traffickers coerce the workers by withholding travel and identity documents, imposing arbitrary debt, restricting access to food and water, and physical abuse. The scam operations are estimated to earn multi-billions of dollars in revenue from the illegal financial schemes and are run by transnational organized criminal groups.

Request for Applications: Activities should include: 1) Online ads or other outreach to alert the general public to false job vacancy ads in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Philippines, Vietnam, or other locations where scam centers operate; 2) Sub-grants to local or freelance journalists so that they have funding to continue their reporting on cyber scams operations; 3) Engagement with tech companies like TikTok, WhatsApp, Meta, LinkedIn, and others to place adds warning job seekers about fraudulent recruitment for forced labor in scam compounds; 4) Outreach to sim card providers/telecommunication companies and money transfer services like Zelle to help raise flags when there is suspicious activity; and/or 5) an awareness raising campaign providing information on dangerous conditions and illegal work inside scam compounds with online social media posts, as well as the most effective on the ground communications at border crossings along Thailand’s borders and in neighboring countries near border crossings into Thailand.

2. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam; Prevention/Protection ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $4 million total overall ceiling) Thailand is a transit country for individuals subjected to forced labor in scam centers throughout Southeast Asia. Many victims coming out of scam centers in the region have crossed Thailand’s borders into Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and the PRC. Upon their release from scam centers, many individuals are pushed across the border into Thailand. Awareness raising is needed for immigration officials in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam on screening for human trafficking, including indicators of forced labor/forced criminality in scam centers, and referral to comprehensive services.

Request for Applications: Provide training to immigration officials in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and/or Vietnam on screening for human trafficking, including forced criminality in scam centers, and referral to protection services following established referral pathways in each country. The emphasis should be on increasing understanding of forced criminality as a form of trafficking in persons with the goal of reducing the unwarranted detention of victims of human trafficking.

3. Lower Mekong Region, Protection ($2,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $6 million total overall ceiling) Individuals coming out of scam centers are often placed in Thai Detention Facilities due to a lack of proper screening and identification. When victims are identified, there is often a lack of comprehensive services for their support and reintegration. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam are expected to experience an increase in the identification of victims of human trafficking resulting in increased protection needs that could place a strain on existing systems.

Request for applications: Provide protection services, such as shelter, food, medical care, clothing, and reintegration assistance, to victims of human trafficking with an emphasis on those who were victimized in scam centers throughout the region. Protection services should be offered to both men and women.

4. Thailand, Prosecution ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $5 million total overall ceiling) Prosecution of crimes committed by those operating scam centers will require cross-sector investigations and prosecutions due the multi-faceted nature of the crime that includes human trafficking, cybercrime, border violations, transnational crime, etc. As an example, there have been raids on cyber scam compounds conducted by cyber scam investigative units; arrests were made in these raids, but the officers in charge lacked training in victim identification and protection which resulted in victims being placed in detention centers for visa violations. Training is needed to comprehensively investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law the multitude of illegal actions taking place at these scam compounds and to ensure victims are appropriately referred to services.

Request for Applications: Provide cross-sectoral joint training on investigation and prosecution for Thailand’s anti-trafficking, cybercrime, border units, and transnational crime units focused on investigating and prosecuting cases coming from cyber scam operations and applying the non-punishment principle. Create a Cyber Scam Task Force comprised of all of these specialized units to share information and coordinate responses. Enhance interagency coordination to address human trafficking in cyberscam compounds.

South and Central Asia

1. Pakistan, Protection ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $3 million total overall ceiling) Pakistan's largest human trafficking problem is bonded labor, in which traffickers exploit an initial debt assumed by a worker as part of the terms of employment and ultimately entrap other family members, sometimes for generations. Experts estimate that 4.5 million workers nationwide are trapped in bonded labor, primarily in Sindh and Punjab provinces, with children comprising more than 70 percent of bonded laborers in the country. Many of these victims are forced into domestic servitude with employers forcing children as young as age 7 into domestic work, where they are often subjected to severe physical abuse, including torture, and sexual abuse.

Request for Applications: The TIP Office seeks SOIs to advance child protection efforts in Pakistan, with a specific focus on victims in bonded labor and domestic servitude. Building on successful momentum in the country, including what was reported in the 2023 TIP Report, this project must include sustainable approaches to increase prevention efforts (i.e. through awareness raising campaigns) and protection mechanisms. Applicants must be familiar with established national-level legislation, policies, and resources (such as SOPs) and propose interventions to increase multi-level stakeholder collaboration between federal, provincial, and local-level stakeholders. Applicants should choose one or more provinces to activate physical, in-person programming, but are encouraged to consider broader virtual components that can amplify impact and increase collaboration across the country. International applicants must clearly articulate how local-level stakeholders, including CSOs, shelters, District Vigilance Committees, and labor inspectors have provided feedback into program design and will be fully integrated as co-leaders on the project.

Western Hemisphere

1. Mexico, Prevention ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $3 million total overall ceiling) Certain conditions in many U.S. temporary migrant worker programs create or exacerbate vulnerabilities among workers that traffickers have exploited. These vulnerabilities often start during the recruitment phase before workers leave their home country. Structural conditions embedded in temporary migrant worker programs enable traffickers – who can be the employer, recruiter, or any other agent within the employment process – to maintain control of workers. In particular, the tying of a worker’s immigration and work authorization status to employment with a specific petitioner provides human traffickers with the ability to threaten victims with deportation to coerce labor. The TIP Office seeks to address this critical issue by supporting a project that will increase access to information about the rights and protections for those participating in U.S. temporary migrant worker programs and how to exercise those rights, the recruitment and employment process, and how to access assistance and remedies at any stage of their employment experience.

Request for applications: The TIP Office seeks applications for a project to develop and conduct interactive, in-person educational workshops for prospective H-2 applicants from southern Mexico on the H-2 recruitment, application, and employment process; their rights under the H-2 program and under U.S. domestic laws; what human trafficking is and the risks to migrants seeking employment; and available recourse procedures to seek assistance at any point during their H-2 experience. Workshops should teach prospective H-2applicants practical skills or tools on how to exercise their rights and what to do if their reality does not meet expectations. Applicants should target locations in southern Mexico based on proximity to high concentrations of prospective workers and feasibility of conducting the workshops. Applicants should outline the frequency and schedule of workshops, provide an overview of content and themes for workshops; develop an accessibility plan based on individuals in the target locations, including language and literacy access; and develop an evaluation methodology that includes seeking feedback from individuals who attended the workshops and then traveled to the United States to work on an H-2 visa. Applications should address all programming requirements and should garner buy-in from any major unions or worker collectives and local community-based organizations prior to the implementation of programming.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

Organizations eligible to apply include U.S.-based and foreign non-profits, non-governmental organizations (including faith-based organizations), public international organizations (PIOs), institutions of higher education, and for-profit entities. For-profit organizations are not permitted to generate profits from grant-funded activities. U.S. government agencies may respond to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) with applications for projects that would be funded through an Interagency Acquisition Agreement. While foreign governments are not eligible to apply, governments may be beneficiaries of projects provided that funding does not pay salaries of government agency personnel and that such assistance is not restricted by U.S. law or policy.

Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the 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.

Organizations currently receiving funds from the TIP Office may apply for additional funding under the present funding opportunity. The eligibility requirements for applying to this funding opportunity do not restrict applicants from receiving other sources of funding from the United States government, including from other bureaus within the Department of State.

Under this funding opportunity, applicants may partner with other organizations to implement and carry out project activities. Applicants partnering with other organizations must clearly identify the lead applicant, and the lead applicant may designate one or more partner organizations as sub-recipients. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a partner organization is any organization that would receive sub-award funding from a successful applicant to help the applicant organization implement anti-trafficking projects. All mandatory terms and conditions for a successful applicant also apply to any sub-awards awarded.

The TIP Office recognizes the importance and added value of partnerships and collaborative efforts in anti-trafficking work. Applicants are encouraged to submit SOIs that reflect partnerships among organizations and collaboration with relevant regional government ministries and local authorities. This may include, but is not limited to, including government and civil society partners in the development of the technical approach, hosting consultations to harmonize programming in country, or supporting scoping or assessment visits. Applicants may form consortia to bring together organizations with varied expertise to propose a comprehensive project in one SOI. However, one organization must be designated in the SOI as the lead applicant with the other members designated as sub-award partners.

The TIP Office is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all its projects and activities. The TIP Office welcomes applications irrespective of race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing, cost matching, and cost participation are not required to carry out a project under this funding opportunity. While not required, applicants may propose to include voluntary cost share. Applications that include voluntary cost share will NOT be evaluated differently than other applications. Applicants that voluntarily propose cost share must read the instructions regarding required budget documents under this announcement. Applicants should list the cost share amount in the SF-424 under Section C - 8b and Section D - 14.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Submitting the Application Package

All applications must be fully submitted via SAMS Domestic by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on July 31, 2023. All application documents must be submitted in English. The TIP Office will NOT accept applications or updated documents submitted by any other method, including email, fax, the postal system, delivery companies, couriers, or U.S. embassies. Applicants may submit more than one application if they are requested to do so by the TIP Office; however, each application should be submitted only once.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to initiate electronic applications early in the application development process and to submit the application package before the due date or early on the due date. This will aid in addressing any problems with submission prior to the application deadline. No exceptions will be made for organizations that have not completed the necessary steps to submit applications on SAMS Domestic.

Applications Submitted Through SAMS Domestic

Organizations using SAMS Domestic for the first time must register on the SAMS Domestic site to create a New Applicant account as soon as possible. This application step must be completed before an application can be submitted.

To register with SAMS Domestic, follow the “create an account” link and complete the “SAMS Domestic User Registration Request” application form. Users will receive an email requesting account verification. This verification step must be completed before an application can be submitted. If the applicant has previously received funding from the Department of State, please contact JTIPGrants@state.gov after the account has been created to ensure the account is associated with the correct organization. If an applicant has not previously received funding from the Department of State, the TIP Office cannot associate a new account in SAMS Domestic to an organization. Please note a new user account does not need to be associated with an organization in order to submit an application. Electronic applications submitted via SAMS Domestic must contain completed SF-424 online forms and documents specified in this funding opportunity.

To upload the application, go to SAMS Domestic (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants), select “Apply, then Funding Opportunities,” and select the “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Programs” funding opportunity. Select the “Apply Here” button, enter the applicant organization’s information, and click Save. Complete each section of the application in the corresponding section of the Additional Documents to Be Submitted Tab: Standard Form 424 Information (SF-424) and Project Narrative (applicants MUST use the Microsoft Word template provided and type within the grey box.

Please ensure that you select the box, “allow anyone in my organization to edit this proposal,” to ensure members of your organization have access to edit this application.

For assistance with SAMS Domestic, please contact the ILMS Support Desk at 1-(888)-313-4567 (toll free for international callers) or submit a ticket using the ILMS Self Service Portal (https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home). Customer Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please note support hours may change on Federal holidays. Direct questions regarding the process of uploading applications to Customer Support. Technical difficulties not resolved by the Support Desk by the time of submission must be fully documented and reported to the TIP Office at JTIPGrants@state.gov only. Please do not contact any other Department of State personnel.

2. Technical Requirements for SOI Application Package

Applicants are responsible for reviewing and incorporating the 2023 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Statements of Interest and TIP Office Common Questions and Answers when preparing an application. Please place close attention to all font and formatting requirements.

To be considered for funding, all applications must build on the specific country or regional programming priorities identified in this NOFO. All required documents must be written in the English language using documents with one-inch margins formatted to 8 ½ x 11-inch paper. All documents should use text that is black-colored in Calibri font. All budget figures must be in U.S. dollars.

Applicants pursuing multiple awards must submit separate SOI applications for each project.

Complete applications must include the following documents in the required templates (found on SAMS Domestic) to be considered for funding. Failure to submit one or more of the following documents will result in automatic failure of the technical review:

· Online Forms/Standard Forms – SF 424

· Project Narrative: The template available on SAMS Domestic. Applicants MUST type within the grey box. The project narrative must not exceed four pages filled using 14-point Calibri font. The SOI Narrative Template header, footnotes, and charts are included in the four-page limit. Please double check the page count before submission, as exceeding the limit will result in a failure of the technical review.

· Required components within the project narrative include:

· Problem

· Project Description

· Organizational Capacity

Note: Applicants must use the TIP Office template provided for the project narrative which is part of the Additional Information to Be Submitted by the Applicant Tab. Applicants must fill out all required fields in the template. Do not convert the template into any other format.

Common reasons SOIs do not pass the technical review stage include but is not limited to: not using the provided Project Narrative template, exceeding the four-page limit and submitting SOIs for countries, regions, or topics outside of the specific programming priority areas and countries or regions identified. Please ensure your application closely follows the criteria listed in this NOFO as well as in the 2023 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Statements of Interest.

1. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)—Required

A valid Unique Entity Identifier (formerly the Data Universal Numbering System or DUNS) is not required for submission of an application on SAMS Domestic; however, a valid UEI number is required for organizations selected for an award. Organizations should verify their UEI number or take the steps needed to obtain one as soon as possible. Instructions for obtaining a UEI number can be found at https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.

All applicants should register with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) prior to submitting applications. Selected grantees will be required to have an active registration in SAM.gov. Although registration is not required prior to submitting applications via SAMS Domestic, all applicants should register at SAM.gov as soon as possible to avoid future delays. Organizations that have SAM.gov accounts must log in at least once every 13 months (395 days) to maintain an active registration. Please reactivate any accounts that have become inactive when submitting applications.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that it has an active registration in SAMS Domestic. Applicants are required to document that the application has been received in its entirety by SAMS Domestic. The TIP Office bears no responsibility for disqualification that results from applicants not being registered before the due date, for system errors in SAMS Domestic, or other errors in the application process.

Please note that selected grantees may not make a sub-award to a sub-recipient unless that sub-recipient has obtained and provided to the recipient a UEI. A sub-recipient is not required to be registered in SAM.gov.

2. Submission Dates and Times

All applications must be submitted via SAMS Domestic (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants) by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on July 31, 2023. The TIP Office will not accept application materials submitted by any means other than uploading to SAMS Domestic. If an organization experiences difficulty submitting an application near the deadline, their application will only be accepted late if they open a ticket with the ILMS Support Desk to resolve the problem prior to the deadline. To be competitive under this funding opportunity, applicants must be fully responsive to all directions in this document.

The application process is not complete until the applicant receives notification from SAMS Domestic that its application has been validated and forwarded to the granting agency (TIP Office). Please allow sufficient time for entering the application into these systems and to troubleshoot any issues. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor its application to ensure that it is successfully received and validated.

3. Funding Restrictions

Construction The TIP Office restricts the use of Federal assistance for construction purposes. Construction costs are defined as non-major costs for rearrangement and alteration or reconversion or renovation of facilities. Construction would include ordinary or normal alterations, restoration, or rehabilitation such as any work that modifies buildings and/or grounds. This includes but is not limited to adding, replacing, modifying, relocating, removing, or painting doors, walls, windows, flooring, or the alterations of ceilings, adding on to or dividing existing space or work on any building utility system, electrical, plumbing, ventilation, air conditioning, controls systems, fire alarms, fire sprinklers, security systems and telecommunication equipment. Federal assistance funds cannot be used for capital improvements unless specifically approved in advance by the TIP Office.

Equipment and Supplies Equipment is herein defined as an article of non-expendable, tangible, personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost in excess of $5,000. Please note that if equipment costs are included in an application, the organization must retain ownership of all equipment obtained throughout the lifetime of the federal award. This includes any equipment funded with cost sharing or matching funds. At the end of the award, you must complete federal SF-428 forms for the TIP Office Grants Officer to evaluate whether the item(s) be retained, sold, or disposed of without any further obligation to the Department of State.

Supplies are herein defined as all tangible personal property other than those described in Equipment. Note that if there is a residual inventory of unused supplies exceeding $5,000 in total aggregate value upon completion of the project and the supplies are not needed for any other Federal award, your entity must retain the supplies for use on other activities or sell them, but must, in either case, compensate the Department of State for its share. The amount of compensation will be computed in the same manner as for Equipment.

Foreign assistance funds may not benefit countries or entities that are not eligible recipients of United States foreign assistance or for which there are applicable assistance restrictions. Applicants shall work with the Department of State to ensure that any applicable restrictions and requirements are addressed prior to awarding any sub-awards.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Criteria

Reviewers will evaluate applications based on their own merits. Reviewers will evaluate applications against the evaluation criteria below. The 2023 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Statements of Interest provides applicants detailed instructions to best respond to the evaluation criteria below. Applicants are responsible for reviewing the criteria below to fully understand how applications will be reviewed and evaluated for potential funding.

The TIP Office will evaluate SOIs against the following criteria:

Quality of Project Idea

· The project narrative represents activities that clearly lead to the accomplishment of the objectives and goals.

· The project idea is feasible with the funds and time proposed.

· Personnel, project activities, timeline, and budget expenditures are congruent with the project description and objectives.

· Objectives articulate one concept each and clearly define the target population central to achieving change, and project activities engage those with the power to support/prevent the process of change.

· The project design is positioned for sustainability beyond project funding.

· Project activities necessary to design, plan, and implement the project are effective and efficient with respect to the purpose of the goal and objectives and performance monitoring.

· The project is relevant and clearly meets the actual needs of the target population, and is pertinent, applicable, and appropriate to its goal and objectives.

· The project is suitable and designed to operate in the environmental conditions in which it will operate.

· The project design is evidence-based and reflects knowledge of the field, target populations, and local community(ies).

· There is a clear plan for implementation and sufficient staffing and partnerships to ensure success.

· The potential for impact is clear, realistic, and measurable.

· The application identifies related projects or activities that the applicant may already be implementing or planning and should describe how the proposed project would complement or avoid duplicating current or planned efforts.

· The project clearly responds to the instructions highlighted in the 2023 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Statements of Interest.

· Project activities consider meaningful input and expertise from survivors or persons with lived experience of human trafficking in developing the project and/or propose survivor-led organizations as sub-grantees or partners.

· Gender and social inclusion is a built-in component of project activities, and applicants demonstrate how addressing relevant gender and social gaps will enhance the project’s goals and objectives.

Definition of Problem and Context

· The project narrative clearly states the problem(s) to be addressed.

· The population with which the project intends to work and the local issues and conditions in the project locale are clearly described.

· The SOI describes the environmental surroundings where the project will take place to establish baseline context.

· Background information focuses on the specific environmental factors relevant to the project locale and the identified problem(s).

· The project narrative demonstrates evidence-based justification (based on existing literature, including but not limited to research studies, evaluations; theory, stakeholder consultations, institutional and/or experiential knowledge) for the unique project approach.

· The project narrative describes the source of the problem(s) or issue(s) the project will address.

· There is a clear description about why the problem(s) or issue(s) exist, perpetuating factors that keep the problem in existence, and how the project will serve to fill an existing gap to address the problem(s) or issue(s) identified.

· The project narrative describes the current state of local responses to human trafficking and demonstrates a logical connection between the project’s objectives and local response.

Institutional Record and Capacity

· The application clearly establishes the applicant’s ability to implement the anti-trafficking project in the specific country or region.

· The applicant has appropriate experience in the subject matter or clearly describes how it will bring expertise to the project.

· The application identifies well-qualified key personnel to manage the project and oversee implementation.

· The applicant identifies existing partnerships or the ability to form new partnerships with governments, academic, civil society, the private sector, and other anti-trafficking stakeholders to advance the impact of the proposed project and strengthen anti-trafficking collaboration.

· Applicants demonstrate experience administering successful projects of similar size and scope – preferably in human trafficking or related areas – and experience administering successful projects in the applicant’s selected country or region.

2. Review and Selection Process

Following the submission deadline, all SOIs will be screened by the TIP Office to determine whether they meet the technical requirements stated in this announcement. The TIP Office will only consider SOIs for the specific countries, regions, and 2023 programming priorities under this announcement.

SOIs will be deemed ineligible during the technical review process and will not be considered for funding if they: (1) include any projects in countries not listed in the Initial Notice of Funding Opportunity; (2) do not address a specified programming area within the selected country or region; or (3) do not meet the technical review requirements listed in Section D above: Application and Submission Information.

Following the technical review, a formal content review of each SOI that passes the technical review will commence. SOIs will be reviewed by members of the TIP Office, officials from U.S. Embassies in the countries identified in this announcement, and by regional bureaus at the State Department. Stage-two recommendations will be presented to TIP Office leadership for final determination on invitations to the second round of the competition.

Upon completion of a technical and programmatic review, the TIP Office will select a limited number of SOI applicants to participate in the second stage of competition. Selected applicants will receive feedback from the TIP Office and will be invited to submit full proposals, building on the concepts described in their four-page SOI. The selected applicants will have approximately 30 days to develop and submit a full proposal and will be required to submit additional documentation, including but not limited to budget forms, resumes/CVs for key personnel, monitoring, evaluation, and learning plans, and Letters of Intent to cooperate with partners. Applicants will be expected to submit full proposals that reflect an understanding of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and survivor-informed approaches to anti-trafficking activities. In particular, should the applicant expect to work directly with victims of human trafficking, proposals must reflect an understanding of these approaches and apply them in victim identification efforts and the provision of comprehensive services. Full proposals will then be reviewed by members of the TIP Office and by an intra- and interagency review panel. Panel recommendations will be presented to the Ambassador-at-Large or the TIP Office Acting Director for consideration.

Final award decisions will be influenced by whether the application meets the TIP Office’s programmatic goals and objectives, how it supports the Department’s overarching foreign policy priorities, and the geographic distribution of the top-ranking applications.

The U.S. government reserves the right (but is not under obligation to) obtain clarifications, additional detail, or to suggest refinements in the program description, budget, or other aspects of an application.

Please note, with the exception of technical submission questions during the competitive process, U.S. Department of State staff in Washington and overseas shall not discuss this competition with applicants until…