Final EUR Notice of Funding Opportunity.pdf

U.S. Department of State Notice of Funding Opportunity – 2024 TIP Office International Programs to

Combat Human Trafficking Europe Notice of Funding Opportunity

Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of State

Program Office: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in

Persons, International Programs Section

Funding Opportunity Title: 2024 TIP Office International Programs to Combat

Human Trafficking Europe Notice of Funding Opportunity

Announcement Type: 2024 TIP Office Notification of Funding

Opportunity

Funding Opportunity: DFOP0009138

Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Number(s): 19.019

Deadline for Applications: 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April

15, 2024

Total Funding Floor: None

Total Funding Ceiling:

• Priority 1 (Regional – Europe - Protection, and Prosecution) o Base Phase: $500,000; Base Phase: 24 months o NCC Phase: Up to $750,00,000; NCC Phase: 36 months

• Priority 2 (Multiple Countries - Europe – Protection) o Base Phase: $1,000,000; Base Phase: 24 months o NCC Phase: Up to $1,500,000; NCC Phase: 36 months

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 full proposals to combat human trafficking in Europe. Informed by the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) and current anti-trafficking programming and trends, and in consultation with other U.S. government agencies and offices, the TIP Office has identified two programming priorities for funding:

1. Regional – Europe - Protection, and Prosecution ($500,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $1,250,000 million for total overall ceiling): Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearly six million Ukrainians have been displaced to European countries. While many European countries have generously welcomed millions of refugees since February 2022, some overloaded national and sub-national social protection and law enforcement systems require additional, targeted, resources and expertise to adequately respond to the continued heightened risks of human trafficking faced by refugees from Ukraine.

Request for Applications: The TIP Office requests proposals for projects that will address human trafficking response needs through an evidence-based intervention Europe. Successful applicants will be expected to work with Ukrainian embassies and consulates to 1) enhance the screening of Ukrainian nationals for human trafficking, 2) train Ukrainian embassy and consulate staff on victim identification and referral to protection services following established national and local referral mechanisms, and/or 3) strengthen the prosecution of human trafficking cases involving Ukrainians throughout the region. Applicants should include local civil society organizations and survivor voices in the design of project activities. Project activities should be directed toward low- and middle-income countries ranked Tier 2 and Tier 2 WL in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report published by the U.S. Department of State.

2. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia - Protection ($1,000,000 ceiling for initial period of performance; $2,500,000 for total overall ceiling): As a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and displacement due to other international and regional conflicts, Europe is experiencing a surge in irregular migration, including six million Ukrainians. Many of these refugee and displaced populations remain at high risk of human trafficking. In addition, civil society implements most victim protection efforts in the region with inadequate government funding. Shelters in several countries, especially in the Western Balkans, lack sufficient funds to cover basic necessities, operational costs, and some shelters are in imminent danger of closing.

Request for Applications: Applicants should submit a proposal that strengthens the institutional capacity and resources available to shelters serving victims of human trafficking in the specified region. Applicants should provide analysis that outlines current organizations providing services and how the applicant will address critical gaps (such as lack of government funding, lack of access for boys and men, need for increased resources to respond to the influx of Ukrainian and other refugees who have been subjected to human trafficking or who are highly vulnerable to the crime, etc.). Applicants should co-design their proposal with survivors of human trafficking and intended shelter partners. Proposals that do not clearly demonstrate intentional local input and ownership will be given lower consideration. All proposals must include a strategy to engage with local, sub-national, and national stakeholders to mobilize long-term, sustainable funding for partner shelters, including through identifying promising practices and relevant case studies to advocate for government support. Applicants are encouraged to include letters of support or partnership from local and national government agencies. Applicants are encouraged to include interventions that further capacitate shelter staff to identify, apply for, and implement donor funds from a variety of sources, such as the national governments, European Union, national and international donor organizations, and private companies. A key indicator of success for any selected project will be the ability of shelter partners to operate independently from TIP Office support at the conclusion of the award.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

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 on the fight against human trafficking and seeks partnerships with foreign governments, civil society organizations, and multilateral organizations to combat human trafficking through the “3P” paradigm: prosecuting traffickers through victim-centered law enforcement, protecting trafficking victims through proactive identification and comprehensive, trauma-informed care, and preventing trafficking in persons. The TIP Office also recognizes the importance of partnerships and collaborative efforts with relevant governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders in anti-trafficking work. TIP Office programs and projects combat human trafficking—a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of forced labor or services or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion—in all its forms.

Forms of human trafficking include sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, commercial online child sexual exploitation, forced labor, forced child labor, domestic servitude, forced criminality, and the unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers through force, fraud, or coercion. It should be noted that under U.S.

law 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 “sever forms of trafficking in persons” as:

• Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

• The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Trafficking in persons does not require the movement of a person. Individuals may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented, they participated in unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit, someone transported them into the exploitative situation, or they were simply born into a state of servitude. The TIP Office will not support projects that use alternate definitions of trafficking in persons.

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 Trafficking in Persons Report (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 at 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 remain 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 address these challenges in a number of ways, including through its foreign assistance programs. Information on U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts is available at https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/.

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.

Given limited resources, applicants should prioritize programming interventions in low-income, lower-middle income, and upper middle-income countries according to the World Bank's definitions using the gross national income (GNI) per capita (Atlas Method). On a case-by-case basis, the TIP Office will consider funding in high-income countries (defined as having a GNI per capita of $13,846 or more in 2022) but this requires additional approval outside of the TIP Office. Applicants must ensure that the inclusion of high-income countries is responsive to the TIP Office's priorities and provide clear, compelling, evidence of need and lack of national or other donor resources.

Applicants are expected to submit proposals 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 applications or express how this would be incorporated into the co-creation in the technical approach of projects. When relevant for the proposal, applicants are https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/ https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD 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.

Award Information:

Applicants may only submit one proposal per organization per identified priority in response to this funding opportunity. The U.S. government may: (a) reject any or all applications, (b) accept other than the lowest cost application, (c) select more than one application for funding, and (d) waive irregularities in applications received.

The U.S. government may engage in discussions and/or negotiations with applicants before making final award(s). Therefore, each initial application should contain the applicant’s best terms from a cost and technical standpoint.

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

Non-Competitive Continuations (NCC) Project narratives should include a commitment to implement the program for the base time period, plus one potential NCC, pending successful performance and the availability of funds, as described above.

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 (USG) agencies may respond to this 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.

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 funding from other bureaus within the Department of State. However, the applicant must provide information on any work conducted with U.S. government funding related to human-trafficking issues or cross-cutting human-trafficking issues (e.g., child protection, health, education, labor, gender, etc.) within the project narrative.

The TIP Office reserves the right to request additional background information on applicants that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards, and these applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.

Under this funding opportunity, applicants may form a consortium and partner with other organizations to implement and carry out project activities. Applicants proposing to partner with other organizations must clearly identify the lead applicant to directly receive a potential TIP Office award, and the 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 prime 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.

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 below regarding budget documents that are required to be submitted under this announcement.

Applicants should list the cost share amount in the SF-424 under Section C - 8b and Section D - 14.

3. Phase Funding

The TIP Office may issue awards for an initial period of performance followed by one non-competitive continuation (NCC). If phased funding is utilized, pending successful performance and the availability of funds, the NCC will work as described below.

a. For competitions that will exercise a NCC, applicants must submit:

• The SF-424A which must include the budget request amount for the base-period and NCC period (the total) of the program.

• A detailed proposal narrative for both the base period and NCC period.

base period and a summary budget presenting the total projected costs for the anticipated total duration of programming base year, plus NCC years).

b. To exercise the NCC mechanism the recipient will be required to submit:

• Performance and financial reports on time.

• A request in writing to the TIP Office at least 30 days after receiving the

NCC invitation.

• A summary budget that projects expenses through the end of the current year.

• A detailed budget outlining expenses for the requested NCC period of performance.

• A brief narrative to support the continuation of the award.

c. For awards using a NCC, the TIP Office Grants Officer and/or Program Officer/Grants Officer Representative will:

• Closely monitor the recipient’s performance through site visits, desk audits, mandatory performance and financial reports, consultations, and other forms of communication and dialogue before exercising a NCC. (Additional details regarding monitoring and oversight of the program by TIP Office representatives will be provided at the time the award is made for the initial period of performance.)

• Review and evaluate all quarterly or semi-annual program and financial reports.

1. All program and financial reporting requirements must be current and up-to-date before the TIP Office will exercise a NCC.

2. Any/all concerns, issues, or modifications requested by the Grants

Officer or Program Officer to the original program design or method of implementation must be responded to in writing.

3. The TIP Office Grants Officer and Program Officer will review and advise of the TIP Office’s approval or disapproval of the response before issuing a NCC.

• Prior Grants Officer approval is required to utilize any unobligated balance from a prior funding period to the subsequent funding period.

• The Grants Officer may, at their discretion, use the unobligated balance to reduce or offset future funding for a subsequent funding period. An unobligated balance at the end of a funding period is not sufficient justification to utilize the remainder of funds. A final determination and approval to utilize the remainder of any funds will be communicated via a cost amendment with adjustment, if any, to new obligation amounts.

• The request to utilize the remainder from an unobligated balance must include:

1. A brief narrative explaining why funds remain unobligated and how the unobligated funds will be used to complete the previously approved goals and objectives of the program; and,

2. A detailed budget that reflects the amount of unobligated funds to date, and anticipated expenditures in the subsequent period of performance for all cost categories under the authorized budget.

4. Audit Requirements

Foreign non-profit and foreign for-profit organizations:

Although 2 CFR §200, Subpart F—Audit Requirements are not applicable, all foreign non-profit and foreign for-profit organizations that expend $750,000 or more in Department of State funds in the organization’s fiscal year, whether as a prime or a subrecipient, are required to undergo a recipient-contracted single or program-specific audit annually. The cost of required audits may be charged either as an allowable direct cost to the award or included in the organization’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate or de minimis indirect costs. When completed, foreign organizations must submit their audits to the Grants Officer (GO). The audits must be independently and professionally executed in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) either prescribed by a government’s Supreme Audit Institution with auditing standards approved by the Comptroller General of the United States, or in accordance with the host country’s laws or adopted by the host country’s public accountants or associations of public accountants, together with generally accepted international auditing standards. However, foreign entity audits consistent with International Standards for Auditing or other auditing standards are acceptable with the GO’s approval.

When the foreign recipient or subrecipient organization expends less than $750,000 in its fiscal year, the TIP Office must, as part of its annual review of risk, assess whether a financial and/or a program audit should be performed to verify financial accountability. If the GO determines that an audit is required, the cost of the required audit may be charged either as an allowable direct cost to the award or included in the organization’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate or de minimis indirect costs.

Foreign Public Entities, including Public International Organizations:

Foreign Public Entities may choose to submit audits as part of the pre-award process, but this is not mandatory.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Submitting the Application Package

All applications must be fully submitted via MyGrants (formerly SAMS-Domestic) (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 15, 2024. All application documents must be submitted in English. The TIP Office will NOT accept proposals or updated documents submitted by any other method, including email, fax, the postal system, delivery companies, couriers, or U.S. embassies. Each organization should submit their application once. 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.

https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants

Applicants are strongly encouraged to initiate electronic applications early in the application development process and to submit the application in advance of the deadline. 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 MyGrants.

Applications Submitted Through MyGrants (formerly SAMS Domestic)

Organizations using MyGrants for the first time must register on the MyGrants 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 MyGrants, follow the “create an account” link and complete the “MyGrants 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. Users will also need to set up multifactor authentication with Okta Verify. If the applicant has previously received funding from the Department of State, please contact JTIPGrants@state.gov after the user 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 MyGrants 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 MyGrants must contain completed SF-424 online forms and documents specified in this funding opportunity.

To upload the application, go to MyGrants ( https://mygrants.servicenowservices.com/mygrants, 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: SF 424 Information (SF-424, SF-424 A, SF-42B if applicable); Project Narrative (applicants MUST type within the grey box);

Summary Budget; Resumes and CVs for Key Personnel; Letters of Intent to Cooperate; and a NICRA Agreement (if applicable).

mailto:JTIPGrants@state.gov

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

Please review the MyGrants recipient training at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pUKQ6gRmi0 to answer any questions about the platform.

For other assistance with MyGrants, 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, including a ticket number documenting communication with Customer Support, and reported to the TIP Office at JTIPGrants@state.gov only. Please do not contact any other Department of State personnel.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

To be considered for funding, all applications must indicate past experience advancing at least one objective listed in this funding opportunity. All required documents submitted must be written in the English language using documents preferably with one-inch margins formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper only, unless otherwise stated. All documents should use text that is black-colored and size 14 point in Calibri font.

Submission of PDF files will not be accepted and will result in automatic failure of the technical review.

Applicants are responsible for reviewing and incorporating the 2024 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Full Proposals when preparing an application. The https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pUKQ6gRmi0 https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home documents include guidelines for preparing the application. This guidance is available on MyGrants, and grants.gov.

Complete applications must also include the following documents in the required templates (found on MyGrants) to be considered for funding:

• Online Forms/Standard Forms – SF 424, SF 424A and SF 424B

• Project Narrative – This optional template is available on MyGrants. The project narrative must not exceed the ten-page limit with Calibri size 14 font. Spaces, footnotes, and charts are included within the page limit. The cover page does not count towards the narrative page limit but must not exceed one page. Please double check the page count before submission, as exceeding the limit will result in failure of the technical review.

o Required components within the project narrative include:

Background Problem Statement Project Description Sustainability Local Partnerships Coordination with Relevant Anti-Trafficking Actors Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning

• Proposal Annexes:

o Annex A – Results Monitoring Plan (RMP) o Annex B – Timeline o Annex C – Security, Risk Mitigation, and Contingency Plan o Annex D – Budget Summary (in accordance with phase funding guidelines above, include total for base period and NCC.)

o Annex E – Line-Item Budget (in accordance with phase funding guidelines above, include details for the base period only.)

o Annex F – Budget Narrative accordance with phase funding guidelines above, include details for the base period only.)

Required for both prime and sub-awards Account for translation costs* o Annex G – NICRA Agreement* o Annex H – Resumes and Qualifications of Key Personnel o Annex I – Certification of Training Requirement o Annex J – Letters of Agreement or Letters of Intent to Cooperate o Annex K – Letters of Agreement or Letters of Intent to Cooperate in Partnership Must demonstrate current relationships with local stakeholders o Annex L – Donor History Form U.S. Government funding and/or research funding history from the last 10 years

* Required only if applicable

Note: Applicants must use the TIP Office templates for the project narrative, results monitoring plan; timeline; security, risk mitigation, and contingency plan; budget summary, line-item budget, which are part of the Additional Information to Be Submitted by the Applicant Tab.

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

A valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) (formerly the Data Universal Numbering System or DUNS) is required for submission of an application on MyGrants.

Organizations should verify their UEI number or take the steps needed to obtain one as soon as possible. The DUNS number was formally replaced by a UEI (SAM) as of April 3, 2022, however, MyGrants will be asking for the UEI number in the SF-424 submission and organizations who have existing DUNS numbers need to instead input the UEI number they have been assigned in SAM.GOV in lieu of their pre-existing DUNS number.

All applicants must register with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov/SAM/) and/or maintain an active registration prior to award issuance.

Selected applicants will be required to have an active registration in SAM.gov.

Organizations must take the necessary steps to renew annually prior to their date of expiration. Before submitting applications, please reactivate any accounts that have become inactive. SAM.gov is a free government-managed website;

applicants are not required to pay to have their organization registered or renewed annually and should be aware there are a number of SPAM emails associated with payment for renewal, along with legitimate payment renewal businesses.

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 fully registered in SAM.gov but must complete a UEI-only request within SAM.gov.

4. Submission Dates and Times

All applications must be submitted via MyGrants (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 15, 2024.

The TIP Office will not accept application materials submitted by any means other than uploading to MyGrants. 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 MyGrants 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.

5. Funding Restrictions

The TIP Office will not consider applications that reflect any type of support for any member, affiliate, or representative of a designated terrorist organization.

Please refer the link for Foreign Terrorist Organizations:

https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/. Project activities whose direct beneficiaries are foreign militaries or paramilitary groups or individuals will not be considered for TIP Office funding given purpose limitations on funding.

The selected applicant will work with the TIP Office to develop a terrorist financing risk assessment.

Construction https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/

The TIP Office generally 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, 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, the awardee must complete federal SF-428 forms in order for the TIP Office Grants Officer to evaluate whether the item(s) in question 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.

In addition, applicants should refer to the U.S. Department of State Policy on the Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment, which is described under the “Administrative and National Policy Requirements” section of this NOFO.

Financial Inclusion The TIP Office does not typically support cash-based assistance as an acceptable approach for its programs. Instead, applicants should consider activities related to trainings on digital financial service, village savings and loans associations, trainings on building financial management, etc.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Criteria Reviewers will evaluate applications based on their own merits. Reviewers will evaluate proposals against the evaluation criteria below. The 2024 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Full Project Proposals 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.

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. 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 incorporates the program design standards highlighted in the “2024 Guidelines for Submitting TIP Office Full Project Proposals”. 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. Where relevant and appropriate, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is a built-in component of project activities, and applicants demonstrate how the unique needs of all groups in the target population will be addressed.

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 project proposal 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 research-based evidence justifying 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. 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.

Sustainability Sustainability is integrated into the project design. Sustainability explains how the project’s specific outcomes will be sustained after the project ends. Sustainability is the ability of a local system to produce desired outcomes over time. Discrete projects contribute to sustainability when they strengthen a local system’s ability to produce valued results and its ability to be both resilient and adaptive in the face of changing circumstances. To the extent possible, the project’s activities promote sustainable intervention practices and build the capacity of local communities, including both local government institutions and civil society, to address human trafficking challenges. Where appropriate, applications will be evaluated on how well they promote, strengthen, and build the capacity of local institutions/systems and on the extent to which applicants identify replacement resources, encourage local ownership and political will, integrate the project within existing systems, and address felt needs.

Local Partnerships The applicant demonstrates how they plan to leverage partnerships with local actors to enhance the project’s ability to carry out activities effectively, meet the project’s objectives, and contribute to the project’s goal and sustainability. The proposal describes existing or proposed partnerships with anti-trafficking actors on the ground. In cases where an applicant is not able to partner with a local organization or institution, does not consider it feasible to do so, or does not consider it in the project’s best interest, the application must clearly explain why. Applicants are encouraged to work with survivor-led organizations as sub-grantees or partners. The TIP Office also encourages proposals that include partnerships with organizations that advance racial equity and support and promote equitable representation of underserved communities.

Coordination with Relevant Anti-Trafficking Actors The applicant identifies how they will coordinate with anti-trafficking actors on the ground including, but not limited to, donors, implementers, and governments, to support broader anti-trafficking strategies, and mitigate duplicative efforts. Applications demonstrate a clear understanding of how they will coordinate efforts to increase sustainability and to ensure programming is context appropriate.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning The project narrative summarizes illustrative monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MERL) activities, project evaluation plans, and total MERL costs as a percentage of the total budget. The MERL budget should be no less than seven percent of the total budget. The MERL summary will be evaluated against the applicant’s commitment to: 1) Conducting a rigorous process for establishing baseline values for Common Performance Indicators (CPIs) and unique project indicators, as applicable 2) Implementing a monitoring system to collect data for all indicators

3) Collaborating with the TIP Office on the project evaluation design and other MERL activities 4) Ensuring adequate MERL staffing capacity to support MERL activities throughout the project’s period of performance 5) Conducting an externally commissioned final project evaluation. Under certain circumstances, the TIP Office may allow for an internal evaluation. A justification for an internal evaluation should be provided.

2. Review and Selection Process

Following the submission deadline, all applications will be screened to determine whether they meet the technical requirements stated in this announcement.

Applications 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 Notice of Funding Opportunity; (2) do not address at least one specified program objective; 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 proposal that passes the technical review will commence. Proposals will 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 Acting Director for Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Persons 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, except for technical submission questions during the funding process, U.S. Department of State staff in Washington, D.C. and overseas shall not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire review process has been completed and rejection and approval letters have been transmitted. Applicants should submit any questions about the funding process or the content of this funding opportunity via email to JTIPGrants@state.gov including the opportunity number in the subject line.

3. Pre-Award Risk Assessment

Applicants will be subject to a TIP Office risk assessment process that may include a pre-award site visit. The assessment may consider a variety of risk factors, including: (1) financial stability of the applicant; (2) quality of management systems and ability to meet prescribed management standards; (3) past performance in managing previous federal awards, if applicable, including compliance with reporting requirements, conformance to the award’s terms and conditions, and the extent to which previously awarded amounts will be expended prior to future awards; (4) reports and findings from available audits;

and (5) applicant ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements applicable to non-federal entities.

4. Federal Awardee Performance & Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)

For any Federal award under a notice of funding opportunity, if the Federal awarding agency anticipates that the total Federal share will be greater than the simplified acquisition threshold on any Federal award under a notice of funding opportunity may include, over the period of performance (see §200.88 Simplified Acquisition Threshold), this section must also inform applicants:

i. That the Federal awarding agency, prior to making a Federal award with a total amount of Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (currently FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. §2313),

ii. That an applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM and comment on any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM; and,

iii. That the Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in §200.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.

5. Anticipated Federal Award Dates

The TIP Office anticipates making decisions on the applications in late Spring 2024 and will notify all applicants of their proposal status at that time through JTIPGrants@state.gov. Shortly after applications are selected, the TIP Office Program Officers will work with the selected organization(s) to clarify aspects of their application and award the funds. All funding decisions are conditional until a final award is signed by both the TIP Office and the applicant selected to receive the award.

Any funds awarded under this funding opportunity will be provided through a grant or cooperative agreement. TIP Office involvement in these awards may include active participation or collaboration with the recipient in the implementation of the award; review and approval of one stage of work before another can begin; review and approval of all proposed sub-awards or contracts;

and/or involvement where the Department’s program office requires specific programmatic oversight over the award beyond normal monitoring. Other examples may include, but are not limited to, reviewing and approving project materials, training curricula, and evaluation plans produced by sub-recipients.

The aforementioned items are in addition to routine monitoring that includes approval of key…