FOA-ILAB-22-99.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of International Labor Affairs

Program Office: OTLA

Notice of Availability of Funds and Funding Opportunity Announcement for: Strengthening Worker Engagement, Empowerment, and Trust in the Dominican Sugar Sector

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: FOA-ILAB-22-99

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 17.401

Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is 10/11/2022.

Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

All technical questions related to the content of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) must be submitted no later than 10 business days prior to the close date of the FOA.

Award decisions are expected to be made between 10/12/2022 and 12/31/2022.

The Department will make its best efforts to make award decisions within this timeframe, but please be aware that there are a variety of circumstances that may result in a later or earlier than expected award decision.

To apply: Submit applications via https://www.grants.gov/ in response to this funding opportunity number.

Please refer to Section IV for application submission instructions.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $3 million total costs (subject to the availability of Federal funds) for 1 cooperative agreement to fund 1 technical assistance project with the overarching objective to increase field workers and their families' use of formal and informal mechanisms to improve working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector.

The duration of the project will be a maximum of 54 months from the effective date of the award.

Eligible applicants may include any commercial, international, educational, or non-profit organizations, including any faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, or public international organizations (PIOs), capable of successfully fulfilling the objectives identified in the Funding Opportunity Description. Please see section III of this funding opportunity announcement for complete eligibility requirements.

https://www.grants.gov/

The project will increase access to these mechanisms by building connections between civil society organizations and sugarcane field workers, while helping unions in the sugar sector, government ministries, and sugar companies to more effectively involve field workers in improving their working and living conditions. In particular, this project will address underdeveloped support networks, knowledge gaps and communication barriers, and other constraints that prevent Dominican sugar sector workers and their families from realizing their labor rights, including through use of various services, dialogue and outreach, and remediation approaches to resolve concerns about working and living conditions. The project must be designed to achieve two or more outcomes that are considered both necessary and sufficient to achieve the project objective, and substantially contribute to the desired long-term impact(s).

1. Strengthened networks among workers, their communities, and civil society advocates1 that facilitate trust and participation in mechanisms to improve working and living conditions.

2. Increased availability of local resources and capacity to use mechanisms for improving working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector.

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

B. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

C. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT…………………………………………………………...7

B. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria

2. Number of Applications to be Submitted

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

1. Technical Proposal

2. Cost Proposal

3. Submission Date, Times, and Process

C. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW

D. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

E. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

F. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. CRITERIA

B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

1. Merit Review and Selection Process

2. Risk Review Process

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. AWARD NOTICES

B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

1. General Requirements

2. Audits and Attestation Engagements

3. Administrative Standards

4. Other Legal Requirements…….…………………………………………………………….43

5. Other Administrative Standards

6. Special Program Requirements

C. REPORTING

1. Quarterly Federal Financial Report (SF 425, FFR)

2. Semi-Annual Technical Progress Reports

3. Final Technical Report

4. Indirect Cost Rates

5. Closeout Reports

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION

A. OMB INFORMATION COLLECTION

IX. APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: Acronyms

APPENDIX B: Definitions

APPENDIX C: Relevant Grant and/or Contract Experience

APPENDIX D: Requirements for Application Submission

APPENDIX E: Past Performance Questionnaire

APPENDIX F: List of Standard Indicators

APPENDIX G: Sustainability Strategy Template

ENDNOTES

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

ILAB leads the U.S. Government’s (USG) efforts to improve working conditions and fight labor exploitation around the world. ILAB’s mission is to promote a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labor standards, and combating international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. ILAB’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) works to make sure that U.S.

trade partners fulfill their promises and play by the rules, and that American workers are able to compete on a level playing field by negotiating strong labor provisions in trade agreements and preference programs, monitoring for compliance, enforcing trade agreement and preference program commitments, and sharing technical expertise. See ILAB’s webpage for additional information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab.

This FOA solicits applications to implement 1 project with the objective of increasing field workers and their families’ use of formal and informal mechanisms to improve working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector.

The project will increase access to these mechanisms by building connections between civil society organizations and sugarcane field workers, while helping unions in the sugar sector, government ministries, and sugar companies to more effectively involve field workers in improving their working and living conditions. In particular, this project will address underdeveloped support networks, knowledge gaps and communication barriers, and other constraints that prevent Dominican sugar sector workers and their families from realizing their labor rights, including through use of various services, dialogue and outreach, and remediation approaches to resolve concerns about working and living conditions. The project must be designed to achieve two or more outcomes that are considered both necessary and sufficient to achieve the project objective, and substantially contribute to the desired long-term impact(s).

1. Strengthened networks among workers, their communities, and civil society advocates1 that facilitate trust and participation in mechanisms to improve working and living conditions.

2. Increased availability of local resources and capacity to use mechanisms for improving working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector.

This announcement is for the award of 1 new cooperative agreement with the specific project objective and outcomes outlined in this FOA. As such, applicants may not submit applications to renew or supplement an existing project.

B. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

ILAB is authorized to award and administer grants and cooperative agreements by the Department of Labor Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 117-103, Division H, Title 1).

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab

C. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Dominican sugarcane sector relies on a largely Dominican workforce in its mill and office operations, while it relies on Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent in field operations, particularly in the growing and cutting of sugarcane. Historically, these field workers had families in the Dominican Republic and lived in state-provided housing communities (bateyes). Over time, sugarcane production moved into private hands and today includes a more limited state-run entity, three private sugar companies, production of alcohols and spirits, and hundreds of smallholder farms (colonos) in the supply chains of the companies operating in the east of the country. All companies still rely on colonos for some sugar production and house their workers in the bateyes (now a mix of publicly and privately administered communities). One private company in the South (Barahona) produces directly on land it owns or rents from private landowners and houses its canecutters in a company-built and -run housing complex (complejo habitacional), relying on nearby, self-administered former bateyes for other field labor.

Ongoing labor problems in the sector include those related to worker access to representative trade unions, pay systems, wages and benefits, safety and health protections, proper hydration and rest, treatment for illness and injury, abusive treatment or reprisals, minors participating in hazardous work, and unsuitable housing conditions in isolated worker communities. Extensive civil society and media attention over the years and efforts by the government and companies have led to improvements in the sector; however, concerns persist about working and living conditions.

In September 2013, the Dominican Constitutional Court issued Decision 168-13—related to a 2010 amendment to the Constitution—that effectively stripped citizenship from 135,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent going back to 1929. While migrant workers in the sector previously had precarious documentation, now many workers of Haitian descent and their families who were born in the Dominican Republic also lack legal status. A 2014 law created a process to provide citizenship papers or naturalize these stateless persons, dependent on their legal status before the 2010 constitutional change that prompted the 2013 decision. Through this mechanism, a generational issue was created: only a small fraction of these stateless persons— and thereby a small fraction of children of stateless persons—received full residency. Most of the stateless population remain in limbo with expired temporary documents that they cannot renew due to high costs, lack of government offices, and lack of solutions for those unable to register under the 2014 law. Dominican-born persons and migrants without identity documents, including the vast majority of field workers in the sugar sector, face obstacles traveling within and outside the Dominican Republic and accessing public services, including medical care, education, judicial processes, and entities like the Ministry of Labor (MOL). Fear of deportation or harassment prevents many field workers from leaving company lands – even their bateyes – and limits their willingness to seek information on their rights or file grievances with unions, company officials, or the government.2

Since 2009, DOL has listed Dominican sugarcane on its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. In December 2011, DOL’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) received a submission under the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2019/2020_TVPRA_List_Online_Final.pdf https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2019/2020_TVPRA_List_Online_Final.pdf

Agreement (CAFTA-DR) alleging extensive concerns about working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector and inadequate enforcement of Dominican labor laws to address those concerns. Following a detailed review of the allegations, OTLA issued a Public Report of Review in September 2013, the same week that Decision 168-13 stripped citizenship from many Dominican-born Haitians. It found evidence of apparent and potential violations of labor law in the Dominican sugar sector concerning meeting requirements for:

1. acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health;

2. a minimum age for the employment of children and the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor; and

3. a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor.

The report noted concerns in the sugar sector with respect to requirements of Dominican labor law on freedom of association, the right to organize, and collective bargaining, and raised significant concerns about procedural and methodological shortcomings in the inspection process that undermine the government's capacity to effectively identify labor violations. Shortcomings included inspectors interviewing no workers or only a small number of workers during inspections, communicating in Spanish with Haitian Creole-speaking workers, failing to investigate topics relevant to assessing labor law compliance, and questioning workers in front of their supervisors.

Since issuing the 2013 report, DOL has conducted nine visits to assess enforcement and conditions in the sugar sector. DOL published summaries of these missions in six public periodic review statements, most recently in May 2019.3 Over the years, the government has made efforts to strengthen inspection systems and improve outreach in the sugar sector. Companies have also made efforts to better inform workers about their rights and responsibilities, address child labor, strengthen oversight systems and provision of protective equipment, and improve labor conditions. Recent media reports on the Dominican sugar sector have provoked renewed concern from the U.S. Congress and underscored challenges related to living and working conditions in the sector identified in U.S. Government reporting.4

In addition, sugarcane workers in the Dominican Republic have limited access to union representation and grievance mechanisms and cannot easily avail themselves of government enforcement and outreach services to defend their rights. Limited education and Spanish language capacity limit workers’ ability to understand their legal rights. Further, companies and unions often provide information that is too high-level, unspecific, and poorly disseminated to effectively explain or involve field workers in decisions affecting their working and living conditions. As a result, workers have difficulty discerning when their rights or the labor law have been violated, cannot effectively monitor or seek remediation for poor conditions, and can’t avail themselves of grievance mechanisms, protections, or benefits. Precarious documentation and isolation of worker communities make it costly, complicated, and dangerous for workers to leave their bateyes to file complaints to unions, company management, or the government.

Workers are often afraid to raise their concerns to unions because of their precarious immigration documentation and limited ability to travel, previous intimidation for complaining, lack of https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/legacy/files/20130926DR.pdf https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/legacy/files/20130926DR.pdf https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/legacy/files/Dominican%20Republic%20Sixth%20Periodic%20Review%20Statement%20(English).pdf response to issues they’ve raised in the past, and limited awareness of and access to their union representatives. Field workers do not typically participate in elections of union officials, negotiation or ratification of collective bargaining agreements, or general assemblies. Many workers also did not feel their union represented field workers, but the company, or they viewed certain union delegates as unable to address their concerns. Some workers also express fear of intimidation or other consequences from using any mechanisms for dialogue and reporting, including unions.

In addition to its reporting, DOL has funded programs in the Dominican Republic to support the elimination of child labor, improve government capacity to identify and redress violations of labor laws, and to strengthen civil society organizations in helping workers get information on their rights and file more effective grievances. A center established in sugar-producing regions under the regional DOL project continues to function seven years after project funding ended, providing outreach and free legal assessment to workers. Currently, the DOL funds a project that provides support to the MOL to strengthen its labor inspection system and improve labor law enforcement and working conditions in the agricultural sector.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT

Funding will be provided in the form of a cooperative agreement. Approximately $3,000,000 total costs is expected to be available to fund approximately 1 award(s). Applicants may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $3,000,000 total costs. Awards made under this announcement are subject to the availability of federal funds. In the event that additional funds become available, USDOL reserves the right to use such funds to select additional recipients from applications submitted in response to this announcement.

In addition to its normal consultative role as grantor, ILAB’s substantial involvement in program activities may focus on elements that are essential to meet program requirements and ensure achievement of program objectives and outcomes. ILAB’s involvement may include, but not be limited to:

• Liaising with in-country USG officials and host country governments on matters related to the project.

• Collaborating substantially on the project strategy and implementation, as well as the development of the project document package.

• Collaborating substantially on the development and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation plan and all of its components.

• Providing highly specialized input on the technical definitions and concepts of workers’ rights, international labor standards, occupational safety and health (OSH), industrial relations, social dialogue, collective bargaining, freedom of association, acceptable conditions of work, stakeholder compliance, non-discrimination, labor courts, labor administration, labor inspection, labor law and judicial reform, legal and policy frameworks, child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and effective enforcement, among others.

• Being substantially and actively involved in designing research, service provision, and/or capacity building activities jointly with the recipient.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/country/ilab-dominican-republic https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/pdf_override/Central_America_Worker_Rights_0.pdf

• Reviewing and providing input on project’s planning for sustainability and collaborating to promote sustainability of project efforts, including through replication of good practices.

B. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance is a maximum of 54 months from the effective date of the award.

This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities. Only allowable costs incurred during the period of performance may be charged to the federal award (2 CFR 200.1 Period of performance).

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• U.S. organizations:

o Nonprofits, including any faith-based organizations or community-based organizations o Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education o Private Institutions of Higher Education o For-Profit organizations

• Non-U.S. organizations:

o Non-U.S. Entities, including PIOs, as described in 2 CFR 200.1.

Applicants selected for award must abide by DOL's requirements in the term and conditions of the award, in alignment with U.S. appropriation laws and applicable U.S. regulations.

Applicants do not need previous experience managing federal awards, but they must speak persuasively about their ability to leverage other previous experience and bring it to scale in support of a large federal investment.

The following types of organizations are not eligible to apply nor to participate as subrecipients/contractors:

• Organizations designated by the U.S. Government to be associated with terrorism.

• Organizations designated by the U.S. Government to have been debarred or suspended.

• Organizations planning to charge a fee (profit) associated with a project funded by a USDOL award.

• Foreign governments and entities that are agencies of, or operated by or for, a foreign state or government are not eligible to apply. However, they may be eligible to participate as a subrecipient in certain instances, subject to USDOL approval. NOTE: If an exception to this subrecipient eligibility criterion might be appropriate, the application must include a detailed justification for the possible exception. USDOL funds are not intended to duplicate existing foreign government efforts or substitute for activities for which such governments have already assumed responsibility. USDOL will make eligibility decisions on a case-by-case basis after receiving the application.

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

This program does not require cost sharing or matching funds. Including such funds is not one of the application screening criteria and applications that include any form of cost sharing or match will not receive additional consideration during the review process. Instead, the agency considers any resources contributed to the project beyond the funds provided by the agency as leveraged resources. Section IV.B.2 provides more information on leveraged resources.

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria Use the following checklist as a guide when preparing the application package to ensure that the application has met all of the screening criteria. Note that this checklist is only an aid for applicants and should not be included in the application package. It is recommended to use this checklist to ensure that the application contains all required items. If the application does not meet all of the screening criteria, the application will not move forward to the merit review process.

Application Requirement Instructions Complete?

The deadline submission requirements are met Section IV.B.3.a.

Eligibility Section III.A

The components of the application are saved in any of the specified formats and are not corrupt. (USDOL will attempt to open documents, but will not troubleshoot any problems related to opening files)

Section IV.B.3.b.

Application does not exceed the ceiling amount of $3,000,000 total costs Section II.A

Applicant has registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintains an active account

IV.B.2.a

Completed and signed SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, including a Unique Entity Identifier Number

IV.B.2.c

SF-424A, Budget Information Form Section IV.B.2.d

Technical Proposal Section

IV.B.1

Attachments to Technical Proposal

• Abstract

• Evidence of Government Support

• Work Plan

IV.B.1.e

2. Number of Applications to be Submitted Multiple applications from an organization are not allowed. If multiple applications are received, the most recent application submitted by the deadline will be accepted. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, USDOL will not replace it with an earlier application.

Applicant entities are not precluded from participating as partners on another entity’s application.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

This FOA, found at www.grants.gov, contains all of the information needed to apply for funding.

Applicants should note that it includes hyperlinks to external forms and resources. Applicants are required to comply with all parts of the FOA, including those parts found at the hyperlinks.

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Applications submitted in response to this FOA must consist of two separate and distinct parts:

(1) a Technical Proposal, including attachments; and (2) a Cost Proposal, including the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance and related forms identified as follows. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts of the application. If the funding amount is not consistent, the amount requested on the SF-424 will be considered for the purpose of the award.

1. Technical Proposal Applicants should use their technical expertise to propose how to meet the requirements of the FOA and must provide justification for their choices based on evidence, analysis of contextual opportunities and constraints, and available resources within the requirements of the FOA.

Applicants must include specific citations to the evidence used to support their proposed project strategy. If there is limited evidence to support the proposed intervention(s), applicants may propose to pilot an innovative approach but must include and describe a plan for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the intervention(s).

• Sustainability Strategy Template

• Relevant Grant and/or Contract Experience

• Evidence of Country Presence

• Key Personnel Signed Commitment Letters (2)

• Resume for Key Personnel (2)

• Resume for Other Required Professional Personnel (1)

• Project Management Organizational Chart

Outcome-Based Budget Section IV.B.2.e

Budget Narrative Section IV.B.2.e http://www.grants.gov/

All pages of the application must be numbered. All required documents (including attachments) must be submitted in English. Any additional documentation submitted that is not required or specifically requested under this announcement will not be considered during the merit review process.

Technical Proposals must be no more than 50 single-sided, double-spaced pages (8.5 x 11 inches with 1-inch margins). If any page limits required by this FOA for any part of the application are exceeded, the content that exceeds the page limit will not be considered during the merit review process. Font style must be Times New Roman and font size must be 12-point. The Cover Page, Acronyms List, Table of Contents, required attachments to the Technical Proposal, and the Cost Proposal do not count toward the page limit and do not have any spacing restrictions. Different fonts and font sizes may be used for tables, text boxes, and graphics. However, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that they are legible and meet electronic submission requirements. Documents which cannot be read or accessed by the Department will not be considered during the merit review process. Please see section IV.B.3. for the file format requirements for electronic submissions.

The following instructions provide all the information needed to complete the Technical Proposal. Applicants should carefully read and consider each section and include all required information. The Technical Proposal will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria identified in Section V, Application Review Information. Applicants must use the same section headers identified in this FOA for each section of the Technical Proposal:

a. Abstract (Executive Summary) Applicants must submit as an attachment an abstract summarizing the proposed project including, but not limited to, the Theory of Change, the project objective, proposed outcomes, outputs, and activities. The abstract should describe the proposed project in plain language and include the following sections:

1. Applicant's Name and Title for the Project. The applicant's name and title for the proposed project.

2. Purpose. A brief description of the purpose for the award, including a description of the geographic area to be served (if applicable), population(s) to be served (if applicable), number and description of individuals, groups and institutions to be served (if applicable), and the funding level requested.

3. Activities to be Performed. A brief description of award specific activities and other deliverables.

4. Expected Outcomes. The project objective, proposed outcomes, and outputs.

5. Intended Beneficiaries. Intended beneficiary(ies) or recipient(s) of the project activities.

6. Sub-recipient Activities. If sub-awards are proposed, then specify the activities to be provided and the name of each proposed sub-awardee, if known.

The abstract is limited to two double-spaced single sided 8.5 x 11-inch pages with 12-point text font, Times New Roman font style, and 1-inch margins. When submitting in Grants.gov, this document must be uploaded as an attachment to the application package and specifically labeled "Abstract."

b. Table of Contents

The table of contents must list all required documents and include their corresponding page numbers.

c. Project Narrative The Project Narrative must describe in detail the applicant’s response to the FOA. At minimum, the Project Narrative must contain the following sections:

1. Problem Analysis (up to 5 points)

a) Scope of the Problem (up to 2 points): Applicants will be evaluated based on the extent to which their analysis demonstrates a systemic understanding of the worker-rights problem that the proposed project is designed to address. Applicants must describe in both quantitative and qualitative terms the need for assistance, including the nature, scope and root causes of the problem, and the consequences of not addressing the need.

The analysis must reflect all the relevant conditions that are holding the problem in place, complicating or reinforcing it, including relevant cultural, economic, social, demographic, technological, historical, political, or environmental factors contributing to the problem. The problem analysis must demonstrate a cogent assessment of the boundaries of the “system” the project is seeking to transform, identify specific leverage points (transforming structures or processes) within the system that could drive change with respect to the problem, how they interact with one another and any related factors or barriers to change. Applicants must identify significant gaps in laws, policies, programs, and coordination efforts that contribute to the identified problem and that need to be addressed.

b) Population / Institutions Served (up to 2 points): The analysis must include discussion of specific actors within the system (individuals, groups, institutions, coalitions, or networks) that have influence and/or interest in addressing the problem, giving particular attention to underserved, underrepresented, and historically marginalized communities or groups. This discussion should clearly describe how the targeted population(s) to be served in the project will meet the requirements of this FOA by increasing their access to and/or demand for services, benefits, protections or programs associated with improved workers’ rights. The analysis must address considerations of harm and equity sufficient to demonstrate the applicant’s understanding of how the problem affects different groups, with particular attention to gender and racial equity. For projects involving institutional strengthening, the problem analysis should clearly describe institutional barriers (or “pain points”) encountered by the target population(s) in accessing services, benefits, protections or programs associated with improved workers’ rights. The problem analysis must be supported by relevant empirical data, including citations.

c) Proposed Geographic Scope (up to 1 point): The applicant must identify and provide a justification for the proposed target service area(s) and the number of individuals and institutions/groups that the applicant expects to serve.

2. Project Design (up to 30 points)

a) Project Strategy and Sustainability Strategy (up to 25 points)

The applicant's Project Strategy and Sustainability section will be evaluated based on its responsiveness to the unmet need described in its Problem Analysis.

The project-level objective is to increase use of formal and informal mechanisms by field workers and their families in the Dominican sugar sector to improve their working and living conditions.

In support of achieving the objective, the project should be designed to achieve the following outcomes and sub-outcomes, if required:

1. Strengthened networks among workers, their communities, and civil society advocates1 that facilitate trust and participation in mechanisms to improve working and living conditions.

2. Increased availability of local resources and capacity to use mechanisms for improving working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector.

Field workers in the sugar sector and their families are largely Haitian migrants or Dominicans of Haitian descent that lack formal identity documents, live in dispersed and isolated housing/communities, and are afraid or lack resources to travel outside their communities. Proposed interventions should seek to identify advocates and organizations that have access to and trust among workers and their communities. While few civil society organizations are purely focused on working conditions, many organizations advocate for Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent, and some faith-based and development-focused organizations also work in these communities. Interventions should aim to make information and services available to workers at their worksite and in their communities to the extent possible. Because some supervisors and officials may retain past practices or societal perspectives despite company or government policies, applicants should consider ways to support and build trust among stakeholders including workers, unions, companies, and government officials in ways that are meaningful, accessible, and safe for workers.

Successful interventions should actively involve the major sugar companies. Sugar companies have invested millions of dollars in charity, services, policies, and systems for improving conditions and remediating field, mill, and office workers’ concerns over the last decade, including through sustainability efforts, human resources, community relations, safety and health, worker relations and other departments, and through company foundations. They are participating in auditing and certification programs like

Bonsucro, ProTerra, and ISO to improve sustainability practices across their operations and down their supply chains.

Despite companies’ efforts to strengthen systems to address worker concerns, misunderstandings or communication gaps between workers and companies or government contribute to neglect of workers’ issues. There are opportunities to enhance direct involvement of workers and trusted advocates to deploy companies’ resources and mechanisms more strategically, and to communicate company policies and programs more accessibly and consistently to workers and their families. Any intervention will require access to private lands to reach workers and to company officials to sustain improvements in company policies, programs, outreach, and processes, and their execution.

Most workers in the major companies and some workers down supply chains pay union dues, but few have any connection to or trust in the unions that represent them. Company unions are prevalent in the sector. However, company unions have recently increased their presence in worker communities and indicated they were open to exchanges and capacity-building through international cooperation. Successful interventions will help unions strengthen internal democracy, improve outreach to and representation of field workers, and involve workers in negotiation and approval of collective bargaining agreements with employers. Interventions should recognize and support worker-led efforts to develop more democratic representation and enhance accountability and responsiveness from worker organizations, including company unions, and employers.

Government services are largely concentrated in Santo Domingo with inspectors and specialists traveling to the field in support of small local offices with limited resources to conduct special operations to reach workers. Resource constraints drastically limit the ability of MOL officials to reach all workers, particularly in geographically vast agricultural sectors like sugar. The MOL’s strategic plans aim to strengthen their inspections and outreach. The MOL has successfully collaborated with the principal sugar companies to directly inform 2,500 to 3,000 workers a year on their rights at company induction programs at the beginning of the sugarcane harvest (zafra) and to negotiate a doubling of the minimum wage for sugarcane workers. Successful approaches would help the MOL have larger and more strategic and accessible reach in sugarcane communities, given the challenges that workers face in seeking information or reporting concerns to government offices in cities and towns.

Applicants’ approaches should facilitate greater interaction and communication among all stakeholders, build trust, and ultimately ensure that all stakeholders have better ability to reach and involve workers and their families more effectively and comprehensively in their policies, priorities, programs and services, dialogue and dispute processes, and oversight efforts. Because many workers and their families have had limited access to education services and some workers lack literacy in either Spanish or Haitian Creole, creative approaches will be needed to ensure that interventions are accessible to and understood by all workers.

Applicants must propose a strategy, using a systems approach, to achieve the project-level objective and expected outcomes stated above. Applicants must clearly identify how the project will achieve (or substantially contribute to) these outcomes within the period of performance of the project. In addition, applicants may propose additional outcomes they deem necessary to achieve the project objective and a rationale (including supporting evidence) for how they contribute to the achievement of the project’s overall objective. Together these outcomes are expected to have a lasting impact on the systemic worker rights problem identified in the project objective. Applicants must describe the key outputs produced by the project that will lead to the expected outcomes. In addition, applicants must describe in a narrative format how these outcomes and outputs align with their planned interventions. Applications must clearly state expected project results that are specific, measurable, achievable, and reasonable according to the project design and timeline. Project results must include: 1) any results, including appropriate outputs and outcomes that are achieved by the end of the grant period; 2) long-term benefits that include outcomes expected 5+ years after the end of the grant period to demonstrate sustainability.

Scoring under this criterion is based on how completely the narrative project strategy describes the project design, the extent to which it addresses key stakeholders, risks and critical assumptions, and on its relevance to the unmet need described in its Problem Analysis. The logic of the project strategy will be evaluated based on the extent to which the project’s interventions can be expected to shift the conditions that are holding the problem in place. Successful applicants will design their project based on existing evidence of the effectiveness and sustainability of their proposed strategy and cite such evidence in their project design.

Applicants must demonstrate how their proposed strategy will address gaps identified in the problem analysis, identify any potential barriers, and describe how the project will work to overcome those barriers. In addition, applicants must clearly describe in their proposed strategy how they will integrate sustainability into their project strategy, beginning in the early stages of project implementation (please see Appendix B for a definition of sustainability). Applicants shall use the Sustainability Strategy Template (please see Appendix G) to show how they plan to build sustainability into their design for applicable outcomes/elements. Successful applicants will have an opportunity to update and elaborate on this template post-award.

As part of its strategy, applicants must undertake an initial assessment of any unique needs of underserved communities, including historically marginalized, underrepresented and vulnerable groups and describe how any identified needs will be addressed.

Expected Outcomes

The overarching project objective is to increase use of formal and informal mechanisms by field workers and their families in the Dominican sugar sector to improve their working and living conditions. Such mechanisms may include grievance, outreach, and other mechanisms designed to improve working and living conditions and allow field workers and their families to avail themselves of their legal rights and related services. The project’s contribution to increased worker empowerment shall be measured by these impact-level indicators (to be finalized in consultation with DOL after award):

• increase in the proportion of surveyed (bi-annually) workers who report feeling empowered to voice their opinion in the workplace by sex, union membership, migration status, etc.;

• increase in the proportion of the (working age) population who have experienced a (labor rights) dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal mechanism, by type of mechanism (SDGi516.3.3);

• increase in the proportion of (working age) population satisfied with their last experience of public services (Labor Sector/Labor Administration Services) (SDGi 16.6.2);

• level of primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget for labor administration, outreach, and inspection in the sugar sector (or by budget codes or similar) (SDGi 16.6.1).

In support of achieving this objective and the long-term impacts of improving working and living conditions in the Dominican sugar sector, the project should complement (and not duplicate) other related projects and initiatives and accomplish the following outcomes:

DOL-defined Outcomes

Outcome 1: Strengthened networks among workers, their communities, and civil society advocates to support and build trust in mechanisms to improve living and working conditions.

Applicants must propose evidence-based interventions targeting specific leverage points that will result in greater, safer, and more strategic coverage of sugarcane field workers and their communities by trusted advocates. Advocates would map and connect worker communities to identify gaps and priority areas for worker outreach and participation and to more effectively and strategically channel shared concerns or needs to other stakeholders. Such advocates would help workers and their communities understand, shape, and navigate different mechanisms for understanding their labor rights and accessing company, union, or government benefits and services. Further, such advocates would support workers and their communities as they avail themselves of these different services, support, and benefits to access their legal rights and shape and improve their living and working conditions. Workers and their communities would have strategies for preventing, detecting, and addressing reprisals. Applicants must include specific citations to evidence used to support their proposed strategies. If there is limited evidence to support the proposed intervention(s), applicants may propose to pilot an innovative approach but must include and describe a plan for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the intervention(s) through operations research, to be approved by DOL post-award.

Outcome 2: Increased availability of local resources and capacity to use and sustain mechanisms for improving working and living conditions

Applicants must propose evidence-based interventions targeting specific leverage points that will result in civil society advocates and unions, companies, and government officials providing information and services with content(s) and format(s) that are more accessible to workers, including through greater availability of assistance and more efficient targeting to workers’ needs. Interventions should support: the MOL, companies, and civil society advocates, including unions, to directly reach workers in their communities and at their worksites to improve worker understanding of their rights, benefits, and services and to increase the accessibility of the mechanisms for shaping and availing themselves of rights, benefits, and services; stakeholders using more worker-inclusive models of strategic planning and feedback to maximize the impact and efficiency of efforts to monitor and improve working and living conditions; increased stakeholder capacity to implement and use the mechanisms to improve working and living conditions; and improved feedback to demonstrate improved responsiveness and effectiveness of these mechanisms to workers and communities to build trust. Applicants must include specific citations to evidence used to support their proposed strategies. If there is limited evidence to support the proposed intervention(s), applicants may propose to pilot an innovative approach, but must include and describe a plan for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the intervention(s) through operations research, to be approved by DOL post-award.

Additional (Applicant-defined) Outcomes

Applicants may select or propose at least one additional outcome that is essential to achieving the project objective and justify its selection based on evidence, analysis of contextual opportunities and constraints, and available resources. Applicant-defined outcomes must be mutually exclusive of other outcomes required by DOL, and when taken together with the DOL-defined outcomes, comprise what is necessary and sufficient to achieve the project objective and lead to sustained change. Applicant-defined outcomes must meet the criteria for an outcome statement,6 and may be selected and adapted from the list below, or if proposed by applicants, should be evidence-based and distinct from the other outcomes listed.

• Increased demand for improved working and living conditions

• Increased quality or supply of improved working and living conditions

• Increased motivation of individuals and institutions to sustain improved working and living conditions

For each additional outcome, applicants must include specific citations to the evidence used to support their proposed strategies. Proposed interventions to achieve an applicant-defined outcome must include specific interventions targeting specific stakeholders and leverage points, and provide a description of how these interventions will be implemented, the results expected, as well as who will be reached and in what ways, and what it will look like if this outcome is achieved.

Cross-Cutting Themes

To the extent possible, applicants should mainstream two cross-cutting themes in all project outcomes and interventions: Equity and Worker Voice/Empowerment. In their project strategy, applicants must include a definition and description of the specific “underserved populations” to be considered and reached within the context of their project and proposed interventions.

USDOL has informed host government officials of the proposed project. Applicants must propose strategies for collaborating with the relevant government agencies in each country.

Applicants must include as an attachment to their technical proposal letters of support from the host government expressing their commitment to work with the organization towards specific outcomes. At a minimum, letters must be included from the Ministry of Labor [include the name of the Ministry, and any other relevant ministries; insert others if mandatory], and any other ministries from which the host government requires approval to implement activities related to this announcement. In addition, letters can be provided from the relevant national, regional, and/or local governments based on the level necessary to implement the project strategy.

If the applicant is unable to secure letters of support from the relevant government agencies named above, the applicant must include an attachment explaining their efforts to secure the letters of support, why they were unable to get the letters of support, and explain how the project would still be able to be successful in achieving the objective and outcomes.

Applicants must discuss proposed interventions and activities with host government officials and work with government stakeholders at the national and/or local level, including relevant ministries or government bodies, during the preparation of their applications. The Project Design and Sustainability Strategy must demonstrate evidence of this consultation.

If in-country consultations are not possible during preparation of the proposal due to limitations on in-country scoping and consultations, applicants must note this and outline a post-award strategy for engaging specific, relevant government offices and/or officials.

Efforts must be made to avoid duplication and to build upon relevant previous or ongoing activities in the Dominican Republic. Applicants must include a mapping of the landscape of current relevant programming in the country. Applicants must also demonstrate how they intend to coordinate with other relevant projects and initiatives, including those funded by the host government (where applicable), USDOL, other USG, and other donor governments and organizations. Applicants must include a brief description of the consultative process undertaken in preparing their proposal.

Applicants must demonstrate that they have undertaken an initial assessment of the needs, resources, interests, influence and capabilities of all target groups, institutions, organizations or…