FOA-ILAB-24-32 Brazil.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of International Labor Affairs

Program Office:

OCFT

Notice of Availability of Funds and Funding Opportunity Announcement for: Reducing Barriers that Impede Access to Education and Decent Work for LGBTQI+ Youth in Brazil and the Latin American and Caribbean Region

Announcement Type:

Funding Opportunity Number: FOA-ILAB-24-32

Assistance Listing Number: 17.401

Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is 10/11/2024.

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 09/30/2024 and 12/31/2024.

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 $4,000,000 total costs (subject to the availability of Federal funds) for 1 cooperative agreement(s) to fund a technical assistance project(s) to improve implementation of laws, policies, and national plans to reduce barriers that impede access to education and decent work for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other identities (LGBTQI+) youth in Brazil and the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Region. The project will also foster the exchange of best practices and lessons learned through south-south cooperation with one or more countries in the LAC region.

http://www.grants.gov/

The duration of the project will be 48 months from the effective date of the award.

Eligible applicants include any commercial, international, educational, or non-profit organizations, including any faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, or public international organizations (PIOs). Please see section III of this funding opportunity announcement for complete eligibility requirements.

The project goal is to reduce vulnerability of LGBTQI+ youth to child labor, forced labor, and other forms of labor exploitation. To improve implementation of laws, policies, and national plans to reduce barriers that impede access to education and decent work1 for LGBTQI+ youth2, the project should accomplish the following outcomes:

Outcome 1: Improved knowledge among key labor stakeholders3 about the barriers to education and access to decent work among LGBTQI+ youth.

Outcome 2: Increased coordination among key labor stakeholders to increase access to decent work opportunities for LGBTQI+ youth.

Outcome 3: Increased capacity of LGBTQI+ key labor stakeholders to provide LGBTQI+ youth with safe and affirming environments.4

In support of the Joint U.S.-Brazil Statement on the Partnership for Workers’ Rights5 and the Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World6, this project will employ a holistic approach to addressing child labor, forced labor and human trafficking among LGBTQI+ youth in Brazil.

The applicant must propose strategies to build the capacity of key stakeholders to support the implementation of Brazil’s National Strategy for Decent Employment, Education, and Income Generation for LGBTQIA+ and other socially vulnerable people.7

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

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

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. PROGRAM PURPOSE

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

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 Common Outcome Domains and Standard Indicators APPENDIX G: Sustainability Strategy Template

ENDNOTES

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 strengthen global labor standards, enforce labor commitments among trading partners, promote racial and gender equity, and combat international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. ILAB’s Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) works to eliminate child labor, forced labor and human trafficking through international research, policy engagement, and technical cooperation.

See ILAB’s webpage for additional information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab. ILAB’s Knowledge Portal contains detailed information on OCFT’s technical assistance projects, including evaluations, lessons learned, project-produced resources, and good practices:

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-knowledge-portal.

This FOA solicits applications to implement 1 project(s) with the objective to fund a technical assistance project(s) to improve implementation of laws, policies, and national plans to reduce barriers that impede access to education and decent work for LGBTQI+ youth in Brazil and in the LAC Region. The project will also foster the exchange of best practices and lessons learned through south-south cooperation with one or more countries in the LAC region.

The project goal is to reduce vulnerability of LGBTQI+ youth to child labor, forced labor, and other forms of labor exploitation. To improve implementation of laws, policies, and national plans to reduce barriers that impede access to education and decent work1 for LGBTQI+ youth2, the project should accomplish the following outcomes:

Outcome 1: Improved knowledge among key labor stakeholders3 about the barriers to education and access to decent work among LGBTQI+ youth.

Outcome 2: Increased coordination among key labor stakeholders to increase access to decent work opportunities for LGBTQI+ youth.

http://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab http://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-knowledge-portal

Outcome 3: Increased capacity of LGBTQI+ key labor stakeholders to provide LGBTQI+ youth with safe and affirming environments.4

In support of the Joint U.S.-Brazil Statement on the Partnership for Workers’ Rights5 and the Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World6, this project will employ a holistic approach to addressing child labor, forced labor and human trafficking among LGBTQI+ youth in Brazil.

The applicant must propose strategies to build the capacity of key stakeholders to support the implementation of Brazil’s National Strategy for Decent Employment, Education, and Income Generation for LGBTQIA+ and other socially vulnerable people.7

This announcement is for the award of 1 new cooperative agreement(s) 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, 2024, PL 118-47, Division D, Title I.

C. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Vulnerable youth, including LGBTQI+ individuals in Latin America face significant challenges in completing school mainly due to widespread discrimination, bullying, social stigma, family rejection, and economic insecurity.8 Lack of education or training is one of the first obstacles to enter the labor market.9 Across the region, LGBTQI+ youth face discrimination and violence in the classroom. In Brazil, a 2016 national survey revealed that 27% of LGBTQI+ students reported physical assault due to their sexual orientation.10 Fifty percent of transgender individuals reported abandoning their studies at some point in their lives.11 Only 0.02% of travestis and trans women pursue higher education, while 72% fail to complete high school and 56% do not finish primary school.12

Lacking formal education and training, many LGBTQI+ youth are pushed into the informal economy or criminal activity, exposing them to increased risks of child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and other forms of labor exploitation. According to the Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais do Brasil (ANTRA), only 4% of the feminine trans population have formal employment and 6% are in the informal labor market and underemployed.13 According to a recent study by the group #VoteLGBT, which included feedback from about 10,000 LGBTI people from every state in Brazil, 20.7% of the LGBTI individuals interviewed had no income and 21.6% were unemployed.14

LGBTQI+ youth face further obstacles in their communities, as the Latin America and the Caribbean region remains one of the deadliest regions in the world for LGBTQI+ individuals. A study conducted by SinViolencia LGBT, a coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) monitoring LGBTQI+ homicides across 10 Latin American countries, revealed that between 2014 and 2019, at least 1,300 LGBTQI+ individuals were murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, an average of four homicides per day across the region.15

Recently, Brazil has taken steps to implement public policies to address discrimination and promote the rights of LGBTQI+ people including with the establishment of a National

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT

II. AWARD INFORMATION

Secretariat of LGBTQI+ Rights within the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, and the launching of the National Strategy for Decent Employment, Education and Income Generation for LGBTQI+ and other vulnerable people.16 These policies highlights the need to increase education and decent job opportunities, and integrate LGBTQI+ people in the formal labor market.

CSOs, workers’ organizations17, and other key labor stakeholders have played a pivotal role in building the foundation to creating safe and affirming environments for LGBTQI+ youth that can prevent them from engaging in the worst forms of child labor, forced labor, or being exploited as a result of human trafficking.

However, despite recent progress, there are uneven levels of knowledge and capacity among key labor stakeholders in providing LGBTQI+ youth with access to education, decent work opportunities and safe and affirming environments. A public policy mapping, conducted by the Atena program, revealed significant disparities across the country in adequately serving the LGBTQI+ population. Out of the 27 states in the country, 19 lack a specific plan or program for the LGBTI+ population. The study also noted that in 16 states, at least one of the following components—having an LGBTI+ policy coordinating body, state council with LGBTQI+ representatives, and specific plan/program—received a minimum score of 1 on a scale of 1 to 5.18

Funding will be provided in the form of a cooperative agreement. Approximately $4,000,000 total costs is expected to be available to fund approximately 1 (one) award(s). Applicants may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $4,000,000 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 increase the amount of an award or 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

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

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.

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 required period of performance is 48 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).

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 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) o Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities o Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions o Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions

(AANAPISIs) o Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSIs) o Minority Serving Institutions o Native American tribal organizations (Federally recognized) 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, including PIOs, 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:

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria

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.

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 $4,000,000 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

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION

INFORMATION

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION

SUBMISSION

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

Technical Proposal Section

IV.B.1

Attachments to Technical Proposal Abstract Work Plan Sustainability Strategy Template Relevant Grant and/or Contract Experience Evidence of Country Presence, if applicable Project Management Organizational Chart

IV.B.1

Cost Proposal Section

IV.B.2

Budget Narrative Section IV.B.2.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.

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.

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.

http://www.grants.gov/

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 (see definition in Appendix B), 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).

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 project objective, proposed outcomes, sub-outcomes (if included in this FOA), 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, sub-outcomes (if included in this FOA), and outputs.

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

6) Subrecipient 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)

Applicants will be evaluated based on their degree of understanding of the scope and nature of the problem that forms the basis of the project design. Applicants must describe the need for assistance, including the nature and scope of the problems, and the consequences of not addressing the need. Include relevant cultural, economic, social, labor and/or legal factors contributing to the problem. This information must be supported by relevant empirical data, including citations. Applicants must identify significant gaps in laws, policies, programs and coordination efforts that contribute to the identified problem and that need to be addressed by the project.

2) Project Design (up to 40 points)

a) Project Strategy and Sustainability Strategy (up to 30 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 improve implementation of laws, policies, and national plans to reduce barriers that impede access to education and decent work for LGBTQI+ youth in Brazil and the LAC Region. The project will also foster the exchange of best practices and lessons learned through south-south cooperation with one or more countries in the LAC region.

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

Outcome 1: Improved knowledge among key labor stakeholders about the barriers to education and access to decent work among LGBTQI+ youth.

In support of actions under outcome 1, applicants must propose a strategy for how they will comprehensively improve knowledge among key labor stakeholders regarding barriers to education, decent employment and income generation faced by LGBTQI+ youth. Applicants must conduct 1) a needs assessment of targeted key stakeholders and 2) use Brazil’s National Strategy for Decent Employment, Education and Income Generation for LGBTQI+ and other socially vulnerable people as a guide to develop or refine tools needed for key labor stakeholders to have the knowledge, and skills to monitor, map, and document factors contributing to the increased risk of child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and other labor violations among LGBTQI+ youth in Brazil.

Applicants must propose a plan to develop and launch awareness campaigns, or to make use of other awareness campaign tools as part of a strategy to reduce child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking among LGBTQI+ youth. Awareness campaigns must include a strategy to reach LGBTQI+ populations and a broad audience of labor stakeholders with the goal of fostering better understanding of LGBTQI+ labor rights, discrimination issues, and factors contributing to the increased risk of child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and other labor violations among LGBTQI+ youth in Brazil.

Applicants should place emphasis on the intersectionality of identities, such as race, migration, and socioeconomic status and propose a strategy for promoting sharing of experiences and replication of good practices across the country/region in order to advance the objective of the project.

Outcome 2: Increased coordination among key labor stakeholders to increase access to decent work opportunities for LGBTQI+ youth.

Applicants must put forward strategies to increase collaboration and conduct joint activities among key labor stakeholders, including workers organizations, employers and government representatives with the aim to increase access to the formal job markets and income-generating opportunities for LGBQTI+ people of legal working age. Applicants must also work with employers to create affirmative policies and practices and a safe workplace.

Applicants must propose a strategy to support actions implemented by LGBTQI+ youth themselves to increase education, generate decent job opportunities and integrate LGBTQI+ people in the formal labor market. Applicants must explain how these actions are worker-driven and how the stakeholders’ capacity will be integrated into the strategy.

Applicants must develop a strategy to support exchanges and collaboration among key labor stakeholders, including workers organizations, employers and government representatives within Brazil and the Latin American and the Caribbean region supporting the National Strategy for Decent Employment, Education and Income Generation for LGBTQI+ and other socially vulnerable people. These efforts must support meaningful engagement through national and regional dialogues and exchanges on labor issues including but not limited to child labor, forced labor, and employment training opportunities for LGBTQI+ youth, excluded from the labor market.

Post award, the grantee will be required to carry out a preliminary mapping of the implementing environment and labor stakeholders in an additional country(ies) in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. This mapping will support strategies to replicate best practices from Brazil. Final country selection will be determined post-award in consultation with USDOL and the Government of Brazil. The applicant must set aside a minimum of $500,000 to support initial activities in the country(ies) selected. USDOL reserves the right to add additional funding from future Fiscal Years to support expanded activities in the selected country(ies).

Outcome 3: Increased capacity of LGBTQI+ key labor stakeholders to provide LGBTQI+ youth with safe and affirming environments.

Under this outcome, the project must propose strategies to ensure key labor stakeholders are more inclusive, have strengthened advocacy, operational capacity and organizational infrastructure to provide LGBTQI+ youth with safe and affirming environments. Key labor stakeholders should be more strategic and effective to achieve progress in strengthening safe and affirming environments within their own organization in order to address barriers faced by LGBTQI+ youth in their communities in relation to education, and access to the formal market and income generation opportunities. Applicants must identify evidence-based strategies to address labor rights and discrimination issues among LGBTQI+ populations in educational and workplace settings.19

Applicants must also propose strategies to increase stakeholders’ capacity to systematically collect and analyze information about the nature and extent of child labor, forced labor and human trafficking among LGBTQI+ youth in target areas.

Requirements Across Technical Proposal Applicants must propose a strategy to achieve the project-level objective and expected outcomes stated above. Applicants may suggest additional outcomes they deem necessary to achieve the project-level objective and a rationale for how they contribute to the achievement of the project’s overall objective. One or more existing outcomes may be revised during the project validation process post-award in consultation with ILAB. A subsequent amendment to the cooperative agreement will formally reflect the incorporation of revised outcomes, if appropriate.

Applicants must describe all major areas of project intervention. In describing project interventions, applicants are expected to describe the project’s proposed theory of change, i.e. how activities and outputs should logically lead to the project’s expected outcomes and objective in an interrelated and holistic manner. 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. Applicants must provide evidence of the effectiveness of their proposed 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).

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 are not required to develop an integrated sustainability strategy for every outcome or sub-outcome proposed, but rather, only where appropriate and needed to maximize long term impact. Applicants shall use the Sustainability Strategy Template (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 their strategy, applicants must undertake an initial assessment of any unique needs of underserved or historically marginalized populations and the most at risk or vulnerable groups and describe how any identified needs will be addressed.

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

Efforts must be made to avoid duplication and to build upon relevant previous or ongoing activities in Brazil and the Latin American and Caribbean Region.

Applicants must include a mapping of the landscape of current relevant programming in Brazil and the Latin American and Caribbean Region. 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 agencies, 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 structures that are deemed vital to sustaining project outcomes, by describing the process of conducting the assessment and the results. The needs assessment and discussion of results should give particular attention to structural inequities and vulnerable groups, and should include a gender analysis.

Applicants must plan for long-term sustainability of outcomes in their proposed strategies. The applicant’s description of the project strategy should:

Explain the flow of inputs to activities, activities to outputs, outputs to outcomes, outcomes to the project objective, and the sustained impact on worker rights that the project will contribute to.

Fully justify proposed interventions by explaining their purpose and the problems they are intended to address. If available, note any applicable research that establishes evidence of a causal relationship or correlation between interventions and expected outcomes. Proposed interventions, including the activities and outputs that comprise them, should be fully described and should be ambitious but realistic given the implementing environment, scope of the problems to be addressed, and proposed budget.

Demonstrate knowledge of political, gender, cultural, or other traditions and norms pertaining to and impacting the interventions proposed in the target sectors, including how these issues will be considered while implementing project activities.

Demonstrate the long-term sustainability of all efforts and outcomes in the design of the proposal, including which outcomes have the potential to be sustained after the end of the project and explain how the responsibility for sustaining them is expected to transition to local stakeholders, systems and institutions.

Identify risks and opportunities inherent in the project design that could impact the likelihood of achieving or sustaining project outcomes, and describe appropriate mitigation and response strategies. At a minimum, applicants must include a risk register table that lists potential risks along with strategies to mitigate these risks in this section.

Recognize possible external factors or shocks and their potential influence on the project, expected outcomes, and their sustainability.

Sustainability must be the centerpiece of the project strategy. “Sustainability” is concerned with measuring whether the benefits of an activity are likely to continue after donor funding has been withdrawn. Applicants must take into account the likelihood that the benefits or effects of a particular output or outcome will continue after donor funding ends. In developing the project strategy, applicants must consult with key stakeholders to ensure that the proposed strategy takes into account the factors, partners and institutions that are likely to have the strongest influence over, and the capacity and willingness to sustain the desired outcomes and impacts.

Applicants should embed sustainability success factors into the project design in accordance with the Sustainability Guide available on ILAB’s website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/grants.

After award, the selected recipients will be required to refine the Sustainability Strategy, report on it in each of their progress reports and modify or update the strategy as needed. Although there are restrictions on the awarding of subawards or contracts to government entities, to the extent possible, recipients should consider engaging relevant government agencies through other mechanisms, as well as partnering with other local organizations or associations to strengthen their capacity.

b) Project Targets (up to 10 points)

The applicant's Project Targets section will be evaluated based on how well it supports the overall project strategy, as well as for how reasonable project targets are with consideration to the allocation of project resources (e.g., budget, staffing) to support the meeting of those targets.

Applicants must describe the target populations, institutions, systems or processes that will be impacted by the project as well as the underlying criteria informing the applicant’s choice of targets. Applicants must describe how target populations, http://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/grants institutions, sectors and/or geographic areas, etc. relate to the problem to be addressed and the overall strategy being proposed by the applicant.

Applicants must provide a justification for their selection of a target geographical area(s), as applicable.

Applicants must describe how geographic areas reflect the problem to be addressed and the overall strategy being proposed by the applicant.

Applicants must describe the target populations, institutions, systems or processes that will be impacted by the project as well as the underlying criteria informing the applicant’s choice of targets. Applicants must describe how target populations, institutions, sectors and/or geographic areas, etc. relate to the problem to be addressed and the overall strategy being proposed by the applicant.

Applicants must propose activities in Brazil. In addition, applicant must consult with USDOL/Government of Brazil post award on the selection of a country(ies) to engage with and provide technical assistance to replicate best practices from Brazil.

Applicants must put forward a proposed approach to ensure the safety of participants and implementers within the target geographic area(s). Applicants must describe how they will administer services in a safe environment.

3) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Agreement and Capacity Statement (up to 4 points)

The applicant's M&E Agreement and Capacity Statement will be evaluated based on how well it addresses OCFT M&E requirements (outlined below). Applicants must confirm in their proposal their commitment to strong project M&E. They must also confirm their agreement to collaborate with USDOL in developing and revising required M&E deliverables, including the project’s Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (M&E Plan).

M&E requirements include:

development of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (M&E Plan) to include a results framework, activity mapping, project monitoring plan with indicators, and data reporting form;

integrating principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility into M&E planning and implementation, including the use of indicators to measure results in regard to under-served populations;

development of project-specific child labor/forced labor definitions (as applicable);

development of detailed participants’ eligibility and selection criteria for projects with direct service components (including the provision of education and/or livelihoods services directly to project participants);

conducting a rigorous process, which may include the execution of specific studies, for establishing baseline and target values for USDOL standard and project-specific indicators, as applicable. Please see Appendix F for a list of OCFT’s standard indicators;

implementation of the M&E plan, which includes the collection, entering, processing, quality assessment, analysis, and reporting of data on performance indicators throughout the period of performance;

collaboration with ILAB on required performance evaluations and/or other learning/accountability activities;

ensuring adequate M&E staffing capacity with clear roles and responsibilities to support monitoring activities throughout the project’s period of performance;

working with USDOL post award to develop appropriate indicators and a plan for assessing the effectiveness and sustainability of key components (or activities) of the project;

development of a Risk Management Plan after award, per requirements in the MPG, that is based on the risk register in the technical proposal.

For more information on M&E expectations, please see the most recent Management Procedures and Guidelines (MPG) for OCFT projects and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Resource Guide for OCFT Projects under “Grantee Resources” at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/grants.

4) Work Plan (up to 6 points) The applicant's Work Plan will be evaluated based on how clearly and realistically it outlines major activities and their related deadlines. The Work Plan must identify major project activities, deadlines for completing these activities, and person(s) or institution(s) responsible for completing these activities for the entire life of the project, as well as a sustainability plan. The Work Plan must be included graphically as an attachment and correspond to activities identified in the Project Design, Budget and Budget Narrative.

Applicants may choose an appropriate format for their Work Plan, but the format must include a field/column where the applicant, if funded, would report on the status of plan items (e.g., not yet started, on track, delayed, completed).

d. Organizational Capacity (up to 30 points) This section must describe the qualifications of the proposed applicant and/or any proposed subrecipients to implement the project.

1) Relevant Grant and/or Contract Experience (up to 7 points) The applicant's Relevant Grant and/or Contract Experience will be evaluated based on how well it reflects their ability to address the requirements of the FOA (including the ability to meet USDOL monitoring, oversight, and reporting requirements) and implement the applicant’s proposed Project Strategy. Applicants must describe any experience they or their proposed subrecipients have with implementing projects relevant to this FOA and provide references for past performance, as well as ask their references to complete and submit a past performance questionnaire. Each of these requirements is further explained in the corresponding bulleted item below. Projects included must have been active within seven years of the issuance date of the FOA and no more than a combined total of six (6) projects for the primary applicant and proposed subrecipients should be provided in the description or used for references.

Project descriptions should be included in this section of the technical proposal.

http://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/grants

References must be included as an attachment in a Relevant Grant and/or Contract Experience table (see Appendix C for a sample format). USDOL reserves the right to contact any references included in the chart and/or any other references that come to our attention.

Applicants must ask all listed references to provide information about project performance and administration such as that suggested in the sample past performance questionnaire included as Appendix E. For consideration, references must email this information as a Word document or PDF attachment directly to USDOL at OGM_ILAB@dol.gov by the closing date and time of this announcement. Email submissions must include the following subject line: FOA-ILAB-24-32, Reference, Applicant [insert applicant name] or if applicable Proposed Subrecipient [insert sub name], [insert reference giver’s name and organization]. USDOL is not responsible for reviewing messages that do not include the proper subject line. Failure by references to submit the requested information by the required date and time will result in its omission from the panel review process and may affect how the application is scored. Applicants are encouraged to follow-up with their references directly because USDOL cannot guarantee to confirm receipt of emailed references.

Applicants and/or subrecipients with no relevant past grants and/or contracts experience must include a narrative describing their ability to leverage other previous experience to achieve this FOA’s required outcomes. In such cases, applicants must include an attachment indicating that the list of references is not applicable.

2) Country Presence (up to 5 points)

The applicant's Country Presence section will be evaluated based on how well it demonstrates the applicant’s ability to effectively meet USDOL requirements for start-up and implementation of the proposed project. Applicants must describe their organization’s (and/or subrecipients’) existing presence in-country and ability to start up project activities in the target area(s) upon receiving an award (see section IV.B.1.d.3 for more information on partners). Any documents that demonstrate country presence (e.g., official registration of the applicant’s organization and/or subrecipient in the host country, a current Memorandum of Understanding between the applicant and/or subrecipient and the host government) must be included as an attachment to the Technical Proposal.

Applicants must describe their ability and plans to collaborate directly with relevant national, regional and/or local government and non-government agencies, and other organizations as relevant to this project in each country, and their past experience working with these stakeholders.

If the applicant and/or subrecipient does not have country presence the applicant must include a narrative explanation in this section indicating why this is the case and explain how it may impact project implementation. The applicant also must include an attachment indicating that the Country Presence Attachment is not applicable.

3) Partners (up to 8 points) mailto:OGM_ILAB@dol.gov

The applicant's Partners section will be evaluated based on how well it supports effective implementation of the applicant’s project strategy and the needs outlined in their problem analysis section. Applicants must describe their approach for working with organizations in the target country(ies) to implement project activities to advance the objective of the project. Where they exist, applicants must describe any established partnerships and how they will be leveraged (either formally or informally) during project implementation, including with local organizations that have capacity and experience working on issues related to the objective of the project. Applicants without established in-country partnerships must describe how they will build local partnerships and/or describe any other partnerships that will be leveraged to achieve the project objective.

Applicants that propose formal project implementation partners (i.e., as subrecipients) must include a brief description of such partners, including a description of the partners’ role in implementing the proposed project strategy and how this approach will strengthen the overall proposal. Applicants must provide documentation demonstrating these partners' support and commitment to the project.

Applicants should consult LGBTQI+ civil society organizations serving marginalized or isolated LGBTQI+ youth in the development of proposed programs, such as LBQ+ women, trans, intersex, and youth with other identities, such as indigenous, Afro descendants, migrant or experiencing multiple forms of marginalization. Proposed strategies and programs should adhere to the principles of “Do not harm” and “Nothing about us without us.” Program activities should have strong support from, participation by, and co-leadership by LGBTQI+ organizations and communities. Proposals should substantively involve LGBTQI+ organizations in co-designing strategies and overall project design. Proposals should include sub-award mechanisms that provide, at minimum, 30% of total direct costs to LGBTQI+ led organizations.

Successful applicants must exhibit strong relationships of trust within LGBTQI+ communities through proposed collaborations and partnerships, possess LGBTQI+ leadership experience, and demonstrate a proven track record of engagement within LGBTQI+ spaces.