TIP Office Training & Technical Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity.pdf

U.S. Department of State Notice of Funding Opportunity:

Training and Technical Assistance

Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of State

Program Office: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in

Persons, International Programs Section

Funding Opportunity Title: 2024 TIP Office International Programs to Combat

Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Programming Notice of Funding Opportunity

Announcement Type: 2024 Training and Technical Assistance

Notification of Funding Opportunity

Funding Opportunity: DFOP0009875

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 19.019

Deadline for Applications: 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday May 6, 2024

Total Funding Ceiling: $2,000,000

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) announces an open competition for projects in support of its global Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Program. The TIP Office manages foreign assistance programs dedicated to combating human trafficking outside of the United States. The TIP Office awards grants to combat all forms of human trafficking—sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, forced labor, domestic servitude, forced child labor, and the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. The Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) provides a diagnostic assessment of the efforts of governments to combat human trafficking and shapes our foreign assistance priorities. More information is available at:

https://www.state.gov/international-programs-office-to-monitor-and-combat-trafficking-in-persons/.

The TIP Office’s Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) program aims to increase government and/or civil society capacity to combat human trafficking.

T&TA is most appropriate for addressing specific knowledge or other capacity gaps through targeted, short-term interventions. The TIP Office can provide training and/or technical assistance on topics spanning all 4Ps – Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnership. However, prevention is not often a direct or dominant focus for individual T&TA interventions, it is instead frequently integrated into the T&TA interventions through the lens of Protection, Prosecution, and/or Partnership.

T&TA interventions are most often initiated by requests from U.S. Embassies abroad, or sometimes from our T&TA implementing partners. The TIP Office reviews requests for T&TA on a rolling basis throughout the year. Selected T&TA requests are then referred by the TIP Office to the relevant implementer, depending on the type of assistance requested, the implementer’s areas of expertise, and funding availability. The timeline to complete T&TA activities will depend on a variety of factors such as strategic priorities and country contexts.

The selected implementer should be able to create an intervention concept note and budget in response to the specific T&TA request before the intervention is approved for implementation. The selected implementer should also expect to work closely with TIP Office staff throughout the development and implementation of interventions and activities.

T&TA interventions can be standalone or they can lay the groundwork for or complement other programming, but they do not take the place of longer, multi-year programs. Individual T&TA interventions can sometimes also be structured in phases, with each phase being subject to TIP Office approval.

T&TA activities may be conducted in countries across all regions of the world, so the scope of T&TA implementers’ capabilities must be global. The selected applicant should be able to respond to unanticipated requests for assistance in any country and/or region, with few exceptions. Some examples of what past T&TA interventions have looked like include, but are not limited to, the following:

https://www.state.gov/international-programs-office-to-monitor-and-combat-trafficking-in-persons/ https://www.state.gov/international-programs-office-to-monitor-and-combat-trafficking-in-persons/

• Review of and edits to draft legislation or implementing regulations on a 24-hour turnaround;

• Development and adoption of Foreign Government National Action Plan over the course of five months from receipt of request to final adoption;

• Targeted technical assistance on the process to accede to United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Palermo Protocol;

• Rapid diagnostic needs assessment on anti-trafficking capacity gaps of specialized anti-trafficking practitioners conducted within four weeks of initial request, followed by the development and delivery of a tailored training curriculum;

• Tailored trainings delivered to law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges on how to build a human trafficking case in a country with limited resources and low capacity;

• Tailored trainings delivered to shelter staff to improve identification, screening, and assistance of victims of trafficking, as well as technical assistance to develop necessary tools, such as screening forms and risk assessments;

• Creation and implementation of a training series curriculum tailored to psychological and legal service providers to victims of trafficking in urban and rural locations both virtually and in-person, delivered over the course of several months;

• Regional training for law enforcement and prosecutors, tailoring the materials for applicability across various participating countries in the region.

While some T&TA activities can be conducted remotely, and the ability to provide some programming virtually is an asset to the T&TA Program and to the selected implementers, the majority of T&TA activities are conducted in-person. Because T&TA interventions can take place in settings where utilities, such as internet connectivity, are unreliable, the TIP Office will not be able to consider applications whose model of T&TA delivery is entirely remote.

B. DESCRIPTION OF FUNDING PRIORITY

The TIP Office will allocate funding for a global, on-demand, short-term, targeted anti-trafficking training and technical assistance project/s through an open, competitive process. This funding priority is focused on identifying an implementer/s who can provide training and technical assistance to increase government and/or civil society capacity to combat human trafficking across the spectrum of prevention, protection, prosecution, and/or partnership, in line with the TIP Office’s longstanding Training and Technical Assistance Program model (described above in Section A).

Applicants are invited to submit 1) Online Forms/Standard Forms SF 424, SF 424A, and SF 424B, 2) an organizational capacity narrative describing the organization’s infrastructure for and approach to providing global, on-demand, short-term, targeted anti-trafficking training and technical assistance, 3) a summary budget, 4) CVs/Resumes of key personnel, and 5) an organizational flowchart that visually depicts the organization’s process of implementing a short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and technical assistance intervention, from receipt of the request, through implementation, to completion of the activities. The flowchart should identify, in a representative way, any units/departments/teams/etc. that would be involved. Further, applicants are invited to submit 6) Certification of Training Requirement, 7) NICRA Agreement (if applicable), and 8) Letters of Agreement or Letters of Intent to Cooperate in Partnership (if applicable).

The organizational capacity narrative should address, in 14-pt Calibri font in a single-spaced word document and in no more than 16 pages, your organization’s experience with designing and implementing global on-demand training and technical assistance interventions. Include answers to all of the following questions:

• Specify the funding amount requested and the duration requested;

• Describe the structure your organization currently has for developing global activities within every region of the world, including:

o Where is your organization headquartered?

o Does your organization have offices or staff in multiple locations?

o How does your organization ensure quality, compliance with funding requirements, and fidelity to the approved purpose of work in anti-trafficking short-term, targeted, on-demand training and/or technical assistance it has provided across various regions and time zones?

• Does your organization have an area of particular expertise or strength with regard to providing short-term, targeted, on-demand training and technical assistance on human trafficking? Please describe.

o Does your organization have an area of particular expertise, strength, or focus among the 4Ps? Please elaborate.

• Does your organization provide short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance covering both labor and sex trafficking of children and adults?

• How many short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance activities per year has your organization provided over the past five years and who received this assistance? Please describe.

• Describe the fastest timeline on which your organization has budgeted, planned, and implemented a tailored short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance intervention;

• Describe how your organization manages a budget and relevant staff for interventions where the location and focus is unknown up until an average of 1-2 months before implementation;

• How does your organization decide when to recommend an assessment prior to developing a short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training or technical assistance intervention concept or implementation plan?

• How does your organization develop concept notes or implementation plans for each short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance intervention, including a budget estimate?

• How does your organization select the implementation team for short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance interventions?

o Describe your current cadre of partners and experts, the range of their professional expertise, whether they are employed by your organization or work as contractors/consultants, languages covered, etc.

o Describe how your organization ensures availability for implementation;

o How does your organization identify and select the appropriate experts? Do your experts have direct experience in their area of expertise (e.g. do law enforcement trainers have direct law enforcement experience, do service provider trainers have direct experience providing services, etc.)?

o How does your organization ensure that local experts are included in the implementation team whenever possible and describe how it identifies them and utilizes their expertise?

• What types of stakeholders does your organization collaborate with in the implementation of global, on-demand, short-term, targeted anti-trafficking training and technical assistance?

• How does your organization develop customized materials for the short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance interventions, tailored to the skills and knowledge levels of the participant and stakeholder groups in the local context and aligned with the Palermo Protocol? Describe the process, the kinds of stakeholders involved, and the tools or resources your organization uses;

• Describe how your organization assesses knowledge/skill acquisition of any trainees who received short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training;

• Describe any experience your organization has incorporating Leahy vetting (see Section G below for more detail) requirements into its short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance implementation timelines and plans;

• Describe how your organization continues to engage participants after the short-term, targeted, on-demand training and/or technical assistance interventions, where applicable, to build on learning and/or to capture outcomes, including:

o Detailed information on the existing infrastructure your organization currently has to achieve this. How is it maintained and administered?

How do the participants engage? How is it currently funded?

o An example or multiple examples of an outcome or outcomes your organization has captured as a result of short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and/or technical assistance it has provided;

• Describe any experience your organization has working on cooperative agreements (see Section F for more detail);

• Describe how your organization’s short-term, targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking training and technical assistance structure allows for real-time, regular and on-demand updates to the funding partner on challenges and developments in implementation and for making adjustments to the implementation plan or materials based on instructions from the funding partner.

The TIP Office will allocate funding for anti- trafficking projects through an open, competitive process.

Upon technical and proposal review, the TIP Office will select applicant(s) to fund.

Applicants should develop proposals that focus solely on the organization’s past performance.

Applicants should develop proposals that cover the entire funding amount they propose for a multi-year program, with the maximum award amount permitted for a project set at $2,000,000 up to 5 years, understanding that the final budget and proposal narrative will reflect implementation plan activities agreed to, as well as findings and recommendations.

Post-Submission Process/Implementation Plan Development

Upon technical and proposal review, the TIP Office will select applicant(s) to fund under the Training and Technical Assistance Program, with the understanding that selected applicant(s) will convene with the TIP Office’s representative(s) within 90 days of signing the award to develop an implementation plan for the project. This implementation plan will be reflected in possible revisions to the selected applicant(s)’s submitted summary budget, as well as the development and submission of proposal documents which may include, but are not limited to: a project narrative; monitoring, evaluation, research, and evaluation (MERL) plan;

timeline; risk mitigation and contingency plan; a line-item budget; and a budget narrative.

As part of the implementation plan development process, and throughout the project duration, the selected applicant(s) should expect to work closely with the TIP Office’s representative(s).

C. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 USC 7101 et seq.), as amended (TVPA), established the TIP Office in the U.S. Department of State. The TIP Office leads the United States’ global engagement on the fight against human trafficking and seeks partnerships with foreign governments, civil society organizations, and multilateral organizations to combat human trafficking through the “3P” paradigm: prosecuting traffickers through victim-centered law enforcement, protecting trafficking victims through proactive identification and comprehensive, trauma-informed care, and preventing trafficking in persons. The TIP Office also recognizes the importance of partnerships and collaborative efforts with relevant governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders in anti-trafficking work. TIP Office programs and projects combat human trafficking—a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of labor or services or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion—in all its forms. Forms of human trafficking include sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, forced labor, forced child labor, domestic servitude, forced criminality, and the unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers through force, fraud, or coercion. It should be noted that when a person younger than 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion.

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

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

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

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

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

Since 2000, when the United Nations adopted the Palermo Protocol and the United States enacted the TVPA, the number of parties to the Protocol has reached 181. In addition, a majority of countries have criminalized all forms of trafficking, and many countries have established specialized law enforcement units, set up trafficking victim assistance mechanisms, and launched public awareness campaigns. Nonetheless, the number of victims identified and assisted, and the number of traffickers investigated, prosecuted, and convicted remain low relative to the size of the problem; and governments continue to face challenges in effectively implementing anti-trafficking legal and policy frameworks.

The TIP Office works to address these challenges in a number of ways, including through its foreign assistance programs. Information on U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts is available at https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/.

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

The TIP Office may fund activities in high-income countries, but the use of foreign assistance funding to benefit a high-income country requires additional review.

Applicants should ensure that inclusion of high-income countries is responsive to the TIP Office's regional and country priorities. The TIP Office considers such countries to be those designed as high-income by the World Bank using the gross national income (GNI) per capita (Atlas method). The current threshold for high-income countries (based on 2022 data) is a GNI per capita of $13,846 or more.

https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/

Applicants are expected to submit proposals that reflect an understanding of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and survivor-informed approaches to anti-trafficking programming. Applicants should also include these approaches in any plans for direct engagement with individuals with lived experience of human trafficking. If possible, applicants are encouraged to work with and/or consult individuals with lived experience of human trafficking in the development of their applications or express how this would be incorporated into the co-creation in the technical approach of projects. When relevant for the proposal, applicants are expected to reflect the provision of comprehensive services to victims of trafficking. The TIP Office defines these concepts as follows:

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

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

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

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

Award Information:

Applicants may only submit one proposal per organization in response to this funding opportunity. The U.S. government may: (a) reject any or all applications,

(b) accept other than the lowest cost application, (c) select more than one application for funding, and (d) waive irregularities in applications received.

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

D. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

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

The eligibility requirements for applying to this funding opportunity do not restrict applicants from receiving other sources of funding from the United States government, including funding from other bureaus within the Department of State.

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

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

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing, cost matching, and cost participation are not required to carry out a project under this funding opportunity. While not required, applicants may propose to include voluntary cost share. Applications that include voluntary cost share will NOT be evaluated differently than other applications. Applicants that voluntarily propose cost share must read the instructions below regarding budget documents that are required to be submitted under this announcement.

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

3. Audit Requirements

Foreign non-profit and foreign for-profit organizations:

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

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

Foreign Public Entities, including Public International Organizations:

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

E. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Submitting the Application Package

All applications must be fully submitted via MyGrants (formerly SAMS-Domestic) (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on May 6, 2024. All application documents must be submitted in English.

The TIP Office will NOT accept proposals or updated documents submitted by any other method, including email, fax, the postal system, delivery companies, couriers, or U.S. embassies. Each organization should submit their application once. Applicants may submit more than one application if they are requested to do so by the TIP Office; however, each application should be submitted only once.

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

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

Applications Submitted Through MyGrants (formerly SAMS Domestic)

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

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

To upload the application, go to MyGrants (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants), select “Apply,” then “Funding Opportunities,” and select the “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Programs” funding opportunity. Select the “Apply Here” button, enter the applicant organization’s information, and click Save. Complete each section of the application in the corresponding section of the Additional Documents to Be Submitted Tab: SF 424 Information (SF-424, SF-424 A, SF-42B if applicable); Organizational Capacity Narrative; Summary Budget; Resumes and CVs for Key Personnel; an organizational flow chart; Certification of Training Requirement; NICRA Agreement (if applicable); and Letters of Agreement or Letters of Intent to Cooperate in Partnership (if applicable).

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

mailto:JTIPGrants@state.gov https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants)%22%20/ https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants)%22%20/

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

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

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

To be considered for funding, all applications must indicate past experience advancing global, on demand, short-term, anti-trafficking training and technical assistance in accordance with the instructions in Section B. All required documents submitted must be written in the English language using documents with one-inch margins formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper only. All documents should use text that is black-colored and size 14 point Calibri font.

Complete applications must also include the following documents to be considered for funding:

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

• Organizational Capacity Narrative– the organizational capacity narrative must not exceed the 16-page limit with size 14 Calibri font. Spaces, footnotes, and charts are included within the page limit. Please double check the page count before submission, as exceeding the limit will result in failure of the technical review.

• Budget Summary o Outline estimated costs for personnel, fringe benefits, travel, and other direct costs your organization would anticipate for a five-year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pUKQ6gRmi0 https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home program, recognizing that all final allocations and totals will be determined in consultation with the TIP Office.

• Resume/CVs for Key Personnel

• Organizational Flow Chart o The Organizational Flow Chart should visually depict the organization’s process of implementing a targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking technical assistance intervention, from receipt of the request, through implementation, to completion of the activities.

The flowchart should identify, in a representative way, any units/departments/teams/etc. that would be involved. This flowchart is not included in the Organizational Capacity Narrative page limit.

• Certification of Training Requirement

• NICRA Agreement*

• Letters of Agreement or Letters of Intent to Cooperate in Partnership*

* Required only if applicable

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

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

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

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

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

Organizations must renew SAM.gov accounts every 12 months to maintain an active registration. When submitting applications, please reactivate any accounts that have become inactive. SAM.gov is a free government-managed website;

applicants do not need to pay to have their organization registered or renewed annually and should ignore any SPAM emails associated with payment for renewal.

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

4. Submission Dates and Times

All applications must be submitted via MyGrants (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on May 6, 2024. The TIP Office will not accept application materials submitted by any means other than uploading to MyGrants. If an organization experiences difficulty submitting an application near the deadline, their application will only be accepted late if they open a ticket with the ILMS Support Desk to resolve the problem prior to the deadline. To be competitive under this funding opportunity, applicants must be fully responsive to all directions in this document.

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

5. Funding Restrictions

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

Please refer the link for Foreign Terrorist Organizations:

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

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

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

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

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

Supplies are herein defined as all tangible personal property other than those described in Equipment. Note that if there is a residual inventory of unused supplies exceeding $5,000 in total aggregate value upon completion of the project and the supplies are not needed for any other Federal award, your entity must retain the supplies for use on other activities or sell them, but must, in either case, compensate the Department of State for its share. The amount of compensation will be computed in the same manner as for Equipment. Foreign assistance funds may not benefit countries or entities that are not eligible recipients of United States foreign assistance or for which there are applicable assistance restrictions. Applicants shall work with the Department of State to ensure that any applicable restrictions and requirements are addressed prior to awarding any sub-awards.

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

F. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Criteria

Reviewers will evaluate applications based on their own merits. Reviewers will use the below evaluation criteria. Applicants are responsible for reviewing the criteria below to fully understand how applications will be reviewed and evaluated for potential funding.

Applicants may form a consortium and partner with other organizations to implement and carry out project activities. Applicants proposing to partner with other organizations must clearly identify the lead applicant, and the applicant may designate one or more partner organizations as sub-recipients.

Applications will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria listed below:

Institutional Record and Capacity

The application clearly establishes the applicant’s ability to implement global, on-demand, targeted anti-trafficking technical assistance. The applicant, and, if relevant, their sub-grantee/s, has appropriate experience in the subject matter or clearly describes how it will bring expertise to the project. The application identifies well-qualified key personnel to manage the project and oversee implementation. Applicants, and, if relevant, their sub-grantee/s, demonstrate experience administering successful projects of similar size and scope. Assessment of the applicant’s institutional record and capacity will be informed by the answers and examples provided in the Organizational Capacity Narrative, by the CVs/Resumes of key personnel, and by the Organizational Flowchart.

• Organizational Capacity Narrative– the organizational capacity narrative must address all questions listed. The narrative must not exceed the 16 page limit with size 14 font. Spaces, footnotes, and charts are included within the page limit. Please double check the page count before submission, as exceeding the limit will result in failure of the technical review.

• Budget Summary -o Outline estimated costs for personnel, fringe benefits, travel, and other direct costs your organization would anticipate for a five-year program, recognizing that all final allocations and totals will be determined in consultation with the TIP Office.

• Resumes/CVs for Key Personnel

• Organizational Flow Chart -o The Organizational Flow Chart should visually depict the organization’s process of implementing a targeted, on-demand anti-trafficking technical assistance intervention, from receipt of the request, through implementation, to completion of the activities.

The flowchart should identify, in a representative way, any units/departments/teams/etc. that would be involved. This flowchart is not included in the Organizational Capacity Narrative page limit.

2. Review and Selection Process

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

Applications will be deemed ineligible during the technical review process and will not be considered for funding if they: (1) do not address the specified funding priority; (2) include any projects that are not global in scope; (3) include any projects that cannot deliver in-person training and/or technical assistance; or (3) do not meet the technical review requirements listed in Section E above:

Application and Submission Information.

Following the technical review, a formal content review of each proposal that passes the technical review will commence. Proposals will be reviewed by members of the TIP Office and by an intra- and interagency review panel. Panel recommendations will be presented to the Ambassador-at-Large or Acting Director for Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Persons for consideration.

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

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

Please note, except for technical submission questions during the funding process, U.S. Department of State staff in Washington, D.C. and overseas shall not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire review process has been completed and rejection and approval letters have been transmitted. Applicants should submit any questions about the funding process or the content of this funding opportunity via email to JTIPGrants@state.gov including the opportunity number in the subject line.

Applicants should submit questions by 11:59 PM EDT on Monday, April 8, 2024 to JTIPGrants@state.gov for inclusion in a document subsequently uploaded via MyGrants so that applicants will have access to the same information. No questions will be taken after Monday, April 8.

3. Pre-Award Risk Assessment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Anticipated Federal Award Dates

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

Any funds awarded under this funding opportunity will be provided through a grant or cooperative agreement. Substantial involvement by the TIP Office in these awards may include active participation or collaboration with the recipient in the implementation of the award; review and approval of one stage of work before another can begin; review and approval of all proposed sub-awards or contracts; joint preparation or presentation of results with the recipient; and/or involvement where the Department’s program office requires specific programmatic oversight over the award beyond normal monitoring. Other examples of substantial involvement by the TIP Office may include, but are not limited to, reviewing and approving project materials, training curricula, and evaluation plans produced by sub-recipients. Substantial involvement is in addition to routine monitoring that includes approval of key personnel; approval of the recipient’s budget and plan of work prior to award; standard oversight, monitoring, and administration of federal awards; and unanticipated actions to correct recipient performance or administrative deficiencies identified during the implementation of the award. Projects funded by resources leveraged from other donors are not subject to TIP Office approval.

G. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices

Following the internal review process, applicants can expect to hear from the TIP Office via email regarding the status of their application within approximately 45 days of the application due date. However, a letter stating an applicant is chosen for further consideration does not constitute authorization to begin performance on the proposed project. All selected applications are conditional until the funds have officially been appropriated by Congress, allocated and committed through internal bureau procedures, and are authorized and awarded by the Grants Officer.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Standard Terms and Conditions: Before submitting an application, applicants should review all the terms and conditions and required certifications which will apply to this award, to ensure that they will be able to comply. These include:

2 CFR 200, 2 CFR 600, Certifications and Assurances, and the Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions, all of which are available at:

https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/pages/home.aspx

Note the U.S. Flag branding and marking requirements in the Standard Terms and Conditions.

Anti-Prostitution Policy and Requirements:

Grantees are required to agree to the following conditions prior to a grant being awarded:

1. None of the funds made available herein may be used to promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to preclude assistance designed to combat trafficking in persons, including programs for prevention, protection of victims, and prosecution of traffickers and…