USAID_El_Salvador_RFI_USAID-ES-18-02.pdf

USAID-ES-18-02

Supporting Effective Justice in

El Salvador Activity

Document Type: Request for Information (RFI)

Number: USAID-ES-18-02

Issuance Date: Wednesday September 5th, 2018

Closing Date: Friday October 5th, 2018

Closing Time: 17:00 Local El Salvador Time

Activity Title: Supporting Effective Justice in El Salvador

This USAID/El Salvador Request for Information (RFI) is issued for the purpose of providing industry and stakeholders an opportunity to review, comment, suggest, and enhance areas in the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW) for the USAID/El Salvador activity titled: Supporting Effective Justice in El Salvador. As appropriate, USAID/El Salvador will incorporate responses to the RFI into the development of the SOW that may lead to a formal solicitation. The duration of a potential award will be up to five (5) years. The order magnitude for this activity is anticipated to be between $32-38 million.

The attached SOW presents the current draft objectives and key elements of the activity.

USAID/El Salvador may significantly revise this proposed activity and planned solicitation based upon the comments received and further internal discussions.

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP). Responses to this RFI shall not be portrayed as proposals and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government (USG) to form a binding agreement. This RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the USG to issue any solicitation or ultimately an award on the basis of this RFI, or to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

If the requirement is released in the form of an RFP, it may be synopsized in, but not limited to, the USG procurement information site FedBizOpps (Federal Business Opportunities:

www.fbo.gov) and USAID websites. It is the potential responder’s responsibility to monitor these forums and the USAID Business Forecast for the release of any further information.

It should be noted that responding to or providing comment on this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent competitive process. USAID/El Salvador will not provide answers to any question submitted in response to this request.

By issuing the request for information, USAID/El Salvador aims to consult with the broad community of actors involved in Justice Sector Strengthening in El Salvador and Latin

America. Your comments are requested to help refine a potential intervention and to ensure maximum development impact, to resolve a clear development challenge or need, to facilitate sound coordination with existing activities, and to align with the Government of El Salvador’s priorities. Please ensure your comments are concise and specific to information included within the draft SOW. While there are no limits on the length of submissions accepted, we value concise, issue-specific responses with reference to page and section numbers in the draft SOW.

Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

1. This is a large, ambitious justice sector activity. Do you think we have the right approach, particularly as to the corruption component? Does the logic behind the development hypothesis and results framework make sense? Do you have any suggestions on how the results framework could be improved? Do you consider the deliverables to be achievable?

2. This activity will require good indicators across all of the outcomes. What indicators would you recommend for tracking the high-level results and outcomes? For Objectives 2 (detection, investigation, and prosecution of corruption) and 3 (strengthened ability of criminal justice system internal auditing offices to ensure official actions comply with law and policy and citizens to demand a more accountable and effective criminal justice system) in particular, what indicators would be best?

3. USAID anticipates this will be a cost-plus-fixed fee completion type contract, where the fixed fee will be tied to achieving development targets. What output and/or outcome deliverables would you recommend that can be tied to payments of fixed fees throughout activity implementation? What are the highest level indicators that the contractor can be held responsible for under the contemplated contract type?

Please address your comments and questions to Craig Riegler and send them to Alejandra Quiñonez at aquinonez@usaid.gov with a copy to Renata Suarez at rerodriguez@usaid.gov and Blanca Ibarra at bibarra@usaid.gov no later than the closing date shown above.

The following documents are attached for reference:

Attachment 1 Statement of Work for the Supporting Effective Justice in

Attachment 1. Statement of Work for the Supporting Effective Justice in

C.1 OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITY

This Statement of Work (SOW) is designed to implement the five-year Supporting Effective Justice in El Salvador Activity (the “Activity”). Building on significant USAID, State Department (INL), and other donor investments in the judicial sector, the Activity will focus on building the long-term and self-sustaining institutional capacity of El Salvador’s criminal justice system to deliver effective and accountable justice services that protect victims and reduce impunity for selected violent crimes and corruption. The Activity will improve the system’s ability to successfully investigate and prosecute violent crimes and corruption through supply-side initiatives that may include improved investigative capacity among criminal justice institutions and simplified procedures that improve case resolution; demand-side initiatives like strengthening civil society’s ability to advocate for and demand improved access to justice, including responsive justice services to victims, families, and conflict-affected communities, and any other innovative responses that promote overall justice effectiveness and accountability.

The purpose of the Activity is to strengthen the ability of the Salvadoran criminal justice system to effectively and sustainably respond to violent crime and corruption and reduce impunity and strengthen citizen demand for more accountable and improved justice services and reduced corruption, in order to disrupt the conditions that enable the operation of transnational criminal organizations, fuel citizen insecurity, and drive internal displacement and illegal migration.

The development hypothesis for this Activity is that strengthening the effectiveness and accountability of El Salvador’s justice system will contribute to both lower levels of impunity and corruption and higher levels of security and development in El Salvador, thereby improving citizen trust and engagement and reducing drivers of transnational crime, internal displacement, and illegal migration. This includes improving the State’s ability to effectively detect, investigate, and prosecute crimes; coordinate across justice sector institutions to deliver responsive services for all citizens - particularly victims of violent crime. It also includes strengthening citizens’ access to justice, strengthening civil society to demand improved and accountable justice services, and strengthening public sector efforts to combat corruption.

While the Activity is designed to meet specific objectives, USAID would like to provide flexibility to each offeror to propose innovative activities, approaches, and indicators that draw on country-specific evidence, offeror experience, success in achieving outcomes, and use of country partners and knowledge to effectively address the goals of this activity.

C.2 BACKGROUND

Since the end of the civil war, USAID justice sector investments in El Salvador have focused on building the legal and policy architecture necessary for long-term improvement in the criminal justice system. Key criminal justice reforms and laws have improved the provision of justice in El Salvador, while each institution has made progress in improving the capacity of justice sector operators through continuous education models and addressing systemic inefficiencies at the local level. Yet, in the face of pervasive violence and impunity, deeper and more operational reforms are required to ensure that the justice sector can effectively resolve criminal cases and, ultimately, provide self-reliant, accountable justice services to the Salvadoran people.

USAID’s current Justice Sector Strengthening Activity (JSSA) has carried out a range of activities1 to strengthen the criminal justice system, boost judicial transparency, forge inter-institutional links, and fortify the relationship between civil society and justice sector institutions. The most important innovation supported by JSSA is the implementation of USAID’s Place-Based Justice (PBJ) model2 - a model focused on improving all links in the justice chain (police, prosecution, forensic medicine, and the judiciary) in select high-crime locations: San Salvador, San Vicente, San Miguel, Sonsonate, Zacatecoluca, and Cojutepeque. JSSA also supported community policing activities in two additional municipalities (Ciudad Delgado and Lourdes Colón) under the related place-based system.

C.3 DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE3

Despite some progress in the overall security situation, El Salvador continues to face significant challenges in fighting both violence and corruption and in ensuring the rule of law, augmented by ineffective and unaccountable judicial processes that result in pervasive impunity and a lack of legal redress for victims. In addition to fueling citizen insecurity and undermining the rule of law, this violence has uprooted communities, undermined businesses and education, put families and children at grave risk, fueled drug and human trafficking, and driven internal displacement and illegal migration.

Impunity, Lack of Accountability, and their links to the Causes of Internal Displacement and Migration. Within this overall context of impunity for violence and corruption, gangs and transnational criminal networks use homicide, extortion, sexual assault, and money laundering as tools for intimidation and control of communities and

1 USAID’s Justice Sector Strengthening Activity (2013-2019) Available Annual Reports Annual Report FY 13: March 4, 2013- September 30, 2013 Annual Report FY 14: October 1, 2013-September 30, 2014 Annual Report FY 15: October 1, 2014- September 30, 2015 Annual Report FY 16: October 1, 2015- September 30, 2016 Annual Report FY 17: October 1, 2016 -September 30, 2017

2More detailed description of USAID’s Place-Based Justice Model Included in Annex 1 3 Complete Background information in Annex 2 https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00JM3X.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00K7FT.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00KSVS.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MHCZ.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00SV7C.pdf government officials. Crimes go unreported, homicides and disappearances go uninvestigated, perpetrators go unpunished, and criminal networks that perpetuate transnational crime and victimize individuals operate without fear of prosecution. In short, persistent weaknesses within the Salvadoran justice sector affect the ability of the government to effectively identify and combat violent crime and corruption, provide legal services and redress for victims, and guarantee citizen security and the accountable use of taxpayer resources. These systemic weaknesses undermine the rule of law and exacerbate the root causes of internal displacement and illegal migration. A recent study showed that as much as 5.1% of Salvadorans were forced to move from their homes because of threats of violence, primarily from gangs, in 2017.4 This same study shows that as many as 90% of Salvadorans who are displaced internally by violence become illegal migrants because they are unable to find safety and assistance in their home country.5

(b) LINK TO USG, USAID AND GOES STRATEGIES This Activity will contribute to the achievement of USAID/El Salvador’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy goal of “broad based economic growth in secure El Salvador expanded”, in particular the following Development Objective (DO) and related Intermediate Results (IRs):

DO1: Citizen security and rule of law in targeted areas improved IR 1.1: Justice, Transparency and Accountability in Key Institutions Improved Sub 1.1.1: Targeted Policies and Legislation Reformed Sub 1.1.2: Procedural Effectiveness and Public Service Professionalism

Enhanced

The Activity contributes directly to key U.S. and GOES strategies and priorities aimed at addressing the social and economic conditions behind pervasive citizen insecurity in El Salvador and illegal migration to the United States. The Activity will contribute to the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America (CEN Strategy), a bipartisan U.S.

plan for promoting institutional reforms and addressing development challenges in the region in order to protect American citizens by addressing the security, governance, and economic drivers of internal displacement and illegal migration, while increasing opportunities for U.S. businesses. The Activity will directly support both the Improving Governance and Enhancing Security Pillars of the CEN Strategy, including enhancing the ability of the GOES to ensure citizen security, strengthen the rule of law, promote strong institutions and accountability, and reduce impunity.

By strengthening the effectiveness and accountability of the Salvadoran criminal justice system, the Activity will also contribute directly to the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle of Central America (A4P) strategic lines of “Improving Public Safety

4 Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública, Iudop, varios años.

5 Cristosal (2017), Report of Internally Displaced Persons. There is an estimated 220,000 internally-displaced people in El Salvador, creating a large population of potential illegal migrants to the US.

https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACY241.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACY241.pdf and Enhancing Access to the Legal System” and “Strengthening Institutions to Increase Citizen Trust in the State.” The Activity will align with the “criminal prosecution,” “institutional strengthening,” and “victims’ assistance” pillars of GOES’ Plan El Salvador Seguro (PESS), a comprehensive national security strategy, focused on improving security and addressing violence in 50 of El Salvador’s most conflict-affected municipalities.

C.4 THEORY OF CHANGE: RESULTS FRAMEWORK

The Project will operate under the following theory of change:

● If the effectiveness and accountability of El Salvador’s justice system is strengthened - including the ability to effectively detect, investigate, and prosecute crimes; coordinate across justice sector institutions and civil society demand for delivery of responsive services and increased accountability; and efforts to combat corruption are strengthened - then there will be lower levels of impunity and corruption and higher levels of security and development in El Salvador, leading to improved citizen trust and engagement and reduced drivers of transnational crime, internal displacement, and migration.

The full Results Framework can be found in Annex 3.

C.5 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES/EXPECTED RESULTS

The Supporting Effective Justice in El Salvador Activity has three Objectives, which will operate concurrently and be mutually supporting:

● Objective 1: Increased capacity of criminal justice system actors to effectively and efficiently investigate and resolve cases of violent crime and deliver quality services to victims in prioritized locations.

● Objective 2: Increased capacity of criminal justice system actors, the Probity Unit, and the Supreme Audit Institution to effectively and efficiently detect, investigate, and prosecute cases of corruption.

● Objective 3 (Cross-Cutting): Strengthened ability of (a) criminal justice system internal auditing offices to ensure official actions comply with law and policy and (b) citizens to demand a more accountable and effective criminal justice system.

Activity partners will include national Government of El Salvador (GOES) institutions, municipal authorities, and civil society. At all levels, the Project will foster and promote citizen participation, in particular the participation of women, youth, and other vulnerable

Increased capacity of criminal justice system actors to effectively and efficiently investigate and resolve cases of violent crime and deliver quality services to victims in prioritized locations

Increased capacity of criminal justice system actors, the

Probity Unit, and the Supreme Audit Institution to effectively and efficiently detect, investigate, and prosecute corruption

Strengthened ability of (a) criminal justice system internal auditing offices to ensure official actions comply with law and policy and (b) citizens to demand a more accountable and effective criminal justice system

PROJECT GOAL

To strengthen the ability of the Salvadoran criminal justice system to effectively and sustainably respond to violent crime and corruption and reduce impunity and strengthen citizen demand for more accountable and improved justice services and reduced corruption, in order to disrupt the conditions that enable the operation of transnational criminal organizations, fuel citizen insecurity, and drive illegal migration.

OBJECTIVE 1

OBJECTIVE 3

OBJECTIVE 2

groups. The Activity will conduct an initial Applied Political Economy Analysis (PEA) in order to feed and inform technical assistance and reform activities. Offerors must describe their approach for conducting iterative PEA, and their frequency, throughout the life of the Activity in order to identify the feasibility of interventions, define the scope of engagement, adjust activities, and monitor impact.

USAID seeks to identify the best technical ideas and approaches to achieving the Activity’s purpose. The Objectives and Results below indicate the high-level outcomes to be achieved by the Activity. Initial, illustrative Sub-Results have been included to provide overall technical direction and signal some of USAID’s understanding of how the Objectives and Results may be achieved. Offerors are encouraged to carefully think through and modify and/or identify additional/alternative Sub-Results based on their technical experience. Offerors must propose innovative activities, approaches, and indicators that draw on country evidence, offeror experience, proven technical success in achieving outcomes, and use of country partners and knowledge, and which will directly lead to the achievement of the Objectives and Results.

Offerors must expressly demonstrate how their proposed approach will measurably advance the goals of enhancing the rule of law/reducing impunity and combating corruption, as well as how proposed activities will ensure an achievable and cost-effective means of building the systemic, self-sustaining capacity of the justice sector.

Offerors must identify their proposed sequencing for all activities, including identifying potential objectives to be achieved early on in the life of the Activity, to build interest and engagement. All counterparts and partners must be clearly identified. The Offeror will achieve Activity results under the following Objectives:

(a) Objective 1: Increased capacity of criminal justice system actors to effectively and efficiently investigate and resolve cases of violent crime and deliver quality services to victims in prioritized locations.

Under Objective One, the Activity will build the fundamental capacity of the criminal justice system to effectively and efficiently investigate and prosecute violent crimes, including felonies such as homicide, sexual assault, and kidnapping frequently committed by gangs and other criminal organizations. At the national-level it will improve case resolution by addressing long-standing coordination, resourcing, referral, and case processing roadblocks through inter-institutional collaboration, process improvements, policy and legal reform (as required), and technology. At the local-level it will address similar long-standing challenges in targeted geographic areas using USAID’s PBJ approach - designed to strengthen the entire justice chain, from initial trust building and filing of complaints through case resolution - in specific jurisdictions in order to maximize inter-institutional collaboration and better achieve and measure impact. This Activity will continue to consolidate this inter-institutional approach in the six pilot locations, while expanding to up to six more jurisdictions (to be identified at a later stage through an ongoing impact evaluation that will help inform the timing, content, and structure of the expansion of the PBJ model). The Activity will also build and strengthen civil society’s ability to provide assistance to victims of violent crime, especially GBV victims, children, and other vulnerable groups, especially through empowering citizens to demand improved services and access to justice. Targeted grants may be used to promote participation of women’s organizations and other vulnerable populations. Activities will be closely coordinated with USAID’s Crime and Violence Prevention Program, INL, U.S. Department of Justice, and other relevant donors working in targeted locations.

Objective 1 Expected Results along with illustrative Sub-Results (Offerors may modify and/or identify additional/alternative Sub-Results):

Result 1.1: Strengthened procedures and legal frameworks for justice sector institutions to enhance quality and efficiency throughout the legal process.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.1.1: Improved capacity of prosecutors and investigators to fully and properly investigate, process, and prosecute criminal cases.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.1.2: Adoption of practices that facilitate witness testimony, such as the admission of taped or remote testimony in court proceedings.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.1.3: Increased use of physical, scientific, and digital evidence as the basis of prosecution, and reduced dependency on witness testimony.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.1.4: Reduction of unnecessary and improper detention through more efficient and effective inter-institutional processes, and observance of statutory requirements.

Result 1.2: Improved national- and local-level coordination of justice sector institutions and interoperability of systems to ensure criminal cases are adequately tracked, processed, and resolved.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.2.1: Improved policies and procedures to improve local-level coordination in case investigation, processing, evidence handling, and prosecution among criminal justice sector institutions - including the police, investigators, prosecutors, and forensics.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.2.2: Improved policies and procedures to improve national-level coordination, including allowing criminal justice institutions to share case information, enhance case referrals, ensure chain of custody, and adequately track and report on cases.

Result 1.3: Expanded and improved delivery of victim services and access to justice for victims of violent crime.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.3.1: Improved services provided to victims of crime, including strengthening victim protection processes, improving forensic medicine responses to victims, and improving services provided to child victims.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.3.2: Enhanced victim reporting and intake facilities, including the increased use of reporting rooms and Gesell chambers, as well as improved forensic medicine facilities.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 1.3.2: Improved access to justice and integrated services for victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) crimes, as well as establishment of shelters for SGBV victims

(b) Objective 2: Increased capacity of criminal justice system actors, the Probity Unit, and the Supreme Audit Institution to effectively and efficiently detect, investigate, and prosecute cases of corruption.

Under Objective 2, the Activity will build the fundamental capacity of the criminal justice system to effectively and efficiently detect, investigate, and prosecute corruption. Until very recently, El Salvador was had limited ability to detect corruption, thereby inhibiting any legitimate deterrent for public officials seeking to increase their power or wealth with public resources. The Probity Unit has played a more prominent role in detecting corruption in recent years by conducting illicit enrichment audits. Civil society and investigative journalists have also successfully unveiled diversions and misuse of resources, and with budding political will, the Supreme Audit Institution is beginning to embrace its role in the detection process. These efforts have led to a higher number of civil and criminal cases related to corruption entering into the judicial system; however, very few have been met with robust prosecution, leading to many delays and acquittals, furthering a sense of impunity. Across the justice sector, there is extremely limited capacity for forensic auditing and analysis. Unlike the public defenders encountered in a typical case of violent crime, corruption cases are often defended by highly skilled and specialized private attorneys, making it difficult for the prosecutors to compete and leaving judges ill-equipped to make just decisions. These cases also make justice sector actors especially vulnerable to bribery, corruption, and threats to their physical safety. This Activity will seek to improve detection, investigation, and prosecution in such cases in hopes of enabling Salvadoran institutions to resolve emblematic corruption cases and demonstrate that public officials are not above the law. As with Objective One, these activities will inform national-level policy reform as needed, as well as civil society mobilization to achieve long-term success, and increase efficiencies.

Activities will be closely coordinated with those implemented by INL, DOJ and USAID’s Pro Integridad Program.

Objective 2 Expected Results along with illustrative Sub-Results (Offerors may modify and/or identify additional/alternative Sub-Results):

Result 2.1: Increased effectiveness of primary institutions tasked with detecting corruption.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 2.1.1: Increased capacity of Probity Unit and Supreme Audit Institution to detect, track, and investigate suspected corruption (including through the use of digital evidence).

● Illustrative Sub-Result 2.1.2: Improved capacity and prioritization of corruption oversight institutions to work effectively with justice sector actors (AG’s office) to refer cases and ensure prosecution.

https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MDTP.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MDTP.pdf

Result 2.2: Strengthened capacity and prioritization of prosecution and judiciary to effectively prosecute and resolve cases of corruption.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 2.2.1: Increased ability of Attorney General’s Office to conduct forensic accounting to identify corruption.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 2.2.2: Strengthened ability of judges to effectively analyze and resolve cases of corruption.

(c) Objective 3 (Cross-cutting): Strengthened ability of (a) criminal justice system internal auditing offices to ensure official actions comply with law and policy and (b) citizens to demand a more accountable and effective criminal justice system.

Under this cross-cutting objective, the Activity will enhance the overall accountability and integrity of the criminal justice system in El Salvador by building its systemic cohesiveness and resilience and strengthening internal checks and balances including civil society participation. The Objective will therefore focus on strengthening horizontal and vertical linkages between justice sector institutions in order to promote systemic reform; fortifying internal controls (internal checks and balances such as audit offices) to identify and sanction corruption and misconduct within the criminal justice process; and most importantly, in an effort to promote sustainability of efforts, engaging civil society organizations, including media, to enhance the demand for an effective and accountable justice system.

To date, reform initiatives have been siloed and uncoordinated, decreasing effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability. This Objective will improve coordination and articulation of national- and local-level reform priorities and activities, and build reform coalitions (for the development of a national anti-corruption strategy, for example) to maximize impact. This Objective will also improve the integrity of the justice system itself, by enhancing the ability of institutions to identify internal corruption and misconduct. All institutions have some form of internal affairs units; however, many are manned by poorly-trained staff and have significant case backlogs. Enhancing these units’ capacities to detect, investigate, and administratively sanction justice sector officials would serve as a significant deterrent for officials considering engagement in unethical behavior that could directly or indirectly affect the outcome of a case. Finally, as other contexts (e.g., Guatemala) demonstrate, strong civil society, media, and private sector oversight can create the demand for the justice sector to be more responsive, transparent, and accountable. Enhanced policy articulation and accountability, and increased internal and public integrity processes will lead to better-functioning systems and services to bring violent and corrupt offenders to justice, protect victims of crime, and reduce the underlying insecurity and push factors for illegal migration driven by the current cycle of impunity.

Objective 3 Expected Results along with illustrative Sub-Results (Offerors may modify and/or identify additional/alternative Sub-Results):

Result 3.1: Enhanced horizontal and vertical linkages between justice sector institutions to promote systemic reform.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.1.1: Improved ability of national-level institutions (such as UTE) to advocate for needed reform concerning justice sector priorities, coordination, and resource allocation.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.1.2: Strengthened national-level policy framework for prosecuting crime and corruption.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.1.3: Improved adoption and implementation of national-and/or local-level reforms to improve coordination throughout all levels of responsible Ministry, and integration into training, and everyday practice.

Result 3.2: Increased effectiveness of internal controls for justice sector institutions to detect and investigate corruption and misconduct.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.2.1: Strengthened internal control mechanisms in justice sector institutions (i.e.: Judicial Investigations Unit, Prosecutor’s Audit Unit) to detect and sanction misconduct, unethical behavior, and corruption in the line of duty.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.2.2: Improved institutional mechanisms for reporting corruption, and increased utilization of those mechanisms.

Result 3.3: Increased public awareness, consensus, and civil society engagement to demand enhanced effectiveness and accountability of justice sector and control institutions.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.3.1: Strengthened ability of civil society organizations to identify priority reforms and advocate for change.

● Illustrative Sub-Result 3.3.2: Increase engagement with private sector (included women-led businesses) and civil society to foster demand for policy or legislative reform.

C.6 GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT (GUC)

Grants under Contract (GUC) will be implemented to achieve the greater effectiveness and accountability of the criminal justice system, and to enhance public and civil society engagement. The Contractor will manage a Grant programs with approximately 25-50 grants throughout the life of the Activity. Grants to civil society organizations can be used to promote any or all of the three Objectives, where the role for civil society organizations can strengthen or complement the work done with national organizations.

Important areas to focus include (but are not limited to) victims’ assistance, and civil society’s role to create demand for a more accountable and transparent justice system.

The Offeror shall implement this mechanism to achieve higher impact and sustainability in line with USAID Forward’s6 objective of “Promoting sustainable development through high-impact partnerships and local solutions.” USAID must be significantly involved in establishing grant guidelines and selection criteria and must approve the grant recipients. This fund will total US $6,850,000.

6 https://www.usaid.gov/usaidforward https://www.usaid.gov/usaidforward

C.8 CROSS CUTTING PRINCIPLES

(a) Gender Equality and Female Empowerment7 Although gaps remain in earnings, literacy, poverty, and political participation, El Salvador has seen significant advances in gender equality in social, economic, and political spheres since the Peace Accords. The most visible and significant continuing issue is the culture of male dominance (machismo) that remains the defining feature of gender relations. It manifests graphically in the high rates of violence against women and the continued impunity in these cases.8 The GOES has taken steps to address SGBV, such as opening Ciudad Mujer (Women’s Centers) and public campaigns against domestic violence. Through the JSSA program, USAID is helping to establish 25 victims’ assistance centers within police units, public defenders’ and prosecutors’ offices, and justice centers that provide access to legal, medical, and psychological counseling. The Government of El Salvador is responsible for managing and financing these assistance centers.

In addition, the Offeror will systematically consider the gender aspects and implications of specific interventions. The Offeror must build gender into the work plan and implementation in accordance with USAID requirements. This includes:

● Completing a gender assessment as an initial delivery of the Activity in order to aid work plan development and address gender issues, including:

○ Examining how the different roles and status of women and men in El Salvador will affect the activities to be undertaken;

○ Examining how the anticipated results of the Activity might affect women and men differently;

● Ensuring opportunity for equitable participation in planning of and access to program benefits by both girls and boys/women and men;

● Incorporating gender-equity targets for participation and benefit in all activities and indicators, including consultations with relevant target groups;

● Collecting sex-disaggregated data and monitor gender impacts to ensure that inequalities are addressed; and

7 Gender and Social Inclusion Policies

USAID GENDER EQUALITY AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT POLICY

UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) GLOBALLY

USAID COUNTER-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS POLICY

USAID LGBT VISION FOR ACTION

USAID PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES PAPER

USAID POLICY ON YOUTH IN DEVELOPMENT

UNITED STATES GLOBAL STRATEGY TO EMPOWERS ADOLESCENT GIRLS

8 Gender Assessment USAID/El Salvador 2010 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/GenderEqualityPolicy_0.pdf http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACT888.pdf http://www.usaid.gov/trafficking https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1874/LGBT%20Vision.pdf http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdabq631.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/Youth_in_Development_Policy_0.pdf http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/254904.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADS883.pdf

● Integrating gender in all aspects of program development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The Offeror should ensure that stakeholder engagement is gender-sensitive and that both women and men are represented throughout the Activity cycle including: (1) taking into account the particular constraints that women face, (2) engaging women and ensuring they are willing and able to participate in all program activities, and (3) ensuring that a wide range of women’s perspectives are represented within the activity.

The Offeror must detail its gender-sensitive approach to planning and implementing interventions, as well as to including marginalized populations. This includes applying the requirements of the latest version of ADS 205 to the activities proposed, including mandatory activity-level gender analysis and identification of specific activities that reduce gender gaps. The Offeror is required to use standard and crosscutting F indicators as applicable - including gender-disaggregated data for standard F indicators, and crosscutting (gender) indicator(s) - and to propose custom indicators to measure progress against objectives.

(b) People with Disabilities USAID is committed to the inclusion of people who have physical and cognitive disabilities and those who advocate and offer services on behalf of people with disabilities to stimulate engagement of host country counterparts, governments, implementing organizations and other donors. These efforts promote a climate of nondiscrimination against and equal opportunity for people with disabilities; and promote the inclusion of people with disabilities both within USAID programs and in host countries where USAID has programs. The design and implementation of activities should be analyzed considering the reduction of barriers necessary for people with disabilities to participate in any phase of the judicial process, i.e., accessible infrastructure for ease of mobility and communications.

(c) Social Inclusion USAID’s social inclusion policies aim to avoid discrimination against vulnerable populations such as women, youth, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and members of the LGBTI community in programs which USAID funds. This commitment extends from the design and implementation of USAID programming to advocacy for, and outreach to, people from vulnerable populations, and the Activity should integrate these guidelines throughout.

(d) Sustainability and Self-Reliance Sustainability and self-reliance are integral to the design of this Activity. The Activity is fundamentally about strengthening and streamlining self-sustaining justice system policies and practices that will establish institutions more resistant to corruption, and more capable of fighting impunity. Interventions must be strategically justifiable and must contribute to the likelihood that reforms implemented will be sustained in the long term. Reforms supported by the Activity must also be sufficiently robust, and command a broad constituency, to hold up through political transitions. The Offeror’s approach to implementation should also be sufficiently flexible to adapt to changes in priorities or leadership within key justice institutions. At all times, the Offeror will embrace facilitation and foster local accountability. The Activity will also be expected to ensure the systematic and sustained engagement of all stakeholders spanning the public sector and private sector to ensure that transparent, fair, and predictable policies, systems, and practices are institutionalized and sustained.

Because this is a critical piece of the Activity’s design, as part of the Year 1 Annual Work Planning, the implementer will develop an Activity Ownership and Self-Reliance Roadmap. This Roadmap will lay out the Activity’s long-term vision for achieving sustainable and self-reliant reform in the justice sector. The Roadmap will also lay out the process to ensure the knowledge, skills, processes and reforms supported through the Activity are adequately transferred to local government and non-governmental entities, in order to support local ownership. In this regard, local staff (including key personnel) are encouraged provided they meet the requirements. This should include web-based materials, manuals, and handbooks on best practices in processes and procedures through the development of training, dissemination, and familiarization of current policies and procedures that lead to efficiencies. This may also include the preparation of bench books, training on rules of evidence, chain of custody, and other priority topics through procedure and training manuals, training of trainers, and local adaptation and introduction of training modules in appropriate professional training academies, as well as specialized training for judges, prosecutors, and other judicial personnel. Following training sessions, the Activity’s team is expected to provide coaching, mentoring and monitoring to ensure that best practices become standard operating procedures. The Roadmap will also identify current and future donor, civil society and private sector partners that could be leveraged and/or brought into future support for judicial sector reform, in order to promote Salvadoran investment in future reform and ultimately, self-reliance.

(e) Local Solutions Local Solutions are defined as using, strengthening, and partnering with local actors and local systems strategically, purposefully, and cost-effectively to achieve sustainable development. Involving local partners - those based in Central America - will help to ensure ongoing development impact and sustainability. As part of the Mission’s Local Solutions strategy,9 the Activity will focus on building capacity of local and regional

9 https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/local-solutions partners to promote innovation, develop local technical capacities, deepen accountability and improve development results.

(f) Coordination with U.S. Government Agencies The Activity will work in close collaboration and coordination with relevant U.S.

government agencies’ regional and bilateral program activities, such as USAID, State/INL, DOJ, and other in-country initiatives working with police, prosecutors, forensics, and other key justice and law enforcement and anti-corruption officials. The Activity should focus on long-term institutional capacity building and take into account previous training, mentoring, and technical assistance.

(g) Coordination with GOES, Private Sector and Other Donors10 The private sector and civil society have an important role to play in this Activity, both in advocating for reform and in holding the justice sector to account. USAID will leverage its convening power to bring critical GOES and private sector partners to the table in helping to define a vision for success of the Activity, and to find partnership opportunities. Because this collaboration will be critical from the outset and will be required to inform interventions, key GOES partners and reformers will be invited to participate in the Activity’s Year 1 and annual work planning, and in development of an Activity Ownership and Self-Reliance Roadmap. This Roadmap will identify funding and partnership opportunities with the private sector and civil society, as well as opportunities to leverage GOES and other donor investments in critical reforms, infrastructure, and capacity development. The roadmap will also measure progress toward the goal of accountability and self-reliance, including identifying a path for improved internal and external resourcing and resource-mobilization for the criminal justice system. Over the life of the Activity, performance metrics and results management tools will be set and shared with key institutions and private sector partners, to promote a shared agenda and sense of accountability.

C.9 PARTICIPANT TRAINING

For all training activities financed under this contract, conducted in-country, in the U.S., regionally, or in third countries, the Offeror must comply with ADS 253 – Participant Training for Capacity Development and other USAID/El Salvador specific policies and procedures governing the effective, efficient planning, design, and implementation of such training programs. For such trainings, the Offeror must also comply with ADS 252, Visa Compliance for Exchange Visitors.

C.10 PERSONNEL

The following staff positions are considered necessary for implementing activities and achievement of results under the Supporting Effective Justice in El Salvador Activity.

10 Assessment of the International Donor Coordination in El Salvador https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00T725.pdf

The following positions are considered to be key personnel:

1. Chief of Party

2. Deputy Chief of Party (Criminal Justice)

3. Deputy Chief of Party (Prosecution of Corruption)

4. Small Grants Manager

The Key Personnel team must possess fluency in English and Spanish. For the team of first three listed Key Personnel listed above (Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party (Criminal Justice), and Deputy Chief of Party (Prosecution of Corruption), the Offeror may propose any combination of technical skills among them that covers the following areas:

1. Demonstrated experience in managing international development programs, including experience in justice sector strengthening and anti-corruption projects, preferably in Central or South America.

2. Demonstrated leadership in project management and contractual compliance, with proactive and positive teamwork and excellent technical and analytical skills.

3. Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following types of specialization:

judicial reform, criminal prosecutions, criminal investigations, improving justice sector coordination, addressing gender gaps in justice, gender-based violence, victim and witness protection, or other relevant issues within criminal justice.

4. Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following types of specialization:

investigation, detection, and prosecution of official corruption, internal controls/internal affairs, codes of conduct and ethical norms, corruption detection and prosecution, digital evidence, forensic accounting, and legal process.

5. Experience with organizational development and capacity building of corruption oversight institutions

6. Demonstrated experience in strengthening civil society and/or private sector to demand effective and accountable justice services.

7. Advanced educational background and knowledge for similar projects in developing countries.

8. Ability to perform at a high level and apply diplomacy skills with a wide range of stakeholders (i.e., national, regional, and local government officials, private sector, and civil society), and experience in managing complex activities involving coordination with multiple donors and partners.

9. Prior experience in the management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of similar donor-supported programs.

10. Strong leadership, administrative, management, presentation, reporting, and communication skills.

4. Small Grants Manager (SGM) The SGM may be a cooperating country national. S/He must be a knowledgeable professional who has a minimum of three years of experience working in Grant Management. S/He will be responsible for maintaining grants in compliance with USAID regulations (FARs and AIDARs). S/He will provide key inputs and oversee the management of grants’ electronic and hardcopy files, assist with the implementation and evaluation of small grants, ensure grants are closed as per schedule agreed with USAID. S/he will ensure the grants are accurate, consistent and that the data is utilized effectively for analysis and reporting. The candidate should have an appropriate advanced university degree and the ability to fully and effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, in Spanish and English.

ANNEXES

Annex 1 Place-Based Justice: USAID/El Salvador Strategy to Reduce Impunity and Improve Access to Justice

To respond to El Salvador’s impunity problems, USAID has been supporting security and justice sector institutions in concrete actions to jointly respond to the increase in criminality and reduce impunity, specifically directed towards accomplishing effective criminal investigation, improving oral trials, court management and administration, and promotion of interinstitutional collaboration. However, it was deemed important to implement a work strategy focused on six prioritized municipalities identified in the Plan El Salvador Seguro (PESS); this strategy is called Place-Based Justice (PBJ). San Salvador, Sonsonate, Cojutepeque, Zacatecoluca, San Vicente and San Miguel are the municipalities that make up the PBJ.

Through the PBJ, coordinated assistance is provided to justice sector institutions, especially through the Interinstitutional Coordination Committee (CCI) and its local interinstitutional working groups (MLI), with the goal of allowing the member institutions (Attorney General’s Office - FGR, National Civilian Police – PNC, and Forensic Medicine Institute - IML) to exchange information, coordinate investigations of concrete cases, and identify the challenges faced in criminal procedures in order to jointly address the increase in criminality and the reduction of impunity.

Similarly, through the PBJ and in coordination with the Inter-institutional Coordination Committee, support is being provided to other key justice sector institutions (Judicial Branch and Public Defender’s Office), through the necessary actions to guarantee that the entire criminal process – from the crime report to sentence execution – is carried out smoothly and results in delivery of justice.

The PBJ aims to contribute to resolving related problems, including the following:

● Lack of inter-institutional coordination on a local/territorial level between institutions involved in the investigation and criminal process, starting from the crime scene or when a complaint is filed at the Attorney General’s Office or National Civilian Police.

● Scarce interaction between police and prosecutors, in some occasions due to the top-down approach employed by some prosecutors, which undervalues police experience and knowledge.

● Deficient use of scientific evidence by the responsible institutions.

● Infrequent collaboration between the distinct entities…