OpportunityTitle: CAFTA-DR TCB
CategoryExplanation: The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Proposals from organizations interested in submitting proposals for projects that promote respect for informal sector workers&#239;&#191;&#189; labor rights and build the capacity of workers and worker organizations to advocate for labor rights in the CAFTA-DR region.
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Organizations submitting proposals must meet the following criteria:    * Be a U.S. non-profit organization meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c) (3) or a comparable organization headquartered internationally, or an international organization.     * Have demonstrated experience administering successful and preferably similar projects. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.    *Be a registered user of grants.gov.     * Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with in-country entities and relevant stakeholders including industry and non-governmental organizations.     * Organizations may form consortia and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.    * An OMB policy directive published in the Federal Register on Friday, June 27, 2003, requires that all organizations applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements must provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&amp;B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number when applying for all Federal grants or cooperative agreements in or after October 1, 2003.  Please reference: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/062703_grant_identifier.pdf for the complete OMB policy directive.
Description: Building the Capacity of Workers and Worker Organizations to Advocate for Labor Rights in CAFTA-DR (subject to the availability of funding approximately $1.9 million): DRL seeks proposals that will promote and strengthen a culture of compliance in the CAFTA-DR region by working directly with workers and worker organizations to protect and promote labor rights. The project(s) should: &#239;&#191;&#189; Strengthen existing independent, democratic, sustainable worker organizations &#239;&#191;&#189; including by promoting transparency and efficient management, and build workers&#239;&#191;&#189; capacity to form new such organizations; &#239;&#191;&#189; Promote the inclusion of women and other under-represented/marginalized worker populations &#239;&#191;&#189; such as youth; minorities, including indigenous populations; and disabled workers, among others &#239;&#191;&#189; in membership and leadership positions within worker organizations; and, &#239;&#191;&#189; Increase and enhance worker and worker organizations&#239;&#191;&#189; engagement in: collective bargaining, negotiation and dispute resolution efforts, and labor-management and tripartite discussions, as well as their use of national and international tools to promote respect for labor rights. Preference will be given to projects that include innovative strategies for fostering cooperation among and joint action by local, national and/or regional level worker organizations, independent trade unions, federations and/or confederations. Project activities may also include outreach to key government and civil society stakeholders, and support worker and worker organizations&#239;&#191;&#189; engagement in promoting local, national and/or regional public policies that advance the social and economic concerns of workers. Successful proposals will build upon the work of previous and ongoing initiatives to build the capacity of workers and worker organizations to effectively advocate for labor rights in the CAFTA-DR region, including by effectively coordinating with related ongoing projects (funded by the U.S. Government and other donors) in the CAFTA-DR region. Promoting Respect for Informal Sector Workers&#239;&#191;&#189; Labor Rights in CAFTA-DR (subject to the availability of funding approximately $900,000): DRL seeks proposals that will promote a culture of compliance with labor rights for informal sector workers in up to three of the following CAFTA-DR countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and/or Nicaragua. The project(s) should: &#239;&#191;&#189; Raise awareness among workers, civil society (including worker organizations, NGOs, and employers), and government stakeholders regarding informal sector workers&#239;&#191;&#189; labor rights; and &#239;&#191;&#189; Develop and implement strategies/policies with informal sector workers, civil society and government stakeholders that: increase respect for informal sector workers&#239;&#191;&#189; labor rights, and enhance economic opportunities for informal sector workers, in particular for women and other marginalized worker populations &#239;&#191;&#189; such as youth; minorities, including indigenous populations; and disabled workers, among others. Activities may include (but are not limited to: o Supporting efforts to incorporate workers into the formal economy and/or relevant national social protection systems; o Improving national-level data collection on informal sector employment and local, national and/or regional barriers to formalization; o Developing and assisting in the implementation of: laws, fiscal and other policies, and/or sustainable and effective enforcement regimes, that extend legal obligations and labor rights protections to the informal sector; and o Organizing informal sector workers and/or incorporating such workers into existing civil society organizations. Successful proposals will demonstrate a clear understanding of previous studies of and initiatives regarding informal sector work in CAFTA-DR countries and identify what, if any, knowledge gaps remain. Project(s) should build upon the work of previous and ongoing initiatives to promote informal sector workers&#239;&#191;&#189; rights in CAFTA-DR, including by effectively coordinating with related ongoing projects (funded by the U.S. Government and other donors) in the CAFTA-DR region.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Please contact DRL if you have questions on this solicitation.
GrantorContactText: Violeta Roman &lt;br/&gt;Program Analyst &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-261-8107
CloseDateExplanation: Applicants must submit proposals using www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on May 11, 2011.  Please note that over the next several months www.grants.gov will experience higher than normal application volume due to Recovery Act-related opportunities.  DRL will still require applications to be submitted via www.grants.gov but will work with applicants who have trouble in the actual submission process.