Deadline: 6 August 2018

The United States Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, is seeking applications for its grant program entitled “Improving Transparency — Strengthening Local Organizations to Report on Crime and Corruption” which aims to improve transparency and accountability in Nicaragua by strengthening local organizations to better track and report on crime and corruption (to include domestic and transnational organized crime).

The project will support strengthening local capacity to understand and inform Nicaraguans about these important issues.

Project Objectives

• Objective 1: Support and strengthen the capacity of local actors and organizations to regularly collect, analyze, and disseminate quantitative data on crime and corruption in Nicaragua. Applicants should build upon existing work on this subject to develop the capacity of local organizations that have worked on crime and corruption observatories and developed surveys on crime and corruption.
• Objective 2: Support and strengthen the capacity of local actors and organizations (including journalists and media organizations) to regularly investigate, collect, analyze, and present qualitative data on crime and corruption.
• Objective 3: Develop audience-specific reports, videos, infographics, etc. in Spanish and English for the data collected and analyzed in objectives one and two. Applicants are encouraged to develop partnerships with media organizations and use social media and innovative approaches as means for dissemination. Reports and articles should be high quality and aim to make the information resonate with the public by being relevant to people’s lives.

Funding Information

The anticipated total federal funding amount is not to exceed $900,000.

Eligible Applicants

• Applicants that qualify to receive U.S. grants (such as U.S. not-for-profit/nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code ; foreign not-for-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the ability to develop and successfully implement a project in Nicaragua and meet INL’s reporting requirements.
• Applicants must have demonstrated experience implementing similar programs, preferably in Nicaragua or the Central American Region. INL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering similar programs and/or federal grant awards.
• Applicants must have the ability to produce materials and conduct evaluations in Spanish and English. The applicant’s staff should be proficient in English in order to fulfill reporting requirements.
• Applicants must have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with stakeholders in order to successfully carry out the proposed program.
• Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.
• Applicants must be able to respond to the NOFO and be able to mobilize in a short period of time.

Note: Public International Organizations (PIOs) and For-Profit Organizations are excluded from applying to this grant announcement.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply via given website.

For more information, please visit Grants.gov.