Dear friends,
The US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) has released a new opportunity called “DRL Human Rights and Labor NOFO FY15/16- Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Burma”, solicitation number DRLA-DRLAQM-16-002. Applications should include an anticipated start date between January 2016 – June 2016 and the period of performance should be between 12 to 36 months. The projects will focus on Bangladesh, Vietnam, or Burma.
Funder: the opportunity is funded by the US Department of State DRL, the agency leading U.S. efforts to promote democracy, protect human rights and international religious freedom, and advance labor rights globally.
Eligibility: applications will be accepted from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses.
Due date: September 21, 2015.
Questions Due Date: none.
Award Ceiling: $400,000. Applications should request no less than $100,000.
Cost Share: none required.
Goal: to promote internationally recognized labor rights globally through projects in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Burma.
Objectives:
The projects will work to address the following:
In Bangladesh – • Promote internationally recognized labor rights and acceptable conditions of work in the shipbreaking sector.
In Vietnam – • Promote internationally recognized labor rights, with a particular focus on adherence to international norms and mechanisms.
In Burma – • Promote internationally recognized labor rights, with a particular focus on increased adherence and compliance to international and national labor laws and standards.
The project is expected to contribute to the following results:
In Bangladesh – • Promote increased advocacy by workers via the establishment or further development of worker associations in the sector; • Improve compliance with national and international labor laws, including adequate inspection regimes and penalties for compliance failures; • Work toward increased visibility of labor conditions in this sector.
In Vietnam – • Increase the promotion of safe migration by helping returning migrants benefit from the skills and capital they acquired while overseas; or improve access to or referrals for health services; • Build the capacity of local labor and/or civil society organizations, or relevant government stakeholders.
In Burma – • Improve the ability of labor and civil society organizations to assist with the enforcement and implementation of labor laws; • Increase awareness-raising around new labor legislation, monitoring the implementation of legislation, trainings on occupational safety and health, collective bargaining, dispute resolution and leadership development, and the development of a cadre of labor leaders that could inform the development and build the capacity of the labor inspectorate.
Reporting Requirements:
Narrative and financial progress reports are due quarterly. The narratives should reflect the focus on measuring the project’s impact on the overarching objectives and should be compiled according to the objectives, outcomes, and outputs as outlined in the award’s Scope of Work (SOW) and in the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Statement. An assessment of the overall project’s impact should be included in each progress report.
A final narrative and financial report must also be submitted within 90 days after the expiration of the award.