FY 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS GRANT

The US Embassy Suva announces the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Grant. The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) is currently requesting proposals for international projects that will improve the response to trafficking in persons.

Non-governmental organizations (NGO), public international organizations (PIO), and others active in combating human trafficking are encouraged to submit proposals for anti-trafficking programs to be conducted in a single country, within a region, or in more than one region. G/TIP anticipates having approximately $17 million available to award multiple grants of up to USD$500,000 per project.

The full solicitation along with instructions for applying can be found on www.grants.gov, where this funding opportunity title is International Programs to Combat Human Trafficking. The Announcement name is Bilateral, Regional and Global Anti-Trafficking in Persons Programs; the Funding Opportunity Number is GTIP-08-GR-001-GLB-112808.  To easily locate the grant, go to: http://www.grants.gov/search/basic.do and type in the Funding Opportunity Number in the appropriate search box. 

Applicants are urged to review the country-specific recommendations listed in the country narratives of the 2008 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report as guidance for anti-trafficking programming under this announcement.

Annual TIP Report
The State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) is an important diplomatic tool in the Department’s dialogue with other governments and also serves as the guide for U.S. foreign assistance to governments and NGOs in countries working to eradicate trafficking. The 2008 TIP Report included 170 countries and country-specific recommendations are listed in the country narratives for the 153 countries given a Tier ranking. Fiji was ranked in Tier 3 in the 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report.

Eligible countries
Of the five countries accredited to Embassy Suva, only Fiji is a priority country, but applications from other countries may be successful in limited circumstances. These may include proposals that exhibit innovative programming, address special country circumstances, or that serve as special models for replication in other countries.

Deadline
The deadline for proposal submissions is January 21, 2009.

Types of Projects to be Funded
• U.S. NGO partnerships with non-US NGOs
• Activities to combat child sex tourism
• Comprehensive services for victims of sex trafficking and labor trafficking
• Prevention of TIP by Peacekeepers and intervention when they are accused
• Action oriented research to inform more effective programming
• Increased cooperation on labor TIP
• Victim-centered practices by criminal justice professionals
• Improved TIP laws
• Activities of multi-lateral organizations to improve the response to TIP in source, transit, and destination countries

Grants.gov
• Register Now – if you are not registered
o It can take a few weeks
o The Grants.gov Help Desk is 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov

Special Conditions
• Program funds cannot be used to promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution
o Organizations cannot promote, support, or advocate the legalization of prostitution or practice of prostitution during the term of the grant
o Provisions must be included in any sub-agreements
• TIP Termination Clause: allows for unilateral grant termination if any federal private entity grantee or sub-recipient engages in TIP

Technical requirements
• ONLY those proposals meeting the Technical Review screening criteria will receive the full review
o Proposals received by the deadline – 11:59 p.m. January 21, 2009 (Eastern Standard Time)
o Narrative (sections 2-6) does not exceed 6 pages
o Budget figures are U.S. Dollars
o Budget information does not exceed 5 pages

How to Apply
Organizations are permitted to submit multiple proposals, but all should be aware that G/TIP will work to provide funding opportunities to a wide range of qualified, capable organizations that do well in the competitive review.
Applicants are not required to include funding from other donors in project proposals. However, applications that include additional in-kind and/or cash contributions from non-USG sources will be more competitive, since cost-sharing demonstrates cost effectiveness and a broader commitment to the planned project activities.

Applicants are encouraged to be knowledgeable of existing programs in the proposed country/region, including those funded by the USG, in order to ensure that proposals reflect work that will not duplicate others’ efforts. Applicants should also be familiar with and seek to tailor their proposals to the country-specific issues described in the 2008 TIP Report.

Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals directly through www.grants.gov, but may submit via email to GTIP2009Proposals@state.gov

APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Award Period: 12-36 months
Award Amount: G/TIP anticipates having approximately $17 million is available for this grant program. Multiple awards will be granted, with a maximum award of $500,000 per program. This is a maximum award amount; some projects will be awarded at lower levels. Applicants should request an amount that is tailored to the scope of work and project duration.

Grants.gov Registration Process: All applicants who submit their proposals through www.grants.gov must register with the website prior to submitting an application. For step-by-step registration instructions, user guide, and checklist, go to http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/organization_registration.jsp. Registering with Grants.gov is a one-time process; however, it could take as long as two weeks to have the registration validated and confirmed. Please begin the registration process immediately to ensure that the process is completed well in advance of the deadline for applications. Until that process is complete, you will not be issued a user password for Grants.gov, which is required for proposal submission.
Applicants who are unable to submit via Grants.gov due to technical difficulties should contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov at least one week prior to deadline to secure a trouble ticket. Once submitted, Grants.gov will send applicants email notice of the receipt of proposal documents. If correctly and completely submitted, an additional notification “validating” receipt or rejecting (with errors noted) of the proposal will be emailed to the applicant. Once a proposal is downloaded by G/TIP, an applicant will receive a final notification of receipt from Grants.gov.

Queries
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/) and to www.grants.gov for the details of how to apply, technical criteria, required application content, and proposal evaluation criteria.  Questions about this solicitation can be emailed to GTIP2009Proposals@state.gov

Should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to call Quinn Plant at 3314466 ext 8184 at the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji, or write to usembsuva@gmail.com citing the subject “GLOBAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS GRANT 2009”.