Deadline: 07-Oct-2024
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to enhance the ability of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the Kosovo Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the Judiciary to detect, deter, investigate adjudicate complex cases of corruption in all sectors of government.
Project Vision
- Specifically, INL expects to expand CSO’s capacity to monitor, detect, investigate, and report corruption cases in Kosovo. This will increase civil society’s participation in monitoring and analyzing instances of possible corruption, increase understanding of corrupt practices through reporting and investigations, and disseminate information about the anti-corruption efforts of relevant actors of society.
Project Goal(s) and Objectives
- Objective 1: CSO’s have the capability to detect, deter, and investigate corruption in all sectors of government and present corruption cases for prosecution.
- Through this call, INL will support civil society engagement in advocating and shaping national anti-corruption policies, strategy, and anti-corruption measures; spotlighting corruption, particularly in public sector and among public service providers; and building citizen support of, and demand for, anti-corruption reform of government institutions. The program may include support for constructive engagement between civil society, the private sector, and government stakeholders to strengthen anti-corruption mechanisms, facilitate the implementation of best practices in countering corruption, and urge action in specific cases. Program outcomes should include identification of corrupt practices; reporting of corrupt practices to relevant government entities; and increased public awareness of corruption.
- Additionally, project activities may focus on
- Identifying and developing coordination mechanisms with members of civil society, local and international organizations that will partner to combat corruption in Kosovo.
- Provide assistance and support (mentoring) to develop the skills of local actors, investigative researchers, journalists, and legal specialists to identify, prepare, and present for prosecution corruption and related financial crimes cases.
- Mentor civil society actors to develop and present in social media, press conferences or public events audience-specific reports of data collected legal analysis or significant findings of corruption offenses.
- Objective 2: Kosovo Agency for the Prevention of Corruption develops staff training and internal organizational policies in the areas of ethics, whistleblower protections, public relations and transparency, case management systems, and/or other relevant topics.
- Activities under this objective may include, but are not limited to:
- Professional and technical assistance for integrity plans for central and local administration bodies, as well as independent agencies. Corruption proofing or corruption risk assessment of legislation such as review of primary and secondary legislation, as well as other regulations.
- Strengthening Agency’s mechanisms to overseeing and taking necessary measures for the protection of whistleblowers.
- Technical expertise to support the Agency’s capacity to conduct administrative investigation to verify the declaration of income and assets.
- Activities under this objective may include, but are not limited to:
- Objective 3: Judiciary is equipped with adequate technical expertise and resources to improve the processing and adjudication of complex cases of corruption.
- Activities under this objective may include, but are not limited to:
- Provide trial skills trainings for Judges working with corruption cases.
- Improve capacities of Judges and Chief Judges for scheduling consecutive hearing days for corruption cases.
- Capacity development to improve the quality of court decisions for corruption cases.
- Capacity development to improve the quality of public communication for court decisions of corruption cases.
- Activities under this objective may include, but are not limited to:
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $1,000,000
- Award amounts: award may range from a minimum of $300,000 to a maximum of $500,000
- Length of performance period: 12-18 Months
- Number of awards anticipated: 2 award
- Anticipated programs start date: January 2025
Priority Region
- Kosovo
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- International non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
For more information, visit Grants.gov.