Deadline: 1-Dec-23
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 advance participation of women and other underrepresented persons in Salvadoran security institutions, including the National Civil Police (PNC) and the National Police Academy (ANSP).
The purpose of this project is to assess and address systemic obstacles to women entering the National Police Academy (ANSP) and starting a career as a police officer; to encourage increased applications by underrepresented groups for appointment to the PNC through public communications campaigns; and to enable underrepresented groups to participate through targeted grants that address individual obstacles to public service careers in the security sector.
This project contributes to improving the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women and other underrepresented groups in the PNC and security sector writ large. The project aims to increase the level of acceptance of women within the PNC and the attractiveness of security careers to women in Salvadoran society by overcoming systemic obstacles and promoting a broader vision of a more representative security sector. It aligns with all five pillars of the administration’s root causes strategy, by creating economic opportunities for women (Pillar I); advancing the rule of law by ensuring access to justice (Pillar II); promoting respect for human rights (Pillar III); countering and preventing violence (Pillar IV); and combating sexual, gender-based, and domestic violence (Pillar V).
Project Goal(s) and Objectives
- Project goal: A more hospitable security environment for women and other marginalized persons is created by identifying and addressing systemic barriers and societal biases to inclusion.
- Objective 1: To remove systemic barriers for women and other underrepresented groups in joining the PNC.
- Objective 2: Reduce societal biases that prevent women and other underrepresented groups from pursuing careers in the security sector.
- Objective 3: Mitigate barriers to recruitment and retention through the development of grants that reduce the burden of starting a security career for underrepresented groups. Those may include childcare allowances; scholarships for preparative or basic education; transportation fees; health and wellness grants to achieve physical fitness standards; or others as appropriate.
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $2,000,000.00
- Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $1,500,000.00 to a maximum of $2,000,000.00
- Length of performance period: 36 months
- Anticipated program start date: January 2024
- Number of anticipated awards: 1 awards (dependent on amounts)
Project Activities and Deliverables
- Activity 1.1: Within 90 days, assess systemic barriers by gathering data through interviews and/or surveys of current and former personnel at the PNC; personnel at the ANSP; prior and current applicants for police careers, and from existing studies and assessments related to the topic. Include the development of baseline numbers for recruitment, training, and attrition. Identify elements of the recruitment process including requirements, exams, and processes that create barriers, or limit access for underrepresented groups.
- Activity 1.2: Within 90 days, provide recommendations for changes to the hiring process that will mitigate systemic obstacles, and work with the ANSP and PNC to implement them.
- Activity 1.3: Within 90 days, provide a report on findings and outcomes.
- Deliverable 1: Report of findings and recommendations. The assessment phase should include a final report as a deliverable, which informs all three objectives and all activities of the project. A successful project will also include a report of outcomes with regards to how the implementer/grantee worked with ANSP and PNC to address systemic obstacles identified in the assessment.
- Activity 2.1: Within 180 days, based on findings of the assessment in Activity 1.1, create, test, and disseminate communication materials that encourage participation in security careers.
- This activity seeks to address societal bias, should include and develop content encouraging participation of underrepresented groups in security roles. Budgets should include the cost of production and dissemination; a wide range of media could satisfy this, but it is anticipated that video, multimedia, or animation would be included, as well as the cost of promotion on social or other media.
- Activity 2.2: Within 180 days, Work with the ANSP and PNC to identify and target populations for recruitment.
- Deliverable 2: Executed public messaging campaign with appropriate performance metrics.
- Activity 3.1: Based on findings of the assessment in Activity 1.1, identify obstacles that disproportionately prevent women and underrepresented groups from initiating a security careers.
- Activity 3.2: Within nine months, with INL approval, create a grant application process that – without being unduly burdensome – encourages and facilitates recruitment and retention through the training process. Include appropriate vetting and selection procedures with oversight and transparency. The grant application process should include a significant budget for small grants as part of the grant total, and a recommendation for grant amounts and targets. INL will approve the procedure for distributing grants prior to its initiation. INL expects to benefit at least 250 applicants with small grants.
- Activity 3.3: Within the first year, establish a monitoring program that tracks beneficiaries through the initial stages of their careers and shares both successes and lessons learned with INL, the PNC, and ANSP.
- Deliverable 3: Approved plan for application and award of grants, complete with oversight.
- Deliverable 4: Present a plan for monitoring beneficial outcomes.
Participants and Audiences
- The project will work directly with ANSP and PNC leadership to ensure proper implementation. The project will ensure, where possible, the institutionalization of successful processes and procedures following the implementation process. The target audience for the first goal and its activities is the ANSP, the PNC, and current and future potential recruits. The second and third goals should be entirely focused on potential recruits from underrepresented groups. In particular, this project seeks to work with women; LGBTQI+; and indigenous persons. (Note that indigenous persons are not distinguished under Salvadoran law, so this will be based on self-identification). While the project is inherently focused on inclusion, attention should be paid to ensuring the safety of beneficiaries, including intersectional approaches that change organizational culture through interweaving identities.
Priority Region/Countries: El Salvador
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- US-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
- US-based educational institutions subject;
- US-based educational institutions subject;
- Foreign-based (located outside of El Salvador) non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
- Foreign-based (located outside of El Salvador) educational institutions
For more information, visit Grants.gov.