Building the Capacity of Civil Society to Combat Child Labor and Forced Labor and Improve Working Conditions | FOA ILAB 17 10

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA ILAB 17 10

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) released this funding opportunity to support technical assistance projects that strengthen civil society's ability to confront child labor and forced labor and to push for acceptable working conditions within specific sectors or supply chains. The agency is making about $6,000,000 available in total through up to three cooperative agreements, with each award capped at $2,000,000 in total costs. Because this is a cooperative agreement, awardees should expect an active partnership with ILAB during implementation, rather than a fully hands-off grant relationship. Projects can run for up to four years (48 months) from the award start date.

The core purpose is capacity building for civil society organizations so they can play a stronger, more credible role in identifying labor abuses, informing the public and decision-makers, and helping drive practical solutions. ILAB lays out three main outcomes applicants are expected to achieve. First, projects should improve civil society's capacity to identify and document accurate, independent, and objective information about the nature and scope of child labor and/or forced labor, as well as violations of acceptable conditions of work, within the chosen sector or supply chain. This points to work such as strengthening investigation and documentation methods, improving data quality and verification, and building the ability to produce findings that are credible to workers, communities, governments, and businesses.

Second, projects should strengthen civil society's ability to raise awareness and advocate for worker protection from child labor and forced labor abuses and from unacceptable working conditions. This can include building communications skills, coalition-building, worker and community education, and efforts that increase visibility of risks and rights in the targeted sector or supply chain. The emphasis is not only on messaging, but on awareness that supports protection and prevention.

Third, projects should expand civil society's capacity to implement initiatives that directly address these labor problems, including efforts that help victims access grievance mechanisms and/or remedy. In practical terms, this signals support for setting up or improving complaint pathways, strengthening referral networks and support services, and helping workers and exploited individuals navigate remedies. The opportunity is framed around moving beyond research and awareness into action that helps people resolve cases and reduce the likelihood of future exploitation.

Applicants must focus their proposal on exactly one country and at least one sector and/or supply chain within that country, and they must show there is evidence of child labor and/or forced labor connected to the production of a good in that sector or supply chain. The eligible country must be one covered by either the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (under the Trade and Development Act of 2000) or the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005). One notable restriction is that proposals focused on the fisheries sector in the Asia-Pacific region will not be considered, so applicants need to avoid that combination even if the broader topic would otherwise fit.

A key feature of the competition is that at least one of the three awards is reserved for the strongest technically sound proposal focused on the coffee sector in one of the following Latin America/Caribbean countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua. The remaining two awards are open to applicant-proposed countries and sectors/supply chains, so long as they meet the eligibility and evidence requirements and score well under the selection criteria described in the announcement. To diversify coverage, ILAB also states it will make no more than one award for the same combination of country and sector/supply chain, meaning applicants should be mindful that a duplicate focus could reduce the likelihood of an additional award in that exact niche.

Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary federal funding program under CFDA 17.401 (Employment, Labor and Training), listed as Funding Opportunity Number FOA-ILAB-17-10. The original posting dates indicate it was created September 11, 2017, with an original application deadline of October 11, 2017 (4:00 p.m. Eastern). While those dates reflect the specific cycle described here, the substance of the opportunity is clear: ILAB is looking for well-structured, country-and-sector-specific projects that build civil society capability to document abuses, elevate protection-oriented awareness, and implement practical mechanisms that help prevent exploitation and improve working conditions, including access to grievances and remedies.

• The Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs in the employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building the Capacity of Civil Society to Combat Child Labor and Forced Labor and Improve Working Conditions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 17.401.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 11, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 11, 2017 Applications must be received no later than 40000 p.m. Eastern Time.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FOA ILAB 17 10

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