The United States Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs INL is seeking applications from qualified applicants to implement a project titled “Advancing Gender Equality in Costa Rica Police Forces.”

The purpose of this project is to provide a coherent and standardized approach to gender equality by integration of best practices and standards into the police-specific policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures. The grantee will work in close collaboration with INL, the National Police Academy and the Gender Office of the Ministry of Public Security to promote the development of the capacity of all police forces in Costa Rica on gender issues (adapted to the specific national and local context and security needs), ultimately ensuring that the issue of gender equity is viewed as a mainstream issue and not a transversal one.

The grantee should gather a multidisciplinary team of experts that possess extensive experience in gender matters, community-based work with diverse groups, managing groups, and understanding of group dynamics. These experts should employ analytical skills and essential personal tools for teamwork and have previous experience similar types of projects.

The project team must be proactive, effective and tolerant to situations that may be encountered throughout project implementation. The team must maintain strict confidentiality. While they work as consultants in the Ministry of Public Security, they must adhere to institutional regulations aimed at civil servants, in terms of protocols and good conduct, among others.

Project Goal: To integrate the gender equity approach in the daily work of the Ministry of Public Security, through the integration of best practices and standards in the policies, guidelines and specific operating procedures of the police forces of the Ministry of Public Security. 

Project Objectives

• Objective 1: Conduct a needs assessment of all police forces (National Police, Borders, Migration, Air Surveillance, Coast Guard, Prosecutor, Penitentiary, Municipal, etc.) in Costa Rica with a focus on gender equity and gender violence in all its shapes.
• Objective 2: Combine or create reference material for the National Police Academy on a variety of gender-related subjects.
• Objective 3: Create a toolkit that includes a manual, training modules, and guides for the application of the institutional gender policy for the National Police Academy of the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of Costa Rica.

Funding Information

INL expects to award one cooperative agreement based on this NOFO. The anticipated total federal funding amount is not to exceed $200,000. The period of performance is two years with an anticipated start date of February 2021.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for this NOFO is limited to organizations that meet one of the following eligible organization types:

• U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
• U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code;
• Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
• Foreign-based educational institutions

AND

• Applicants must have demonstrated experience implementing similar projects, preferably in the Costa Rica, or at least Central America. INL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering similar programs and/or federal grant awards.
• Applicants must have the ability to produce documents (e.g. trainings materials, reports), deliver training, and conduct evaluations in Spanish and English. The applicant’s staff should be proficient in English in order to fulfill reporting requirements.
• Applicants must have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with stakeholders in order to successfully carry out the proposed program.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.