Strengthening Implementation of Anti-Corruption Standards in the Western Hemisphere | SFOP0004961

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0004961

The grant opportunity titled "Strengthening Implementation of Anti-Corruption Standards in the Western Hemisphere" (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0004961) is a discretionary U.S. Department of State award administered by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). It is structured as a grant in the Law, Justice, and Legal Services category (CFDA 19.703) and was designed to fund a single project with an award ceiling of $850,000 and an expectation of one award. The solicitation was posted on April 19, 2018, with an original closing date of June 20, 2018. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full opportunity text.

At its core, the program aims to move beyond general anti-corruption commitments and focus on concrete implementation in at least two of four specified countries: Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. Rather than creating entirely new standards, the project is meant to help these countries act on anti-corruption obligations and recommendations that already exist through international and regional frameworks they have joined. The opportunity explicitly anchors the work in recognized anti-corruption standards and the findings of associated peer review processes, treating those recommendations and commitments as the starting point for practical reforms.

The main standards-setting and peer accountability mechanisms highlighted are the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption follow-up mechanism (MESICIC), which are described as the primary reference points. Secondary reference points include other established fora that generate commitments, expectations, or peer pressure related to anti-corruption, such as the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (referred to as the Anti-Bribery Convention), the Open Government Partnership, and the Summit of the Americas process and related policy tracks. The logic behind this approach is that each target country has already engaged with at least one of these mechanisms and, as a result, has received formal recommendations or has made political commitments that can be translated into actionable reforms.

A central deliverable envisioned by INL is the creation of a multi-stakeholder prioritization process in each selected country. In practice, that means convening government and non-government actors to identify the most important and feasible reform steps to pursue first, rather than trying to tackle a long list of recommendations all at once. The project is expected to guide each country through selecting roughly two to three priority recommendations from peer review bodies and/or specific political commitments the country has made through these fora. This prioritization step is meant to produce focus, buy-in, and a shared roadmap for implementation.

After priorities are selected, the program expects the grantee to support the development of action plans and to provide targeted follow-up assistance to help governments carry those plans out. The follow-up is described in practical terms and can include technical assistance (such as legal or procedural expertise and implementation guidance), advocacy (supporting reform champions and building momentum for change), and coordination (helping align ministries, oversight bodies, justice sector institutions, and civil society so that reforms do not stall due to fragmentation). The emphasis is not only on planning but also on execution support that helps convert commitments into measurable progress.

The opportunity suggests several thematic areas that applicants can use to structure the priorities and action plans. These include judicial integrity and independence, criminalizing foreign bribery, improving public procurement systems, strengthening public sector ethics, and enhancing international legal cooperation. These areas map closely to common weaknesses flagged in peer review processes and represent reforms that can have direct effects on both prevention and enforcement. For example, procurement reforms can reduce opportunities for bid rigging and favoritism, stronger ethics rules can constrain conflicts of interest, foreign bribery criminalization can close legal gaps that enable transnational corruption, judicial integrity measures can bolster credibility and reduce political interference, and better international cooperation can improve the ability to investigate and recover assets across borders.

Overall, the grant is designed to produce tangible, country-level outcomes by helping governments and stakeholders choose a small set of high-value reforms tied to existing international obligations, translate them into practical action plans, and then follow through with hands-on assistance to implement them. The intended result is meaningful progress in laws, policies, and procedures that either prevent corruption from occurring or improve the ability of justice systems and civil society to detect, investigate, and address it.

• The Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening Implementation of Anti-Corruption Standards in the Western Hemisphere" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.703.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 19, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 20, 2018. (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 $850,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for SFOP0004961

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