Request for Information for Democratic Policing Programs

The summary for the Request for Information for Democratic Policing Programs grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Agency for International Development, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Request for Information for Democratic Policing Programs: The United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/DCHA) is seeking to gauge the level of interest and capabilities of organizations in developing, implementing, and evaluating democratic policing programs. This announcement is a Request for Information (RFI), not a Request for Applications (RFA) and is not to be construed as a commitment by USAID/DCHA to issue any solicitation or ultimately to award a grant/agreement on the basis of this RFI or otherwise to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The requested information will assist USAID/DCHA to plan future grants/agreements in democratic policing. However, it should be noted that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization under any subsequent RFA. In recent years, an increasing number of countries in which USAID operates have suffered from insecurity and lawlessness. Compounding the problem is endemic state incapacity to protect citizens, or worse, the complicity of government officials. This directly affects development progress in these countries, and has led to increased donor focus on the relationship between security and development, and the need to address weaknesses and advance reform in the security sector. Given their primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining order and security, civilian police are increasingly a focus for all donors, including USAID. USAID support to foreign law enforcement entities has been strictly limited since 1975 by Section 660(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. A number of statutory exceptions to that prohibition subsequently have been enacted, including limited authority to finance community-based policing activities. Section 564(a) of the FY 2006 foreign operations appropriations act continues this authority on a world-wide basis. Specifically, that authority is "to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of civilian police authority through training and technical assistance in human rights, the rule of law, strategic planning, and through assistance to foster civilian police roles that support democratic governance, including assistance for programs to prevent conflict, respond to disasters, address gender-based violence, and foster improved police relations with the communities they serve." While USAID has financed training and other related activities with foreign police under Administration of Justice and Rule of Law authorities and, more recently, under its community-based policing authority, the Agency is currently working to further develop its expertise in this area and educate other US agencies and donors on USAIDs critical role. Accordingly, USAID seeks to strengthen its capacity to: conduct police assessments; design and monitor police programs; evaluate programs; and develop technical guidance and best practices. USAIDs assistance to police will be integrated as part of rule of law or security sector reform programs, and will contribute to broader goals of justice sector reform, democratic governance, and/or conflict mitigation and management. As such, USAID may focus on the following areas: o Institutional capacity building (i.e., developing modern leadership, supervisory and management skills within law enforcement institutions) o Institutional/sector strategic planning (i.e, developing strategic planning, policy formulation and fiscal management capacities) o Change management o Community-police relationships; o Links among police and the rule of law (i.e., strengthening police-prosecutor relationships particularly with respect to investigations, developing holistic approaches, and integrating systems) o Institutional performance oversight (i.e., developing and integrating oversight capacity, such as internal affairs offices, disciplinary units, inspectors general, auditors, legislative committees, police and/or human rights commissions; ombudsmen, etc.) o Civil society/civilian oversight (i.e., strengthening civil society capacity to engage on police issues, monitor activities, and demand accountability) o Technical assistance to improve human rights performance o Decentralization of the police o Legislative reform on police issues o Border management; o Anti-corruption activities; Requested Information: 1. Organizations should provide the following: (a) Describe the organizations capabilities in the technical areas listed above. The information should include a description of any overseas projects implemented by your organization that supported the development of indigenous democratic police. (b) Describe the organizations staffing capability and capacity to undertake work in the technical areas listed above. 2. Please answer the following questions: (a) Does your organization have the interest and the capacity to work with USAID to design and develop democratic police assistance programs? (b) Does your organization have the interest and the capacity to work with USAID to implement and evaluate police development and assistance programs? Please submit the requested information to [email protected] no later than COB April 21, 2006. POINT OF CONTACT ELIZABETH HUME, DCHA/CMM, Phone: 202-712-4952, Email: [email protected]