The Responsible Recruitment project | NOI ILAB 18 06

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOI ILAB 18 06

The Responsible Recruitment project is a U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) grant opportunity announced as a Notice of Intent (NOI), meaning it is not yet an open competition and applications are not being accepted at this stage. ILAB signaled that, if funding is available, it plans to run a competitive process to award one cooperative agreement to an organization focused on reducing forced labor and human trafficking risks that occur during the recruitment of workers. The opportunity centers on recruitment practices within a specific sector and/or supply chain, with the idea that recruitment is often a key entry point where workers can be exploited through deception, coercion, debt bondage tied to fees, document retention, or other abusive practices.

The project is structured around four intended outcomes. First, it aims to improve understanding of how forced labor and human trafficking show up in worker recruitment, which implies research, mapping, and stronger documentation of recruitment pathways and risk factors. Second, it seeks to strengthen company-led approaches to addressing these abuses in recruitment, suggesting the awardee would work closely with businesses to design or improve internal systems such as responsible recruitment policies, due diligence, remediation pathways, worker voice mechanisms, and monitoring. Third, it focuses on improving compliance by third-party recruiters with recruitment policies and procedures, reflecting the reality that companies frequently rely on labor brokers and subcontracted recruiters where oversight can be weak. Fourth, it aims to increase broader private sector action to promote responsible recruitment, pointing to industry outreach, replication of promising practices, and encouraging adoption beyond a single participating company.

A core requirement is that applicants must propose a project that includes direct engagement with at least one company and that companys labor recruiters, in at least one country, and in at least one sector and/or supply chain. The country and sector or supply chain selection cannot be arbitrary; it must be justified with evidence that recruitment-related forced labor and/or human trafficking is a real risk in the proposed setting. The notice also sets boundaries for where the project can focus: the proposed countries and sectors or supply chains should be covered by USDOL reporting such as Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor or the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. Alternatively, applicants may propose a country or sector not covered in those reports if they can provide substantive evidence showing indicators of recruitment-related forced labor or trafficking there.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, which typically means the government expects to be more actively involved than in a standard grant (for example through collaboration, approvals, or ongoing technical engagement). The anticipated total award ceiling is up to $4,000,000, and ILAB expected to make a single award. The NOI references an anticipated Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to be published by the Employment and Training Administrations Office of Grants Management, with timing indicated as as soon as possible and no later than August 2018, though the notice emphasizes that schedules can change.

Finally, the notice is explicit that it does not include the FOA, attachments, or full application instructions, and it serves only as advance public notice of ILABs intent to publish an FOA later. Interested organizations are directed to monitor grants.gov for the official FOA, since that is the channel through which it would be released and no email or paper copies would be distributed. For general guidance and examples of prior cooperative agreement applications, the notice points readers to ILABs grants webpage at dol.gov/ilab/grants/.

• The Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs in the employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The Responsible Recruitment project" 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 Jun 01, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 2018 NOTE This is a Notice of Intent. An announcement is not related to this notice. We are not accepting applications at this 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 $4,000,000.00 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 NOI ILAB 18 06

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