Understanding the Environmental Harm Resulting from Criminal Organizations’ Activities and their Facilitators in Latin America and the Caribbean | INL23CA0012 WHPREGIONAL CTATE 013123

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the main goal of this grant opportunity?

The opportunity supports a regional assessment that systematically evaluates and quantifies environmental damage linked to organized criminal activity and the networks that enable it across Latin America and the Caribbean. The intent is to move beyond anecdotal reporting and produce evidence that can inform law enforcement, justice-sector responses, and broader policy decisions related to illicit economies and the environmental harm they generate.

2) Who is funding and administering this opportunity?

The funder is the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

3) What type of award is this?

This is a discretionary funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement typically signals substantial involvement by INL during implementation, such as coordination on methodologies, deliverables, stakeholder engagement, and alignment with U.S. foreign assistance priorities.

4) What is the program area or assistance category?

The funding activity category is Law, Justice, and Legal Services (CFDA 19.705). While the topic is environmental harm, it is approached through the lens of crime, enforcement, accountability, and justice-sector use of evidence.

5) What geographic region does the project need to cover?

The scope is regional across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). There is a clear preference for proposals that work across all four sub-regions: Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

6) Is a multi-country approach required?

The opportunity is explicitly regional, and applicants are encouraged to include as many countries as practical. The preference for coverage across all four sub-regions suggests that competitive proposals will likely use a multi-country approach rather than focusing on a single country.

7) Is Panama required to be included in the project?

Yes. The project must include staff presence or on-the-ground activities based in Panama. This is described as an operational requirement even if the analysis spans multiple countries.

8) What does the Panama requirement mean in practice?

Based on the information provided, Panama must be part of the project footprint through staffing and/or on-the-ground activities. Even if research and analysis cover multiple LAC countries, the implementation setup must include Panama as a base or operational location.

9) How closely does the work need to be coordinated with INL?

All assistance and activities must be coordinated with and approved by INL and must align with U.S. government policy. This indicates ongoing collaboration with the funder during implementation rather than a fully independent effort.

10) What kinds of outcomes or deliverables is INL looking for?

The solicitation emphasizes producing evidence that systematically evaluates and quantifies environmental impacts caused by organized criminal activity. A strong proposal would likely generate findings that can be used by policymakers and justice-sector actors, supporting enforcement and accountability responses to illicit economies and their environmental harms.

11) What does "going beyond anecdotal reporting" imply for the assessment?

It implies the assessment should use credible methods to measure and quantify impacts, not just descriptive narratives. Competitive approaches would likely include clear metrics, defensible data sources, and analytical methods that can withstand scrutiny and be actionable for policy and justice-sector use.

12) What topics or linkages should the assessment focus on?

The assessment is focused on environmental damage linked to criminal organizations and the networks that enable them. This includes understanding how organized criminal activity and facilitators drive environmental harm across the region.

13) Is this grant more about conservation or law enforcement and justice?

Based on the funding category (Law, Justice, and Legal Services) and INL sponsorship, the environmental focus is framed through organized crime, illicit economies, enforcement, and justice-sector accountability rather than purely conservation programming.

14) How much funding is available?

The award ceiling is $1,125,000.

15) How many awards does INL expect to make?

The opportunity anticipates making one award.

16) When was the opportunity posted and what was the application deadline?

The competition was posted on January 31, 2023, with an original application deadline of March 17, 2023.

17) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement text. This suggests a range of organization types may be eligible, but the specific eligibility requirements would be defined in the full solicitation.

18) What kinds of organizational capabilities would likely strengthen a proposal?

Based on the regional scope, preference for coverage across Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, and the Panama operational requirement, strong proposals would likely demonstrate regional coordination capacity, multi-country partnerships or field presence, and an ability to operate effectively from Panama while producing region-wide findings.

19) What does the solicitation suggest about methodology expectations?

Because the call emphasizes assessing and quantifying impacts, proposals would likely need to describe clear metrics, data sources, and analytical methods designed to produce measurable, defensible results that can inform policy and justice-sector decision-making.

20) Does INL indicate how the assessment will be used?

Yes. The purpose includes producing evidence that can inform law enforcement and justice-sector responses and broader policy decisions related to illicit economies and the environmental harms they generate.