Limited Competition - Countering Wildlife Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa | INL21GR0018 SUBSAHARAN CWT 03 10 2021

Opportunity Information: Apply for INL21GR0018 SUBSAHARAN CWT 03 10 2021

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is offering a grant opportunity focused on countering wildlife trafficking and illegal logging in Sub-Saharan Africa, framed as a law enforcement and justice-oriented effort to disrupt the criminal networks that profit from these crimes. The overall goal is to reduce the ability of organized criminal groups to poach protected wildlife and traffic animals and their parts, whether the contraband originates in Africa or moves through African transit routes. The opportunity is explicitly tied to the U.S. National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking and its implementation plan, and INL notes that it set four priority objectives for funding (referenced as being listed in the FY 2020 Programming Objectives section of the full notice). In practice, applicants are expected to design projects that clearly align to these priorities and demonstrate how proposed activities will address threats associated with transnational organized crime.

This is a limited, second-stage competition rather than a fully open call. INL first ran an initial screening round in which U.S.-based and foreign nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, and institutes of higher education submitted short statements of interest (SOIs) and brief budget summaries. After technical and programmatic review, INL invited only a subset of those applicants to submit full proposals under this notice. A key eligibility requirement is procedural: applicants must attach the email invitation from INL to their application package, and proposals that fail to include that invitation letter are considered ineligible. For organizations that received more than one invitation based on multiple SOIs, INL allows submission of multiple proposals, but each submission must be complete and include all required documents.

Geographic eligibility is narrow and strictly enforced. Only bilateral (single-country) proposals in Kenya, Tanzania, or South Africa are eligible for funding under this notice. Proposals that fall outside these three countries, or that propose regional or multi-country programming, are not eligible. This framing suggests INL is looking for targeted country-level interventions where partnerships with national institutions can be clearly established, responsibilities are clear, and measurable results can be tied to a specific operating environment.

INL is asking invited applicants to build their full proposals directly from the concepts in their earlier SOIs, but with far more detail and evidence. The proposal narrative is expected to articulate a clear problem statement grounded in the local landscape and to explain the links between wildlife trafficking/illegal logging and transnational organized crime. In addition to describing what will be done, proposals should show tight logic between objectives, sub-objectives, and activities, demonstrating that the design is cohesive and directly responsive to the identified criminal threats. INL also wants applicants to map the existing counter-wildlife-trafficking (CWT) programming already operating in the intended landscape, country, or region and to explain how the proposed project will complement those efforts rather than duplicate them. In other words, coordination and added value are central evaluation themes, not optional add-ons.

Host-country buy-in is treated as a major determinant of competitiveness. INL indicates applications will be judged in part on the ability to gain host government commitment to carry out and sustain the proposed activities. Letters of support from host governments are encouraged, and formal memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the relevant lead agency are preferred. INL explicitly states it will prioritize proposals that demonstrate the strongest government support and buy-in, signaling that applicants should treat governmental partnership, authorization, and co-ownership as core elements of project feasibility and impact.

From a funding and administrative perspective, this is a discretionary grant competition administered by the Department of State (INL), categorized under law, justice, and legal services (CFDA 19.705). The notice lists an award ceiling of $1,500,000 and anticipates making around three awards, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The original closing date was May 10, 2021, and the opportunity was created on March 10, 2021, indicating a defined, time-bound competition cycle rather than an ongoing rolling application process.

• 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 "Limited Competition - Countering Wildlife Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.705.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 10, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 10, 2021. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for INL21GR0018 SUBSAHARAN CWT 03 10 2021

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