About

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to increase the effectiveness of investigation and prosecution of public corruption crimes.

Project Goal(s) and Objectives

• This program will strengthen the capacity of Pakistan’s anti-corruption institutions so they can prosecute public corruption cases successfully and impartially. Building on the success of an initial pilot project for Balochistan, INL seeks to support Pakistani government partners by 1) training and mentoring of anti-corruption officials (especially women officers) to improve their investigation and prosecution capacities; 2) developing consistent anti-corruption policy frameworks at the provincial level that promote transparency and accountability; and 3) raising citizens’ awareness about anti-corruption services and redressal mechanisms to increase their confidence in public service delivery.

• The training and mentoring delivered through this project will increase the capacity of anti-corruption officers who are responsible for investigating and prosecuting public corruption cases. The policy frameworks established through this project will promote accountability and transparency of provincial government institutions and the awareness raising component will help improve public trust and confidence in public service delivery mechanisms.

• The project objectives are listed below:

  • The first objective will focus on training investigators and prosecutors of the provincial anti-corruption establishments who are in charge of prosecuting public corruption cases. 

  • The second objective of this project will focus on providing institutional support to provincial Anti-Corruption Establishments (ACEs) through designing effective policies that encourage transparency, gender inclusion, and use of modern technological tools to investigate financial crimes (e.g. establishing Financial Investigation Units (FIUs) within ACEs)

  • The third objective of this project aims to increase citizens’ awareness on improved public service delivery through outreach campaigns, which will improve citizens’ trust in government led anti-corruption institutions and increase the number of corruption complaints filed.

• The objectives of this project directly contribute to the following U.S. foreign policy objectives: 

  • U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption (Pillar 5). 

  • INL Bureau’s Strategic Framework on combatting corruption (Goal 2) 

  • Integrated Country Strategy (ICS) – Mission Objective 1.2 – Pakistan strengthens its rule of law and increases its law enforcement capacity and gender inclusivity within the justice sector.

Funding Information

• Total available funding: $750,000

• Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $500,000 to a maximum of $750,000 

• Length of performance period: 24 months 

• Anticipated program start date: September 2, 2024 

• Number of awards anticipated: 1-2 awards (dependent on amounts) 

Project Activities and Deliverables

• Objective 1: Training and capacity building

  • Consult with appropriate authorities to develop a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) on course priorities and subject matter expertise of the public corruption enforcement sector in Pakistan.

  • Develop a minimum of six courses (three for investigators and three for prosecutors) to train provincial ACE officials on how to investigate and prosecute cases related to financial crimes. The course design should include lesson plans based on international best practices and should be in English and Urdu languages.

  • Conduct a minimum of five trainings of each provincial anti-corruption establishment have 40 percent female participation in each training. Total 20 trainings for four provinces.

  • Deliver a minimum of three train the trainer sessions at each provincial anti-corruption establishment to identify potential master trainers who can continue to conduct trainings in-house after the project ends. Total 12 train the trainer sessions for four provinces.

• Objective 2: Institutional support 

  • Conduct a research study to identify corruption challenges and recommendations for improvement for each province.

  • Conduct a process mapping study of each provincial anti-corruption establishment to understand how cases are processed. This study should identify gaps, delays and challenges in case preparation and processing and should recommend steps for improvement.

  • Develop a whistleblower protection policy for each anti-corruption establishment to ensure that citizens have a complaint redressal mechanism where they can register corruption complaints.

  • Establish a hotline for reporting corruption cases for each provincial anti-corruption establishment.

  • Develop a gender and social inclusion policy for each provincial anti-corruption establishment to ensure they recruit and retain more women officers in important operational positions.

  • Establish (or improve existing) Financial Investigation Units (FIUs) at provincial anti-corruption establishments to ensure they are equipped with modern technological tools to investigate suspicious transaction reports. This may include furnishing the FIUs with basic furniture and IT equipment.

• Objective 3: Awareness Raising 

  • Conduct a minimum of four awareness raising campaigns on social media highlighting the improved services of provincial anti-corruption establishments as well as their available hotline to report corruption cases. One awareness raising campaign for each province.

  • Conduct a minimum of two youth engagement seminars in each province at a local university to discuss corruption challenges of the province and identify how the local anti-corruption establishment can help mitigate these challenges. Two seminars in each province, eight seminars in total.

  • Conduct at least one community engagement seminar in each province on 9th December, International Anti-corruption Day to discuss corruption challenges and raise awareness about the improved capacity of the provincial anti-corruption establishment.

Participants and Audiences

• The participants and audiences for this project are listed below: 

  • Provincial anti-corruption establishments. (Direct beneficiaries) 

  • State Bank of Pakistan (Advisory role) 

  • Federal Investigation Agency (Advisory role) 

  • Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (Advisory role) 

  • Universities 

  • General Public

Priority Region/Countries

• Asia/Pakistan

Eligibility

• The following organizations are eligible to apply: 

  • U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs); 

  • U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code or section 26 US 115 of the U.S. tax code; 

  • Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs); 

  • Foreign-based educational institutions 

• Applicants must also meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply to this NOFO: 

  • Must be registered with the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) in Pakistan.

Post Date: May 16, 2024