Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA ILAB 20 09

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is offering a competitive discretionary grant under a cooperative agreement to support a technical assistance project in Colombia focused specifically on the port sector. The opportunity, titled "Advancing Labor Compliance in Colombia's Port Sector" (Funding Opportunity Number FOA ILAB 20 09), makes up to about $5,000,000 available in total costs, depending on the availability of federal funds, with the expectation of making one award. The project period can run for up to 4.5 years (54 months) from the effective date of the award, giving the recipient enough time to assess underlying challenges, pilot solutions, and promote broader uptake of successful practices.

The central purpose of the grant is to strengthen compliance with Colombian national labor laws that align with internationally recognized labor rights in port-related work. The solicitation highlights core labor rights and protections that the project should address, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, protections against workplace discrimination, and the elimination of forced labor and child labor. It also emphasizes "acceptable conditions of work," which in this context includes compliance related to minimum wages, working hours, and occupational safety and health. In other words, the project is not framed as creating new labor standards, but as improving adherence to existing national legal requirements and reinforcing the practical conditions needed for those rights to be respected in day-to-day port operations.

ILAB lays out a clear results pathway with four intended outcomes. First, the project should produce an increased understanding of the barriers that prevent effective compliance in Colombia's port sector. That implies a strong diagnostic component, such as mapping how employment is structured in ports, where enforcement breaks down, what incentives or pressures drive noncompliance, and what workers and employers experience in practice. Second, based on that diagnostic, the project is expected to develop concrete approaches that can support better compliance. These approaches could include improved guidance, systems, coordination mechanisms, training models, or other practical tools that enable employers, workers, and relevant institutions to meet legal requirements more consistently.

Third, the opportunity expects demonstrated effectiveness, meaning the project should not stop at designing ideas on paper. It should test and show that the selected approaches work in real settings, using evidence to validate that they improve compliance or strengthen the conditions under which labor rights can be exercised. Finally, the grant seeks increased awareness and adoption of the proven approaches, signaling that ILAB wants results that spread beyond a small pilot and can be taken up more broadly across the port sector. This last outcome points toward communication, stakeholder engagement, and strategies to institutionalize successful practices so they continue after the project ends.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which generally means substantial involvement by the federal agency during implementation compared with a standard grant. The posting identifies the agency as the Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, and associates it with CFDA number 17.401. The opportunity was originally posted on September 3, 2020, with an original closing date of October 8, 2020, and it indicates an award ceiling of $5,000,000 with one expected award. Eligible applicants are listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement, suggesting that nontraditional or varied organization types may be allowed depending on the FOA's eligibility language.

Overall, the opportunity is aimed at producing practical, evidence-backed improvements in how labor rights are respected and enforced in Colombia's port sector. It is structured to move from diagnosing compliance barriers, to developing solutions, to proving they work, and then driving wider adoption so that improvements become standard practice rather than isolated successes.

  • The Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advancing Labor Compliance in Colombia’s Port Sector" 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 Sep 03, 2020.
  • Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 08, 2020. (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 $5,000,000.00 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).
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