Sharing U.S. best practices in transparency mechanisms offered to civil society organizations

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A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to share U.S. best practices in transparency mechanisms offered to civil society organizations. Please follow all instructions below. Program Objectives: In 2019 the Dominican Republic was ranked 137/180 in the Corruption Perception Index. This index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. At the same time, in the Global Corruption Barometer 66% of people in the Dominican Republic thought corruption increased in the previous 12 months. On August 16, 2020, a new administration took charge in the Dominican Republic. One of the first actions of the new president was to sign a letter of commitment on ethics and integrity, all ministers signed the letter of commitment as well. This new administration has a firm intention of combating corruption and creating and/or using government transparency and accountability mechanisms/tools at the service of Dominicans to improve governance in the country. Considering that civil society organizations (CSO) have the potential to serve as watchdogs and generate community dialogue on issues to spur increased government accountability and encourage policies to combat corruption. Therefore, in support of the U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo mission objectives to strengthen democratic participation, this notice of funding opportunity seeks to support a U.S. speaker program with an expert on issues of transparency, accountability, and open government who will engage with local government entities and civil society organizations to share U.S. experiences and best practices in management and compliance of FOIA requests, ethics and integrity of FOIA offices, and publication of audits and reports for the public. The goal of this project is to share U.S. best practices with Dominican government institutions that manage transparency tools or mechanisms in order to establish a better understanding of the government’s role supporting CSO’s access to transparency and accountability mechanisms. Moreover, it will create a space for dialogue and exchange between the above mentioned government institutions and civil society organizations. To measure the expected results of established understanding for this project, applicants should to factor in a survey to participants before and after the project. U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo will identify a U.S. expert that will work with the grantee to organize a minimum off four days of engagements of the U.S. expert with officials from Dominican government entities, such as, the General Directorate of Government Ethics and Integrity (DIGEIG), the Department of Social Control of the Chamber of Accounts (local equivalent to OIG), government Procurement Office and other government institutions managing transparency and accountability mechanisms. Therefore, applicants must present an intentional agenda of engagements and a budget for the logistical aspects of this proposal, such as, room and audio visual rental (if needed), transportation of the U.S. speaker, reaching out to the targeted audience and confirming participation, etc. Applicants must present a budget and manage the travel expenses (local and international) of the U.S. expert for the duration of the project. These include flights (under Fly America Act), hotel reservations, airport transportation, local transportation to local engagements, cover per diem and honorarium based on the U.S. Department of State rates. Applicants must create a media engagement plan that incorporates traditional and social media in collaboration with the Communications Team of the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy.

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