Securing Justice: Developing the Capacity of Mexican Justice Sector Operators within the New Criminal Justice System | INL18CA0003 WHPMEXICO JUSTICESECTOPS 110

Opportunity Information: Apply for INL18CA0003 WHPMEXICO JUSTICESECTOPS 110

The U.S. Department of State, through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), offered a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Securing Justice: Developing the Capacity of Mexican Justice Sector Operators within the New Criminal Justice System" (Funding Opportunity Number INL18CA0003). The program is designed to strengthen the ability of key Mexican justice-sector institutions to investigate and prosecute crime more effectively, with an emphasis on both national crime and transnational criminal activity that affects Mexico and the United States. The underlying purpose is to improve citizen security in both countries by making justice-sector performance more consistent, professional, and reliable under Mexico's evolving criminal justice framework.

The project focuses on building capacity across multiple types of public justice-sector entities. These can include judiciaries, offices of attorneys general and prosecutors, and other relevant public offices involved in criminal justice operations. Rather than concentrating only on equipment or short-term trainings, the opportunity emphasizes systemic improvements in how justice-sector operators are prepared, evaluated, and recognized as qualified to perform their duties. A central concept in the grant is the promotion of standardization and certification, meaning the program aims to encourage common benchmarks for professional performance and create formal mechanisms to confirm that personnel meet those benchmarks.

A major deliverable described in the notice is the development of certification exams for justice-sector operators as well as for the trainers who prepare them. This indicates a "train-the-trainer" and professional credentialing approach, where the program is expected to help define competencies, design assessment tools, and support structured certification processes that can be applied across institutions. In practice, this kind of work typically involves identifying the skills and knowledge required for specific roles, creating testing and evaluation methods aligned with those requirements, and helping institutions adopt the standards in a way that is repeatable and credible over time.

The funding mechanism is a Cooperative Agreement, which generally implies a more hands-on partnership with the U.S. government than a standard grant, with substantial involvement anticipated from INL during implementation. The opportunity was listed under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category and associated with CFDA number 19.703. INL expected to make a single award, with an award ceiling of $13,000,000, signaling a sizeable, centrally managed project rather than multiple smaller awards spread across different implementers.

Eligibility was limited to nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education), meaning applicants needed to be U.S.-recognized charitable nonprofits capable of managing a complex international rule-of-law program. The notice was created on November 6, 2017, with an original application closing date of December 6, 2017. The stated legal authority for the Notice of Funding Opportunity is the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, which is a common statutory basis for U.S. foreign assistance programs aimed at governance, security, and institutional capacity building.

Overall, the opportunity funds a single nonprofit implementer to partner with INL in strengthening Mexico's justice sector through standardized certification and exam development, with the broader aim of improving criminal investigations and prosecutions and enhancing public safety outcomes that matter on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

• 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 "Securing Justice: Developing the Capacity of Mexican Justice Sector Operators within the New Criminal Justice System" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.703.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 06, 2017. (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 $13,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for INL18CA0003 WHPMEXICO JUSTICESECTOPS 110

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