Promoting the Voices and Engagement of Persons with Lived Experience to Prevent Labor Exploitation (NOI)

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), an agency within the United States Department of Labor (USDOL), is the designated entity for this funding opportunity. ILAB works to improve working conditions, promote fair labor standards, and eliminate labor abuses around the world. This particular notice is not a call for competitive applications but a Notice of Intent (NOI), which signals the agency's decision to fund a specific project through a cooperative agreement without a competitive application process. This Notice of Intent (NOI), identified as NOI-ILAB-24-08, outlines USDOL’s plan to award a cooperative agreement to the organization Free the Slaves. The project’s core objective is to support and elevate the voices of persons with lived experience of labor exploitation, including human trafficking, forced labor, child labor, and other forms of labor abuse. The initiative will provide technical assistance that empowers these individuals to participate meaningfully in policy development and implementation processes aimed at preventing labor exploitation. The cooperative agreement, valued at $2,000,000, will support activities that promote leadership development among persons with lived experience and provide technical guidance to governments seeking to institutionalize this participation in their systems. This includes ensuring that those who have experienced exploitation directly are not only consulted but given active roles in policy creation and reform. Although this is not a competitive funding opportunity, ILAB has released the NOI in alignment with federal transparency requirements to inform the public and stakeholders of its funding plans. The opportunity falls under Assistance Listing 17.401 – International Labor Programs, and the planned funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which suggests that ILAB will be substantially involved in project implementation. Since this is not an open competition, typical application submission requirements, evaluation criteria, and deadlines do not apply. There is no estimated open or closing date for applications, and eligibility is restricted based on the Department’s internal decision to directly fund Free the Slaves. No matching funds are required for this agreement, and the number of awards is limited to one. For further details, interested parties can refer to the ILAB website at http://www.dol.gov/ilab. The designated point of contact for this opportunity is Carlie Ortiz, who can be reached at ortiz.carlie@dol.gov or by phone at (202) 693-9303.