Strengthening Community Resilience and Policing in Uzbekistan | OFOP0001448

Opportunity Information: Apply for OFOP0001448

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is offering a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Strengthening Community Resilience and Policing in Uzbekistan" (Funding Opportunity Number OFOP0001448). The project is centered on improving community policing practices in Uzbekistan by addressing a persistent gap between ongoing government reforms and public confidence in security services. While Uzbekistan has pursued broad modernization efforts since 2017, especially within the security sector, public trust remains weak due to continuing reports and perceptions of corruption, poor responsiveness to community needs, and occasional abuse. This opportunity is designed to tackle those challenges by working on both sides of the relationship: strengthening civil society organizations so they can advocate more effectively at the local level, and helping government counterparts adopt clearer, more transparent, and more community-oriented procedures.

The core idea is to build more resilient communities by improving how local communities and law enforcement interact, communicate, and solve problems together. On the civil society side, the opportunity recognizes that local NGOs and community groups can be powerful drivers of safer, healthier neighborhoods when they have the skills, networks, and credibility to organize residents, identify priority concerns, and push for practical reforms. At the same time, it notes that Uzbek civil society remains fragmented and often lacks the support and social capital needed to influence systems in a sustained way. The grant therefore emphasizes building civil society capacity for community-based advocacy so that community voices can be better organized, better informed, and more effective in engaging local decision-makers and security institutions.

On the government side, the project aims to strengthen accountability and transparency in local communities, with particular attention to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and related local actors. The solicitation highlights the need for government institutions to become more transparent, responsive, and communicative, which implies developing or improving protocols, procedures, and practical mechanisms for community engagement. In effect, the grant is meant to support changes that make community policing more than a slogan by embedding it in routine practices: clearer communication channels, predictable ways for residents to raise concerns, more open and understandable procedures, and improved responsiveness that can be observed at the community level.

A third major pillar of the opportunity is fostering collaboration and partnership between civil society and government actors. Rather than treating reform as something driven only by government policy or only by civic pressure, the grant frames success as a working relationship where community representatives and local authorities can jointly define problems, set priorities, and build trust through consistent engagement. The expected results are practical: better cooperation, more credible community advocacy, and more accountable local policing structures that can gradually rebuild legitimacy and public confidence.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a grant competition under CFDA 19.703, categorized under community development activities. INL expects to make up to two awards, with an award ceiling of $300,000 per award. The funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-04, and the original application closing date is 2024-08-05. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, U.S.-based educational institutions that meet relevant U.S. tax code requirements (including 501(c)(3) and certain public institutions under 26 USC 115), as well as foreign-based nonprofits/NGOs and foreign-based educational institutions.

• The Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening Community Resilience and Policing in Uzbekistan" 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 2024-06-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-05. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for OFOP0001448

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