Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA ILAB 21 09
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) offered a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Strengthening Conciliation to Enhance Resolution of Labor Disputes in Mexico" (FOA ILAB 21 09) to support Mexico's ongoing labor justice transformation under the 2019 Labor Law Reform. ILAB made up to $10,000,000 available through a cooperative agreement to fund one technical assistance project focused specifically on improving how conciliation is used to prevent and resolve labor disputes. The project was designed to reinforce the reform's broader goals of building a more transparent and impartial labor justice system and strengthening protections for freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The opportunity is grounded in Mexico's constitutional and legal reforms that shifted labor dispute adjudication away from the former Conciliation and Arbitration Boards and into newly created labor courts. These include federal labor courts and state-level local labor courts staffed by specialized labor judges. Within this new model, conciliation is meant to play a central role in resolving disputes earlier, faster, and in a way that reduces the burden on the courts, while still aligning with due process and the rights-based intent of the reform. ILAB's funding was therefore aimed at making conciliation mechanisms not just available on paper, but consistently functional, credible, and widely used in practice.
The grant set out two core outcomes. Outcome 1 focused on institutional performance: government conciliation bodies should operate effectively and efficiently in a manner consistent with the 2019 reform. In practical terms, this implies strengthening operational capacity, improving procedures and service delivery, ensuring staff are able to carry out conciliation roles competently, and supporting systems that make conciliation accessible and reliable. Outcome 2 focused on uptake and impact: there should be increased use of conciliation mechanisms to prevent and resolve labor disputes in alignment with the reform. This points to expanding awareness, building trust among workers and employers, improving user experience, and addressing barriers that keep disputes from being settled through conciliation before escalating to litigation.
The project period was set at up to 4.5 years (54 months) from the effective date of award, reflecting the scale and complexity of implementing institution-building assistance and behavior-change efforts across a national labor system. Because the award mechanism was a cooperative agreement, ILAB anticipated substantial involvement in the project during implementation, typically meaning closer collaboration, alignment on deliverables, and ongoing coordination between the recipient and the agency compared with a standard grant.
Eligibility was broad and included commercial organizations, international organizations, educational institutions, and nonprofit entities, including faith-based and community-based organizations, as well as public international organizations, so long as the applicant could credibly deliver the technical assistance required to meet the stated outcomes. The funding opportunity was published July 16, 2021, under CFDA 17.401 (Employment, Labor and Training). Applications were due electronically by September 15, 2021, no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and ILAB expected to make a single award with an award ceiling of $10,000,000.Apply for FOA ILAB 21 09
- The Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs in the employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening Conciliation to Enhance Resolution of Labor Disputes in Mexico" 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 Jul 16, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 15, 2021 The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is September 15, 2021. Applications must be received electronically no later than 40000 p.m. Eastern Time.. (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 $10,000,000.00 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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the title of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity was titled "Strengthening Conciliation to Enhance Resolution of Labor Disputes in Mexico" (FOA ILAB 21 09).
Which U.S. government office offered the opportunity?
It was offered by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB).
What type of funding opportunity was this?
This was a discretionary grant opportunity intended to fund one technical assistance project through a cooperative agreement.
How much funding was available?
ILAB made up to $10,000,000 available for this opportunity.
How many awards did ILAB expect to make?
ILAB expected to make a single award.
What was the award ceiling?
The award ceiling was $10,000,000.
What is the project period (how long could the project run)?
The project period was set at up to 4.5 years (54 months) from the effective date of award.
Why was the project period set for up to 54 months?
The period reflected the scale and complexity of providing institution-building technical assistance and supporting behavior-change efforts across Mexico's labor system.
What was the focus of the funded project?
The funded project was focused specifically on improving how conciliation is used to prevent and resolve labor disputes in Mexico.
How does this opportunity relate to Mexico's 2019 Labor Law Reform?
The opportunity was designed to support Mexico's ongoing labor justice transformation under the 2019 Labor Law Reform, including efforts to build a more transparent and impartial labor justice system and strengthen protections for freedom of association and collective bargaining.
What major system change in Mexico does this opportunity reference?
It references Mexico's constitutional and legal reforms that shifted labor dispute adjudication away from the former Conciliation and Arbitration Boards into newly created labor courts, including federal labor courts and state-level local labor courts staffed by specialized labor judges.
What role is conciliation supposed to play in the new labor justice model?
In the new model, conciliation is meant to play a central role in resolving disputes earlier and faster, reducing the burden on courts while aligning with due process and the reform's rights-based intent.
What was ILAB trying to achieve by funding conciliation-focused technical assistance?
ILAB aimed to help ensure conciliation mechanisms are not only established in law but are also consistently functional, credible, and widely used in practice.
What were the two core outcomes of the grant?
The grant identified two outcomes: (1) institutional performance of government conciliation bodies consistent with the 2019 reform, and (2) increased use of conciliation to prevent and resolve labor disputes in alignment with the reform.
What does Outcome 1 (institutional performance) mean in practical terms?
Outcome 1 implied strengthening government conciliation bodies by improving operational capacity, enhancing procedures and service delivery, ensuring staff can perform conciliation roles competently, and supporting systems that make conciliation accessible and reliable.
What does Outcome 2 (uptake and impact) mean in practical terms?
Outcome 2 pointed to increasing the actual use of conciliation by expanding awareness, building trust among workers and employers, improving the user experience, and addressing barriers that keep disputes from being settled through conciliation before escalating to litigation.
What does it mean that the award mechanism was a cooperative agreement?
Because it was a cooperative agreement, ILAB anticipated substantial involvement during implementation, typically meaning closer collaboration and ongoing coordination on deliverables between the recipient and the agency than in a standard grant.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility included commercial organizations, international organizations, educational institutions, and nonprofit entities (including faith-based and community-based organizations), as well as public international organizations, as long as the applicant could credibly deliver the technical assistance needed to meet the outcomes.
Was the opportunity limited only to nonprofits?
No. Eligibility was broad and included both nonprofit and commercial organizations, along with other entity types listed in the funding description.
What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity was published under CFDA 17.401 (Employment, Labor and Training).
When was the funding opportunity published?
It was published on July 16, 2021.
When were applications due?
Applications were due electronically by September 15, 2021, no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
What was the submission method and deadline format?
Applications had to be submitted electronically and were time-bound to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
What broader reform goals did the project support?
The project was designed to reinforce broader goals of building a more transparent and impartial labor justice system and strengthening protections for freedom of association and collective bargaining, while emphasizing conciliation as an early dispute resolution pathway.
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