Combatting Transnational Organized Crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina through Enhanced Forensic Accounting

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is offering a $350,000 grant for organizations to combat transnational organized crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The project aims to enhance forensic accounting capabilities by establishing a permanent training center within an academic institution in BiH. This center will develop and deliver specialized, practice-oriented courses to prosecutors and law enforcement investigators, enabling them to trace criminal money flows, build stronger cases against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and disrupt financial networks linked to international drug cartels that harm U.S. national security interests. The grant will fund one award for a 24-36 month project starting in October 2026. Eligible applicants include U.S. and foreign-based non-profits and educational institutions.

The FY2025 Budget Narrative Template outlines a comprehensive financial plan for a project, detailing anticipated costs across various categories. Key sections include personnel expenses for a Project Manager and Finance Manager, fringe benefits for both US-based and overseas staff, and detailed travel costs for international trips including airfare and lodging. The budget also allocates funds for equipment, specifically Machine X, and supplies such as laptops and workshop materials. Contractual obligations include a subgrant to Org X for specific activities. Other direct costs cover office rent and internet. The document concludes with total direct costs, indirect costs calculated based on a negotiated rate, and the total project costs. This template ensures a structured approach to budgeting for government grants and RFPs.

The FY2026 INL Applicant Pre-Award Risk Survey is a comprehensive questionnaire designed to assess an organization's suitability for federal assistance. It covers general information, internal controls, grants management, accounting systems, budgetary controls, audits, sub-recipient management, consultants, purchases, personnel, and travel policies. The survey ensures compliance with federal regulations like 2 CFR 200, evaluates financial management, risk assessment, and operational integrity. Organizations must demonstrate legal registration, robust internal controls, sound accounting practices, and adherence to federal award requirements. The document emphasizes transparency, accountability, and the ability to prevent fraud and misuse of funds, ultimately aiming to mitigate risks associated with federal grants and contracts.

The INL Change Map Template for Partner-Implemented Projects outlines a structured approach for documenting and monitoring project activities, outcomes, and goals. It serves as a living document, detailing the relationship between various project elements and how indicators track progress. While award documents establish top-level goals and objectives, the change map provides specificity by identifying expected changes, detailed activity plans, and monitoring indicators. It differentiates between goals (ultimate end state), objectives (project scope), outcomes (specific changes), sub-outcomes (component changes), and activities (partner actions). The document emphasizes the use of standard indicators where applicable, the development of project-specific outcome indicators, and the prioritization of monitoring resources. Roles and responsibilities are defined, with INL staff focusing on project information and strategic alignment, while implementing partners draft the main change map. The template ensures alignment with strategic policies and provides guidance for effective project design, monitoring, and evaluation, ultimately enhancing transparency and accountability in federally funded initiatives.

The “PERFORMANCE INDICATOR REFERENCE SHEET (PIRS)” is a guide for federal government partners to standardize performance indicator reporting for projects, particularly for RFPs and grants. It requires detailed information for each indicator, including its name, target value, associated project element (outcome, sub-outcome/output, or activity), and how it measures project performance. The PIRS specifies data types (whole number, percentage, or decimal), definitions (or numerator/denominator for percentages), data sources, collection methodologies, and geographic/non-geographic disaggregation requirements (e.g., sex, sector, course topic). It mandates quarterly reporting frequency and allows for the optional inclusion of known data limitations. The document emphasizes avoiding merged cells and excluding INL Standard Indicators or Milestones. It includes a separate tab for detailing categories for non-geographic disaggregations.

This document outlines a risk assessment for a program aimed at establishing political think tanks in countries with closed political systems, likely part of a federal grant or RFP. It identifies and mitigates various program and financial risks. Program risks include civil society partners facing restrictive operating environments (monitoring, harassment, pressure to cease operations), which will be addressed by maintaining close communication, providing security training, alerting international representatives, modifying work plans, redesigning advocacy tactics, and offering emergency assistance funds. Another program risk involves SUB-GRANTEE and PARTNER not being accepted as objective think tanks by the government; the GRANTEE will provide expertise to establish credibility and facilitate government linkages. The risk of elections resulting in a shift in power will be mitigated by finalizing stakeholder assessments and advocacy plans after election results are clear. Hesitation from government officials to engage on accountability issues for marginalized populations will be addressed by leveraging existing relationships, conducting advocacy training for CSOs, and building broad coalitions. Financial risks include the GRANTEE's inability to transfer funds to local partners, which will be mitigated by identifying alternate banking methods or using in-country staff/partners. Finally, low capacity among advocacy CSOs to manage small grants will be addressed through vetting and providing financial training and support.

The provided document outlines a comprehensive budget template for government grants and RFPs, detailing various cost categories for project funding. It includes a 'Summary Budget' for high-level overview and a 'Line-Item Budget' for detailed expenditure breakdowns. Key cost categories cover personnel (US-based and field), fringe benefits, travel (international and domestic), equipment, supplies, contractual services (subawards and consultants), construction, and other direct costs. The template also addresses indirect costs, including overhead and general and administrative expenses, with provisions for a de minimis rate. It distinguishes between total federal costs, cost-share contributions, and total project costs, emphasizing the need for these to match award amounts. The document is designed to facilitate transparent and itemized financial planning and reporting for grant applicants, ensuring all project expenses are clearly accounted for and categorized.