Global Documentation for Accountability Initiative
🏛 Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor (DOS-DRL)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 16, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for organizations documenting human rights violations and abuses to support accountability measures. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based and foreign-based nonprofits, think tanks, civil society organizations, educational institutions (public and private), and for-profit organizations. The program supports documentation efforts that meet evidentiary standards for sanctions, visa restrictions, and law enforcement use. Activities include improving volume and quality of human rights documentation and making information actionable for policy makers.
Geographic scope is global. Organizations of various types can partner or subcontract. The focus is on credible, policy-relevant human rights data collection and analysis.
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Program description
This global program will support the documentation of human rights violations and abuses and transform this information into credible, actionable, policy-relevant data that can support U.S. and allied sanctions, visa restrictions, law enforcement, DRL’s annual Human Rights Reports, diplomatic engagement, and other accountability measures. By improving the volume, quality, accessibility, and analytical use of locally generated information that meets the evidentiary standards used by the United States and U.S. allies for human rights-based sanctions, visa restrictions, and other accountability tools, the program addresses critical gaps that limit the operational use of documentation efforts and enables burden‑sharing.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Narrative
- Statement of work and timeline
- Organizational capacity documentation
- Relevant past work samples or case studies
Program contact
- 👤 Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor
- 📞 202-890-9795
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 19.345 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$315,860,780
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$315,249,800
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$315,000,000
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$300,000,000
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$169,139,219
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$41,873,445
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$25,316,509
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$25,249,252
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$18,266,765
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$10,254,124
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
U.S.-based and foreign-based nonprofits, think tanks, civil society organizations, educational institutions, and for-profit organizations are eligible. Applicants should focus on human rights documentation and accountability work.
What is the award amount?
Individual awards range from $2,000,000 to $4,932,500. This is a large grant requiring substantial organizational capacity.
What types of activities does this grant support?
The grant funds human rights documentation, data analysis, transformation of documentation into actionable intelligence, and work that supports sanctions, visa restrictions, and law enforcement efforts.
What makes an application competitive?
Strong applications demonstrate expertise in human rights documentation, track record of credible evidence collection, understanding of evidentiary standards used by the U.S. government, and capacity to produce policy-relevant analysis.
Are there matching requirements?
No cost sharing or matching funds are required. The grant covers the full project scope.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Emphasize your organization's credibility and track record in human rights documentation and evidence collection.
- Show how your documentation methodology meets U.S. and allied evidentiary standards for accountability measures.
- Clearly explain how your work will produce actionable, policy-relevant intelligence for government stakeholders.
- Demonstrate partnerships or coordination with government agencies, law enforcement, or allied nations to ensure relevance.
- Include specific examples of past documentation work and how it has supported accountability outcomes.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Submitting proposals that lack clear connection to U.S. government accountability priorities or failing to demonstrate how documentation will meet specific evidentiary standards. Applications underestimating the complexity of producing intelligence-grade human rights data. Weak partnerships with government stakeholders or unclear dissemination strategies for findings.
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