Enabling Community-Oriented Policing in Burkina Faso | INL22CA0004 AMEBURK COMPOLICE 10202021

Opportunity Information: Apply for INL22CA0004 AMEBURK COMPOLICE 10202021

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) offered a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Enabling Community-Oriented Policing in Burkina Faso" to support a project aimed at helping Burkinabe law enforcement strengthen community policing and, through that, rebuild the relationship between citizens and the state. The core idea is that policing legitimacy in Burkina Faso depends heavily on whether people see the police and gendarmerie as fair, transparent, and responsive. The project is therefore designed less as a one-off training effort and more as a push for deeper institutional and cultural change that improves trust, day-to-day cooperation, and the overall "social contract" between communities and security services.

The opportunity recognizes that transforming policing is difficult because it requires more than changing procedures or delivering technical training. It emphasizes that trust-building is central, especially in settings where communities may remember past abuses or long periods of weak service delivery. INL frames community-oriented policing as a practical tool to help law enforcement engage citizens respectfully, solve local safety problems collaboratively, and demonstrate accountability. The expected result is improved governance and stability: when police-community relationships improve, it can reduce distrust and friction that often contribute to insecurity and perceptions of government failure.

The program focuses specifically on Burkina Faso and targets the main national law enforcement institutions, defined here as the national police and the gendarmerie. While the work is country-focused for the duration of the project, the implementer is allowed to use regional collaboration when it clearly helps achieve outcomes, which matters in a Sahel context where security challenges and reform lessons often cross borders. The grant is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning INL anticipates an active partnership role rather than a hands-off funding relationship.

INL outlines three main "enabling changes" that applicants are expected to pursue. First, the project should support the integration of community-oriented policing principles into both initial training for new recruits and in-service training for active personnel, so that the approach becomes part of how officers are formed and how they continue to develop professionally. Second, the project should strengthen the human resource, leadership, and management capabilities required to implement and sustain community policing over time, reflecting the view that lasting reform requires competent supervisors, clear incentives, and supportive internal systems, not just frontline skills. Third, the project should ensure public communication systems are able to proactively explain positive reforms and respond effectively to incidents, acknowledging that public confidence is shaped not only by what police do, but also by whether institutions communicate transparently and credibly, especially during crises.

The opportunity also stresses that progress will depend on careful analysis, close engagement with both government counterparts and citizens, and an adaptive approach that can iterate based on what is working locally. Rather than assuming a single fixed model will succeed, the project is expected to test ideas, refine them with local actors, navigate political and operational constraints, and take advantage of emerging openings for reform. Activities may include work at the policy and leadership level alongside technical training and limited equipment support, but always with an eye toward improving how police interact with the public and how those interactions are perceived.

Coordination is treated as a major requirement, not a side task. The implementer is expected to actively coordinate with other police reform efforts underway in Burkina Faso, including host government initiatives and donor-supported programs. The solicitation explicitly notes the need to partner, learn from, and align with other stakeholders such as the European Union, other parts of the U.S. Department of State, the G5 Sahel regional organization, and additional actors involved in governance and security sector programming. This is meant to avoid duplication, reinforce complementary reforms, and increase the chance that improvements are institutionalized beyond the life of the grant.

In terms of basic opportunity details, the funding opportunity number is INL22CA0004 (also labeled AMEBURK COMPOLICE 10202021). It was released on October 28, 2021, with an original application deadline of November 26, 2021. INL anticipated making one award with an award ceiling of $1,000,000. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, the activity category is Law, Justice and Legal Services, and the CFDA number listed is 19.703. Eligibility is described broadly as "Others," with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility section of the announcement.

Overall, the grant opportunity is essentially a reform support package aimed at making community-oriented policing real in practice in Burkina Faso by embedding it in training, strengthening the leadership and management systems needed to sustain it, and improving communication with the public. The program is built around the idea that legitimacy and effective security delivery depend on regular, respectful, and accountable engagement between law enforcement and the communities they serve, with government and civil society actors positioned as leading voices in shaping and sustaining that change.

• The Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Enabling Community-Oriented Policing in Burkina Faso" 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 Oct 28, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 26, 2021. (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 $1,000,000.00 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).

Apply for INL22CA0004 AMEBURK COMPOLICE 10202021

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