Developing Prevention and Urban Design Strategies for Municipalities in Costa Rica to Prevent Crime and Drug Trafficking | INL17GR0043 WHPCOSTARICA PREVENTIONSTRAT

Opportunity Information: Apply for INL17GR0043 WHPCOSTARICA PREVENTIONSTRAT

The grant opportunity titled "Developing Prevention and Urban Design Strategies for Municipalities in Costa Rica to Prevent Crime and Drug Trafficking" (Funding Opportunity Number INL17GR0043) is a discretionary U.S. Department of State award administered through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). It is designed to help municipalities in Costa Rica strengthen local crime prevention capacity, with a strong emphasis on practical urban design interventions that reduce opportunities for crime and support community safety. The overall approach ties municipal planning and public space management directly to crime prevention, using evidence from prior assessments and structured technical support to turn those findings into on-the-ground changes.

At the center of the project is the development of municipal crime prevention strategies based on AISEC results. While the notice does not define AISEC in the text provided, it clearly indicates that participating municipalities already have assessment results that should guide planning and prioritization. The selected implementer is expected to translate those diagnostics into actionable municipal strategies, with particular attention to CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). CPTED is a well-established prevention framework that focuses on how the built environment and day-to-day use of spaces can deter crime by improving natural surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement, maintenance, lighting, sightlines, and legitimate community activity. In practice, this means the project is not only about training or planning documents; it is also about redesigning and managing public spaces in ways that make crime harder to commit and easier to detect, while improving residents' sense of ownership and safety.

Implementation is structured around delivering trainings, providing technical assistance, and offering ongoing support across a cohort of 15 municipalities. The work is intended to be multi-stakeholder and operational, involving municipal governments, municipal police, Costa Rica's Fuerza Publica, and community members. This signals a focus on coordination between local authorities and national policing, as well as community participation, which is often essential for CPTED efforts to be accepted, maintained, and used as intended. The project expects the implementing organization to act as a hands-on partner to municipalities, helping them apply prevention concepts consistently and tailor interventions to local conditions rather than relying on one-size-fits-all recommendations.

A concrete deliverable built into the opportunity is that the selected organization must assist municipalities in revitalizing one park using CPTED theory. This park component functions as a practical demonstration site where strategies can be tested and showcased. Park revitalization under CPTED commonly includes improvements such as better lighting, trimming or redesigning landscaping to reduce hiding places, creating clear lines of sight, reconfiguring entrances and pathways to guide legitimate use, adding signage and wayfinding, incorporating activity zones that attract regular users, improving maintenance plans, and coordinating patrol patterns with the redesigned layout. The requirement to revitalize a park underscores that the project is expected to produce visible, place-based outcomes, not just capacity building.

The award is a grant with an anticipated ceiling of $300,000 and the program planned to make one award. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations, including those with 501(c)(3) status and those without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education. The opportunity was created on July 6, 2017, with an original closing date of August 31, 2017, and it is listed under CFDA 19.704, aligning it with international narcotics control and law enforcement assistance activities.

Operationally, the implementing organization must coordinate closely with INL Costa Rica and Costa Rica's Ministry of Security. That partnership requirement indicates the work will be integrated with government security priorities and likely aligned with existing prevention and policing initiatives. It also implies reporting, joint planning, and regular coordination will be part of the awardee's responsibilities. Overall, the grant is best understood as a targeted, implementation-oriented prevention initiative: it aims to strengthen municipal-level planning and collaboration, apply CPTED to recover and improve public spaces, and produce at least one tangible revitalization project while supporting a broader set of municipalities through training and technical assistance to reduce crime and drug trafficking pressures.

• 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 "Developing Prevention and Urban Design Strategies for Municipalities in Costa Rica to Prevent Crime and Drug Trafficking" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.704.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 2017. (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 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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