01 - APS Common Questions Answers - Upd 6.23.2021.pdf

Questions to and Answers from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) about its Annual Program Statement to

Address Impacts of COVID-19

How does the Annual Program Statement work differently from the Annual Competition for Awards?

Unlike the Annual Competition for Awards, this Annual Program Statement is a special one-stage process focused on COVID-19 that will remain open for an extended period of time. Applications submitted will be reviewed quarterly for potential funding. Applications submitted under this funding opportunity must include the project narrative, results performance monitoring plan, budget summary and budget narrative. Applicants must use the required template for these documents, which can be found on SAMS Domestic and Grants.gov.

Submission of additional documents will result in a failure of the technical review.

If an application is selected for funding, additional documents will be required before the award is made.

What types of applications is the TIP Office looking to fund under this initiative?

The TIP Office is looking to fund efforts not covered under the Annual Competition for Awards process that directly addresses the impacts of COVID-19 on the prevention, protection, and prosecution efforts to combat human trafficking.

This announcement is specifically focused on projects that address urgent and short-term targeted needs related to COVID-19 and human trafficking. The intent of this initiative is not to directly fund requests for PPE or requests to fund efforts that the government should be doing. Below is one example of the types of activities the TIP Office would be supportive in funding.

EXAMPLE: Country A has sent 25,000 migrant workers back to Country B because it cannot provide COVID-19 support to them. Many of these migrant workers are suspected to be victims of trafficking and are congregating in camps on the border because Country B is requesting them to quarantine for 14 days.

The TIP Office would consider funding an initiative that trains frontline health care workers or border officials working in these camps to identify victims of trafficking or awareness campaigns on human trafficking in these camps. The TIP

Office would not consider funding a request solely for hygiene kits and blankets for these camps.

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

U.S.-based and foreign non-profits, nongovernmental organizations (including faith-based organizations), for-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, and public international organizations (PIOs) are eligible to apply for funding under this solicitation. For-profit organizations are not permitted to generate profits from grant-funded activities.

The Department of State’s Office of the Procurement Executive must provide additional approval for grants awarded to for-profit entities. Foreign governments are not eligible to apply, although governments may be beneficiaries of funded programs, provided that funding does not pay salaries of government agency personnel and that such assistance is not restricted by U.S. law or policy.

How many awards does the TIP Office intend to make under this Annual Program Statement?

The TIP Office allocated up to $3.5 million for Series 1 – 4 and plans to allocate additional funding as needed and available for Series 5 – 7 due to the ongoing urgent needs related to the impacts of COVID-19 and related mitigation measures.

The TIP Office will continue to issue awards on a regular basis to address the rapidly changing needs and opportunities.

Is there a minimum or maximum funding request?

Applicants may apply for no less than $100,000. There is no maximum funding request.

Is there a limit for the duration of a proposed project?

Applicants may determine the duration of the project based on the proposed activities, proposed budget, and needs identified in the selected location.

Applicants should propose a timeline that meets the urgent short-term needs, which is typically 24 months, and should not propose a duration of more than 60 months.

Is the funding opportunity open to all countries?

Applicants may propose their own countries or regions to work in outside the United States, keeping in mind the TIP Office generally prioritizes foreign assistance in those countries assessed below Tier 1 and where governments demonstrate political will, but lack the economic resources or anti-trafficking expertise to effectively address the problem. While applicants may propose to work in one or more countries, when selecting countries, applicants should consider a country’s income level as indicated by the World Bank, tier rankings as indicated by the TIP Report, and other anti-trafficking funding. The TIP Office will not fund any projects in the United States as foreign assistance funds can only be used outside of the United States.

Is this a one-stage or two-stage application process?

A: This is a one-stage application process to be able to address the rapidly changing needs on the ground. Applicants must only submit the online SF424 forms, a project narrative, results performance monitoring plan, budget summary, and line-item budget. Submission of additional documents will result in a failure of the technical review. Applicants must use the required templates for these documents, which can be found on SAMS Domestic or Grants.gov. Applicants that do not use the required templates will fail the technical review. Any application selected for funding will need to submit additional documents before a final award is made.

When does the TIP Office anticipate awarding applications selected for funding?

A: To address the rapidly changing needs on the ground, the TIP Office will work with the applicant to make awards as soon as possible once a funding decision is made. Applications may be submitted at any time until April 15, 2022 and will be reviewed and selected for funding on a quarterly basis as indicated below.

Applications Received Before Estimated

Review Process

Anticipated

Award Series 1 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time

(EDT) on September 30, 2020 Oct – Dec 2020 December 2020

/ January 2021

Series 2 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time

(EDT) on December 30, 2020

Jan – Mar 2021 March 2021

Series 3 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on March 30, 2021

Apr – Jun 2021 June 2021

Series 4 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on June 30, 2021

Jul – Sept 2021 September 2021

Series 5 5:00pm on Eastern Daylight

Time (EDT) on September 30, Sept – Dec 2021 December 2021

/ January 2022

Series 6 5:00pm on Eastern Daylight

Time (EDT) on December 15, Jan – Mar 2022 March 2022

Series 7 5:00pm on Eastern Daylight

Time (EDT) on April 15, 2022

Apr – Jun 2022 June 2022

May an applicant submit more than one application?

Applicants may submit more than one application for the same geographic location that address different programming activities, but should keep in mind that there are limited resources under this funding opportunity and the TIP Office will prioritize funding for applications that address the greatest need and are mostly likely to make a positive impact.

May I re-submit an application that was not selected for funding at another point during the year?

Unfortunately, the TIP Office will not re-consider any applications that were not selected for funding at another point in the year. You may submit a similar application for consideration that addresses the same need as a previous application, but with a different technical approach.

May more than one organization submit an application together?

The TIP Office encourages partnerships among anti-trafficking stakeholders in proposed project designs. If submitting an application with another organization, there must be one lead (also known as prime) organization that will receive the full award and any other organization(s) must be listed as partner organizations (also known as sub-awards). Do not submit any letters of intent to support the proposed project with the application at this time as it will result in a failure of the technical review. If selected for funding, applicants may be requested to submit letters of intent to support the proposed project at that time.

May an organization submit one proposal as the prime applicant and submit another proposal as a sub-grantee?

Yes.

Where can I find specifics regarding projects previously funded by the TIP Office?

Applicants are encouraged to view the TIP Office website, https://www.state.gov/international-programs/, for information on TIP Office-funded projects from prior years. For projects funded under this initiative, applicants are encouraged to view the TIP Office COVID Resources website, https://www.state.gov/tip-office-response-to-covid-19/.

The Annual Program Statement notes that applicants must follow the

Guidance for Submitting TIP Office Full Proposals (COVID Fund), but the guidance provides details on other documents that are not listed in the Annual Program Statement. What do I need to follow?

The Guidance for Submitting TIP Office Full Proposals (COVID Fund) is general guidance for any proposal under this specific COVID initiative. The Annual Program Statement only requires applicants to submit the required online forms (SF 424, SF 424B, and SF 424 A), project narrative, annex A results performance monitoring plan, annex B budget summary, and annex C line-item budget.

Applicants may submit an optional one-page annex for charts, graphs, and logos not included in the project narrative template, such as a theory of change. When applying for the Annual Program Statement, applicants should reference pages 1- 34 of the Guidance for Submitting TIP Office Full Proposals (COVID Fund).

If selected for funding and upon request from the TIP Office, applicants will be required to submit additional documents, including, but not limited to, a project performance monitoring workplan, project budget narrative, project common performance indicators, resumes/CVs for key personnel of the project, letters of intent to cooperate on project activities (if applicable), certification of training requirement for victim assistance personnel (if applicable), and NICRA (if applicable). Applicants can use the remaining sections of the Guidance to complete these documents.

The submission of any additional documents will result in immediate failure in the technical review process.

https://www.state.gov/international-programs/ https://www.state.gov/tip-office-response-to-covid-19/

In March 2021 and June 2021, the TIP Office reposted an updated version of the Annual Program Statement and Guidance for Submitting TIP Office Full Project Proposals (COVID Fund). How are these different that the original copies posted and will my application be evaluated on this new criteria?

Based on applications submitted in the Annual Program Statement Series 1 and Series 2, the TIP Office has provided additional guidance for applicants interested in this funding opportunity. The March 2021 updated Annual Program Statement language stresses that applications should demonstrate a clear urgent need related to the impacts of COVID-19 and human trafficking beyond the general increased vulnerability of populations with specific targeted activities. Applicants should consider proposing projects with a geographic or demographic focus within the technical approach. While there will be lasting effects from the impacts of

COVID-19 globally including increased vulnerability to trafficking, this announcement is specifically working to address short-term targeted needs related to COVID-19 and human trafficking. Any applications submitted in Series 1 and Series 2 were evaluated based on the original Annual Program Statement and any applications submitted in Series 3 and 4 will be evaluated based on the updated Annual Program Statement. In June 2021, the TIP Office extended this initiative for Series 5, 6, and 7 based on the ongoing needs on the ground. The Guidance for Submitting TIP Office Full Project Proposals (COVID Fund) has been updated accordingly as well.

Please note there is a new required template for the results performance monitoring plan (formerly known as the logical framework). The required template can be found on SAMS Domestic.

Do applicants need to include common performance indicators (CPIs) in the results performance monitoring plan?

No. Applicants are not required to include CPIs when submitting the results performance monitoring plan. If selected for funding and upon request from the TIP Office, applicants may be required to submit CPIs at a later date.

How many of applications have been selected for funding under this announcement and how much funding remains available?

All applications selected for funding will be posted on our website as soon as they are awarded. Applicants are encouraged to look to view the TIP Office COVID Resources website, https://www.state.gov/tip-office-response-to-covid-19/, for information on TIP Office-funded projects from prior years. The announcement will remain open if there is funding available.

How much funding was allocated for Series 5, 6, and 7 and how much funding remains available for prospective applications?

The TIP Office will continue to allocate additional funding to this initiative based on the needs identified in the proposals submitted.

How do I unlock my SAMS-Domestic account or change my SAMS-Domestic password? What should I do if I encounter difficulty using the SAMS- Domestic website?

The TIP Office is unable to unlock SAMS-Domestic account or reset passwords.

For assistance with SAMS-Domestic (https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants) contact the ILMS Support Desk at 1-888-313-4567 (toll free for international callers) or submit a ticket using the ILMS Self Service Portal (https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home). Please let us know if you have any questions by emailing JTIPGrants@state.gov.

https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home mailto:JTIPGrants@state.gov