2017ENR Cleared Notice of Funding OpportunityCorrected.docx

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Bureau of Energy Resources

Notice of Funding Opportunity Title: Workshops for Promoting Women’s Full Participation in Community Consultations with Oil and Gas Companies

Executive Summary:

ENR announces the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a new program aimed at increasing women’s participation in community consultations with oil and gas companies so they can represent their own needs and advocate for their share of revenue, jobs, and other benefits; and join in community decision-making processes. The program will support the following activities: training for women in communities that are the sites of planned oil or gas activity; identification and training of women from nearby communities who can return to those communities and train their peers; provision of training or other resources to adolescent girls in the community – training designed to highlight their rights and to encourage future leadership; and delivery of training or other resources to men to emphasize the benefits to the whole community of women’s participation in consultations.

Eligibility for this NOFO is limited to U.S. not-for-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) subject to section 501 (c) (3) of the U.S. tax code, or foreign not-for-profits/NGOs/social enterprises.

One grant in FY 2016 Economic Support Funds (ESF) will be awarded under this NOFO.

The initial period of performance will be for 12 months. Funding authority rests in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.

All applicants should be familiar with OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR Part 200 & 600.

Contact Person: Leora Falk, FalkLM@state.gov

Please read the entire NOFO package before submitting an application, and follow the steps immediately in order to submit before the deadline. Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria and do not contain all of the required information will not be considered.

Program Description

A. Funding Opportunity Description

i. Background: Women are often left out of the process when oil or gas companies seek to engage local communities on such issues as the best means of providing proper compensation to residents (e.g., for loss or changes in livelihoods and/or relocation); complying with local content regulations; and implementing corporate social responsibility programs, such as the development of community job trainings, the establishment of schools or the building of other infrastructure. This exclusion may reflect a lack of women on official leadership councils and/or the failure to actively seek out women to consult, given social and cultural norms that may prevent or discourage them from pro-actively commenting. Exclusion of women from the consultation process often leads to an exclusion of women from the jobs generated by a project, and/or a lack of consideration for how women utilize natural resources. This often occurs in situations where women lack formal rights to land they farm or from which they benefit, or when men and women have different ways of utilizing resources. Examples of this include communities in which women collect brush from the edge of a forest while men engage in commercial logging activities, and communities in which women practice subsistence farming while men cultivate crops to sell on the market. Additionally, in areas where women spend more time closer to the home than men and more time with children, women’s input into infrastructure or program development may be invaluable in ensuring that it is tailored to the needs of the whole community, thereby enhancing the community’s buy-in and use and sustainment of the infrastructure or program.

ii. Program Goals: This program aims to increase women’s participation in community consultation with the hydrocarbons private sector by providing them with training on how to form community councils, participate in existing community leadership bodies, or otherwise engage the private sector to advocate for their interests, needs, and share of the benefits as they relate to the development of hydrocarbons in areas that affect their communities. It should also engage oil or gas companies and men in the community to endeavor to ensure that women will be welcomed into consultations. The program also aims to create a resource of lessons learned and best practices to assist others in designing and implementing programs with similar goals in other locations.

iii. Main Activities: The main activities of this program are:

· The development of and implementation of a training program for local women in Mozambique, Senegal, Gabon, or Madagascar to empower them to participate in consultation processes with hydrocarbon companies operating, or with plans to operate in areas affecting their communities. Please indicate which country your program proposes to work in. This training should include a component that teaches participants how to convey the information to others (either from their own communities or from nearby communities) who did not participate in the training. Workshops should also: 1) include a segment that engages the private sector to emphasize the importance of actively consulting women and, 2) encourage dialogue between the private sector and trainees.

· In cooperation with the women trainees, the development and implementation of resources for adolescent girls that helps them identify and advocate for their rights as they relate to leadership, public consultation, land tenure, jobs, or other applicable areas, and encourages them to pursue leadership positions in the future.

· The development and implementation of resources and training for men, emphasizing to them that involving women in community consultation processes enhances understanding of the needs of the community as a whole and is a key element in providing the best outcome for the community.

· The assessment of the training(s) and the development of a report and toolkit that highlight lessons learned/ best practices to facilitate possible future programs with similar objectives.

iv. Expected Results and Performance Indicators

· Training of 30-40 women per community for up to three communities affected by potential or ongoing hydrocarbon development operations, and from appropriate adjacent communities, and of selected host government officials on effective participation in community consultations processes with hydrocarbon companies.

· Training of 20-30 adolescent girls per community for up to three communities by the grantee and community women trained by the grantee to help them identify and advocate for their rights as they relate to education, leadership, public consultation, land tenure, jobs, or other applicable areas, and to encourage them to pursue employment and leadership positions in the energy sector and in the communities.

· Training of men in the community (or communities) -- particularly community leaders -- to sensitize them to the importance of engaging women in the process.

· A report that summarizes lessons learned/best practices to implement similar trainings for women and adolescent girls in similarly situated communities in other regions and countries.

B. Federal Award Information

i. Available Funding and Legislative Authority

The source of this funding is Economic Support Funds.

ii. Summary of Award Information

Approximate Total Funding:

$205,867

iii. Deadline

C. Eligibility Information Applications by applicants who do not meet the eligibility by the time of an application deadline will result the application not being reviewed.

1. Eligible Applicants: U.S. not-for-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) subject to section 501 (c) (3) of the U.S. tax code, and foreign not-for-profit organizations/NGOs/social enterprises.

2. Cost-Sharing or Matching – encouraged, but will not be a factor for consideration in the panel review criteria. Applicants should show any cost share in the budget proposal. Providing cost sharing is not an eligibility requirement for this NOFO.

3. Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System in the System for Award Management (SAM)(www.sam.gov) is not eligible to apply for an assistance award in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR,1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR,1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.” Additionally no entity listed on the Excluded Parties List System in SAM can participate in any activities under an award. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Excluded Parties List System in SAM to ensure that no ineligible entity is included.

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission Please read the entire NOFO and follow the guidelines for proposal preparation below.

Applicants must include the following in the proposal submission.

All submissions must be in English.

1. Table of Contents that lists application contents and attachments (if any);

2. Completed and signed SF-424, SF-424A and SF424B, as directed on www.grants.gov. The Certifications and Assurances that your organization is agreeing to in signing the SF-424 are available at https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/pages/home.aspx;

3. If your organization engages in lobbying activities, a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) form is required;

4. Proposal Narrative (not to exceed 10 pages, single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font in Microsoft Word, at least one-inch margins), following the structure described below. The proposal narrative should identify inputs, outputs, and outcomes of the proposal activities, timelines, and any qualitative or quantitative targets, and impact.

5. Summary and detailed Budget in U.S. dollars, in Excel, using the format shown in the budget template;

6. Detailed Budget Narrative (not to exceed 6 pages) that includes an explanation for each line item in the spreadsheet, as well as the source and description of any cost share offered;

7. Monitoring and Evaluation Plan detailing how the project’s impact and effectiveness will be monitored and evaluated throughout the project, using the attached template;

8. Attachments may be included, (letters of commitment from the applicant institution and sub-award partners, CVs of key personnel, project experience, etc.) but should not be unreasonably lengthy; see NOFO for details on required attachments, if any;

9. If your organization has a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, include your latest NICRA as a pdf file;

10. A PDF file copy of your organization’s most recent financial audit;

11. Number all pages, including budget and addenda.

Applicants under consideration for an award will likely be subject to a pre-award survey to determine fiscal responsibility and ensure adequacy of financial controls. This survey contains a list of criteria for determining whether the applicant’s accounting system meets the minimum standards to be eligible for U.S. government funding. These standards include appropriate accounting software and written financial management policies and accounting procedures. The pre-award survey will involve assessing the extent to which these are in place within an organization and being actively implemented.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and SAMS The System for Award Management is a U.S.-government wide registry of vendors doing business with the U.S. federal government and requires annual renewal. The system centralizes information about grant applicants/recipients, and provides a central location for grant applicants/recipients to change organizational information. More information about SAM.gov and useful guides for setting-up a new account, updating an existing account, or renewing an expired account can be found at http://statebuy.state.gov/fa/Pages/SAMInfo.aspx. Foreign-based applicants are strongly encouraged to review these guides when creating an account with SAM.gov.

Each applicant is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM.gov before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. The Department of State may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Department of State is ready to make a Federal award, DOS may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

Further, applicants must maintain an active account, with current information, while its application is under consideration for funding. To keep an active SAM.gov account, applicants must renew it at least once each year. If an organization’s account expires, the organization cannot submit a grant application until it is renewed.

4. Submission Method and Dates Completed applications should be submitted electronically through Grantsolutions.gov or Grants.gov. Please follow all NOFO instructions carefully and start early to ensure you have time to collect all of the required information. All applications must be submitted by March 10, 2017 at 11:59pm EST. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered, unless a late filing has been approved in advance by the Department of State.

5. Funding Restrictions: The following activities and costs are not covered under this announcement:

· Construction is not an allowable activity under this award.

· Activities that appear partisan or that support individual or party electoral campaigns;

· Direct support or the appearance of direct support for any religious organization, to include repair or building of structures used for religious purposes.

· Military assistance of any kind, including weapons buy back or rewards programs.

· Purchase of firearms, ammunition, or removal of unexploded ordnances.

· Para-police (i.e., militias, neighborhood watch, security guards) and prison-related projects. This restriction includes no funding of any secondary need in a law-enforcement organization.

· Payments for any partner government, military or civilian government employee salary or pension.

· Vehicle purchases to include motorcycles. (However, farm equipment, such as small tractors, and transportation costs will be considered.)

· Duplication of services immediately available through municipal, provincial, or national government.

· Funds for market research, advertising (unless public service related to grant program) or other promotional expenses.

· Expenses made prior to the approval of a proposal or unreasonable expenditures will not be reimbursed.

E. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

i. Criteria Components

1. Executive Summary: 5 This section should be a succinct, one-page summary containing information that the applicant believes best represents its proposed competition and includes the name and contact information for the project’s main point of contact; the description of the problem this project seeks to address; the description of the intended direct beneficiaries; the project’s purpose and expected results. The summary should also make clear for which country the proposal is intended.

2. Organizational Capacity and Past Performance: 20 Provide a description of the applicant organization – including its general purpose, goals, annual budget (including funding sources), and major past and current activities and projects undertaken. Demonstrated success in the proposed areas and topics will be viewed favorably.

Include a description of all key partners for this project and of the proposed working relationship with them. Applicants should clearly distinguish between partners with whom they intend to enter into a sub-grant or sub-contract relationship and those with whom they intend to collaborate, but not transfer program funds.

Discuss the applicant’s organization and key partners’ past experience in providing partnership support services, and/or evaluating programs similar to that requested. Describe areas of key competency, past domestic/international experience on addressing these barriers, if any, and structure of the organization. Describe how many people previously reached with prior projects, what changes have resulted from it, etc. Please include statistics (if appropriate) and specific examples as evidence of the organization’s previous impact along the proposed project aims. Experience in sub-Saharan Africa and interfacing with communities and extractives and/or infrastructure development industry and/or corporate social responsibility planning is required. Familiarity with the country in which activities are proposed, familiarity with the state of the oil and gas industry in that country, an understanding of political and cultural hurdles, and an ability to engage community members in the local language or languages are necessary.

3. Program Strategy: 40 Propose a clear and realistic implementation plan to comprehensively address objectives of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (section A). The strategy should further outline the Program Goals and Expected Results for the project. It should also outline the relevant and appropriate Main Activities to accomplish the Goals and Expected Results. Explain the assumptions on which the success of the project depends and the involvement of other stakeholders. Because the success of this project will be contingent on integration of women into consultations with oil companies, it is essential that the proposal indicates how the program will work within existing community structures to ensure that women are able to participate in consultations. In areas where there is already an oil or gas company engaged in exploration and production, the strategy should include plans for engaging with the company and integrating the training and consultations with: 1) the company and, 2) any existing engagement and community consultations that the private sector has with the community. Where relevant, a letter of commitment from the relevant companies would help with favorable scoring in this area. In communities where no areas that do not have a committed company has made a firm commitment to engage in oil or gas development, but s future exploration and production is expected , proposals should elaborate on steps taken to have the community include women in any future consultations.

4. Performance Monitoring and Evaluation: 15 Give a clear description of assumptions, short-term and long-term project goal(s), objective(s), activities, outputs and intended results linked to your project. Discuss how progress towards the expected results will be measured.

5. Management Plan: 10 Describe the proposed management structure for this project and provide a project organizational chart in the attachments. Include in the narrative a description of the responsibilities of team members and include key partners, reporting relationships, authority, and lines of communication within and among each of the team members or organizations.

Include job descriptions and CVs of team members (e.g. Project Coordinator) which demonstrate that the proposed team is consistent with the project’s requirements and needs.

ii. Budget Components

1. Budget Appropriateness: 5 Budgeted items necessary to the achievement of the goals and activities as presented in the application.

2. Cost-effectiveness: 5 Applicants should propose expenditures that are reasonable, allowable, and allocable to the proposed activities and that reflect that the applicant understands the provisions of 2 CFR 200. Cost-Sharing or Matching: encouraged, but will not be a factor for consideration in the panel review criteria. Applicants should show any cost share in the budget proposal.

Review and Selection Process Proposals will be considered by a committee comprising selected personnel from the Bureau of Energy Resources, and in consultation with the Africa Bureau and with relevant U.S. Embassies, based on the evaluation criteria stipulated above. It may take up to 90 days for applications to be reviewed before an award or decline notice is received from ENR. Due to the volume of proposals received, individual responses to requests for updates prior to the anticipated award date of April 2017 may not be returned until final review and approval of proposals is completed.

3. Designated Performance and Integrity System (currently FAPIIS) The Department of State, prior to making a Federal award with a total amount of Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (currently FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313).

The applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM and comment on any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM.

The Department of State will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in §200.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.

F: Federal Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices The grant shall be written, signed, and awarded by the Grants Officer and administered by both the Grants Officer and the Grants Officer Representative. The Grants Officer is the Government official delegated the authority by the U.S. Department of State Procurement Executive to write, award, and administer grants and cooperative agreements. The assistance award agreement is the authorizing document, and it will be provided to the Recipient through either mail or facsimile transmission. Organizations whose applications will not be funded will also be notified in writing.

Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Furthermore, the Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received.

2. Administrative and National Policy Prior to submitting an application, applicants should review all the terms and conditions and required certifications that will apply to this award to ensure they will be able to comply. The terms and conditions are available on the State Department’s procurement website at: https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/Pages/TermsandConditions.aspx

Applicants should also be familiar with the OMB Uniform Guidance: Cost Principles, Audit, and Administrative Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II, Part 200, et al.) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards set forth in 2 CFR Chapter 200 (Sub-Chapters A through F) shall apply to all non-Federal entities, except for assistance awards to Individuals and Foreign Public Entities (for more information on these exceptions, see Chapters 5, Federal Assistance to Individuals, and 6, Federal Assistance to Foreign Public Entities Directive.) Sub-Chapters A through E shall apply to all foreign organizations, and Sub-Chapters A through D shall apply to all U.S. and foreign for-profit entities.

3. Reporting Requirements The Recipient, at a minimum, shall provide financial, progress, and final reports. Please note that all substantiating documentation supporting reporting and data collected, including survey responses and contact information, must be maintained for a minimum of three years and provided to the Department of State upon request. All reports must be written in English.

i. Financial Reports The Recipient is required to submit quarterly financial reports throughout the project period, using Form FFR SF-425, the Federal Financial Report form, as well as forms suggested by the Grants Officer Representative. Form FFR (SF-425) can be found on OMB’s website here: https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/Pages/Forms.aspx. Financial reports are due 30 days after the end of each fiscal year quarter.

ii. Progress Reporting While the grantee will be in frequent contact with the Bureau concerning the project details, the grantee is required to submit quarterly program progress reports using page 1 of Form SF-PPR Performance Progress Report, which can be found at OMB’s website https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/Pages/Forms.aspx as well as forms suggested by the Grants Officer Representative (GOR). The Post/Office/Bureau may provide a more detailed reporting template. Progress reports are due 30 days after the end of the quarterly reporting period.

iii. Final Report The final report will be due no later than ninety days after completion or termination of all project activities. The Final Report shall include the following elements: executive summary, successes, outcomes, how the project has increased the participation of women in community consultations, or—in regions where the consultations have not taken place—increased the capacity of women to participate in community consultations, and addressed the other goals of the project, and a final financial report.

G: Agency Contact

Any prospective applicant who has questions concerning the contents of this NOFO should email them to Leora Falk at FalkLM@state.gov. Note that once the NOFO deadline has passed Department of State staff in Washington, D.C. and overseas at U.S. Embassies/Missions may not discuss this competition with applicants until the review process has been completed.

H: Other Information

Applicants should be aware that ENR understands that some information contained in applications may be considered sensitive or proprietary and will make appropriate efforts to protect such information. However, applicants are advised that ENR cannot guarantee that such information will not be disclosed, including pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or other similar statutes.

The information in this NOFO is binding and may not be modified by any ENR representative. Explanatory information provided by ENR that contradicts this language will not be binding. Issuance of the NOFO and negotiation of applications does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. government. ENR reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the project evaluation requirements.

Notice of Funding Opportunity 11