2019 JFSP FSEN FOA.docx

[Attachment B] BLM Funding Opportunity No. L19AS00004 JFSP Announcement No. FA-FOA0019-003 Page 10 Regional Fire Science Exchange Network

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE:

BLM-National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) Regional Fire Science Exchange Announcement (One Task Statement)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER:

L19AS00004

JFSP Announcement No. FA-FOA0019-003

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE:

Request for Applications Issued: March 13, 2019

CFDA NUMBER & TITLE:

15.232 – Wildland Fire Research & Studies Program

LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY:

FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976 (FLPMA), 43 USC §1737 (b), Public Law 94-579

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

May 16, 2019, 5:00 p.m. MST

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

for Federal Financial Assistance

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Rev 6-2016

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1. Description of Program and/or Project

a. Background: The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) is a partnership of six federal wildland fire management and research agencies that have a shared need to address problems associated with managing wildland fuels, fires, and fire-impacted ecosystems.

The partnering agencies include the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (FS) and five bureaus in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI): Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Geological Survey. The DOI also is represented by the Office of Wildland Fire. Funding to support the program is provided by both DOI and FS.

For further background on the JFSP, those considering submitting proposals are encouraged to visit its website at www.firescience.gov.

b. Objectives: The U.S. Congress directed the DOI and USDA FS to develop a Joint Fire Science Program and Plan to prioritize and provide sound scientific studies to support the land management agencies and other stakeholders in addressing issues associated with wildland fire. Congress also was concerned with ensuring an effective means for collecting and disseminating information that resulted from research to end users. Current science delivery priorities are identified as a task statement in this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

2. Program Expected Outcomes

As a jointly funded program, JFSP research and science delivery priorities align strategically with the priorities of the Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture.

Specifically, JFSP-funded work addresses the Secretary of Interior’s priority to “create a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt [by using] science to identify best practices to manage land and water resources and adapt to changes in the environment.”

and

Secretary of Agriculture’s priorities to “foster productive and sustainable use of our National Forest System lands and to strengthen the stewardship of private lands through technology and research.” In addition, with respect to wildland fire in particular, JFSP research and science delivery priorities address both Secretaries’ goals of reducing the occurrence and impacts of catastrophic wildfire through active management by contributing to the underlying scientific understanding and decision support tools needed to make informed decisions.

Finally, JFSP science delivery priorities, as demonstrated by the task statements included in this FOA, directly and indirectly support the three goals of the 2014 National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (“Cohesive Strategy”):

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Award Instrument

In accordance with the Legislative Authority, an inter-agency agreement will be used for federal awards.

A cooperative agreement will be used for non-federal awards and the recipient should expect Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to have substantial involvement in the project. Substantive Bureau of Land Management (BLM) involvement will consist of the following:

· The BLM Program Officer (PO) will collaborate with the recipient's Project Manager/Principal Investigator (RPM/PI) to manage technical execution of the project, recommended changes to objectives or technical execution.

· The JFSP program office is in contact with Principal Investigators to ensure projects are progressing according to the submitted proposals including occasional field trips and meetings with Project Manager/Principal Investigator.

· Responsibility for project management, control, and direction will be shared by the recipient and the BLM, however the BLM will have the right to intervene by modifying the project management plan if the project is not staying on schedule and/or technical issues arise.

5. Anticipated Period of Performance Start Date Late-August to mid-September 2019

6. Length of Project Initial funding will be for two years only; however, proposers may be asked to submit proposals for additional funding periods up to five years total, if funding is available.

7. Additional Funding Information Funding for this project(s) is not guaranteed and is subject to the availability of funds and evaluation of proposals is based on the criterion in this announcement. In appropriate circumstances, BLM reserves the right to partially fund proposals in discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. If BLM chooses to partially fund a proposal, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process. Funded proposals through this competition is not a guarantee of future funding.

BLM reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement if additional funding becomes available after the original award selections are made, Any additional selections must be made in accordance with the terms of this announcement and BLM policy.

Only BLM Grants Management Officers (GMO) are authorized to obligate funds for financial assistance.

This FOA is being released prior to the passage of a Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2019 by Congress. Enactment of additional Continuing Resolutions or an Appropriations Act may affect the availability and/or level of funding for this program.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

· The JFSP encourages proposals from all eligible parties and partners. Funds will be awarded through a university, tribal government, non-governmental organization (NGO) or federal agency.

· Proposals with a PI from states or that have any international funding, also must identify a funding cooperator from the United States to receive and process the funds.

· Proposals with a university, tribal government, or NGO PI that do not include funding for federal agencies do not need a funding cooperator and funds will route through the PI’s institution.

· Proposals that include budgeted funds to be spent by a federal agency and that do not have a federal PI, must list a funding cooperator from the federal agency requesting funds. Any funds awarded to a federal agency will be issued under an Interagency Agreement.

· JFSP encourages proposals from any eligible party or partner that is part of a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program. CESUs are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, indirect costs are limited to a rate of no more than 17.5 percemt of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's Federal Agency-approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA).

JFSP will enter into only one agreement per project with the PI institution or the funding cooperator institution.

· The PI institution or funding cooperator institution will be responsible for entering into sub-agreements with collaborating institutions.

· Budgets must be reviewed and approved by the institution’s Budget contact and Agreements contact prior to proposal submission. If a funding cooperator is involved, the Agreements contact and Budget contact must be from the funding cooperator’s institution.

· If the funding cooperator is from the Forest Service, the cooperator must be from a Forest Service Research Station. Work with your station funding cooperator to ensure you meet the station requirements for submission.

· JFSP will not provide additional funds to cover budget errors discovered after the proposal submission deadline.

· The end date and indirect costs for all sub-awards must match the end date and indirect costs in the original funding award document. The PI’s institution should take into account any potential delays anticipated in executing sub-agreements when proposing project timelines. (See funding cooperator flowchart below)

a. Provide a valid DUNS number (Dun & Bradstreet Universal Numbering System) on its application. DUNS numbers are nine-digit numbers established and assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (D&B) to uniquely identify business entities. DUNS numbers may be obtained free of charge from Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., at: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform or by calling them at (877) 930-5228.

b. Be registered in SAM (System for Award Management, www.SAM.gov) before submitting its application. SAM is the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. No fee is required to register at this site. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM) at: http://www.sam.gov.

c. Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which the applicant has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency

4. Other Restrictions JFSP has an approved indirect cost rate deviation that limits proposals to a maximum of twenty (20) percent of the direct costs for each institution. Proposals requesting funds for indirect rates higher than twenty (20) percent will not be considered. This memo can be found on the JFSP website at this link: http://www.firescience.gov/documents/BLM_Iindirect_cost_rate_exception_signed.pdf. Proposal funding through a federal funding cooperator must reflect either the prevailing indirect rate for the cooperating federal agency or the JFSP maximum limit of twenty (20) percent, whichever is less.

Pass-through costs are charged only by the PI institution or funding cooperator institution for administrative costs associated with managing sub-agreements. Pass-through costs are limited to ten (10) percent of the sub-agreement total costs.

Unrecovered indirect costs can be used as contributed funds in the budget.

5. Scientific Integrity Scientific integrity is vital to Department of the Interior (DOI) activities under which scientific research, data, summaries, syntheses, interpretations, presentations, and/or publications are developed and used. Failure to uphold the highest degree of scientific integrity will result not only in potentially flawed scientific results, interpretations, and applications but will damage DOI’s reputation and ability to uphold the public’s trust. All work performed must comply with the DOI Scientific Integrity Policy posted to http://www.doi.gov, or its equivalent as provided by the proposer’s organization or applicable State law.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Proposal Submission and Agency Contact All proposals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. MST, May 16,2019, using the electronic submission process provided on the JFSP website (www.firescience.gov). Proposals should not be submitted through Grants.gov. No exceptions are allowed to this closing date and time.

All proposals must meet all requirements in this FOA (see especially Section D.6 below). Proposals that do not meet all requirements in this section will not be considered for funding.

Direct questions to:

Administrative questions:

Becky Jenison, Program Analyst Phone: 208-387-5958 Email: bjenison@blm.gov

Task statement questions:

2. Steps to Create and Complete a JFSP Proposal Multiple steps are necessary to create a JFSP proposal, some of which are dependent on prior steps. Proposals must be submitted electronically via the JFSP website (www.firescience.gov). For full list of requirements see Section D.6 below.

Step 1 – PI establishes profile, updates password.

Step 2 – PI initiates proposal (select task, receive proposal #, enter proposal title).

Step 3 – Enter contacts (all contacts establish profiles, update passwords; PI assigns roles). Once the PI enters a contact they will have access to sign into the database and access the proposal.

Step 4 – Proposal development (templates, requirements).

Step 5 – Complete budget (template, narrative).

Step 6 – Attach all documents (proposal body, literature cited, budget, budget narrative, CVs, list of acronyms (optional), support letters (optional).

Step 7 – PI enters final details (project location, budget summary, start/end dates, abstract, task statement relevancy, and project category).

Step 8 – Budget Contact and Agreements Contact sign in to the database and certify review of budget and budget narrative.

Step 9 – PI submits proposal (you must convert to Final Draft status first before hitting the Submit Proposal Button).

Notes

· Many steps can be in progress concurrently

· All information, including attachments, can be saved as Draft and edited later

3. Task Statement(s) Regional Science Exchange and Outreach Objective The objective of this task statement is to solicit proposals to lead and execute a particular regional fire science exchange for a period of three years. The JFSP funds and provides oversight to a national collaborative of 15 regional wildland fire science exchanges: the Fire Science Exchange Network (FSEN). The FSEN provides the most relevant, current wildland fire science information to federal, state, local, tribal, and private stakeholders within ecologically similar regions. The FSEN brings fire, fuel, natural resource, and land managers, practitioners, and scientists together to address regional wildland fire management needs and challenges. Please see the JFSP website (www.firescience.gov) for additional information about the FSEN.

This solicitation is seeking individual proposals (i.e., each proposal must be specific to one region) for the following two regions of the FSEN: Great Plains, and Southern Rockies (see map below). Note: initial funding will be for two years only; however, proposers may be asked to submit proposals for additional funding periods up to five years total if funding is available.

Note: The Board has set capped funding levels for proposals responding to this FOA based on various criteria. Proposals responding for the Great Plains region are capped at no more than $200,000 per year including indirect costs. Proposals responding for the Southern Rockies region are capped at no more than $150,000 per year including indirect costs. Proposals received that request more than the capped amount will not be considered.

Proposals submitted in response to the current announcement must include information regarding (1) responsiveness to the task statement; (2) region-specific science delivery and outreach activities tailored to the region of interest and how such activities are relevant to that region; (3) exchange partners; (4) interactions with any existing science delivery efforts within the region, including US Geological Survey and US Forest Service activities; (5) end-user communities and interactions, (6) logic model (guidance for development of logic models is available at https://www.firescience.gov/documents/JFSP_Evaluation_Resource_Guide_2015.pdf),

7) proposed governance structure for the exchange (e.g., advisors and advisory bodies, steering committees, etc.); and (8) proposed science delivery innovations. Proposals should specifically describe how end-user communities will be engaged to determine their information needs and priorities and they were involved in the development of the proposal. Proposed activities should be summarized in an activity/output table. See the proposal template and format associated with this announcement on the JFSP website for more information.

Background An often-heard phrase is “use the best available science”. But managers often don’t know what information is already available nor the quality and applicability of that research to their management plans and projects. Another problem is the research may not be integrated in a context meaningful to management. And though the research may be of the highest quality and peer-reviewed, demonstration of science findings in the field is often lacking.

Everett M. Rogers, author of Diffusion of Innovations (Free Press-Simon & Schuster, 2003) states, “Getting a new idea adopted, even when it has obvious advantages, is difficult. Many innovations require a lengthy period of many years from the time when they become available to the time when they are widely adopted. Therefore, a common problem for many individuals and organizations is how to speed up the rate of diffusion of an innovation”.

The JFSP seeks to accelerate the awareness, understanding, and adoption of wildland fire science information by federal, tribal, state, local, and private stakeholders within identified regions. JFSP’s vision is a national network of regional fire science exchanges comprised of interested management and science stakeholders working together to tailor and actively demonstrate existing information to benefit management of a large ecologically similar region.

The JFSP has identified six overarching objectives for the FSEN. Proposals are not required to address all of these objectives, but are encouraged to address as many as can be effectively managed or suggest additional objectives identified through interactions with practitioners and managers. The objectives, along with example activities that address the objective when applicable, are outlined below.

1. Share information and build relationships It is essential that relationships be fostered between scientists, practitioners, and managers. A critical need is for regular, consistent, and timely dissemination of credible information tailored for a regional audience. This objective is central to building visibility, trust, and dialog among stakeholders in a region. The JFSP encourages the following example activities:

· provide periodic alerts or newsletters

· publish and disseminate publications to all stakeholders

· develop, promote, and manage regional communities of practice to support peer-to-peer networking and knowledge exchange

· develop and manage a regional, web-based National Environemental Policy Act aid that allows fuels and resource planners to quickly access relevant research results

· identify “delivery” modes that are tailored to the manner in which different end-user groups acquire and process information.

2. List and describe existing research and synthesis information Managers often are not aware of existing research, and research is often not conducted or presented in a form in which practical management implications are obvious. The following example activities could support this objective:

· develop and maintain a regional, quick-reference web catalog of applicable existing fire and fuels research results

· develop and maintain a regional, geo-spatial web catalog of new and ongoing research projects

· develop regional-specific information in the Fire Effects Information System database.

3. Identify and develop methods to assess the quality and applicability of research Although it is important to collect and display existing information and research in progress, managers also need to understand the quality and strength of available evidence relevant to specific management questions. The JFSP is interested in further development of systematic evidence reviews that address important regional fire and fuels management questions and in general for using evidence-based approaches for demonstrating the robustness of and confidence in research results.

4. Demonstrate research on the ground Demonstrating application of research discoveries in the field is essential to the rapid understanding and adoption of wildland fire science information. These example activities could support this objective:

· develop and conduct regional roadshows and field discussions to showcase recent fire research findings, demonstrate innovative practices, or highlight a fire research need

· develop and manage a network of regional demonstration areas that highlight application of recent research findings

· develop cost models and performance metrics to show the trade-offs involved of implementing new research results versus traditional management approaches.

5. Support adaptive management The JFSP is interested in funding place-based adaptive management partnerships that promote adoption of wildland fire science findings by fire, fuel, natural resource, and land managers. The goal is to support a program of adaptive management activities in a specific place executed by a sustained science-management partnership that could serve as illustrative examples of coproduced science. These activities could take any of the following forms and are intended to be implemented as a coherent program rather than as unconnected, individual activities:

· innovative project and/or landscape planning processes that illustrate application of recent wildland fire science findings

· application of innovative practices based on new science findings

· approaches to developing metrics of success, monitoring project effectiveness, and determining whether desired outcomes have been achieved

· management experiments implemented through ongoing fire, fuels, natural resource, and land management programs

· outreach efforts to share results through field tours, workshops, publications, websites, or other suitable means.

6. Identify new research, synthesis, or validation needs Each regional exchange is expected to develop mechanisms through which stakeholders can provide input about future fire and fuels research needs relevant to the region. These research needs and their priorities are then incorporated by JFSP into the JFSP Research Needs Database, which consolidates inputs from all of the exchanges and other sources. Exchanges could develop and conduct stakeholder roundtables to identify regional fire-related fire, fuels, natural resource, and land management research needs, identify specific questions and topics that might be included in systematic evidence reviews, or use other means to identify research needs and their priorities.

4. Budget and Funding Policy

a) Funding Cooperator Proposal may require a funding cooperator. See Section C above.

b) Indirect Costs The JFSP recognizes that agencies and organizations participating in the program need to recover reasonable indirect costs. Budget feasibility (cost effectiveness) of the individual projects, however, is a determining factor in the final selection process. JFSP has an approved indirect cost rate deviation that limits proposals to a maximum of twenty (20) percent of the direct costs for each institution. Proposals requesting funds for indirect rates higher than twenty (20) percent will not be considered. This memo can be found on the JFSP website at this link: http://www.firescience.gov/documents/BLM_Iindirect_cost_rate_exception_signed.pdf

Proposal funding through a federal funding cooperator must reflect either the prevailing indirect rate for the cooperating federal agency or the JFSP maximum limit of twenty (20) percent, whichever is less.

If your organization has never had a NICRA, the BLM Grants Management Officer (GMO) may allow an indirect cost rate of up to 10% of your base modified total direct costs (MTDC). MTDC includes all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each. Include the computational basis for the indirect expense pool and corresponding allocation base for your rate.

Pass-through costs are charged only by the PI institution or funding cooperator institution for administrative costs associated with managing sub-agreements. Pass-through costs are limited to ten (10) percent of the sub-agreement total costs. (See indirect cost example below)

Unrecovered indirect costs can be used as contributed funds in the budget.

Indirect costs example

Scenario

· The PI is from a university or federal agency (lead institution)

· Co-PI is from a cooperating university or NGO (cooperating institution)

· The calculated expenses in the Budget for the lead institution are $200,000 (salary, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, etc.)

· The calculated expenses in the Budget for the cooperating institution are $40,000

Calculation of indirect costs

1. Cooperating institution

Note: If multiple cooperating institutions are involved this calculation would be performed for each institution.

2. Lead institution

3. Total Budget = $244,800 + $48,000 = $292,800

Points of emphasis

· Lead institutions can include pass-through costs for each cooperating institution in their budget.

· Pass-through costs are calculated based on the total budget for each cooperating institution, including the indirect costs calculated by the cooperating institution.

· Cooperating institutions typically do not include pass-through costs in their budgets.

· Institutions should use their negotiated indirect cost rates with their cooperating institutions, but cannot exceed JFSP maximums.

c) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Costs Certain proposals may be required to pay a percentage of the project’s costs into the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Proposals for which the funds are transferred to a Forest Service institution and subsequently a portion of the total budget is awarded to a non-federal entity through a sub-agreement or sub-contract may be required to pay the prevailing rate of the total funds awarded externally to the SBIR program. PI’s should check with their Agreements contact to determine if this applies to your proposal and to determine the current rate.

d) Equipment Policy Investigators are encouraged to contribute equipment (see 2 CFR Part 200.313) to conduct studies funded by JFSP from existing equipment inventories. Contributed equipment should be included as “contributed costs” in JFSP budget spreadsheets and on the budget tab.

If necessary equipment is not available, JFSP will partially or fully fund equipment needed to conduct research funded by JFSP. In no case will JFSP pay more than $5,000 for a piece of equipment. If a new piece of equipment costing more than $5,000 is needed for the proposed project, proposal investigators are expected to contribute the remaining costs in excess of $5,000.

This criterion is to be applied for each and every piece of equipment.

e) Salary Policy Salaries of permanent full-time employees are not paid by JFSP and must be provided by employing institutions. This includes university faculty on 12-month tenure-track appointments that have contracted salary.

JFSP will provide funding for university research appointment, part-time, temporary, term , and post-doctoral employees, as well as graduate and undergraduate students. JFSP will pay salary for academic employees on a 9-month appointment, but only for the months they are not funded by their institution and only for the time focused on their JFSP project. JFSP will not pay salary for other personnel to fill in for employees working on a JFSP project.

Contractors can request salary support to complete contracted work. Salary costs must be limited to only salary and fringe. Other salary cost burdens must be included as indirect costs and are subject to the indirect rate exception that cannot exceed in total 20% of direct costs. See https://www.firescience.gov/documents/BLM_Iindirect_cost_rate_exception_signed.pdf

Student stipends are acceptable costs, but tuition and other university fees will not be funded.

f) Budget The budget spreadsheet and narrative must be reviewed by the Budget contact and Agreements contact to ensure all costs have been included and the budget is correct including indirect charges. JFSP will not provide additional funds to cover errors discovered after the proposal submission deadline.

Budget spreadsheet must use the provided template and have a separate worksheet for each institution requesting or contributing funds, including all sub-agreements and contracted costs over $10,000. Identify all work that will be accomplished, including a breakdown of all tasks to be completed, and provide a detailed budget estimate in accordance with 2 CFR Parts 200.317 through 200.326. Contracted indirect costs and fees are subject to the indirect rate exception. Contracted costs under $10,000 must still be explained in detail in the budget narrative but do not require a separate worksheet in the budget template.

Budget narratives must have the level of detail provided in the example in the budget narrative template. Lump sum costs are not acceptable in any category, without a detail breakdown of how the costs were determined. Funded proposals will be closely scrutinized for allowable and reasonable costs before an award is issued. The JFSP also reserves the right to negotiate final budget numbers based on the final approved work scope.

The Budget contact and Agreements contact must sign in to the JFSP system and certify the budget is correct and that they understand their role in receiving funds and facilitating agreements. Proposals cannot be submitted by the PI if both contacts have not completed this task in the database. (See screen print below)

Proposals will be funded via cooperative agreement or Interagency Agreementor agency budget transfer. Budget contact and agreements contact must ensure that budgets have the correct indirect rates for your circumstances.

The JFSP does not fund projects that are, or should be, funded internally from existing accounts (such as routine agency monitoring) or operational portions (such as the installation of fuels treatments or development of fire management plans) of other projects.

Funding is usually distributed in late summer or early fall. Budgets should be planned with this timing in mind.

5. Data Management Plan (DMP) Not applicable to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

6. Additional Application Requirements Proposals must meet all of the following requirements to be considered. Incomplete proposals will not be considered. No exceptions will be made to either the submission deadline or other submission requirements.

a) Proposal Submission Proposals must be submitted electronically via the JFSP website (www.firescience.gov). Proposals should not be submitted in Grants.gov. Hard copy, email, or facsimile proposals will not be accepted. Proposals can be created in the database at any time and saved as a draft for submission any time prior to the closing date and time.

· A JFSP database login and password is required to submit a proposal (see section b below). Requests for profiles will be processed in approximately 24 hours.

· The Budget contact must sign into the system and certify the budget is correct before the proposal can be submitted. Note that the PI will not be able to complete this task for the Budget contact. The PI must assign this contact on the contact tab before the Budget contact can sign in to complete this process.

· The Agreements contact must sign into the system and certify the budget is correct before the proposal can be submitted. Note that the PI will not be able to complete this task for the Agreements contact. The PI must assign this contact on the contact tab before the Agreements contact can sign in to complete this process.Only the PI can submit the proposal.

· Proposals can be saved in the JFSP system and submitted prior to the closing date and time. Submitted proposals can be reverted back to Final Draft by the PI prior to the closing date. If you revert a proposal back to Final Draft you must resubmit the proposal before the closing date and time.

· The JFSP proposal submittal system will not allow proposals to be submitted after the closing date and time.

b) Profiles

· All contacts must have a profile in the JFSP database that must be entered on the contacts tab by the PI.

· Proposals cannot be submitted if all required contacts (see Contacts below) are not entered on the contacts tab by the PI.

· It can take up to 24 hours to get a profile created. It is advisable to request profiles early in the process.

· To request a profile or password reset go to the JFSP website and click on the sign in link in the upper right hand corner of the page. Use the appropriate link for requesting a password reset or requesting a new user registration.

c) Contacts Proposals may be required to have the following contacts (see Section H. Other Information for definitions to understand the role of each contact) assigned to a proposal:

· Principal Investigator (required, only one Principal Investigator can be assigned)

· Student Investigator (required)

· Funding Cooperator (may be required, see Section C)

· Budget Contact (required); in some cases this may be the same as the Agreements contact

· Agreements Contact (required); in some cases this may be the same as the Budget Contact

· Co-PIs and Collaborators (options).

It is the PI’s responsibility to ensure all correct contacts are entered into the proposal database. Please read Section Section H. Other Information for definitions carefully to ensure you have the correct contact from the correct institution listed.

d) Confirmation Page When the PI submits the proposal they will receive a confirmation page. It is highly recommend that PIs save or print that page for their records. If this confirmation page is not received the proposal has not been submitted correctly. It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure the proposal has been submitted correctly by the closing date and time.

e) Abstract Proposers must cut and paste the three sub-sections of the Overview section in the proposal template (Problem Statement, Objectives, and Benefits) into the Abstract field in the Details tab of the JFSP database. The Abstract will become the publicly accessible description of the project.

f) Task Statement Relevancy Proposers must cut and paste the fourth sub-section of the Overview section in the proposal template (Task Statement Relevancy) into the Task Statement Relevancy field in the Details tab.

g) Attachments All required documents and templates must be attached before the proposal can be submitted. All attachments except the budget must be attached as an adobe pdf document; the budget template is in an Excel format. The PI should ensure that no loss of information occurred upon conversion to a pdf document. Attachments over the page limits cannot be submitted. All information in a template must be included as part of that attachment and must be within the page limit. Extraneous materials (e.g., extra graphs and text) are not permitted and will not be reviewed.

Required attachments for all proposals must use templates provided to be considered:

· Proposal body

· Literature cited

· Budget spreadsheet (Excel spreadsheet; include a separate worksheet for each institution or contracted costs greater than $10,000)

· Budget narrative (explanation of specific budget assumptions and costs by institution)

· Curriculum Vitae for PIs and Co-PIs (two pages maximum for each person; include relevant publications)

Additional attachments:

· Letter(s) of support (optional)

· List of acronyms (optional)

h) Data Management Plan Not applicable to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

i) Budget Budget summary numbers summarized by institution type requesting funds must be entered in the JFSP database on the Budget tab. The budget spreadsheet and budget narrative must be attached on the attachments tab using the spreadsheet template provided.

Proposals cannot be submitted without completing these required fields and attachments. Do not edit spreadsheet formulas and formatting without first contacting Becky Jenison (bjenison@blm.gov).

j) Task Statement Intent Proposals that do not clearly and directly meet the intent of the task statement will not be forwarded to peer review or considered for funding. The PI for a proposal that does not meet the intent of the task statement will receive a rejection notice after the administrative review has been completed. In addition, PIs should ensure they are submitting their proposal for the correct task statement in the JFSP database.

k) Format Proposals not following the required template(s) will not be considered. Proposals must use an 11 point font or larger. Additional guidance is included in the beginning of each template.

l) Page Limits Attachments exceeding the page limits cannot be submitted. Check the page limit in the template and JFSP database. Everything required as part of the template is included in the page limit.

m) Project Location Project location fields must be completed on the location tab for a proposal to be successfully submitted. Instructions are listed on the project location tab.

n) Signatures Handwritten signatures are not required. When Principal Investigators (PIs) submit proposals they will be prompted to enter their password. By typing in the password and submitting a proposal, PIs are certifying that all contacts on the proposal have reviewed the proposal and understand the requirements of their respective roles.

o) Indirect Costs Proposals must follow JFSP indirect cost guidelines. (See Section C.4 above)

p) Contributed Costs See Section C.4 above.

q) Support Letters Support letters are encouraged, but not required. Support letters are useful if they show understanding of the proposed work and the letter author articulates how the work will benefit them. Support letters that appear to be ghost-written by the PI or are form letters are much less useful. If submitted, letters must be combined into one pdf document and attached on the attachments tab. Support letters sent by hard copy or email directly to JFSP will not be considered.

r) Past-Due Projects No proposals will be considered if the work includes a PI or Co-PI who is a PI or Co-PI on a JFSP project that is past due as of the closing date of this announcement. See the JFSP website for the complete JFSP past-due and extension request policy.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

The Government reserves the right to reject any and all proposals that do not meet the requirements of this funding opportunity announcement and are determined to be outside the scope of the authority under which this announcement is posted.

The evaluation process will consist of the following four screening levels:

1. First Level Screening—Basic Eligibility

b. Applications must satisfy basic eligibility screening requirements to be considered for further review.

Note: The relevancy check includes assessing whether the proposal (1) responds to the intent of the task statement and (2) falls within JFSP’s mission to support fundamental and applied research and science delivery. The relevancy check is a threshold review and if determined not to be relevant, no further evaluation of the proposal will occur.

2. Second Level Evaluation—Merit Review Evaluation via Internal and External Peer Review

Review Criteria Note: Review criteria are not arithmetically scored or weighted. Applicants, however, should note that the program effectiveness criterion is given particular attention. Proposals that do not receive strong program effectiveness reviews are unlikely to be funded. Review panels are a combination of JFSP Office staff and external reviewers.

Task statement responsiveness

· Does the proposal strongly or only weakly address the intent of the task statement?

· Are significant elements of the proposal extraneous to the intent of the task statement?

· Will the proposed science delivery activities be useful to a broad cross-section of the fire, fuels, and resource management or research community?

Geographic region

· Does the proposal describe how the ecological, environmental, climatic, and cultural attributes that characterize the region shape how science delivery would occur?

· Are all relevant institutions within the region addressed commensurate with its spatial scale and geographic and political subdivisions?

· Does the proposal describe how overlaps and synergies with adjacent FSEN regions might be addressed?

Exchange partners

· Is there a clear description of the partner organizations and their science delivery capabilities?

· Are the science delivery skills and experience of the Principal Investigator(s) and Coordinator appropriate?

· Will the work be accomplished by a collaborative, multi-institution team?

· Does the proposal build on existing partnerships?

· Does the proposal describe how integration with other science producers and translators, in particular US Geological Survey and US Forest Service wildland fire research, development, and application activities?

End-user communities

· Are the intended end users clearly described?

· Were end users consulted to develop the proposal?

· Is end-user support of the proposal demonstrated?

Program effectiveness

· Are intended activities clearly described?

· Do the intended activities meet JFSP task statement objectives?

· Are workforce development activities included, such as partnering with agency training programs to incorporate wildland fire science?

· Are innovative approaches to science delivery planned and described in a manner sufficient to judge their feasibility?

· Does the proposal include a robust and feasible Logic Model with clear planned outputs and outcomes?

· Is a clear methodology articulated for evaluating program effectiveness?

Budget

· Is the requested budget reasonable and realistic for the scope and scale of the proposed work?

· Does the budget narrative provide sufficient explanation and justification for the requested budget?

3. Third Level Review—Program Review

The JFSP Office and Governing Board assess the internal and external peer review. The Board makes selection decisions based on the peer review and programmatic priorities.

4. Fourth Level Review—Pre-award Clearance and Approvals

Following the described preceding, three-level review process above, BLM also will complete a business evaluation and determination of responsibility. During these evaluations the Grants Management Officer will evaluate variables such as:

a. Risk Management. The BLM uses a risk-based approach to evaluate the risk posed by the supporting applicants’ projects before it awards Federal funds.

2) Budget review is based on the following:

b. If the results of all pre-award reviews and clearances are satisfactory, an award of funding will be made once the agreement is finalized. If the BLM determines that a Federal award will be made, special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk assessed may be applied to the Federal award.

c. If the results of pre-award reviews and clearances are unsatisfactory, consideration of funding for the project may be withdrawn.

4. Application Selection Process

a. Applications eligible for merit review will be evaluated by a peer review panel assembled to review, rate, and recommend applications to the JFSP Governing Board for final selection using the above evaluation criteria.

b. Reviews are treated as confidential documents. Once award decisions are made, applicants will be able to see reviews through the JFSP proposal database.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices

a. Any award made from this announcement will be based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and will be regulated by OMB's Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.

b. Award cannot be finalized, until awardee finalizes their enrollment in the Department of the Treasury, Automated Standard Application for Payment (ASAP) System. See following website: http://www.fms.treas.gov/asap. If your organization is not enrolled in ASAP contact the POC on the cover-sheet of this funding opportunity.

c. Acceptance. Acceptance is defined as the start of work, drawing down of funds, or accepting the award via electronic means. Costs may not be incurred before the effective date listed on the award. Acceptance of a Federal Financial Assistance award from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, carries with it the responsibility to be aware of, and comply with, the administrative and national policy requirements and terms and conditions of award.

2. Reporting

Periodic submission of Federal Financial reports (SF-425) and Performance/Progress reports will be required under this financial assistance agreement. Submission of financial and performance/progress reports may be required either quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.

3. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

a. Office of Management and Budget Guidance for Grants and Agreements. By accepting additional Federal funding under the current Federal assistance, your organization agrees to abide by the applicable OMB Guidance for Grants and Agreement in the expenditure of Federal funds and performance under this program. OMB guidance is available at the following web site: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=954b81d94bf127c6de3c76a3c99d8d9f&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2subtitleA.tpl

b. Administrative Requirements.

1) 2 CFR Part 200 Subparts A through D - Uniform Administrative Requirements and Cost Principles.

2) 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F - Audit Requirements. Non-Federal entities that expend $750,000.00, or more, in federal awards in a single year shall have a single or program-specific audit conducted for that year in accordance with the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501-7507) and revised OMB Circular A-133, available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_default.

3) Indirect Facilities and Administration (F&A) Costs.

(a) 2 CFR Part 200.414 - Indirect (F&A) Costs

(b) 2 CFR, Appendix III to Part 200 - Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and Assignment, and Rate Determination for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs)

(c) Appendix IV to Part 200 - Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and Assignment, and Rate Determination for Nonprofit Organizations

(d) Appendix V to Part 200 - State/Local Government-wide Central Service Cost Allocation Plans

(1) The provisions of 2 CFR 200.414(c) require Federal agencies to accept federally negotiated indirect cost rates. The BLM has applied the following policies, procedures and general decision-making criteria for deviations from negotiated…