Questions and Answers Week of 7.6.20.pdf

FAS FY 20 McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program NOFO

Questions & Answers Week of 7/6/20

1. RFP bullet 1 (c) of Page 3 states that, “The donation of U.S. commodities remains an integral part of McGovern-Dole and Applicants are encouraged to use U.S. donated commodities to maximize program reach of targeted beneficiaries in the most cost-effective manner.” On the other hand, in page 17 (RFP), we are supposed to estimate the total budget for ‘US commodity cost’. Can you please clarify if commodities will be given in the form of donation (i.e. free of cost) or we must buy it from the US?

U.S. commodities will be donated and are part of the total estimated funding per award stated in Part B. 1. as between $10-$25 million. Applicants should include the cost of commodities in the total budget of their application. In the What’s New in FY 2020 section of the NOFO (page 3), FAS’ intent is to encourage Applicants to propose a contextually appropriate balance between U.S. commodities and local or regionally procured commodities.

2. Is the priority for Nepal is in far-western Nepal and Mid-western Nepal only (which is now province 6 and 7 major and some parts of Province 5)? The school dropout rate is high in province 5 and nutritional status ranks sixth among seven provinces?

Yes, as stated on page 60 of the NOFO, future McGovern-Dole programming should continue to target the mid- and far-western regions, in order to build upon the successes of past and current McGovern-Dole activities.

3. As a foreign organization applying from Liberia, how can I apply to Grants.gov without an EIN number?

To apply for funding within this NOFO, a foreign organization is not required to have an EIN. A DUNS number can be obtained without an EIN. An Applicant must have a DUNS number by the closing date of the announcement to be eligible. More information can be found here:

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/organization-registration/step-1-obtain-duns-number.html.

Please note, the Foreign Agricultural Service will only accept applications through the Food Aid Information System.

4. For the required in-country registration information, can the applicant indicate its registration status in the target country, or should the Applicant include an actual copy of its current in-country registration as proof? If the documentation of in-country registration is required, but the registration document is longer than 1-page, can the Applicant just include the first page of the registration?

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/organization-registration/step-1-obtain-duns-number.html

The Applicant should include information to indicate its current registration status however formal documentation is not required. An Applicant may choose to submit a formal registration document and it may be longer than one page.

5. The NOFO lists the Project Map under the Introduction and Strategic analysis, with no page limit restrictions. Please confirm that the space allocated to the Project Map does not count against the 20-page limit for Introduction and Strategic Analysis. Please confirm that applicants can attach the Project Map as a separate PDF without page limits.

The Project Map does not count against the 20-page limit for the Introduction and Strategic Analysis section. The Project Map may be submitted as a separate PDF without page limits.

6. Can USDA please clarify whether the value of U.S. commodities donated to award recipients are excluded from the estimated funding that is capped at $25 million?

The cost of U.S. commodities is inclusive in the cap of $25 million.

7. Does an Applicant need to confirm submission of its past performance reviews (PPRs) through FAS in advance of the July 14th deadline, or is sending a past performance review to a reference person sufficient to consider our PPR submission complete and on time?

Past performance references received are confirmed by FAS. An Applicant may email FAS to confirm receipt of PPRs, but it is not required. The completed reference is required by July 14th to fulfill the application requirement.