FY_2020_RCPGP_NOFO_Final.pdf

FY 2020 RCPGP NOFO

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program

(RCPGP)

NOTE: If you are going to apply for this funding opportunity and have not obtained a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and/or are not currently registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), please take immediate action to obtain a DUNS Number, if applicable, and then to register immediately in SAM. It may take four (4) weeks or more after you submit your SAM registration before your registration is active in SAM, then an additional 24 hours for Grants.gov to recognize your information. Information on obtaining a DUNS number and registering in SAM is available from Grants.gov at:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. Detailed information regarding DUNS and SAM is also provided in Section D of this NOFO, subsection, Content and Form of Application Submission.

A. Program Description

1. Issued By U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Grant Programs Directorate (GPD)

2. Assistance Listings Number (formerly Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number) 97.111

3. Assistance Listings Title (formerly CFDA Title) Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP)

4. Funding Opportunity Title Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program

5. Funding Opportunity Number

Grant Program Title NOFO Number RCPGP – Region I DHS-20-GPD-111-01-01 RCPGP – Region II DHS-20-GPD-111-02-01 RCPGP – Region III DHS-20-GPD-111-03-01 RCPGP – Region IV DHS-20-GPD-111-04-01 RCPGP – Region V DHS-20-GPD-111-05-01 RCPGP – Region VI DHS-20-GPD-111-06-01 RCPGP – Region VII DHS-20-GPD-111-07-01 RCPGP – Region VIII DHS-20-GPD-111-08-01 RCPGP – Region IX DHS-20-GPD-111-09-01 RCPGP – Region X DHS-20-GPD-111-10-01 http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html

6. Authorizing Authority for Program Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. No. 116-93)

7. Appropriation Authority for Program Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. No. 116-93)

8. Announcement Type Initial

9. Program Overview, Objectives, and Priorities

Program Overview Preparedness is the shared responsibility of our entire nation and requires an approach that engages individuals, families, communities, private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations (FBO’s), and all levels of government across the whole community.

The National Preparedness System is the instrument the nation employs to build, sustain, and deliver core capabilities needed to achieve the goal of a more secure and resilient nation. Each community contributes to achieving the national goal by addressing the risks that are most relevant and urgent for them individually, which in turn strengthens the collective security and resilience of the nation. They do this through the National Preparedness System components of:

• Identifying and Assessing Risk;

• Estimating Capability Requirements;

• Building and Sustaining Capabilities;

• Planning to Deliver Capabilities;

• Validating Capabilities; and

• Reviewing and Updating.

The FY 2020 RCPGP represents one part of a comprehensive set of actions authorized by Congress and implemented by the Administration to build preparedness capabilities. The National Preparedness Goal (the Goal) defines what it means to be prepared for a wide range of threats and hazards, including catastrophic incidents.

The purpose of the RCPGP is to build state and local capacity to manage catastrophic incidents by improving and expanding regional collaboration for catastrophic incident preparedness. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, the program purpose has been expanded to include regional pandemic preparedness. The National Response Framework (4th edition, 2019) (or superseding edition) defines a catastrophic incident as any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, or government functions. The regional interdependencies of effective Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery activities require a cohesive regional approach to catastrophic planning, including pandemic preparedness.

The 2018-2022 FEMA Strategic Plan creates a shared vision for the field of emergency management and sets an ambitious, yet achievable, path forward to unify and further professionalize emergency management across the country. The RCPGP supports FEMA https://www.fema.gov/whole-community http://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-system https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-goal https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-goal https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/117791 https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/117791 https://www.fema.gov/strategic-plan

Strategic Goal 2: Ready the Nation for Catastrophic Disasters. FEMA invites all its stakeholders and partners to also adopt these priorities and join in building a stronger and more prepared and resilient nation.

Objectives The overall objective of the RCPGP is to close known preparedness capability gaps, encourage innovative regional solutions to issues related to catastrophic incidents, and build on existing regional preparedness efforts.

New for FY 2020, regional pandemic preparedness is added as a program objective, with specific focus on pandemic planning activities, to address the Community Lifelines and Core Capabilities that are essential to pandemic preparedness. In addition to development of regional pandemic plans, training and exercise activities should be considered for inclusion in project proposals to validate regional pandemic preparedness capabilities and evaluate plan effectiveness. FEMA’s evaluation of pandemic preparedness project proposals will be measured against capability gaps identified through relevant Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)/Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) reports and the potential impact the proposed project will have on improving those capabilities.

Initial lessons learned from the COVID-19 public health emergency point to a need for greater regional collaboration in pandemic planning efforts. For example, rather than competing for scarce resources during a pandemic, regional leaders and planners must coordinate in advance to decide how resources can be most effectively shared within the region, while ensuring “hot spots” receive the immediate attention they need. Although planning for worst-case scenarios is important, state and local planners must acknowledge that it may be impossible to acquire, in advance, all the resources needed to meet worst-case needs. Stockpiling critical equipment and supplies may sufficiently address a jurisdiction’s short-term needs, but for worst-case scenarios this approach is generally cost prohibitive and impractical. In addition, using the global supply chain to address shortfalls is a risky and unreliable solution. To maximize efficient use of scarce resources, regional partners should share non-consumable resources such as medical equipment and supplies.

To ensure resources are available as soon as they are needed without compromising the availability of resources for hot-spots, applicants should consider developing a just-in-time delivery approach. This is just one potential solution to a common problem experienced during the early stages of the COVID-19 response. Regional pandemic plans should develop innovative solutions to address this and other related challenges to promote shared agreement and unity of effort amongst regional pandemic stakeholders, including relevant public health department officials.

Recognizing the value of all-hazards emergency preparedness planning, and consistent with the objectives of the FY 2019 RCPGP, applicants may continue to consider projects that improve capability levels in the Food, Water, and Sheltering Community Lifeline as measured in the Housing or Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capabilities reported through the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)/Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR). These core capabilities were selected based on data-driven analyses of national preparedness data and key national-level guidance sources showing these focus areas as continuing gaps.

https://www.fema.gov/lifelines https://www.fema.gov/core-capabilities https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/stakeholder-preparedness-review https://www.fema.gov/stakeholder-preparedness-review https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/stakeholder-preparedness-review

Where Housing or Logistics/Supply Chain Management projects are proposed, the applicant is encouraged to consider how pandemic preparedness needs can be integrated into their broader regional catastrophic preparedness investment proposals. For example, a proposed investment that addresses the Housing capability should consider common problems and lessons-learned from the current COVID-19 emergency and how housing and shelter needs would be impacted when dealing with both a major disaster and ongoing pandemic. Similarly, a proposed Logistics and Supply Chain Management investment should consider the COVID-19 emergency and the challenges associated with the acquisition and distribution of critical equipment and supplies.

Through regional collaboration, the RCPGP supports the development and delivery of projects that address Community Lifelines, which are critical to managing catastrophic incidents. For more information on Community Lifelines, please refer to Appendix A:

Incorporating Community Lifelines. Stabilizing and restoring lifelines in catastrophes requires solutions that go beyond scaling up existing plans and capabilities to maximize the creative power of cross-sector coordination while respecting the roles of private sector partners and agency authorities at all levels of government.

To this end, RCPGP applicants are encouraged to develop projects that build a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, and exercising with regional partners across the whole community to improve their collective readiness posture.

Applicants are also encouraged to review the following for more information:

• National Response Framework (4th edition, 2019) (or superseding edition):

The Framework describes ways to improve coordination and response structures to build preparedness for catastrophic incidents.

• Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit: The Toolkit provides whole community partners the information and resources to understand lifelines, coordinate with entities using lifelines, and implement the lifeline construct during incident response.

Priorities The FY 2020 RCPGP requires that recipients develop and deliver one project that addresses specific capability gaps based on Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)/Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) results.

a. Pandemic Preparedness Projects:

For pandemic preparedness related projects, applicants are required to identify the specific lifelines and capabilities that will be improved through the proposed project.

At a minimum, within the Health and Medical Lifeline, the Public Health, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Service; Fatality Management Services;

Economic Recovery; Health and Social Services; and Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capabilities should be addressed. Applicants should also consider how regional preparedness capabilities may be impacted by a major disaster while dealing with an ongoing pandemic emergency. Table 1 describes submittal instructions for these core capabilities. See also Appendix A: Incorporating Community Lifelines.

https://www.fema.gov/lifelines https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/117791 https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/177222 https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment

Table 1: RCPGP Support for Community Lifelines Primary Lifeline Component for Health and Medical Associated Core Capability

All Components Public Health, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Services

FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps across the lifeline’s components related to the Public Heath, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Services core capability and corresponding solutions to provide lifesaving medical treatment via Emergency Medical Services and related operations and avoid additional disease and injury by providing targeted public health, medical, and behavioral health support, and products to all affected populations.

Fatality Management Fatality Management Services FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps across the lifeline’s components related to the Fatality Management Services core capability and corresponding solutions to provide fatality management services, including decedent remains recovery and victim identification, working with local, state, tribal, territorial, insular area, and federal authorities to provide mortuary processes, temporary storage or permanent internment solutions, sharing information with mass care services for the purpose of reunifying family members and caregivers with missing persons/remains, and providing counseling to the bereaved.

N/A* Health and Social Services FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps across the lifeline’s components related to the Health and Social Services core capability and corresponding solutions to restore and improve health and social services capabilities and networks to promote the resilience, independence, health (including behavioral health), and well-being of the whole community.

N/A* Logistics and Supply Chain Management FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps across the lifeline’s components related to the Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capability and corresponding solutions to deliver critical medical equipment, supplies and services to support the Health and Medical Lifeline. Proposed solutions should consider how a major disaster during an ongoing pandemic may impact this core capability, to include delivery of essential commodities, equipment, and services in support of impacted communities and survivors; emergency power and fuel support; coordination of access to community staples; and synchronizing logistics capabilities to enable the restoration of impacted supply chains. Testing and updating of Distribution Management Plans should also be considered.

Primary Lifeline Component for Food, Water, Sheltering Core Capability

All Components Logistics and Supply Chain Management See above description for Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capability.

N/A* Economic Recovery FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps across the lifeline’s components related to the Economic Recovery core capability and corresponding

Table 1: RCPGP Support for Community Lifelines solutions to return economic and business activities (including food and agriculture) to a healthy state and develop new business and employment opportunities that result in an economically viable community.

*All N/A’s cannot be directly aligned to a Lifeline. Lifelines exist only for Response Core Capabilities.

A wealth of guidance is available on the internet to support pandemic preparedness planning and development of RCPGP applications. Applicants are advised to conduct their own research but should consider reviewing the information available through the websites listed below, which represents a partial listing of publicly available pandemic preparedness resources.

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offer abundant planning resources for public health and emergency management officials:

o https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/readiness/capabilities.htm o https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/index.htm o https://www.phe.gov/emergency/Tools/Pages/default.aspx o https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/Documents/2017-

2022-healthcare-pr-capablities.pdf o https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/COVID-19 o https://emergency.cdc.gov/planners-responders.asp

• The following DHS/FEMA and other U.S. Government websites provide a variety of pandemic preparedness resources:

o https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus o https://www.dhs.gov/epidemicpandemic o https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus o https://www.ready.gov/pandemic o https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/org/ncp/pandemic_influenza.pdf o https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1396880633531-

35405f61d483668155492a7cccd1600b/Pandemic_Influenza_Template.pdf o https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/181470

• The Pan American Health Organization, National Governor’s Association, American Planning Association, and International Association of Emergency Managers also provide valuable pandemic preparedness guidance for governors, senior state officials, municipal leaders, and emergency managers:

o https://www.nga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pandemic-Influenza-

Primer.pdf o https://www.planning.org/resources/covid-19/ o https://www.iaem.org/resources/COVID-19 o https://www.paho.org/en/health-emergencies https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/readiness/capabilities.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/index.htm https://www.phe.gov/emergency/Tools/Pages/default.aspx https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/Documents/2017-2022-healthcare-pr-capablities.pdf https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/Documents/2017-2022-healthcare-pr-capablities.pdf https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/COVID-19 https://emergency.cdc.gov/planners-responders.asp https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus https://www.dhs.gov/epidemicpandemic https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus https://www.ready.gov/pandemic https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/org/ncp/pandemic_influenza.pdf https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1396880633531-35405f61d483668155492a7cccd1600b/Pandemic_Influenza_Template.pdf https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1396880633531-35405f61d483668155492a7cccd1600b/Pandemic_Influenza_Template.pdf https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/181470 https://www.nga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pandemic-Influenza-Primer.pdf https://www.nga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pandemic-Influenza-Primer.pdf https://www.planning.org/resources/covid-19/ https://www.iaem.org/resources/COVID-19 https://www.paho.org/en/health-emergencies o https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_docman&view=downl oad&category_slug=tools&alias=542-pandinflu-leadershipduring-tool- 15&Itemid=1179&lang=en

b. Housing and Logistics/Supply Chain Management Projects Within the Food, Water, and Sheltering Community Lifeline, Housing and Logistic/Supply Chain Management projects, must address gaps in those specific capabilities based on THIRA/SPR results.

Table 2 describes submittal instructions for the aforementioned core capabilities. See also Appendix A: Incorporating Community Lifelines.

Table 2: RCPGP Support for Food, Water, and Sheltering Community Lifeline Primary Lifeline Component for Food, Water, Sheltering Associated Core Capability

Shelter Housing FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps in the Shelter lifeline component related to the Housing core capability and to implement corresponding housing solutions that effectively support the needs of the whole community and contribute to its sustainability and resilience. In addition, applicants should consider how pandemic preparedness needs can be integrated into broader catastrophic preparedness projects that address the Housing core capability, including how housing and shelter needs would be impacted when dealing with both a major disaster and ongoing pandemic.

All Components Logistics and Supply Chain Management FEMA invites applicants to submit applications that identify current and emerging gaps across the lifeline’s components related to the Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capability and corresponding solutions to deliver essential commodities, equipment, and services in support of impacted communities and survivors, to include emergency power and fuel support, as well as the coordination of access to community staples, and to synchronize logistics capabilities and enable the restoration of impacted supply chains. Testing and updating of Distribution Management Plans should also be considered. Additionally, applicants should examine how Logistics and Supply Chain Management capabilities may be impacted by an ongoing pandemic, including the challenges associated with acquisition and distribution of critical equipment and supplies.

For more information, refer to the Housing and Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capability definitions in the National Response Framework (4th edition, 2019) (or superseding edition) or here: https://www.fema.gov/core-capability-development-sheets.

Applicants are also encouraged to consult other FEMA planning guidance, including the Supply Chain Resilience Guide, Distribution Management Plan Guide, and other strategic and operational planning guidance available at: https://www.fema.gov/plan and https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/178513. In addition, for presentations on supply chains and private sector resilience visit www.fema.gov/preptalks.

https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&category_slug=tools&alias=542-pandinflu-leadershipduring-tool-15&Itemid=1179&lang=en https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&category_slug=tools&alias=542-pandinflu-leadershipduring-tool-15&Itemid=1179&lang=en https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&category_slug=tools&alias=542-pandinflu-leadershipduring-tool-15&Itemid=1179&lang=en https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/117791 https://www.fema.gov/core-capability-development-sheets https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/178701 https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1567005162420-6a397b542cf5a7678781414cfa4e3661/FEMA_Distribution_Management_Plan_Guide_EMPG_FY2019.pdf https://www.fema.gov/plan https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/178513 https://www.fema.gov/preptalks

10. Performance Metrics Communities provide data on their proficiency across 32 core capabilities through the THIRA/SPR, after-action reports, and other preparedness data.

a. Performance Measures:

• Pandemic Preparedness Projects: FEMA will measure the percent change in targeted capability gaps and percent improvement in the Public Health, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Services; Fatality Management Services;

Health and Social Services; Logistics and Supply Chain Management; and Economic Recovery core capabilities as reported through the required THIRA/SPR covering the community.

• Housing and Logistics/Supply Chain Management Projects: FEMA will measure the percent change in targeted capability gaps and percent improvement in the Housing and Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capabilities as reported through the required THIRA/SPR covering the community.

b. Performance Criteria:

• Pandemic Preparedness Projects: FEMA will compare the current baseline capability level of the Public Health, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Services; Fatality Management Services; Health and Social Services; Logistics and Supply Chain Management; and Economic Recovery core capabilities against the community’s capability level as reported at the end of the grant. Baseline capability assessments will be taken from the calendar year 2019 THIRA/SPR data; end of the grant performance data will be drawn from the calendar year 2023 THIRA/SPR data.

The specific capability assessments FEMA will use in the RCPGP performance measure analysis include:

o Public Health, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Services: Within (#) (time) of an incident, complete triage, begin definitive medical treatment, and transfer to an appropriate facility (#) people requiring medical care.

o Fatality Management Services: Within (#) (time) of an incident, complete the recovery, identification, and mortuary services, including temporary storage services, for (#) fatalities.

o Health and Social Services: Within (#) (time) of an incident, restore functions at (#) affected healthcare facilities and social service organizations.

o Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Within (#) (time) of an incident, identify and mobilize life-sustaining commodities, resources, and services to (#) people requiring shelter and (#) people requiring food and water.

Maintain distribution system for (#) (time).

o Economic Recovery: Within (#) (time) of an incident, reopen (#) businesses closed due to the incident.

https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/core-capabilities

• Housing and Logistics/Supply Chain Management Projects: FEMA will compare the current baseline capability level of the Housing and Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capabilities against the community’s capability level as reported at the end of the grant. Baseline capability assessments will be taken from the calendar year 2019 THIRA/SPR data; end of the grant performance data will be drawn from the calendar year 2023 THIRA/SPR data.

The specific capability assessments FEMA will use in the RCPGP performance measure analysis include:

o Housing: Within (#) (time) of an incident, (#) people requiring long-term housing, including (#) people with access and functional needs requiring accessible long-term housing, find and secure long-term housing.

o Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Within (#) (time) of an incident, identify and mobilize life-sustaining commodities, resources, and services to (#) people requiring shelter and (#) people requiring food and water.

Maintain distribution system for (#) (time).

B. Federal Award Information

1. Available Funding for the NOFO: $10,000,000

2. Maximum Funding per Applicant: $1,000,000 Funds will be competitively awarded under the FY 2020 RCPGP. Applicants are eligible to apply for up to, but no more than, $1,000,000.

3. Projected Number of Awards: 10-20

4. Period of Performance: Thirty-six (36) months Extensions to the period of performance are allowed only in limited circumstances. For additional information on period of performance extensions, refer to Section H - Additional Information of this NOFO.

5. Projected Period of Performance Start Date(s): 09/01/2020

6. Projected Period of Performance End Date(s): 08/31/2023

7. Funding Instrument Type: Grant

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants The following are eligible applicants for this funding opportunity:

• States as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.90 (this definition includes the District of Columbia and territories); and

• Local governments as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.64

The following eligibility restrictions for these groups applies:

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=4f5d67fce1dc9938fe49f2d2ca451f23&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_190&rgn=div8 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=8d294ca70f05ffbab8f39000ec33839a&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_164

• A State or territory is eligible to apply if one or more of the 100 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) per the Census Bureau’s 2019 Population Estimates (as listed in Appendix B: 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas [2019]) is located within the state or territory.

• Local Governments must be located within one of the 100 most populous MSAs.

DHS/FEMA will accept no more than one application per MSA.

The application may be submitted by either:

• The State Administrative Agency (SAA);

• The first principal city, as indicated in Appendix B: 100 Most Populous

Metropolitan Statistical Areas [2019] in bold; or,

• A different local government located within the MSA only if the application includes a letter of support from the office of the chief executive (e.g., mayor or city manager) of the first principal city, as indicated in Appendix B: 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas [2019].

2. Applicant Eligibility Criteria Applications must conform to the guidance provided in Appendix C: Project Narrative Template of this NOFO. Applicants that do not meet eligibility and application submission requirements will not be evaluated and scored by the review panel.

3. Other Eligibility Criteria

National Incident Management System (NIMS) Implementation Recipients must ensure and maintain adoption and implementation of NIMS. Emergency management and incident response activities require carefully managed resources to meet incident needs. Use of the standardized resource management concepts such as typing, credentialing, and inventorying promotes a strong national mutual aid capability needed to support delivery of core capabilities. Additional information on resource management and NIMS resource typing definitions and job titles/position qualifications is available on DHS/FEMA’s website under http://www.fema.gov/resource-management-mutual-aid.

DHS/FEMA developed the NIMS Guideline for Credentialing of Personnel to describe national credentialing standards and provide written guidance regarding the use of those standards. That guideline describes credentialing and typing processes and identifies tools that Federal Emergency Response Officials (FEROs) and emergency managers at all levels of government may use, both routinely and to facilitate multijurisdictional coordinated responses.

Additional information is available at http://www.fema.gov/nims-doctrine-supporting-guides-tools.

4. Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Maintenance of effort is NOT required under this program.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/about.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html http://www.fema.gov/resource-management-mutual-aid http://www.fema.gov/nims-doctrine-supporting-guides-tools http://www.fema.gov/nims-doctrine-supporting-guides-tools

5. Cost Share There is no mandatory cost share requirement. However, bonus points will be added to applications that commit to a 10 percent or higher cost share. The proposed cost share commitment must be indicated as a percentage of the total cost of the proposed project(s).

Details of the application scoring process can be found in Appendix D: Evaluation Criteria and Scoring.

Applicants may choose to voluntarily commit to include a cost share in its application pursuant to the terms of Section E and Appendices C and D of this NOFO. A voluntary committed cost share is not a requirement to apply for or receive an award. Any applicant choosing to include a voluntary committed cost share in their application will, however, be required to include that cost share should they receive an award. Applicants that include a voluntary committed cost share will have their proposed cost share included as a binding requirement of any Federal Award they receive as a term and condition of that award. For example, if an applicant voluntarily offers a 10 percent cost share in its application that is approved for a Federal award by DHS/FEMA, that Federal award will include a binding 10 percent cost sharing requirement.

DHS/FEMA administers cost-sharing requirements in accordance with 2 C.F.R. §

200.306. To meet cost sharing requirements, a recipient’s contributions must be verifiable, reasonable, allowable, allocable, and necessary under the grant program and must comply with all Federal requirements and regulations. The non-Federal entity cost share contribution can be cash or third-party in-kind. Applicants must present voluntary committed cost sharing or matching in terms of a percentage of the Federal award. Unless otherwise authorized by law, Federal funds cannot be matched with other Federal funds.

6. Other RCPGP-Specific Application Information Applications must include:

• For States and Territories Only: A written statement explaining the statewide or multi-state impact of the proposed investment and attesting to the advance coordination and support of at least one of the 100 most populous MSAs within the state or territory.

• For Local Governments Only: A written statement certifying that the applicant’s chief executive (e.g., mayor, city manager, or county executive) and, as applicable, the chief executive of the first principal city of the MSA, supports the application as the local government’s single application being submitted for consideration by DHS/FEMA. DHS/FEMA reserves the right to exclude multiple applications submitted from the same jurisdiction or to exclude multiple applications from multiple jurisdictions located within the same MSA.

• All Applicants: Names of all entities partnering on the project, including but not limited to states, territories, local or tribal governments, non-profit organizations, and other non-government entities, including those partnering as subrecipients.

Partner entities can extend beyond the boundaries of the state/territory or MSA, and can be located in other states/territories or MSAs, for the purposes of regional collaboration.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=704c44d166299caaf11c21004178b425&ty=HTML&h=L&mc=true&n=pt2.1.200&r=PART#se2.1.200_1306 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=704c44d166299caaf11c21004178b425&ty=HTML&h=L&mc=true&n=pt2.1.200&r=PART#se2.1.200_1306

• All Applicants: Letters of support from partner entities or a written statement certifying the involvement and support of all partner entities that will participate in the proposed project; and, if applicable, information on the relationship between the applicant and partnering entities, e.g. existing letters of cooperation/support or administrative agreements, such as Memoranda of Understanding (MOU).

The involvement of regional preparedness partners is critical to the success of this program. Therefore, DHS/FEMA will take necessary actions to verify the accuracy of written statements that are submitted to satisfy the requirements outlined above.

Applications found to contain false or inaccurate information will be rejected. In addition, FEMA will conduct post-award monitoring activities to verify that RCPGP-funded projects are carried out in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, to include verifying the involvement of committed partner entities as indicated in the application. Failure to comply the terms and conditions of the award is addressed in the Actions to Address Noncompliance section of this NOFO.

Applicants not familiar with conducting their own THIRA/SPR should consult with their State Administrative Agency (SAA) to utilize the SAA’s 2019 THIRA/SPR information or for help developing capability assessments as part of their application. For additional information on the THIRA/SPR, also refer to Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 201, Third Edition, available at http://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment.

RCPGP recipients should include their community’s capability levels for the Housing or Logistics and Supply Chain Management core capabilities into their own THIRA/SPR, and/or incorporate their results of those capability assessments into their SAA’s

THIRA/SPR.

The following eligibility criteria apply for projects submitted as part of this application:

• Proposed capability-building projects must be regional and benefit multi-state or intrastate regions.

• Applicants need to propose a capability-building project that is replicable and/or sustainable after the grant period of performance ends.

• Each application will describe one proposed project to build capability within one core capability from the priority focus areas (Housing or Logistics and Supply Chain Management), as referenced in the Objectives of this NOFO.

• Recipients should plan to sustain these new capabilities in subsequent years with non-Federal resources.

• Applications will be evaluated using a scoring rubric, which is described in Section E. Application Review Information and Appendix D: Evaluation Criteria and Scoring.

Each project can address more than one of the Planning, Organization, Training, or Exercises (POTE) solution areas. Investing in these areas will promote the creation of new capabilities among recipients. Equipment purchases are not allowed under RCPGP.

http://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment http://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment

For more information on the Planning, Organization, Training, or Exercise solution areas, refer to the CPG 201, Third Edition, available at http://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment. For further information on application forms or information to submit, see Section D.10, Content and Form of Application Submission.

For further information on funding restrictions and allowable costs, see Section D.13, Funding Restrictions, and Section D.14, Allowable Costs.

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Key Dates and Times

a. Application Start Date: 05/20/2020

b. Application Submission Deadline: 07/15/2020 at 5:00 PM EDT

All applications must be received by the established deadline. The Non-Disaster (ND) Grants System has a date stamp that indicates when an application is submitted.

Applicants will receive an electronic message confirming receipt of their submission. For additional information on how an applicant will be notified of application receipt, see the section titled “Timely Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission.”

DHS/FEMA will not review applications that are received after the deadline or consider them for funding. DHS/FEMA may, however, extend the application deadline on request for an applicant who can demonstrate that good cause exists to justify extending the deadline. Good cause for an extension may include technical problems outside of the applicant’s control that prevent submission of the application by the deadline, other exigent or emergency circumstances, or statutory requirements for DHS/FEMA to make an award.

Applicants experiencing technical problems outside of their control must notify the respective FEMA Program Analyst as soon as possible and before the application deadline. Failure to timely notify FEMA of the issue that prevented the timely filing of the application may preclude consideration of the award. “Timely notification” of FEMA means the following: prior to the application deadline and within 48 hours after the applicant became aware of the issue.

For additional assistance using the ND Grants System, please contact the ND Grants Service Desk at (800) 865-4076 or NDGrants@fema.dhs.gov. The ND Grants Service Desk is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET. If applicants do not know their FEMA Program Analyst or if there are programmatic questions or concerns, please contact the Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk (CSID) by phone at

(800) 368-6498 or by e-mail at askcsid@fema.dhs.gov, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET.

c. Anticipated Funding Selection Date: 08/07/2020

d. Anticipated Award Date: 09/01/2020 http://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment mailto:NDGrants@fema.dhs.gov mailto:askcsid@fema.dhs.gov

e. Other Key Dates

2. Agreeing to Terms and Conditions of the Award

By submitting an application, applicants agree to comply with the requirements of this NOFO and the terms and conditions of the award, should they receive an award.

3. Address to Request Application Package Initial applications are processed through the Grants.gov portal. Final applications are completed and submitted through FEMA’s Non-Disaster Grants (ND Grants) System.

Application forms and instructions are available on Grants.gov, and hard copies of the NOFO and associated application materials are not available. To access these materials, go to http://www.grants.gov, select “Applicants” then “Apply for Grants.” In order to obtain the application package, select “Download a Grant Application Package.” Enter the Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA) and/or the funding opportunity number located on the cover of this NOFO, select “Download Package,” and then follow the prompts to download the application package. In addition, the following Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) and/or Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) number available for this Notice and all relevant NOFOs is (800) 462-7585.

4. Steps Required to Submit an Application, Unique Entity Identifier, and System for Award Management (SAM) Applying for an award under the programs covered by this Manual is a multi-step process. To ensure that their applications are submitted on time, applicants are advised to start the required steps well in advance of their application submissions. Failure of an applicant to comply with any of the required steps before the deadline for submitting an application may disqualify that application from funding.

To apply for an award under this program, all applicants must:

a. Apply for, update, or verify their Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and Employer ID Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service;

b. In the application, provide a valid DUNS number, which is currently the unique entity identifier;

c. Have an account with login.gov;

d. Register for, update, or verify their SAM account and ensure the account is active before submitting the application;

e. Create a Grants.gov account;

Event Suggested Deadline for Completion Obtaining DUNS Number

Four weeks before actual submission deadline Obtaining a valid EIN Updating SAM registration Final application in Grants.gov One week before actual submission deadline Final application in ND Grants By the application deadline http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.login.gov/

f. Add a profile to a Grants.gov account;

g. Establish an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) in Grants.gov;

h. Register in ND Grants;

i. Submit an initial application in Grants.gov;

j. Submit the final application in ND Grants, including electronically signing applicable forms; and

k. 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.

Applicants are advised that DHS may not make a federal award until the applicant has complied with all applicable DUNS and SAM requirements. Therefore, an applicant’s SAM registration must be active not only at the time of application, but also during the application review period and when DHS is ready to make a federal award. Further, as noted above, an applicant’s or recipient’s SAM registration must remain active for the duration of an active federal award. If an applicant’s SAM registration is expired at the time of application, expires during application review, or expires any other time before award, DHS 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.

Specific instructions on how to apply for, update, or verify a DUNS number or SAM registration or establish an AOR are included below in the steps for applying through Grants.gov. Applicants are advised that DHS/FEMA may not make a federal award until the applicant has complied with all applicable DUNS and SAM requirements. Therefore, an applicant’s SAM registration must be active not only at the time of application, but also during the application review period and when DHS/FEMA is ready to make a federal award. Further, as noted above, an applicant’s or recipient’s SAM registration must remain active for the duration of an active federal award. If an applicant’s SAM registration is expired at the time of application, expires during application review, or expires any other time before award, DHS/FEMA 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.

5. Electronic Delivery DHS/FEMA is participating in the Grants.gov initiative to provide the grant community with a single site to find and apply for grant funding opportunities. DHS/FEMA requires applicants to submit their initial applications online through Grants.gov and to submit their final applications through ND Grants.

6. How to Register to Apply through Grants.gov

a. Instructions: Registering in Grants.gov is a multi-step process. Read the instructions below about registering to apply for DHS funds. Applicants should read the registration instructions carefully and prepare the information requested before beginning the registration process. Reviewing and assembling the required information before beginning the registration process will alleviate last-minute searches for required information.

The registration process can take up to four weeks to complete. Therefore, registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact your ability to meet required application submission deadlines.

Organizations must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number, active System for Award Management (SAM) registration, and Grants.gov account to apply for grants. If individual applicants are eligible to apply for this grant funding opportunity, then you may begin with step 3, Create a Grants.gov account, listed below.

Creating a Grants.gov account can be completed online in minutes, but DUNS and SAM registrations may take several weeks. Therefore, an organization's registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact the entity's ability to meet required application submission deadlines.

Complete organization instructions can be found on Grants.gov here:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html.

1) Obtain a DUNS Number: All entities applying for funding, including renewal funding, must have a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). Applicants must enter the DUNS number in the data entry field labeled "Organizational DUNS" on the SF-424 form.

For more detailed instructions for obtaining a DUNS number, refer to:

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

2) Obtain Employer Identification Number: In addition to having a DUNS number, all entities applying for funding must provide an employer Identification Number (EIN). The EIN can be obtained from the IRS by visiting:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online.

3) Create a login.gov account: Applicants must have a login.gov account in order to register with SAM or update their SAM registration. Applicants can create a login.gov account here:

https://secure.login.gov/sign_up/enter_email?request_id=34f19fa8-14a2-438c- 8323-a62b99571fd3

4) Register with SAM: All organizations applying online through Grants.gov must register with the System for Award Management (SAM). Failure to register with SAM will prevent your organization from applying through Grants.gov. SAM registration must be renewed annually.

For more detailed instructions for registering with SAM, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-1-%09obtain-duns-number.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-1-%09obtain-duns-number.html https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online https://secure.login.gov/sign_up/enter_email?request_id=34f19fa8-14a2-438c-8323-a62b99571fd3 https://secure.login.gov/sign_up/enter_email?request_id=34f19fa8-14a2-438c-8323-a62b99571fd3 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html

5) Create a Grants.gov Account: The next step is to register an account with Grants.gov. Applicants must know their or their organization’s DUNS number to complete this process. Follow the on-screen instructions or refer to the detailed instructions here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html

6) Add a Profile to a Grants.gov Account: A profile in Grants.gov corresponds to a single applicant organization the user represents (i.e., an applicant) or an individual applicant. If you work for or consult with multiple organizations and have a profile for each, you may log in to one Grants.gov account to access all of your grant applications. To add an organizational profile to your Grants.gov account, enter the DUNS Number for the organization in the DUNS field while adding a profile.

For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.html

7) EBiz POC Authorized Profile Roles: After you register with Grants.gov and create an Organization Applicant Profile, the organization applicant's request for…