Amendment 0005 - 95332419N0001 APS MCC Responses to Questions - 05.07.20.pdf

NOFO #95332419N0001 ‐ Partnerships with MCC Program ‐ Amendment 0005 ‐ Questions and Answers Reference Applicant Question MCC Response

1 General

I would like to ask for your clarification about applying for funding to conduct financial analysis in developing countries…However, I cannot find any full details or where I can download the related documents and the guidelines to submit the [applications] on https://www.mcc.gov/work‐with‐us/partnerships. Please advise.

2 General

I have received a notification about the MCC Fiscal Analysis Partnership opportunity, with responses due May 10, but have difficulties accessing the full package of documents related to this opportunity. Can you please forward all applicable documents?

3 General What is the organization requirement that a non‐US organization should have? Please refer to Section C of the NOFO for all applicant eligibility requirements.

4 General To whom do I submit my [application] ‐‐ to the CEO or someone else? Is there an MCC format that I need to follow or a regular narrative will do?

Please refer to Section D of the NOFO for all submission requirements. Section D.3 covers the formatting and content requirements for the Phase I ‐ Concept Paper submissions.

5 General

My firm is interested in applying to this grant and wanted to confirm what the advertised due date of May 10th refers to? We have reached advanced stages of our grant application package but seem unsure of when to submit especially when the "apply" button under the grant notice is greyed out. What is the status of the grant notice?

Per Amendment 0005, the concept paper due date for Opportunity Statement #7: Fiscal Analysis Partnership has been extended from May 10, 2020 to May 18, 2020. MCC is currently not accepting applications directly via Grants.gov. Section D of the NOFO covers all submission requirements; sub‐sections D.1 and D.2 specify the required submission method/format, and sub‐ section D.3 covers the formatting and content requirements for the Phase I ‐ Concept Paper submissions.

Opportunity Statement

#7: Fiscal Analysis Partnership

Who does the MCC aim to reach with this partnership? The notice of funding opportunity mentions improving project design and policy choice, and expanding learning opportunities, which implies a target audience of MCC/project employees, in‐country policymakers and the broader development community. Is there also an intention to publicize project findings for the in‐country population, regional audiences, potential funders, or any other audiences?

MCC plans to publish the lessons from this partnership both on country analysis and efforts to adapt elements of program design to reflect learnings. External audiences may include government, civil society, private sector, and donor stakeholders in the partner country and broader region, in addition to the broader development community.

Opportunity Statement

#7: Fiscal Analysis Partnership

Which compacts or countries will the fiscal analysis partnership cover? Is it a generic partnership that may be applied to various appropriate compacts, or is it intended for a specific compact?

The partnership would develop fiscal analysis models for countries newly selected for an MCC compact. MCC selects new partner countries each December, and future new countries are not known at this time. The partnership may also develop fiscal analysis models for countries where the program design is still in early stages and where fiscal analysis could prove to be a valuable instrument for compact design (e.g., Kenya, Mozambique, Indonesia). For more information on the new country selection process, please see our website here: https://www.mcc.gov/who‐we‐fund.

8 General / Cost Share

Are bidders asked specifically to share costs with the MCC in this partnership? Section A.4 notes that in this case “partners would require funding from the MCC” and states that “prospective partners are required to provide cost share or matching” in addition to non‐ financial contributions (e.g. of expertise). Please clarify.

A cost‐sharing contribution is required for all partnership opportunities. Please refer to Section C.2 of the NOFO for additional information on this topic. Cost share may come in the form of either cash or in‐kind contributions.

9 General / Profit ‐ Fee

Section C.4 states that “profit . . . will not be authorized under any award made under this APS . . unless . . . a buyer‐seller relationship is created.” Please clarify whether for‐profit organizations can apply for a monetary award in exchange for their services under this agreement. To clarify, we are asking whether we can apply for the award with the understanding that we would charge MCC a fee that covers our costs and profit for the services we offer under the partnership.

As stated under Section C.4, pursuant to 2 CFR §200.400(g), profit or fee is unallowable for assistance mechanisms and will not be authorized under any award made under this APS. The exception referenced under this section of the NOFO applies to subcontracts for the acquisition of goods or services entered into by a prime MCC assistance award recipient.

10 General

How long is Stage II (co‐creation discussions) expected to take, based on previous experience?

The length of co‐creation discussions depends on the nature and complexity of the program design.

Based on these factors, co‐creation can generally last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months; after review of the full application (Stage III), MCC may determine that additional co‐ creation discussions are necessary, at which point the co‐creation process would re‐initiate. For the Fiscal Analysis partnership, we expect co‐creation discussions to be completed by mid‐ to late June in order to finalize the partnership award by the end of MCC’s fiscal year (September 30, 2020).

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) can be located under the “Related Documents ” tab of the Grants.gov link found here:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view‐opportunity.html?oppId=314279

Please ensure you are reviewing the most recent conformed copy of the NOFO, which is titled “Amendment 0005 ‐ APS NOFO No. 95332419N0001 ‐ Conformed Copy ‐ Version 6 ‐ 05.07.20 .”