Amendment 0003 to provide responses to questions and presentations for teleconferences.pdf

Amendment 0003 for the NOFO APS No: 95332418N0002

NOFO APS Name: “PARTNERSHIPS with MCC Program”

Subject: to provide responses to questions and presentations for the online conferences for Window

1 for all technical areas

The purpose of this Amendment 0003 is to provide responses to questions and presentations from the online conferences for Window 1.

1. The power Point Presentations for each technical area are attached to this Amendment.

2. Please see below responses to questions asked during the online conferences for each technical area as well as via written submission prior to the December 4, 2017, deadline.

3. Reponses to the questions about intellectual property will be provided later this week.

General APS Questions

1. Does the MCC prefer proposals that focus on a single country only, or is the agency open to proposals that might cover two or more countries?

A – The Concept Papers may include one or more than one country (if not specified in the program description) for each technical area.

2. Co-financing-- what organizations can we seek co-financing from and what are the restricted orgs?

A – There are no restriction for co-financing, please review the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as amended and the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 as amended for general guidance.

3. How do we access project information on grants.gov?

A – Go to www.grants.gov and in the top right window type the NOFO number 95332418N0002.

4. Names of the speakers and the presentation?

A – The power point presentations and speaker names for the November 30th and December 1 webinars are attached.

5. Concept note just capabilities and ideas or full concepts?

A – Please refer to the Section D, Part IV CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION for detailed instructions for the Concept Papers.

6. How will MCC monitor the awards progress?

A - There will be a number of reporting requirements included in the awards, including but not limited to workplans, quarterly program and financial reports, status meetings, etc., please also see 2 CFR 200. 327

– 332 sections.

http://www.grants.gov/

7. Should other partners be identified in the concept note? Or will MCC be doing the matching of partners?

A – Please include partners in your concept paper. Also organizations that are interested in serving as subpartners are invited to include Expressions of Interest that will be posted under this NOFO for everyone to access. See Amendment 001, Section B. for additional information about the Expression of

Interest purpose and process.

8. Why are there different windows? What does a window mean?

A – MCC has defined six windows for the Partnership APS to designate the dates when MCC will initiate review of partnership concept notes. MCC will review all concept notes submitted during a given window period at the close of that window. The APS will remain open for a year and Partnership Opportunities remain open across windows unless/until MCC formally announces that a given Partnership Opportunity has closed. Prospective applicants are encouraged to submit concept notes as soon as possible so as to be considered in earlier windows..

9. What are decisions to move into collaboration or co-creation after each window?

A – MCC will evaluate the Concept Papers submitted and will invite selected organizations to participate in the collaboration and co-creation process.

10. Will the slides with notes be provided as well?

A – The presentations are provided with this amendment.

11. What is the range of grant award amounts?

A – Please see Section B, part II Estimated Funding and Number of Awards.

12. After this year will it be another 5 years before a similar grant program is launched?

A – MCC will evaluate the needs for the future requirements and potential extension or re-issuance of the

Partnership APS at the end of summer 2018.

13. What are the restrictions for people who have formerly worked at MCC but are at another organization or university to apply?

A – These questions will be responded on case-by-case basis. Please submit a specific question by email.

14. Hi, will you be sharing the slides afterwards, or posting them? Thanks in advance.

A – The presentations are provided.

15. How do we access the project information on grants.gov, what do we search for and what is the number?

A – Please see response to question 4.

16. We have a question regarding the Appendix section where it is mentioned that "the application should also include at least two (02) past performances for the by subpartners (consortium members). If we have individuals joining as part of the consortia, do they need reference letters?

A – Please fill in the part performance matrix for the prime organization and other consortium members

(organizations only, not the individual consultants).

17. Would you be able to confirm if changes to the estimated budget (including cost share) proposed and partnerships / proposed consortium members in the Phase I concept paper are allowed at the time of a

Phase II submission, or if the phase I proposal will be binding?

A – Phase I Concept Papers submissions budgets are preliminary and most likely will change if applicants are invited to submit complete applications under Phase II.

Questions for each technical area:

1. Growth Diagnostics and Economic Policy Reform

No questions.

2. Urban Growth Analysis and Urban Management

3. Agribusiness in Niger

4. Data Collaboratives for Local Impact (DCLI) in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire

1. Hello, my question is about the DAC opportunity in Cote d'Ivoire - Given that the expected lead implementing agency is to be a local Ivoirian organization and that DAC is meant to be a self-sustaining center of operations, is the expectation that the lead agency is from the private sector, or not necessarily?

A – The DAC opportunity in Cote d’Ivoire is a separate NOFO under the Data Collaboratives for Local

Impact program. You may learn more about the DAC opportunity, and bid conferences, on www.grants.gov, the NOFO #95332418N0003.

2. For the DCLI, how does the APS relate to the recent procurement of the DCLI in CI and Tanzania?

Will there be any connection between the two?

A – DCLI is looking for partners who may contribute to the sustainability of the Tanzania Data Lab

(dLab), and to the creation of a Data Analytics Center (DAC) in Cote d’Ivoire. The DCLI program is interested in receiving APS applications that demonstrate innovative methods to achieve the objectives of both dLab and DAC. Applicants with ideas regarding regional and international coordination between the two investments will be considered.

3. Given that the lead org should be Ivoirian? Should the DAC implementer be private?

A – The DAC opportunity in Cote d’Ivoire is a separate NOFO under the Data Collaboratives for Local

Impact program. You may learn more about the DAC opportunity, and bid conferences, on www.grants.gov .

4. Any relation between the current DCLI procurements in Cote D'Ivoire?

A – The APS opportunity is intended to provide capacity at the inception phase of the DAC through co-investment, collaboration, and thought partnership in the areas of data science, data use training, open data, and other critical areas serving both MCC and PEPFAR programming in Cote d’Ivoire.

5. High Frequency Monitoring Data

1. Should the applications reflect the applicant’s capabilities or proposals that fit MCC’s specific business model?

A – MCC is seeking applications that showcase specific capabilities. It is not necessary to target these to a specific MCC need, as long as those capabilities fit within the general problem statement. We are looking for innovative solutions to collecting data, some of which we might not be aware of yet.

6. Data Collection and Analysis in Sri Lanka

1. Pilot-- are there metrics to know if it would be successful or not?

A – Start high-frequency monitoring early…what information can a partner track in high congestion corridors to promote learning and collect in a cost-effective way. If we get a measure that is high quality and "we" have confidence in.

2. Does this need to comply with open data principles? What about private sector proprietary data?

Private sector operators may not be willing to give the information away for others to use.

A – Proprietary information should be clearly marked in the Concept Papers and the Complete

Applications submissions. The MCC data documentation materials can be found here.

3. Will MCC collaborate on facilitating data access for certain things with the government? Same if private sector data?

A – Yes. MCC will be a partner in helping to get data from other sources.

List of people participated at the online conferences:

Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP)

Ryan Johnson, Senior Director

Sarah Crawford, Director

Contracts and Grants Management Office (CGM)

Taylor Wolf, Supervisory Agreement Officer

Jacqueline Naranjo, Supervisory Agreement Officer

Nataliya Holl, Senior Agreement Specialist

Technical Areas:

1. Growth Diagnostics and Economic Policy Reform

Brad Cunningham, Economist

2. Urban Economic and Social Context Analysis

Jill Pike, Director

3. Agribusiness in Niger

Katherine Tan, Program Officer

Damiana Astudillo, Director

4. Data Collaboratives for Local Impact (DCLI) in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire

Agnieszka Rawa, Managing Director

Mitch Blaser, Director

JC McCahill, Senior Program Officer

5. High Frequency Monitoring Data

Hana Freymiller, Associate Director

Jenny Heintz, Associate Director

6. Data Collection and Analysis in Sri Lanka

Sarah Lane, Associate Director

End of Amendment 0003.

https://data.mcc.gov/evaluations/index.php/catalog/155