Attachment J.15 - Cost Categories Under SWIFT 6.pdf

ATTACHMENT J.15 – COST CATEGORIES UNDER SWIFT 6

Program versus Operations Costs

For the purposes of program management and external reporting, USAID/OTI is most interested in understanding the amount of money devoted to program costs versus operations costs.

Based upon a typical program, OTI has developed the following definitions:

Program Costs are defined as costs incurred in the field that directly support program activities such as the following: salaries and benefits for all field-based staff; Home Office STTA (including Start-Up and Close-Out support and coverage support); travel and per diem costs for all field-based staff and Home Office STTA as defined above; field office direct costs; support to program-funded USAID personnel; security; subcontractor costs; and (for SWIFT-Programs Task Orders) the Transition Activities Pool (TAP) which includes Grants Under Contract (GUCs), Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA), and Direct Distribution of Goods and Services

(DDGS).

Operations Costs are defined as headquarters-based costs as well as fixed fee and all overhead costs per the Implementing Partner’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Recovery Agreement (NICRA). The headquarters-based costs include the following: any headquarters-based expenses such as salaries and benefits for implementing partner headquarters staff, any other direct costs for headquarters, operational short term technical assistance (including attendance at Rolling Assessments), and related travel and per diem costs. The Operations Costs also include all indirect costs according to the Implementing Partner's NICRA and all fixed fees including (for SWIFT-Programs Task Orders) the GUC TAP fee and Non-GUC TAP fee.

Recognizing that each Implementing Partner's NICRA is unique, if Field Office Fringe is part of the NICRA, for example, it would be calculated under Program Costs.

SWIFT-Programs Cost Categories

SWIFT 6 SWIFT-Programs Task Orders help USAID/OTI design, implement, and monitor hundreds of small, quick-impact activities in support of peaceful, democratic transitions and complex crises environments using the Transition Activities Pool (TAP). Beyond the Program versus Operations delineation discussed above, USAID/OTI further divides Task Order funding Program and Operations costs into the additional cost categories denoted below. In terms of programming transition assistance, the most important break-down of cost categories is between TAP (GUC TAP and Non-GUC TAP) and other Program and Operations costs. TAP is the primary mechanism for implementing transition activities; therefore, USAID/OTI is interested in ensuring that its Implementing Partners develop effective systems and processes to devote the maximum amount of funding to the TAP. These additional cost categories allow USAID/OTI, the Contracting Officer, and the Implementing Partner to effectively evaluate costs both for a Request for Task Order Proposal (RFTOP) and for an incremental funding modification.

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Program Costs

Program Costs (excludes TAP) [CLIN 1] include the direct costs for implementing and managing a SWIFT 6 SWIFT-Programs Task Order in a country or region, excluding the TAP.

The specific elements of this cost category are described above.

Grants under Contract (GUCs) [CLIN 3] are the preferred and primary mechanism for implementation of activities under the TAP. USAID/OTI requires its SWIFT 6 SWIFT-Programs Implementing Partners to break out the amount of funding for GUCs under the TAP. Using the Activity Database, USAID/OTI and the Implementing Partner track both funds committed to GUCs as well as disbursements. It is important to note that USAID cannot approve GUCs unless there are uncommitted funds available in the GUCs cost category. Therefore, USAID/OTI requires Implementing Partners to clearly show in their budgets and subsequent incremental funding pipelines the amount of funding set aside for GUCs. Indirect costs or fees for grants management are not included in this cost category.

Non-GUC TAP [CLIN 4], if included in the SWIFT 6 SWIFT-Programs Task Order, is also tracked both by commitments and disbursements using the Activity Database. Non-GUC TAP includes Short Term Technical Assistance (STTA) and Direct Distribution of Goods and Services (DDGS). Like GUCs, USAID cannot approve new activities using non-GUC TAP if there are no uncommitted funds available. As with GUCs, the non-GUC TAP cost category does not include indirect costs or fees that are applied to non-GUC TAP.

Operations Costs

Operations Costs (excludes fees) [CLIN 2] are both direct and indirect costs incurred to support the program in the field incurred by the Implementing Partner’s home office (or other support office). The direct costs are defined above in the Program versus Operations discussions. As stated above, this cost category includes the indirect costs (via the NICRA); this should also include any indirect rates charged on the TAP and/or non-GUC TAP.

Fixed Fee on Program and Operations Costs [CLIN 5] is the negotiated fixed fee applied to the Program and Operations costs excluding the TAP.

Fixed Fee on GUC TAP [CLIN 6] is the negotiated fee for management of the GUCs under the

TAP.

Fixed Fee on Non-GUC TAP [CLIN 7] is the negotiated fee applied on the management of the non-GUC TAP.

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SWIFT-Support Cost Categories

The SWIFT 6 SWIFT-Support cost categories represent a fairly straightforward delineation between costs incurred in the field that directly support program implementation, and headquarters-based costs as well as fixed fee and all overhead costs per the Implementing Partner’s NICRA.

Program Costs

Program Costs [CLIN 8] include the direct costs for implementing and managing a SWIFT 6 SWIFT-Support Task Order in a country or region. The specific elements of this cost category are described above in the Program versus Operations discussions.

Operations Costs

Operations Costs (excludes fees) [CLIN 9] are both direct and indirect costs incurred to support the program in the field incurred by the Implementing Partner’s home office (or other support office). The direct costs are defined above in the Program versus Operations discussions. As stated above, this cost category includes the indirect costs (via the NICRA).

Fixed Fee [CLIN 10] is the negotiated fixed fee applied to the Program and Operations costs.

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