Cameroon FY2021 FTIF NOFO Final.docx

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

U.S. EMBASSY Yaoundé, Cameroon Notice of Funding Opportunity

Funding Opportunity Title: FTIF Citizen Participation and Budget Accountability- POL/ECON, U.S. Embassy Yaoundé Funding Opportunity Number: AFYDE-FTIF-GR-POLECON-2022 Deadline for Applications: July 23, 2022 Assistance Listing Number: 19.322 Total Amount Available: $288,000

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Political and Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications under the FY 2021 Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund Program to carry out a program to build the capacity of citizen groups, civil society organizations, locally elected officials, and local-government actors to participate in the budget process and monitor government transparency at local-council level in 25 councils in five regions of Cameroon.

Please follow all instructions below.

Priority Regions: East, Far-North, Northwest, Southwest, and West Regions.

A.1. Background:

Cameroon does not meet fiscal transparency standards largely due to a lack of good governance practices, and the lack of publicly available information about government institutions, especially at the local level. To address these deficiencies, the Government of Cameroon adopted a law aimed at accelerating the decentralization process, moved to decentralize some powers to local authorities, and held regional elections for the first time in December 2020. Law No 2019/024 of December 24, 2019, instituted the general code of regional and local authorities, which in its section 386 paragraph 4, emphasizes the participation of the people in the preparation and control of budgets.

The law also provided that local councils should be allocated 15 percent of Cameroon’s national budget. However, local councils have little experience with public budget formulation. As such, watchdog and public budget civil society groups will play an important role in calling attention to increased participation, fiscal transparency of public budgets, and debt sustainability. Empowered sub-national actors and civil society will play an important role in placing Cameroon on a path to improved governance practices at local level.

A.2. Theory of Change If citizens and sub-national bodies are trained in public budget creation and monitoring, public budgets will be more accessible and local development needs will be more adequately met.

If civil society groups are trained on advocacy and budget monitoring, then citizens and civil society can more effectively push for government data to enforce fiscal transparency regulations.

A.3. Program Objectives:

The overall goal is to contribute to increased participation, fiscal transparency of public budgets, and debt sustainability in order to improve access to government services at local level, through improved governance practices in local councils.

N.B: Each applicant is expected to:

· Cover either at most two regions among the target regions cited above, or

· One region plus the design of the digital monitoring web application as described below.

· Each project shall cover five pilot councils per selected region.

Objective 1:

To increase the capacity of citizen groups and civil society to advocate for fiscal transparency and monitor the execution of the budget of local councils in targeted regions.

Objective 2:

To increase the capacity of local government bodies and citizen groups to participate in the budget process.

Objective 3:

To increase digital access to public budget information of targeted councils.

A.4. Expected Results Specific results could include the following:

· Budget knowledge among locally elected officials, government actors, and citizens is increased.

· Sub-national actors are better able to monitor the execution of public investment budgets and projects.

· Budgets and expenses of local councils are more accessible.

· Advocacy capacity of civil society is increased.

· Resources are more adequately allocated to local development needs.

· Government accountability to citizens is improved.

· Website serves as a model for national budget entities.

A.5. Main Activities To achieve the goals and expected results, the program could include the following:

· Train citizen and civil society groups to engage with budget actors and public budget investigative bodies.

· Advocate for the enforcement of legislation to make budget information publicly available and track public expenses.

· Organize training seminars with citizen participation groups, local councils, and local development planning committees on public budget formation, implementation, and monitoring.

· Create, strengthen, and operationalize local oversight /watchdog committees.

· Build on a prior Africa Regional Democracy Fund (ARDF) project (from the U.S. Embassy) to create a website to publish budget information of municipalities and other sub-national entities.

A.6. Performance Indicators and Monitoring Plan

The project should monitor and report on performance indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable, and time bound. Establish, where possible, performance baseline data and expected performance targets for each expected result and include details on what sources of data will be used to document performance, how the indicators will be measured, frequency of measurement, and units of measure. Where possible, indicators should also allow for sex disaggregation. Indicators should reflect key project outputs or outcomes that reflect on the primary goals or objectives of the project and that the implementer can collect with high quality data.

Applicants must fill out the table below and insert it into the proposal document. Additional non-Department of State (DOS) indicators may be added that are relevant to the project by adding rows to the chart.

All applicable indicators should be included in the proposal and subsequent to the award, routine, periodic reporting of all indicators will be required. The implementer will be responsible for quarterly reporting on each performance indicator included in the cooperative agreement as well as analysis of progress or impediments to reach indicator targets.

The following are required indicators. Applicants are welcome to propose other indicators relevant to the primary objectives and expected results of the project. These should be reflected in the Performance Monitoring Plan as described below.

XX

The following are suggested indicator/s for this project:

X

XX

X

The State Department takes into consideration the quality of data reported by recipients as part of the award activities, therefore applicants should be aware that recipients will be subject to data quality assessments.

The Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) should include the following:

· Narrative explaining how monitoring and evaluation (M&E) will be carried out and who will be responsible for M&E activities;

· Project Objectives and Indicators (template provided as Attachment 3) listing by project objectives the output- and outcome-based performance indicators with baselines (if available) and quarterly and cumulative targets; data collection tools; data sources; types of data disaggregation, if applicable; and frequency of data collection.

A.7. Risk Analysis The purpose of the risk analysis is to identify the internal and external risks associated with the proposed project in the application, rate the likelihood of the risks, rate the potential impact of the risks on the project, and identify actions that could help mitigate the risks. A risk analysis should not be considered a one-time exercise or a static document. Applicants should conduct adequate risk analysis and remediation for all of its operations and advise that risk analysis and remediation occur throughout the life of a project and should result in revisions to risk analysis documents and processes as necessary.

The safety and security of recipients and beneficiaries are of utmost importance. The recipient is required to conduct thorough risk assessments and take all actions necessary in accordance with those assessments to mitigate those risks. The Embassy will not take responsibility for the risks incurred by any recipient. A suggested format for a risk analysis is provided in attachment 4.

A.8. Participants and Audiences:

The intended target audiences should be CSOs, locally elected officials and other council staffs, CBOs involved in budget planning, journalists, local government actors.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Length of performance period: 18 months Number of awards anticipated: 03 awards (dependent on amounts) Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $72,000 to a maximum of $98,000 Total available funding: $288,000 Type of Funding: FY21 Economic Support Funds (ESF) under the Foreign Assistance Act Anticipated program start date: September 2022

N.B: This notice is subject to availability of funding.

Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement.

B.1. Substantial Involvement

The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon anticipates awarding cooperative agreements as a result of this NOFO. Cooperative agreements are different from grants in that embassy staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation.

Examples of substantial involvement for this project may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Approving selected regions and target councils per organization

2. Approving the selection of the web application designer, its content and usage by successful grantees

3. Can contribute to or approve training modules contents

Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 18 months (September 2022 – March 2024) or less.

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

C.1. Eligible Applicants

The following organizations are eligible to apply: Cameroonian locally registered, associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with at least four years of experience working in the areas of Democracy and Governance.

C.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Providing cost sharing, matching, or cost participation is not an eligibility requirement for this NOFO.

C.3. Other Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued via www.SAM.gov as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section D.3 for more information. Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov.

Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

Organizations must have a commitment to equal opportunity employment practices and to non-discrimination practices with regard to beneficiaries, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or political affiliation

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

D.1. Address to Request Application Package

Application forms required below are available at: embassy website and grants.gov.

D.2. Content and Form of Application Submission:

Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.

Content of Application Please ensure:

· The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity

· All documents are in English

· All budgets are in U.S. dollars

· All pages are numbered

· All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper, and

· All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

The following documents are required:

D.2.1. Mandatory application forms that must be completed and signed:

*These forms are available electronically via Grants.gov.

· SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – organizations)

· SF-424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs)

· SF-424B (Assurances for Non-Construction programs) note: the SF-424B is only required for individuals and for organizations not registered in SAM.gov.

D.2.2. Summary Page: Cover sheet stating the applicant’s name and organization, proposal date, program title, program period proposed start and end date, and brief purpose of the program.

D.2.3. Proposal (10 pages maximum): The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. You may use your own proposal format, but it must include all the items below.

· Proposal Summary: Short narrative that outlines the proposed program, including program objectives and anticipated impact.

· Introduction to the Organization or Individual applying: A description of past and present operations, showing ability to carry out the program, including information on all previous grants from the U.S. Embassy and/or U.S. government agencies.

· Problem Statement: Clear, concise and well-supported statement of the problem to be addressed and why the proposed program is needed

· Program Goals and Objectives: The “goals” describe what the program is intended to achieve. The “objectives” refer to the intermediate accomplishments on the way to the goals. These should be achievable and measurable.

· Program Activities: Describe the program activities and how they will help achieve the objectives.

· Program Methods and Design: A description of how the program is expected to work to solve the stated problem and achieve the goal. Include a logic model as appropriate.

· Proposed Program Schedule and Timeline: The proposed timeline for the program activities. Include the dates, times, and locations of planned activities and events.

· Key Personnel: Names, titles, roles and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the program. What proportion of their time will be used in support of this program?

· Program Partners: List the names and type of involvement of key partner organizations and sub-awardees.

· Program Monitoring and Evaluation Plan: This is an important part of successful grants. Throughout the time-frame of the grant, how will the activities be monitored to ensure they are happening in a timely manner, and how will the program be evaluated to make sure it is meeting the goals of the grant?

· Future Funding or Sustainability Applicant’s plan for continuing the program beyond the grant period, or the availability of other resources, if applicable.

D.2.4. Budget Justification Narrative: After filling out the SF-424A Budget (above), use a separate sheet of paper to describe each of the budget expenses in detail. See section H. Other Information: Guidelines for Budget Submissions below for further information.

Budget Narrative Template – Sample Format (Attachment 2) provides a sample template applicants may use.

D.2.5. Attachments:

· 1-page CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program (include names, titles, roles and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the program. What proportion of their time will be used in support of this program)

· Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner (if required by program activities).

· If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA should be included as a PDF file.

· Official permission letters, if required for program activities

D.3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (NOTE: This section is required and not optional, except for NOFOs targeting applications from individuals instead of organizations)

Required Registrations:

All organizations applying for grants (except individuals) must obtain these registrations. All are free of charge:

· www.SAM.gov registration which will generate a UEI

· NCAGE/CAGE code

Any applicant with an exclusion in the System for Award Management (SAM) is not eligible to apply for an assistance award in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.”

The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal awards. SAM.gov is the Federal government's primary database for complying with FFATA reporting requirements. OMB designated SAM.gov as the central repository to facilitate applicant and recipient use of a single public website that consolidates data on all federal financial assistance. Under the law, it is mandatory to register in SAM.gov.

Starting April 2022, the UEI will be assigned when an organization registers or renews its registration in SAM.gov at www.SAM.gov. To access SAM.gov an organization is required to have a Login.gov account. Organization can create an account at https://login.gov/. As a reminder, organizations need to renew its sam.gov registration annually.

U.S.-based organizations: A CAGE code will be automatically assigned when the U.S. organizations registers in www.sam.gov. CAGE must be renewed every 5 years. Site for CAGE: https://cage.dla.mil/Home/UsageAgree. Grantees may be asked for more information to finalized and must comply.

Foreign-based organizations: Must apply for a NCAGE code before registering in SAM.gov. Go to: https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/CageTool/home to apply for a NCAGE code. NCAGE codes must be renewed every 5 years.

It is in the organization’s best interest to check if their CAGE/or NCAGE codes are active. Organizations are required to register/or renew their CAGE or NCAGE codes prior to registering or renewing www.sam.gov . Both registration and renewals for both CAGE and NCAGE can take up to 10 days. Organization’s legal address in NCAGE/CAGE must mirror www. sam.gov.

www.sam.gov requires all entities to renew their registration once a year in order to maintain an active registration status in SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure it has an active registration in SAM.gov.

If an organization plans to issue a sub-contract or sub-award, those sub-awardees must also have a unique entity identifier (UEI number). Those entities can register for a UEI only at SAM.gov.

If an organization does not have an active registration in SAM.gov prior to submitting an application, the application will be deemed ineligible. All organizations applying for grants (except individuals) must obtain these registrations, the latter are free of charge.

Note: As of April 2022, a DUNS has been replaced by UEI.

D.4. Submission Dates and Times Applications are due no later than 11:59 PM Cameroon time on July 23, 2022.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

D.5. Funding Restrictions

The following activities and costs are not covered under this announcement:

· Construction is not an allowable activity under this award.

· Activities that appear partisan or that support individual or party electoral campaigns.

· Direct support or the appearance of direct support for any religious organization, to include repair or building of structures used for religious purposes.

· Military assistance of any kind, including weapons buy-back or rewards programs.

· Purchase of firearms, ammunition, or removal of unexploded ordnances.

· Para-police (i.e., militias, neighborhood watch, security guards) and prison-related projects. This restriction includes no funding of any secondary need in a law-enforcement organization.

· Payments for any partner government, military, or civilian government employee salary or pension.

· Duplication of services immediately available through municipal, provincial, or national government.

· Funds for market research, advertising (unless public service related to grant program), or other promotional expenses.

· Expenses made prior to the approval of a proposal or unreasonable expenditures will not be reimbursed.

· Charitable or development activities;

· Fund-raising campaigns;

· Lobbying for specific legislation or projects;

· Scientific research;

· Projects intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the organization;

· Projects seeking funds for personal use;

· Projects that require a participation fee.

D.6. Other Submission Requirements

All application materials must be submitted by email to grantsyaounde@state.gov .

Faxed or couriered document will not be accepted.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

E.1. Criteria

Each application will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the evaluation criteria outlined below.

Quality and Feasibility of the Program Idea – 20 points: The program idea is well developed, with detail about how program activities will be carried out. The proposal includes a reasonable implementation timeline.

Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants – 20 points: The organization has expertise in its stated field and has the internal controls in place to manage federal funds. This includes a financial management system and a bank account.

Program Planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives – 15 points: Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.

Budget – 10 points: The budget justification is detailed. Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. The budget is realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities.

Monitoring and evaluation plan – 15 points: Applicant demonstrates it is able to measure program success against key indicators and provides milestones to indicate progress toward goals outlined in the proposal. The program includes output and outcome indicators, and shows how and when those will be measured.

Sustainability – 10 points: Program activities will continue to have positive impact after the end of the program.

Support of Equity and Underserved Communities – 10 points: Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the program will support and advance equity and engage underserved communities in program administration, design, and implementation.

E.2. Review and Selection Process

A review committee will evaluate all eligible applications.

E.3. Federal Awardee Performance & Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)

For any Federal award under a notice of funding opportunity, if the Federal awarding agency anticipates that the total Federal share will be greater than the simplified acquisition threshold on any Federal award under a notice of funding opportunity may include, over the period of performance (see §200.88 Simplified Acquisition Threshold), this section must also inform applicants:

i. That the Federal awarding agency, prior to making a Federal award with a total amount of Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (currently FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313);

ii. That an applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM and comment on any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM;

iii. That the Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in §200.206 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.

E.4. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

No later than September 25, 2022.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

F.1. Federal Award Notices

The grant award or cooperative agreement will be written, signed, awarded, and administered by the Grants Officer. The assistance award agreement is the authorizing document and it will be provided to the recipient for review and signature by email. The recipient may only start incurring program expenses beginning on the start date shown on the grant award document signed by the Grants Officer.

If a proposal is selected for funding, the Department of State has no obligation to provide any additional future funding. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the discretion of the Department of State.

Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. government, nor does it commit the U.S. government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Further, the U.S. government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received.

F.2. Payment Method:

Request for Payment will be submitted through a SF-270. Payments shall be disbursed via EFT upon receipt of a signed SF-270 form and required reporting.

1. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Before submitting an application, applicants should review all the terms and conditions and required certifications which will apply to this award, to ensure that they will be able to comply.

These include:

· 2 CFR 25 - UNIVERSAL IDENTIFIER AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

· 2 CFR 170 - REPORTING SUBAWARD AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION INFORMATION

· 2 CFR 175 - AWARD TERM FOR TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

· 2 CFR 182 - GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE)

· 2 CFR 183 - NEVER CONTRACT WITH THE ENEMY

· 2 CFR 600 – DEPARTMENT OF STATE REQUIREMENTS

· U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget’s guidance located at 2 CFR part 200, all applicable Federal laws, and relevant Executive guidance, the Department of State will review and consider applications for funding, as applicable to specific programs, pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity in accordance with the following: NOTE:

· Guidance for Grants and Agreements in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR), as updated in the Federal Register’s 85 FR 49506 on August 13, 2020, particularly on:

· Selecting recipients most likely to be successful in delivering results based on the program objectives through an objective process of evaluating Federal award applications (2 CFR part 200.205),

· Prohibiting the purchase of certain telecommunication and video surveillance services or equipment in alignment with section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 (Pub. L. No. 115—232) (2 CFR part 200.216),

· Promoting the freedom of speech and religious liberty in alignment with Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty (E.O. 13798) and Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities (E.O. 13864) (§§ 200.300, 200.303, 200.339, and 200.341),

· Providing a preference, to the extent permitted by law, to maximize use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States (2 CFR part 200.322), and

· Terminating agreements in whole or in part to the greatest extent authorized by law, if an award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities (2 CFR part 200.340).

In accordance with the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Underserved Communities, proposals should demonstrate how the program advances equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability. The proposal should also demonstrate how the program will further engagement in underserved communities and with individuals from underserved communities. Proposals should demonstrate how addressing racial equity and underserved communities will enhance the program’s goals and objectives, as well as the experience of participants.

The support of underserved communities will be part of the review criteria for this opportunity. Therefore, proposals should clearly demonstrate how the program will support and advance equity and engage underserved communities in program administration, design, and implementation.

F.3. Reporting

Reporting Requirements: Recipients will, at a minimum, be required to submit quarterly Progress Reports and quarterly Financial Reports. Progress Reports will compare actual to planned performance and indicate the progress made in accomplishing each assistance award tasks/goals noted in the grant agreement and will contain analysis and summary of findings, both quantitative and qualitative, for key indicators. Financial Reports provide a means of monitoring expenditures and comparing costs incurred with progress. Failure to submit reports on time will result in payment delays.

Recipients must report immediately when a program faces unplanned delays in implementation, fails to meet program targets or milestones, or costs increase. Any changes or revisions to the approved budget require prior approval from the Grants Officer.

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS

If you have any questions about the grant application process, please contact Lucresse Ngum at NgumLR@state.gov .

H. OTHER INFORMATION

H.1. Guidelines for Budget Justification Personnel and Fringe Benefits: Describe the wages, salaries, and benefits of temporary or permanent staff who will be working directly for the applicant on the program, and the percentage of their time that will be spent on the program.

Travel: Estimate the costs of travel and per diem for this program, for program staff, consultants or speakers, and participants/beneficiaries. If the program involves international travel, include a brief statement of justification for that travel.

Equipment: Describe any machinery, furniture, or other personal property that is required for the program, which has a useful life of more than one year (or a life longer than the duration of the program), and costs at least $5,000 per unit.

Supplies: List and describe all the items and materials, including any computer devices, that are needed for the program. If an item costs more than $5,000 per unit, then put it in the budget under Equipment.

Contractual: Describe goods and services that the applicant plans to acquire through a contract with a vendor. Also describe any sub-awards to non-profit partners that will help carry out the program activities.

Other Direct Costs: Describe other costs directly associated with the program, which do not fit in the other categories. For example, shipping costs for materials and equipment or applicable taxes. All “Other” or “Miscellaneous” expenses must be itemized and explained.

Indirect Costs: These are costs that cannot be linked directly to the program activities, such as overhead costs needed to help keep the organization operating. If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, attach a copy of your latest NICRA. Organizations that have never had a NICRA may request indirect costs of 10% of the modified total direct costs as defined in 2 CFR 200.68.

“Cost Sharing” refers to contributions from the organization or other entities other than the U.S. Embassy. It also includes in-kind contributions such as volunteers’ time and donated venues.

Alcoholic Beverages: Please note that award funds cannot be used for alcoholic beverages.

H.2. Applicant Vetting Applicants are advised that proposals will be evaluated against the potential risk that federal funds may inadvertently be passed to the wrong hands and that funds may benefit terrorists groups or their supporters. Applicants may be asked to submit information required by DS Form 4184, Risk Analysis Information (attached to this solicitation), about their company and its principal personnel. Vetting information is also required for all sub-award performance on assistance awards identified by DOS as presenting a risk of terrorist financing. When vetting information is requested by the Grants Officer, information may be submitted on the secure web portal at: https://ramportal.state.gov, via Email to RAM@state.gov, or hardcopy to the Grants Officer.

H.3. Marking Policy

Applicants are advised that recipients and sub-recipients of Federal assistance awards are subject to the State Department’s Marking Policy. More information on this policy can be found in Section N of the Department of State’s Standard Terms and Conditions:

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/U.S.-Department-of-State-Standard-Terms-and-Conditions-10-21-2020-508.pdf H.4. Monitoring Site Visits

A monitoring site visit, at least once during the lifetime of a grant, is required by Department of State grant policy. The site visit is conducted to gather additional information on the recipient’s ability to properly implement the project, manage funds, and share substantiating document for programmatic, indicator, and financial reporting. Specifically, the site visit will involve the review of the programmatic progress (progress on activities, sub-recipient/consultant work, data quality, etc.) as well as administrative and financial management and controls.

H.5. Privacy Disclosure

The Department of State understands that some information contained in applications may be considered sensitive or proprietary and will make appropriate efforts to protect such information. However, applicants are advised that the Department of State cannot guarantee that such information will not be disclosed, including pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or other similar statutes.

H.6. Attachments:

Attachment 1: Budget Guidance and Template for New Awards Attachment 2: Budget Narrative Template – Sample Format Attachment 3: Project Monitoring Plan Template Attachment 4: Risk Analysis

Clearance Page Approved: EB/OMA: Mark Simeone (ok)

Drafted: POL/ECON: James Nelson

Cleared: POL/ECON CHIEF: Lance Kinne (ok) POL/ECON DEPUTY: Christina Hardaway (ok)