Annual Program Statement - PAS-BUD-FY21-APS001 - FINAL 20201202.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

U.S. EMBASSY BUDAPEST, PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Funding Opportunity Title: U.S. Embassy Budapest, PAS - FY21 Annual Program

Statement (APS)

Funding Opportunity Number: PAS-BUD-FY21-APS001

Deadline for Applications: Various, see Section D.3 Submission Dates and

Deadlines

CFDA Number: 19.040 – Public Diplomacy Programs

Total Amount Available: Subject to availability of funds

Maximum for Each Award: $25,000

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Embassy Budapest, Public Affairs Section (PAS Budapest) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy Small

Grants Program. This is an Annual Program Statement, outlining our funding priorities, the strategic themes we focus on, and the procedures for submitting requests for funding. Please carefully follow all instructions below.

Purpose of Small Grants: PAS Budapest invites proposals for programs that strengthen cultural ties between the U.S. and Hungary through cultural and exchange programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation. All programs must include an American cultural element, or connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives.

Priority Program Areas:

1. Reinforce U.S. – Hungary Shared Values

2. Advance Regional and Global Security

3. Promote Transatlantic Trade, Investment, and Energy Security

4. Promote Rule of Law, Democracy, and Respect for Individual Liberty

Reinforce U.S. – Hungary Shared Values, by funding proposals which include U.S.

cultural elements that amplify these shared values.

Advance regional and global security, by funding proposals which promote lasting partnerships between the people of Hungary and its neighbors and fosters peaceful resolutions to conflict through the NATO framework.

Promote Transatlantic trade, investment, and energy security, by funding proposals that foster an equitable and transparent economy in Hungary, reinforce shared values of entrepreneurship and innovation, and promote secure energy sources and routes.

Promote rule of law, democracy, and respect for individual liberty, by funding proposals that focus on rule of law, democratic governance, civic participation, fighting corruption, and media literacy and media independence.

Participants and Audiences:

Youth (13-25), including students;

Emerging voices, including civil society leaders;

Business leaders and entrepreneurs;

Established opinion leaders, including cultural and/or academic institution leadership;

Residents of regions outside of Budapest.

Program Partners:

Partnerships with other organizations are not required for eligibility under this APS.

However, to the degree that cooperation with key partners, multipliers, and influencers will enhance the effectiveness of the project, such partnerships are encouraged.

The following types of programs are not eligible for funding:

Programs relating to partisan political activity;

Charitable or development activities;

Construction programs;

Programs that support specific religious activities;

Fund-raising campaigns;

Lobbying for specific legislation or programs

Scientific research;

Programs intended primarily for the growth or institutional development or maintenance of the applicant organization or its partner organizations that are involved in the proposal; or

Programs that duplicate existing programs.

Authorizing legislation, type and year of funding:

Funding authority rests primarily in the Smith-Mundt Act. The source of funding is FY2021

Public Diplomacy Funding.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Length of performance period: Three to twelve months, typically

Number of awards anticipated: Dependent on final budget

Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $25,000; however, selected grant proposals typically range from $5,000-$10,000, and programs with local cost sharing will be given preference.

Total available funding: To be determined

Type of Funding: Fiscal Year 2021 Public Diplomacy Funding

Anticipated program start date: No later than September 30, 2021

This notice is subject to availability of funding.

Funding Instrument Type: Grant, Fixed Amount Award, or Cooperative agreement.

Cooperative agreements are different from grants in that PAS Budapest staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation. Examples of the substantial involvement by

PAS Budapest staff include the development of the grant program, final approval of grant activities, and participation in selection panels for program participants.

Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in twelve months or less. PAS Budapest will consider extensions of grants funded under these awards beyond the initial budget period on a non-competitive basis subject to availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the program, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the U.S. Department of State.

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

The Public Affairs Section encourages applications from U.S. and Hungarian:

Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience

Individuals

Non-profit or governmental educational institutions

Governmental institutions

For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing is not required but is considered favorably.

3. Other Eligibility Requirements

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.

If an organization’s proposal is selected for further consideration, a valid Unique Entity

Identifier (UEI) number, formerly referred to as a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering

System) number, and an active SAM.gov registration will need to be obtained before an organization is able to submit a full application. Please see Section D.2 for information on how to obtain these registrations. Individuals are not required to have a DUNS number or be registered in SAM.gov.

As noted above, all projects must include an American component in order to be eligible for funding. An American component can mean any of the following:

• An American citizen who is an expert, speaker, artist, athlete, or other visitor to Israel who will lead or present some key component of the project. In rare cases, the project could involve an extraordinarily highly accomplished person who is not an American citizen, but who has strong ties to an American institution of major importance – for example, the full-time, lead artistic director of an American performance venue of worldwide renown.

• The use of an American cultural product as a major touchstone for key elements of the program. Cultural products could include books, music, curricula, films, dance, other art forms, or technology created entirely or primarily by American artists and innovators and clearly associated with American culture. For example, the reading and discussion of an

American novel as part of a program to enhance English language learning would qualify.

• Engaging audiences in learning about or practicing a major American topic, such as U.S.

policy, U.S. history, American values (such as civil rights, freedom of expression, or shared society), or American social models (such as democracy or the rule of law) as a significant focus of the program.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Content and Form of Proposal 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. In order to be considered for funding, you must submit a proposal via our online proposal form, a budget, and a budget narrative. The online proposal form and sample budget forms are available at our website.

Proposal Requirements:

a. Completed Proposal form. Please read the instructions and fill out all fields.

b. Budget. Please see section H for additional budget guidelines. Sample form can be found on grants.gov as a supporting document to the present APS or on our website.

c. Budget narrative. Please use a separate document to describe each of the budget expenses in detail. You can find guidance on budget narrative in the budget sample form.

If your proposal is favorably reviewed by the review panel, you will be requested to submit the other mandatory application forms below:

Application forms for organizations:

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

- SF-424A (Budget Information for No-Construction programs)

Application forms for individuals:

- SF-424I (Application for Federal Assistance – individuals)

- SF-424A (Budget Information for No-Construction programs)

- SF-424B (Assurances for Non-Construction Programs – individuals)

These forms can also be found at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html .

You may also request an application package by emailing BudapestGrants@state.gov.

2. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov)

Required Registrations:

All organizations (except individuals) must obtain these registrations in order to receive a grant award. All are free of charge:

Unique Identifier Number from Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS number)

NCAGE/CAGE code www.SAM.gov registration https://hu.usembassy.gov/embassy/budapest/sections-offices/public-affairs-section/request-a-small-grant-form/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html mailto:BudapestGrants@state.gov

Please note that the full registration process may take from several days up to several weeks, so applicants are advised to start the registration process early.

Please also note that your information in DUNS and NCAGE registrations must match exactly or else you will encounter errors registering in www.sam.gov.

If your organization has a DUNS and/or NCAGE number and/or is registered in www.sam.gov, please check that the registrations are valid and the data is correct.

Step 1. Apply for a DUNS number:

Organizations must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number from

Dun & Bradstreet. If your organization does not have one already, you may obtain one by calling 1-866-705-5711 or visiting http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

Step 2. Apply for an NCAGE code (CAGE for domestic, NCAGE for overseas organizations):

Application page:

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx

Instructions for the NCAGE application process.

For help from within the U.S., call 1-888-227-2423

For help from outside the U.S., call 1-269-961-7766

Email NCAGE@dlis.dla.mil for any problems in getting an NCAGE code.

Step 3. Register in www.sam.gov:

After receiving the NCAGE code, proceed to register in System for Award

Management (SAM) by logging onto: https://www.sam.gov.

System for Award Management Non-Federal User Guide is available here.

Please note that your registration in www.sam.gov must be renewed annually.

To finalize your registration or if you need further assistance in connection with registration in www.sam.gov, you may contact the Federal Service Desk at https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/home.do

3. Submission Dates and Times

Proposals will be considered in four separate cycles of funding.

The Public Affairs Section will review proposals according to the following schedule. Please note that while the deadlines for submission of applications are firm, all of the review and response dates are approximate and are subject to change, based on availability of funds. All funding decisions are also subject to availability of funds at all times.

The deadlines to submit proposals are:

January 15, 2021

March 31, 2021

May 31, 2021 and

July 31, 2021.

http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/Docs/US%20Instructions%20for%20NSPA%20NCAGE.pdf http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://sam.gov/SAM/SAM_Guide/SAM_Non_Federal_User_Guide/SAM_Non_Fed_User_Guide.html http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/home.do

All applicants are typically contacted 4-6 weeks after the deadline for each funding cycle and informed whether or not their proposal was selected.

Generally, PAS Budapest recommends that applicants submit proposals 3-6 months in advance of the intended project start date.

4. Funding Restrictions

The following types of funding requests are typically not supported:

Fees and travel cost to attend conferences in the United States

Ongoing salary costs

Office equipment

Paying to complete activities begun with other funds

Refreshments (exception: expenses for coffee breaks and working lunches which are essential to the realization of the program might be funded)

Costs of alcoholic beverages are unallowable.

Furthermore award funds cannot be used for construction projects, vehicle purchases, real estate purchases or other similar purposes or for costs which are determined as unallowable in

2 CFR 200 .

5. Other Submission Requirements

All questions about PAS Budapest’s Public Diplomacy Small Grants Program should be addressed to BudapestGrants@state.gov.

Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Criteria

Each application will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the evaluation criteria outlined below. The criteria listed are closely related and are considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application.

Embassy priorities: Applicant has clearly described how stated goals are related to and support the U.S. Embassy Budapest’s goals, priority program areas and target audiences as described in Section A, and clearly address the requirements of this APS. Applicant also clearly identifies the American component to be included in the program.

Organizational capacity and record on previous grants: The organization has expertise in its stated field and PAS is confident of its ability to undertake the program. This includes a financial management system and a bank account. The organization shows how it uses its capabilities effectively to reach the broadest audience that makes sense for the purpose of the project.

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

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=6&SID=aa39cfaeaded5dd0198723210fe38c8f&ty=HTML&h=L&r=PART&n=pt2.1.200

Goals and objectives: Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.

Budget: 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: Applicant demonstrates it is able to measure program success against key indicators and provide 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.

Media outreach plan: Applicant describes a clear plan for how the program will be shared with secondary audiences through traditional and/or social media.

Applicant describes clearly how the partnership with the U.S. government will be made visible to the participants and to secondary audiences. Applicant describes the outreach tools to be used and demonstrates capacity to implement visibility through traditional and/or social media.

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

2. Review and Selection Process

A Grants Review Committee will evaluate all eligible applications.

3. Federal Awards Performance and 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

§200.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

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 APS 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.

If a proposal is selected, PAS Budapest reserves the right to reduce, revise, and/or increase the proposal budget in accordance with the needs of the program and availability of funds.

Payment Method: Payments will be made in at least two installments, as needed to carry out the program activities. Payment schedules will be determined by the Grants Officer and specified in the award document, according to program’s milestones and as needed to carry out the project activities.

Organizations whose proposals will not be funded will also be notified via email.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Terms and Conditions: Before submitting a proposal, 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 200, 2 CFR 600, Certifications and

Assurances, and the Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions, all of which are available here. Please note that additional terms and conditions may apply, depending on the type of award, and these will be discussed with successful applicants during the award phase.

Note the U.S Flag branding and marking requirements in the Standard Terms and Conditions.

3. Reporting

Reporting Requirements: Recipients will be required to submit financial reports and program reports. The award document will specify how often these reports must be submitted.

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS

If you have any questions about the grant application process, please contact PAS at: BudapestGrants@state.gov.

https://www.state.gov/about-us-office-of-the-procurement-executive/

Note: We do not provide any pre-consultation for proposal-related questions that are addressed in the APS. Once a proposal has been submitted, State Department officials and staff — both in the Department and at Embassies overseas — may not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process is completed.

H. OTHER INFORMATION

Guidelines for Budget Justification

Personnel: 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. If the program involves international travel, include a brief statement of justification for that travel. U.S. law requires travel funded by a U.S. grant use a U.S. air carrier service. There are exceptions. More information on the “Fly America Act” can be found here.

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.

https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/policy/travel-management-policy/fly-america-act