ECOWAS Early Warning Q&A - CSO Responses - 2021 - 0329[2533].pdf

Questions on Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0007661 Enhancing Early Warning and Early Response in West Africa Answers in blue below

Is this a follow up to the USAID’s REWARD project?

REWARD II is an ongoing USAID project, but this NOFO is for a project that is separate and non-duplicative. This project is funded by the State Department.

Has this grant been “promised” or reserved for a specific organization?

No. As specified in the NOFO, this is an open competition to which all organizations are invited to apply. Applications will be evaluated according to the criteria as listed in the NOFO.

Is there any information not contained in the NOFO that will impact the evaluation of the proposals in any way?

No.

Does the program have to focus on all five member states with existing NCCRMs? Would the proposed program be considered less competitive if only some of the member states are targeted?

Choices of where to focus program activities should include clear justification, but it is understood that the needs will vary across the NCCRMs and that it may not be possible to include all five listed. Please refer to the NOFO for the scoring criteria the review panel will use to evaluate proposals.

The initial program will not be able to include activities that benefit the government of Mali on any level due to the August 18-19 events which triggered the foreign assistance restrictions in section 7008 of the FY20 SFOAA.

Will the awardee be responsible for providing the personnel at each of the new NCCRMs or will the host country provide these personnel?

The existing NCCRMs are fully staffed by the host countries.

Are there any embedded personnel within the five previously established NCCRMs that should be transitioned from prior programs (REWARD I and II) to the new project awardee? If so, could you please provide the number, position and salary rates of these personnel?

There are no requirements. Note that REWARD I and II are distinct from this funding opportunity.

Can the applicant partner with an organization after the application is submitted? Also, can they form partnerships during the program implementation process?

Yes, but the evaluation criteria for the proposals includes justifications from the organizations.

Circumstances can change and we can make adjustments as necessary.

Does the applicant need to have a partnership in all five member states with NCCRMs?

No.

Is the applicant suppose to also build an EWER system for ECOWAS headquarters in Nigeria as well or just improve the coordination between NCCRMs and ECOWAS headquarters?

No, the proposal should not include a new EWER system. A number of public reports have been published on ECOWAS’s existing early warning system. Applicants are encouraged to focus their proposals on the needs outlined within the NOFO. This NOFO focuses on support to the NCCRMs, an example of which might be improving communication between NCCRMs and ECOWAS headquarters.

In working for five countries and coordinating with ECOWAS, one could anticipate a lot of interaction with CSO. Is there an expectation of an office base location to manage these connections and interactions?

There is no specific expectation. CSO’s main POC will likely be in DC. The NOFO emphasizes the importance of the implementer’s in country presence, clearing defining roles of key personnel, and minimizing overhead as much as possible.

The main state department folks we would interact with are in Washington?

This funding opportunity is with CSO located in Washington DC. As a cooperative agreement, CSO expects to be substantially involved in the ways outlined in the NOFO. We’ll coordinate with the Embassy in Abuja as necessary.

Is there an expectation in terms of support and travel from a U.S. based organization? How much will be virtual or in person (even given the unknowns)?

We understand the current environment is uncertain with regards to travel and in person training. For reference, some of the recent training activities taking place with ECOWAS headquarters under the USAID project have been remote. We are prepared for the possibility of remote training and support, especially in the initial phases of the program, and for the need to update our plans as circumstances change.

To what extent has NCCRMs been engaged thus far. Are they expecting this?

CSO’s point of contact has been through ECOWAS headquarters. ECOWAS has been responsible for relaying information back to the NCCRMs.

With the Esri system, (maybe we can do a tour of the system) are there additional process maps, screenshots, or things provided about how the ECOWARN system is set up and how it receives information? Is that information, which may not be publicly available, possible to provide?

A number of public reports have been published on ECOWAS’s early warning system. Some of the internal workings of the ECOWARN system are internal to ECOWAS but CSO will follow up for additional information to share.

Geospatial work with Esri: Ghassan Shebly, contact: gschbley@esri.com

Esri has engaged with ECOWAS for the past few years. ECOWAS has significant GIS skills and knows how to use the Esri platform extensively. The GIS platform is there and now needs to be extended to the five regional organizations. Feel free to reach out to the Esri team for information, they’re here to provide technology, know-how, and best practices.