EducationUSA Opportunity Funds NOFO.docx

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

U.S. EMBASSY NAIROBI PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Contact:

For questions relating to Grants.gov, please call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726. For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, please contact the U.S. Embassy Kenya Grants Administrator: NairobiPAS@state.gov

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Kenya of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project focused on promoting U.S. higher education opportunities for high-achieving, financially disadvantaged Kenyan students. Please carefully follow all instructions below.

Priority Region: Project activities must take place in Kenya and the United States and be directed at Kenyan audiences/participants.

Program Objectives:

The grantee will work in coordination with the Public Affairs Sections in Nairobi in support of the EducationUSA Opportunity Funds program. This program assists highly qualified students who are likely to be awarded full financial aid from U.S. colleges and universities but lack the financial resources to cover the up-front costs of required standardized admission tests, application fees, international and domestic airfare, visa fees, SEVIS fees, and settling-in allowance. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi will select and the EducationUSA adviser will advise the Opportunity Funds students. This program supports the U.S. Embassy objectives to achieve inclusive, market-driven, environmentally sustainable economic growth, strengthen health and human capacity, and advance new activities that promote trade, economic cooperation, and legitimate travel.

Individuals and institutions interested in bidding on this cooperative agreement are asked to submit a proposal to administer the Opportunity Funds program, EducationUSA student assistant stipend disbursement, and coordination of the Phase I College Application Boot Camp to take place in June 2021 and the Phase II Graduation and Pre-Departure Orientation to take place in July 2021. The successful grantee will demonstrate an ability to effectively handle funds, coordinate logistics, and finalize payments in a timely manner.

Key Program Components:

Opportunity Funds Program Phase I In the first phase, the Opportunity Funds scholarship will pay for about 20 students to take the SAT, SAT subject tests, and/or the ACT. The grantee will arrange payment and registration for these tests. The estimated scholarship amount for phase one is $240 per student. The institution will manage the logistics of test registration for each student and will oversee that students take the test on various test dates at various testing centers in Kenya. It is expected that students will take the tests between May and July 2021.

Opportunity Funds Program Phase II In the second phase, the Opportunity Funds scholarship will pay for about 12 students to travel to the United States to matriculate at a U.S. institution of higher education. The scholarship will pay for visa and SEVIS fees, required immunizations, international airfare, domestic airfare (if required), and a settling-in allowance (if required). The estimated scholarship amount for phase two is $2,200 per student. The institution will communicate with the students and EducationUSA adviser, coordinate visa appointments, make travel arrangements for domestic and international travel, and coordinate payment to the students of settling-in and other related allowances. Phase II students will receive admission decisions between December and March 2021 and will need to be ready to start classes in the United States with start dates from July to September 2021.

Student Stipend The grantee will manage monthly stipend payments to students who will assist the EducationUSA adviser in the implementation of the programmatic aspects of EducationUSA. The EducationUSA adviser will select two qualified students who have previously participated in the EducationUSA scholars program to help administer the required training for new scholars. The grantee will disburse a monthly stipend of $200 per month per student to offset travel expenses.

Boot Camp and Pre-Departure Orientation The grantee will manage the logistics of a College Application Boot Camp to take place in June 2021 for approximately 40 students. This will be five consecutive days of activities for students preparing their college applications to study in the United States. The institution will coordinate in-country travel for all students and provide a venue, meals, refreshments, lodging, material reproduction services, and supplies and stationery. Proposals should also include plans in case the boot camp must be held virtually instead of in-person.

The grantee will also manage the logistics of a Pre-Departure Orientation to take place in July 2021 in Nairobi, for three consecutive days for approximately 20 students. The institution will coordinate in-country travel for all students and provide a venue, meals, refreshments, lodging, material reproduction services, and supplies and stationery. Proposals should also include plans in case the orientation must be held virtually instead of in-person.

Participants and Audiences:

The participants are Kenyan EducationUSA scholars, selected by the EducationUSA adviser. EducationUSA scholars are highly qualified students who are likely to be awarded full financial aid from U.S. colleges and universities but lack the financial resources to cover the up-front costs.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Length of performance period: 12 months Number of awards anticipated: One award Award amounts: $50,000 (pending availability of funds) Total expected funding: $50,000 (pending availability of funds) Type of expected funding: Fiscal Year 2021 Fulbright Hays Public Diplomacy Funds Anticipated program start date: January 1, 2021 This notice is subject to availability of funding.

Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement. The U.S. Embassy will have substantial involvement in the following areas:

· Selection of EducationUSA scholars and Opportunity Funds scholarship recipients;

· Selection of the student assistants;

· All programmatic aspects of the EducationUSA program, including the College Application Boot Camp and the Pre-Departure Orientation;

· Timing and location of activities;

· Determination of scholarship amount for each student (not to exceed a total of $31,000 for FY2021);

· Determination of stipend amount for student assistants (not to exceed a total of $4,800 for FY2021).

Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 12 months or less.

The Department of State will entertain applications for continuation 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 following United States and Kenyan organizations are eligible to apply:

· Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations;

· Public and private educational institutions.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost-sharing is not required.

3. Other Eligibility Requirements In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number from Dun & Bradstreet and CAGE/NCAGE number, as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section IV for information on how to obtain these registrations. For information about SAM registration, please contact SAM supporting Federal Service Desk at www.fsd.gov, or by telephone at 866-606-8220 (toll free) or 334-206-7828 (internationally), for free help. DUNS, CAGE/NCAGE, and SAM registration are no-fee registration processes. No payment is required. The Embassy of the United States in Kenya is unable to provide guidance or technical support with these registration processes.

SAM supporting Federal Service Desk can help with:

· Creating an account

· Assigning roles to an account

· Entity Registrations

· Exclusions

· Searching for data in SAM Please see Section D for information on how to obtain these registrations.

Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization.

Applicants must have organizational representation (i.e. a pre-existing office) in Nairobi.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

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 for further consideration.

Applications must be submitted via email to NairobiPAS@state.gov.

Applications are accepted in English only. Final award agreements will be concluded in English.

Applications must include a detailed budget spreadsheet and budgets must be submitted in U.S. dollars.

All pages must be numbered, and all Microsoft Word documents must be formatted in single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman Font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

Documents submitted by disc, portable hard drive, cloud-based file sharing service, or other mechanisms will not be reviewed.

Application forms required below are available at www.grants.gov.

1. Content and Form of Application Submission The following documents are required:

1. Mandatory application forms

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

· SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs)

· The SF-424B (assurances – non-construction programs) is required only for those applicants who have not registered in SAM.gov or recertified their registration in SAM.gov since February 2, 2019 and completed the online representations and certifications.

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

3. Proposal: 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.

· 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.

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

· Locations of all project activities

· Project Methods and Design: A description of how the program is expected to work to solve the stated problem and achieve the goal.

· 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?

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.

5. Attachments:

· 1-page CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program.

· Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner.

· If your organization has a NICRA and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA should be included as a PDF file (this only pertains to U.S. based organizations).

· Official permission letters, if required for program activities.

6. Required Registrations:

Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) 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.” Additionally, no entity listed on the EPLS can participate in any activities under an award. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the EPLS in SAM to ensure that no ineligible entity is included.

All organizations applying for grants must obtain these registrations. All are free of charge:

· Unique entity identifier from Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS number)

· NCAGE/CAGE code

· www.SAM.gov registration Step 1: Apply for a DUNS number and an NCAGE number (these can be completed simultaneously) DUNS application: 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 NCAGE application: Application page here: https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx Instructions for the NCAGE application process: https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/Docs/US%20Instructions%20for%20NSPA%20NCAGE.pdf For NCAGE help from within the U.S., call 1-888-227-2423 For NCAGE 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 2: After receiving the NCAGE Code and DUNS number, proceed to register in SAM.gov by logging onto: https://www.sam.gov. SAM registration must be renewed annually.

2. Submission Dates and Times Applications are due no later than October 30, 2020.

3. Other Submission Requirements All application materials must be submitted via email to NairobiPAS@state.gov.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

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

Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants – 30 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.

Applicants must demonstrate their capacity for:

· Project management

· Communication – written and oral

· Monitoring and evaluation processes

· Financial integrity

· Appropriate staffing

· Capacity to award sub-grants at a national level 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.

Program Planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives – 20 points: Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.

Budget – 20 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 – 10 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.

2. Review and Selection Process A Grants Review Committee will evaluate all eligible applications.

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

4. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates Successful recipient(s) will be notified by December 1, 2020, with anticipated award date to be by January 1, 2021.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices The 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 cooperative agreement 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.

Payment Method: Payment will be made by EFT. For Kenyan bank accounts, the exchange rate on the date of the transaction will be used.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Terms and Conditions: 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 200, 2 CFR 600, Certifications and Assurances, and the Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions, all of which are available at: https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/pages/home.aspx.

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. It is anticipated that reports will be due within thirty days of each three month period, and within ninety days of the final completion of the award period.

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS

For questions relating to Grants.gov, please call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726.

For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, please contact the U.S. Embassy Kenya Grants Administrator: NairobiPAS@state.gov.

H. OTHER INFORMATION

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.