Final - FY 20 FFP Multi-Year International Emergency Food Assistance (MYE) APS.pdf

FINAL

SUBJECT: U.S. Agency for International Development/Bureau for

Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance/Office of Food for Peace Annual Program Statement for Multi-Year International Emergency Food Assistance, Opportunity Number

72DFFP20APS00001

ISSUANCE DATE: December 12, 2019

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:

98.001: Foreign Assistance Act – IDA 98.008: FFP Title II

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Food for Peace (FFP) is the U.S.

Government (USG) leader in international food assistance. The purpose of this Annual Program Statement (APS) is to disseminate the necessary information to enable prospective applicants to apply for USAID FFP multi-year emergency food assistance awards using Title II and/or Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP) resources.

NOTE: This APS represents a pilot for multi-year international emergency food assistance.

This APS provides the following:

SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1. Authorities

2. Funding Priorities

3. Eligible Food Security and Nutrition Responses

4. Eligible Modalities

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

2. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

3. Substantial Involvement

4. Authorized Geographic Code

5. Nature of the Relationship between USAID and the Recipient

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Partners

2. Non-Eligible Partners

3. New Partners

4. Cost Share

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Agency Point of Contact

2. Questions and Answers

3. General Content and Form of Application

4. Application Submission Procedures

5. Technical Application Format

SECTION E: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Concept Paper – Merit Review Criteria

2. Oral Presentations (If Required) – Merit Review Criteria

3. Application – Merit Review Criteria

SECTION F: FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative & National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting Requirements

SECTION G: FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT(S)

SECTION H: OTHER INFORMATION

1. Requirement for all activities

2. Code of Conduct

3. Mandatory Disclosures

4. USAID Disability Policy and accessibility Standards

5. Voluntary Survey on Faith-Based and Community Organizations

6. Ineligible Goods and Services, Ineligible Suppliers, and Restricted Goods

7. Programmatic and Technical References

SECTION A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This funding opportunity is authorized under the Food for Peace Act (FFP Act) or Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended.

1. Authorities

Title II of the FFP Act authorizes the USAID Administrator to establish programs to provide agricultural commodities to foreign countries on behalf of the people of the United States and to provide assistance to address famine and food crises, and respond to emergency food needs, arising from man-made and natural disasters; combat malnutrition, especially in children and mothers; carry out activities that attempt to alleviate the causes of hunger, mortality and morbidity; promote economic and community development; promote food security and support sound environmental practices; carry out feeding programs; and build resilience to mitigate and prevent food crises and reduce the future need for emergency aid. The preponderance of Title II resources must be used to fund U.S. in-kind assistance interventions, under which the USG procures commodities from U.S. producers and then provides the commodities and associated costs to an implementing agency for use in programs to enhance the food security of vulnerable populations.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 amended Section 202(e) of the FFP Act to allow Title II funds to be used to establish and enhance Title II programs, which represents an expansion over prior statutory authority. Thus, a portion of FFP’s Title II resources may be used to enhance Title II in-kind program activities, including with cash transfers, food vouchers, local, regional, and international procurement (LRIP) and Essential Complementary Activities1 (interventions) linked to the provision of food assistance and integral to the achievement of desired food and nutrition security outcomes. The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 further clarified the uses of Internal Transport, Storage and Handling funds. For more information on Title II Section 202e and ITSH resources, please use this link for the most up-to-date information bulletins.

The FAA authorizes the provision of international disaster relief, rehabilitation, and preparedness, through the International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account. Section 7 of the Global Food Security Act of 2016 amended the FAA of 1961 and authorized the emergency food security program (EFSP) within the IDA account to provide emergency food assistance, including in the form of funds, transfers, vouchers, and agricultural commodities acquired through LRIP, to meet emergency needs arising from manmade and natural disasters. FFP relies on the IDA authority, including the EFSP authority, to provide market-based food assistance, which includes LRIP, and other interventions such as food vouchers and cash transfers to facilitate the availability of and/or access to food. For the purposes of this APS, market-based food assistance refers to those modalities which utilize and reinforce existing market systems within a country or within the region.

1 See page 8 for definition.

https://www.usaid.gov/food-assistance/resources/food-peace-information-bulletins

1. Funding Priorities

FFP’s Mission is to reduce hunger and malnutrition and ensure that adequate, safe and nutritious food is available to, accessible to, and well-utilized by all individuals at all times to support a healthy and productive life. Through its emergency awards, FFP provides food assistance to save lives, reduce suffering, and support the early recovery of populations affected by both acute and protracted emergencies.

FFP responds to emergency situations, or crises, where the food supply is severely disrupted and populations lack access to sufficient food through normally available means such as production, barter, or purchase in markets. Such situations may involve drought, floods, earthquakes, and/or civil conflict. An economic shock such as a rise in food prices due to global price increases, or reduced remittances due to a recession, will be considered an aggravating rather than primary factor for determining eligibility for emergency food assistance.

FFP’s 2016–2025 Food Assistance and Food Security Strategy acknowledges that to achieve stable availability of, access to, and utilization of food, action/change is necessary at both an individual and systems level. In some contexts, FFP recognizes that recovery from food crises at both levels can require years due to recurring shocks, compounded shocks, and conflict. Multi-year emergency programming can serve a role in reinforcing household, community, and national capacities eroded by crises; strengthening local systems; and supporting communities’ ability to weather future shocks on the Journey to Self-Reliance. FFP determines suitability of multi-year funding on a country-by-country basis.

FFP expects all awardees to uphold the following principles:

● Do no harm in the process of providing food or other food assistance resources;

● Strive to keep the interests and voice of the vulnerable at the center of our work;

● Adhere to the highest standards of human rights, respect and dignity in our provision of assistance;

● Provide access to food to those in greatest need in an impartial manner, without bias or prejudice; and

● Enable communities to find durable means to meet their own food security needs.

FFP will consult with the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) in evaluating and making final determinations on applications that propose modalities and/or Essential Complementary Activities outside of the food security and nutrition sectors, and/or on those that propose multipurpose cash assistance. For applications that propose Essential Complementary Activities outside of the food assistance and nutrition sectors, the OFDA Guidelines for Proposals will be used as the technical standards for application evaluation.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/FFP-Strategy-FINAL%2010.5.16.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/selfreliance https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/working-crises-and-conflict/crisis-response/resources/guidelines-proposals https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/working-crises-and-conflict/crisis-response/resources/guidelines-proposals

2. Eligible Food Security and Nutrition Responses

The Grand Bargain, launched during the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016, is an agreement between donors and humanitarian agencies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian assistance. One of the Grand Bargain workstreams is focused on promoting an increase in multi-year emergency planning and funding. The workstream notes that multi-year emergency funding may be appropriate where humanitarian needs are protracted or recurrent and where livelihood needs and local markets can be analyzed and monitored. Multi-year, incrementally funded emergency awards may also reduce administrative costs for both donors and implementing organizations.

NOTE: This APS represents a pilot for multi-year international emergency food assistance.

FFP defines three categories of emergency interventions eligible for funding under this APS for multi-year emergency awards:

● Recovery - Activities implemented for a specified, appropriate timeframe that assist populations recovering from an identifiable shock and, if possible, place them on a trajectory that facilitates their return to at least a subsistence level and capable of participating in development activities.

● Protracted Crisis - Activities that meet the food security needs of populations in those environments in which a significant proportion of the population is acutely vulnerable to death, disease, and disruption of livelihoods over a prolonged period of time.

● Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) - Activities that improve food security by strengthening people’s capacity to anticipate, cope with, and recover from future shocks and stresses. FFP supports activities that are either specifically designed to reduce risk as stand-alone DRR activities, or integrated with recovery/protracted crisis interventions.

Recovery, Protracted Crisis, or DRR food security interventions supported under this APS may also mitigate the impact of shocks, prevent the erosion of household assets and livelihoods, and accelerate recovery—contributing to the future resilience2 of affected households and communities.

3. Eligible Modalities

A. Food Transfer Modalities

2 Per the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy FY 2017-2021, FFP uses the following definition for resilience: “the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to reduce, mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses to food security in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth”.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USG-Global-Food-Security-Strategy-2016.pdf

Under this APS, FFP has identified a number of standard food assistance transfer modalities for use in implementing activities to achieve food security and nutrition objectives in recovery, protracted crisis, or DRR contexts. These modalities are listed below. FFP encourages partners to consider whichever modality or combination of modalities is best suited to the emergency context. FFP recognizes that emergency circumstances may require flexibility to switch between approved modalities over the life of the award. See section D in the activity design and description section for details on how flexibility can be included in the Program Description of the award.

● Local procurement – the targeted provision of food or specialized nutritious foods procured within a country affected by an emergency.

● Regional procurement – the targeted provision of food or specialized nutritious foods procured from a country that is within the same continent.

● International procurement - the targeted provision of food or specialized nutritious foods procured from a country that is not located within the same continent as the country in which the commodities will be used.

International procurement will only be approved under rare circumstances in which neither local/regional markets nor U.S. in-kind food are sufficient to meet the needs in an urgent crisis and will require specific justification.

Note: FFP prioritizes procurement in developing countries. Consequently, for all local, regional and international procurements, country of source and country of origin must be included within the “Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories” level or below on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipients list of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) unless the country in which the commodities are to be procured is itself impacted by the same crisis. A commodity’s source is the country from which the seller ships the commodity, and origin is the country in which the commodity was produced. See FFP website for further details on FFP’s policy on source and origin for LRIP.

Any deviation from this requirement should be explicitly identified in the application with justification for the requested waiver.

● Title II U.S. in-kind food aid – the targeted provision of U.S. food commodities procured through the regular ordering process or drawn from pre-positioned stocks, as determined by FFP, with associated costs for distribution, transport and storage to food insecure participants in the affected country.

Note: For U.S. in-kind food aid, applicants must request commodities on FFP's commodity price list. Note that specialized food aid commodities, such as ready to use foods (RUF) require specifically tailored interventions. Requests for these specialized commodities will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/daclist.htm https://www.usaid.gov/food-assistance/resources/food-peace-information-bulletins https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1866/commodity-and-ocean-freight-price-estimates https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1866/commodity-and-ocean-freight-price-estimates

● Food vouchers - the targeted provision of vouchers that are redeemable for food to participants who are affected by an emergency and who lack economic access to food stocks that are readily available in the local markets of the affected country.

● Cash transfers - the targeted provision of money to participants who lack economic access to food stocks that are readily available in the local markets of the affected country. See the “Essential Complementary Activities” section for details on multipurpose cash assistance.

● Market strengthening - assistance provided to improve a crisis-affected group’s situation by providing support to a critical market system they rely on, often utilizing a transfer modality as outlined above, but not necessarily at the household level. Support can be provided to market actors, market infrastructures and services, or market environment. Applications proposing market strengthening support must include methods to measure food security related outcomes for the emergency-affected population. Market strengthening is considered a food assistance transfer modality and should be justified using the same criteria as other core modalities with the objective still focused on ensuring stable access and availability of food for food-insecure populations. Market development (i.e., activities intended primarily to promote market linkages that did not exist pre-crisis) will generally be considered outside the scope of emergency response.

On an exceptional basis, applicants may propose a Title II funded market access program activity for review and consideration. For additional information on market access programs, see the Market Assistance Program Field Manual.

B. Essential Complementary Activities

“Essential Complementary Activities”, as described in this APS, are discrete activities that contribute to the stabilization of household/community availability of, access to, and utilization of nutritious foods. Essential Complementary Activities may contribute directly to food security and/or indirectly to the achievement of the emergency-related food security and nutrition objectives when they are programmatically linked to the transfer modality used

For activities proposing Essential Complementary Activities, applications must clearly articulate how these activities will enhance food security and nutrition, and how these activities will complement or coordinate with similar activities being implemented by other response actors.

There is no specific percentage set for essential complementary activities.

Essential Complementary Activities may include, but are not limited to the following sectors and activities therein:

● Nutrition: Prevention and/or treatment of acute malnutrition:

Management of acute malnutrition http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADM599.pdf o Commodity or financial support for specialized nutritious products (FFP promotes the use of the United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF] and the World Food Program [WFP]-supported pipelines for ready to use foods (RUFs), though exceptions may be considered for buffer stocks or other reasons with substantial justification);

o Community outreach and mobilization to include screening to improve early case detection and referral into treatment programs;

o Activities directed at improvement of case outcomes including defaulter case tracking and follow up;

o Activities to improve quality through training, capacity building or supportive supervision of community health workers or other actors supporting these programs.

Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and Women’s Nutrition o Breastfeeding promotion and support to encourage early and optimal breastfeeding practices (early initiation of breastfeeding after birth, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, continued breastfeeding for two years and beyond);

o Improved access to and consumption of age appropriate foods during the complementary feeding period;

o Activities that specifically target pre-pregnant, pregnant and lactating women with nutritious foods;

o Activities that strengthen access to a broader range of foods for improved nutrition of women and children, particularly as paired with cash and voucher transfer programs;

o Activities that build institutional capacity or support within the enabling environment for

IYCF.

For activities proposing nutrition interventions, applicants must clearly articulate how other key stakeholders—particularly government ministries and/or nutrition clusters—are engaging in the sector, and how the proposed activities are filling gaps or otherwise harmonized with the wider response.

● Agriculture: including agricultural training, capacity strengthening, rebuilding of agricultural assets. Interventions may include provision of approved agricultural commodities such as seeds, tools, and fodder, with appropriate procurement plans for safety and quality monitoring, following ADS and OFDA guidelines. Specific activities related to irrigation, gardening, livestock, or fisheries production and post-harvest handling will be considered.

● Livelihoods: including support for community-level savings and lending groups and restoration of livelihoods whether on-farm, off-farm, or non-farm.

● Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): including support for water supply, hygiene promotion, environmental health (such as solid waste management, drainage, and vector control), and sanitation programming.

● Coordination and Capacity Building Support: including support to humanitarian coordination clusters, working groups or other sub-cluster entities that are relevant to support a more effective and coordinated food security response to the specific shock, as well as capacity building efforts to ensure effective and efficient food assistance delivery (e.g., food security and livelihoods cluster, nutrition cluster, logistics cluster).

● Efforts to strengthen gender equity, empower youth, or improve cohesion: including support to linkage promotion and dispute resolution mechanisms between identity groups when such factors can be clearly linked to improved food security.

● Disaster Risk Reduction: including activities that strengthen people’s capacity to anticipate, cope with, and recover from future shocks and stresses and that aim to address the underlying causes of disaster, such as lack of knowledge, unplanned urbanization, and environmental degradation, particularly when activities can be directly linked to improved food security.

Note: Applicants are encouraged to use risk-sensitive approaches wherever appropriate whereby key risks, hazards, and mitigation strategies are identified and integrated into the broad range of project interventions that not only meet immediate needs but also strengthen the ability of people to cope with future crises.

C. Multipurpose Cash Assistance

● FFP may authorize funding for a multipurpose cash grant either by (a) contributing funding proportional to food needs in an activity with other donors who can cover the proportion of the grants for non-food needs, or by (b) fully funding a multipurpose cash grant as long as the funding for the non-food needs represents less than 50 percent of the cash grant.

● For applications that propose a multipurpose cash transfer that includes food commodity costs funded through Food for Peace with the remaining value coming from another donor(s), the associated costs must be attributed proportionately. The food value and all proportionate associated costs must be budgeted under the category of Cash Transfers.

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

The value of awards and expected number of awards will be determined by assessed needs and context in a country to country basis and is subject to the availability of funds. FFP assigns no thresholds for minimum or maximum award or number of awards per response.

USAID plans to make multiple awards in the form of cooperative agreements under this APS utilizing a co-design process during the final phase of application. Nevertheless, USAID reserves the right to make awards in the form of grants, limit the number of awards made to a particular region or country, or decide not to make an award at all.

2. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

Applications for recovery, protracted response, and DRR activities should be for two to three (2-3) years. Multi-year emergency awards will not be considered for a funded extension.

This APS is open indefinitely and will remain open until an APS amendment is issued to establish a closing date. This APS does not serve as a general solicitation for concept papers. USAID plans to issue specific amendments to this APS to request concept papers for particular countries or regions where USAID is interested in funding multi-year emergency awards, and may specify additional deadlines in these amendments.

USAID will post amendments or addenda to Grants.gov (through which organizations may sign up to receive notifications of changes), and to the FFP Emergency Food Assistance website. USAID may issue amendments or addenda to this APS for other reasons, such as to establish deadlines or notify interested parties that no further funding is available.

3. Substantial Involvement

In accordance with the ADS 303.3.11, a cooperative agreement will require the following elements of substantial involvement by FFP, if applicable to the application:

● Approval of the Awardee's Implementation Plans

● Approval of Awardee's Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

● Approval of Specified Key Personnel

● Agency and Awardee Collaboration or Joint Participation covering:

o selection of advisory committee members o concurrence on the substantive provisions of sub-awards o monitoring to authorize specified kinds of direction or redirection because of interrelationships with other USAID, host government, or other donor activities

● Agency Authority to Immediately Halt a Construction Activity http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.usaid.gov/food-assistance/what-we-do/emergency-activities

Note: ADS 303 applies to NGOs/PVOs while ADS 308 applies to PIOs. Unless other specified in the APS, any reference to the Code of Federal Regulations or the ADS applies to NGOs only.

4. Authorized Geographic Code

The geographic code for the procurement of commodities and services under this program is anticipated to be 935.

5. Nature of the Relationship between USAID and the Recipient

The principal purpose of the relationship with the Recipient and under the subject program is to transfer funds to accomplish FFP’s objective to reduce hunger and malnutrition and ensure that adequate, safe and nutritious food is available to, accessible to, and well-utilized by all individuals at all times to support a healthy and productive life. The successful Recipient will be responsible for ensuring the achievement of the program objectives and the efficient and effective administration of the award through the application of sound management practices. The Recipient will assume responsibility for administering Federal funds in a manner consistent with underlying agreements, program objectives and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.

USAID will require management meetings on a routine basis which may be both face to face and virtual as deemed appropriate by the AOR.

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

A. For Title II Emergency Food Assistance Activities the applicant must be:

● A private voluntary organization (PVO) or cooperative.

o A PVO is a U.S. private voluntary organization, international private voluntary organization or a local private voluntary organization as defined in 22 CFR 203.2.

o A PVO includes U.S. and non-U.S. nonprofit, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (1) as defined in Section 402 of the Food for Peace Act; and (2) in accordance with ADS 303.

● A public international organization (PIO), such as the United Nations (UN) World Food Program.

● In addition, according to Title II of the FFP Act, USAID may provide Title II resources and agricultural commodities to meet emergency food needs through foreign governments in such a manner and on such terms and conditions as USAID determines appropriate to respond to the emergency.

B. For EFSP Activities the applicant must be:

● A U.S. or non-U.S. NGO, including PVOs.

o An NGO is defined by USAID as any non-governmental organization or entity, whether non-profit or profit-making.

● An organization designated by USAID as a PIO such as the UN World Food Program.

2. Non-eligible Applicants

Under this APS, for both Title II and EFSP, USAID will not accept applications from, or provide resources to individuals, parastatal organizations, or U.S. Government departments and agencies.

Note: USAID will not make EFSP awards to foreign governments.

3. New Partners

USAID welcomes concept papers from organizations that have not previously received direct financial assistance from USAID. However, awards to these new organizations may be delayed as the USAID Agreement Officer may need to undertake pre-award risk assessments as http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/agency-policy/series-300 discussed in ADS 303.3.9. These pre-award risk assessments may affect implementation dates and activities; new partners should take this into account. Potential new partners might wish to consider collaborating with those organizations that have met the criteria described in the ADS in an attempt to expedite review and approval.

4. Cost Share

No cost share is required. Where possible, all applications, particularly those that are recovery-focused, should include activities that are integrated with activities in other sectors, layered with other investments in the same communities, and/or sequenced with activities that will further enhance the food security of the target population. Cost share is not considered as a selection factor and does not provide a competitive advantage.

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Agency Point of Contact

Potential applicants shall contact the USAID Agreement Officer for this APS through the following mechanisms:

● Contact ffpemergencygrants@usaid.gov with any questions or comments relating to an emergency concept paper or application.

● All applications must be sent to ffpemergencygrants@usaid.gov.

Note: Pre-award contact with any other USG personnel or FFP’s institutional support contractors by an applicant which involves a proposed or submitted concept paper in response to this APS may result in disqualification of the concept paper.

2. Questions and Answers

Questions regarding this APS should be submitted to ffpemergencygrants@usaid.gov. Any information given to a prospective applicant concerning this APS will be furnished promptly to all other prospective applicants as an amendment to this APS if that information is necessary in submitting applications or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective applicant.

3. General Content and Form of Application

All documents must be completed in accordance with the format detailed in this APS and must comply with the following:

● Written in English, single spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman font, all text in tables or charts are allowed to use 8 or10 point Times New Roman font;

● Narratives should be prepared in Microsoft Word or a compatible equivalent, with print areas set to 8.5 x 11 inch, letter-sized paper and one-inch margins, left justification and a footer on each page including page numbers, date of submission, proposed country, and applicant name;

● Spreadsheets (including for budgets) should be prepared in Microsoft Excel or a compatible equivalent, with print areas set to 8.5 x 11 inch, letter-sized paper;

● Official (signed) documents, memoranda and certifications may be submitted as Adobe PDF files; and

● All documents, including budgets, should be presented in a print-ready format.

● Emailed, hard copy, and faxed concept papers and applications are not acceptable.

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4. Application Submission Procedures

USAID will follow a multi-phase merit review process:

1. Concept Paper

2. Oral Presentation (If required by USAID)

3. Collaborative Design (Degree of collaboration will be detailed by USAID following phases

1 or 2)

4. Application

The first phase is the submission and review of a concept paper. Following the concept paper review, technically acceptable applicants may be required, as determined by USAID, to provide an oral presentation. USAID will provide notices to all applicants noting whether an oral presentation is required. Finally, the apparently successful applicant(s) will collaboratively develop a Program Description with USAID and submit a written full technical and cost application(s). The applicant will be notified by USAID as to the anticipated level and format of collaborative design prior to that phase of the process. Applicants not selected will be notified after each phase. Please see below for guidance on how to submit a concept paper.

Applicants need only submit one concept paper, even if they are requesting both in-kind and market-based food assistance resources. Applicants should submit concept papers without specifying the funding source for market-based modalities. USAID will decide how any approved market-based modalities will be funded prior to request for full application.

USAID will clearly communicate the timeline of the different application and award phases to the potential applicants.

5. Technical Application Format

A. Concept Paper (10 pages Maximum)

The Concept Paper submission package must include:

1. Activity Overview Table

2. Concept Technical Information (10 pages maximum)

3. Budget Overview

4. Map of the proposed target intervention area(s)

Note: Activity Overview Table, Budget Overview and the Map do not count as part of the 10 pages maximum.

1) Activity Overview Table that may include in-kind food aid resources, market-based modalities, and/or Essential Complementary Activities, as applicable. Applicants must complete and submit the following table in a separate Excel compatible spreadsheet with their concept paper.

Activity Overview Table

Organization Name: Name, Title and E-mail Address of Point of Contact:

Activity Title (if applicable):

Total Funding Level Requested:

Total Operation Funding Level (if Multi-donor):

Start Date of Award: Start Date of Operation (if Multilateral):

End Date of Award: End Date of Operation (if Multilateral):

Country and Geographic Administrative Unit(s) (in the country):

Activity Category Activity Detail Modality District

Regio n

Cash/Vouche r Transfer Amount ($ if applicable)

Commodity Transfer Amount (Kg if applicable)

Percentag e of kcal needs met by Transfer

Unit of Transfer

Number of Distribution s

Frequency of Distributio n

Number of Househol ds

Number of Individu als

Total Transfer Value

Total Commod ity Transfer (Tonnage if Applicabl e)

Other Costs (Freight Staffing, Overhe ad)

Total Cost

For Work (Cash/Food/Vouch ers)

Cash for Work

Cash Transfer

Pulaski, Lonoke

Centr al $100 0.00 kg 70% Househ old 6 Monthly 5,000 30,000 $3,000,0

00 0.00 MT $1,500,

$4,500,0

General Distribution (Cash/Food/Vouch ers)

General Food Distributi on

In-Kind (U.S.)

Poinset t Delta N/A 17.00 kg 100% Individu al 6 Monthly 5,000 30,000 $2,500,0

00 3.06 MT $2,000,

$4,500,0

Hygiene Promotion

Essential Complem entary Activity

Pulaski, Lonoke, Poinset t

Centr al, Delta

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5,000 30,000 $0 0.00 MT $2,200,

$2,200,0

2) Concept Technical Information (must not exceed ten pages)

Concept papers that exceed this limit may be rejected without review.

a. Emergency Description and Problem Statement (one to two pages maximum) Explain the food and nutrition security emergency. Provide details outlining what portion of the population has been affected by the food security emergency (breadth) and the severity of current and projected food insecurity at the household level (depth) as they relate to the conditions in a normal year.

For Disaster Risk Reduction interventions, describe the causes, scale, and frequency of disasters that impact food security, as well as underlying risk factors.

As applicable, include:

● Specific indicators of acute food and nutrition insecurity in the targeted geographic area

Depending on the stage of the emergency, this might include leading indicators (such as rainfall, projected yields, Famine Early Warning Systems Network [FEWS NET] projections, disruption of livelihoods, disruption of markets, price volatility, displacement, etc.) or following indicators (such as food consumption score, household hunger scale, coping strategies index, or seasonally atypical levels of malnutrition) as well as qualitative findings.

The level of detail should reflect data available at the time of submission and outline any ongoing or planned assessments that would influence activity design.

● Scale and Context

How many people are affected and how severely in the targeted geographic area? Who within the area is most affected? How does that compare to the overall population in the targeted geographic area? How do current and projected conditions (agricultural yields, malnutrition levels, etc.) compare to the seasonal trend historically? Relative to the five-year average? Has the government declared an emergency or asked for international assistance?

● Social Dynamic

Briefly describe the targeted community context with particular regard to ongoing tensions among identity groups and other aspects of social cohesion that need to inform the response, including attention to age and gender factors.

● Gap Analysis What are the other humanitarian, development, or social protection interventions being implemented in the proposed geographic area that have significant implications for the food security of populations of interest to the proposed project? How are you coordinating this food and nutrition security activity with other humanitarian and government actors to maximize impact and avoid duplication? What needs are currently being met? To what extent and in what ways are these dynamics anticipated to change over the life of the proposed project?

● Appropriateness for Multi-year Emergency Programming Justify the appropriateness of the context for multi-year emergency programming, and describe the advantages of multi-year programming in this context.

● A map highlighting the proposed geographic target areas (with administrative units shown) (This map does not count as part of the 10 pages maximum.)

If a published assessment is used (e.g., a UN appeal), cite the source including title, author, and date of publication. If citing assessment findings that are not publicly available, please include a copy of the assessment as an attachment to the concept paper, if possible. No additional annexes are required or will be evaluated at the concept paper stage.

b. Approach (Six pages maximum)

Applicants should present their overall vision and strategy in line with any focus areas identified in amendments to this APS for the proposed country. This section should build upon the needs and gaps as described in the previous section of the concept paper (Emergency Description) and outline what interventions are being proposed to respond to which aspects of the affected population’s needs. Describe who among the affected population will be targeted to receive assistance and what changes the proposed activity aspires to help them achieve.

Discuss how the activity is designed to accommodate the needs as defined by the people affected by emergency food insecurity for themselves, especially with regard to the voices of those most vulnerable in the community.

● Which of the most commonly identified food security stressors in the proposed implementation area have been identified as within the manageable interest of this project? How does addressing this stressor help alleviate both the immediate and underlying causes/contributors to food insecurity?

● What are the primary objectives of this response in the short- and medium-term?

● How will the proposed activities support achieving those objectives?

● In what ways will interventions be integrated, layered (provided to the same households but not integrated with other interventions), and/or sequenced to prioritize and focus in a way that enables the sum to be greater than the parts?

Sustainability Describe the desired end-state for participants and affected communities when this project concludes.

● What approaches will be employed to ensure that assets, groups, and/or other potentially enduring structures created or strengthened throughout the project can continue to serve the community’s needs after assistance ends?

● What existing local systems--formal or informal--can the proposed interventions reinforce?

● For household/individual level interventions, what capacities will this project support affected people in attaining by project’s end?

● To what extent will this project link people to other opportunities, such as long-term social protection programming, development activities, and/or other public or private service providers?

● Describe ways that this programming may contribute to reducing humanitarian caseload, promoting the Journey to Self-Reliance, and/or increasing resilience to future shocks.

c. Modality Rationale (Two pages maximum)

Explain the rationale used to select the proposed modality/ies based on the population’s emergency food and nutrition security needs or DRR context presented in the “emergency description” above. Please respond to each of the criteria below.

● Market Appropriateness

Describe what type of assessment or analysis has been conducted to date to identify the most appropriate response modality based on market conditions. This section should be data-driven to the extent possible and based on information available at time of submission. Internal or secondary sources of information are welcome, and all responses should address the risks and benefits of the proposed modality to markets. More information on what questions should be addressed can be found in the Modality Decision Tool for Humanitarian Aid.

● Feasibility

Briefly discuss major operational constraints that factored into the choice of response modality and delivery mechanism. Elements to consider include the delivery mechanism(s) available, security, market accessibility, security, market infrastructure, risk mitigation, operational capacity of the humanitarian organization, and the political environment. More information on what questions should be addressed can be found in the Modality Decision Tool for Humanitarian Aid.

https://www.usaid.gov/selfreliance https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf

● Objective

Briefly discuss how the proposed modality will meet the food and nutrition security objective(s). Elements to consider include but are not limited to beneficiary preference, protection risks and benefits, impacts of a modality on gender dynamics and social dynamics, concerns and needs of specific vulnerable populations, consumption habits, cultural context, and risks and benefits to conflict dynamics. More information on what questions should be addressed can be found in the Modality Decision Tool for Humanitarian Aid.

● Cost Efficiency

Among modalities that have been determined to be market appropriate, feasible, and capable of achieving the desired objectives, is the proposed intervention a cost efficient way to meet the humanitarian needs? If the proposed modality or delivery mechanism is not the most efficient (per the calculation below), what considerations or tradeoffs went into the decision? More information on what questions should be addressed can be found in the Modality Decision Tool for Humanitarian Aid.

If there is no evidence on costs to achieve outcomes (cost-effectiveness), FFP requires that applicants proposing a resource transfer provide a comparison of the ration-specific costs (e.g., transfer value or commodity and freight) of the proposed activity relative to an equivalent Title II program. Savings should be indicated as both percentage and absolute value.

o For LRIP programs, use the Title II commodity calculator available on the FFP website to construct a Title II food basket of equivalent nutritional value for the sake of comparison.

o For Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) (which includes both unrestricted cash transfers and food vouchers), identify the intended percentage of food needs met and convert that into an equivalent food aid basket (exact commodities do not need to match) to estimate required volume of Title II commodities via the Title II commodity calculator.

This conversion may be based on the commodity composition of other in-kind programming taking place in the same country.

If requesting both in-kind and CVA, in addition to the above, please explain how the two will either complement each other or be sequenced appropriately.

FFP acknowledges that this comparison methodology is not inclusive of all cost categories and that last mile delivery costs for cash and voucher programming may be less than in-kind modalities. Additional costs borne by program participants should be factored into decision-making, and may also be quantified in the modality justification.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/ModalityDecisionTool.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/agriculture-and-food-security/food-assistance/resources/implementation-tools https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/agriculture-and-food-security/food-assistance/resources/implementation-tools

3) Budget Overview

At this concept paper stage, applicants should include estimated commodity and freight costs for LRIP, transfer values for Cash or Vouchers, and/or costs directly related to food security-related activity implementation but do not have to itemize other costs. However, the budget overview should also make the total amount requested clear, and include the proposed indirect cost rate, if applicable.

4) Map of the proposed target area(s) Include a map that clearly identifies the geographic locations to be targeted by the activities, with as much specificity as can reasonably be managed based on the urgency of the response and scaled to an administrative level appropriate for the activity coverage.

For concept paper evaluation see SECTION E: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION of this APS.

B. Application (20 pages maximum)

Based upon the evaluation of the Concept Paper (and if required, the oral presentation), USAID may request a full application for further consideration following the collaborative design discussion. The request for a full application is not a commitment by USAID to fund the proposed activity or portion thereof. The decision to submit a full application is at the applicant’s sole discretion.

Full applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Merit Review Criteria section below, unless otherwise detailed in a country or region-specific amendment to this APS that sets a specific deadline. As described above, the application Technical Documentation/Program Description will be collaboratively developed with USAID.

All applications should include the following:

Technical Documentation (20 Pages maximum)

1) Activity Overview Table Required

2) Emergency Description Required

3) Activity Design and Description Required

4) Operations and Logistics Required

Supporting Documentation (Annexes)

5) Organizational Risk Assessment Required

6) Protection Risk Assessment Required

7) Inventory Oversight Required as applicable

8) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan Required

9) Cost Application /Budget/ Budget Narrative Required

10) USAID Environmental Regulations (Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA))

Encouraged

11) Signed Certifications, Assurances, and Other Statements of Applicant and/or Recipient

Required

12) System for Award Management (SAM) Required

13) Financial Documents/Indirect Cost Rates (NICRA) Required

14) Federal Forms (SF-424 and any relevant attachments) Required

15) Branding Strategy and Marking Plan Encouraged (required before award)

16) Safety and Security Plan Required

17) Past Performance Required (successful applicants only)

18) Approval of Subawards Required

19) Maps Encouraged

20) Other Documents Encouraged

21) Market Assessment Encouraged

1) Activity Overview Table that may include in-kind food aid resources, market-based modalities, and/or Essential Complementary Activities, as applicable. Applicants must complete the following table in Excel and submit with their Application.

Activity Overview Table

Organization Name: Name, Title and E-mail Address of Point of Contact:

Activity Title (if applicable):

Total Funding Level Requested:

Total Operation Funding Level (if Multi-donor):

Start Date of Award: Start Date of Operation (if Multilateral):

End Date of Award: End Date of Operation (if Multilateral):

Country and Geographic Administrative Unit(s) (in the country):

Activity Category Activity Detail Modality District

Regio n

Cash/Vouche r Transfer Amount ($ if applicable)

Commodity Transfer Amount (Kg if applicable)

Percentag e of kcal needs met by Transfer

Unit of Transfer

Number of Distribution s

Frequency of Distributio n

Number of Househol ds

Number of Individu als

Total Transfer Value

Total Commod ity Transfer (Tonnage if Applicabl e)

Other Costs (Freight Staffing, Overhe ad)

Total Cost

For Work (Cash/Food/Vouch ers)

Cash for Work

Cash Transfer

Pulaski, Lonoke

Centr al $100 0.00 kg 70% Househ old 6 Monthly 5,000 30,000 $3,000,0

00 0.00 MT $1,500,

$4,500,0

General Distribution (Cash/Food/Vouch ers)

General Food Distributi on

In-Kind (U.S.)

Poinset t Delta N/A 17.00 kg 100% Individu al 6 Monthly 5,000 30,000 $2,500,0

00 3.06 MT $2,000,

$4,500,0

Hygiene Promotion

Essential Complem entary Activity

Pulaski, Lonoke, Poinset t

Centr al, Delta

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5,000 30,000 $0 0.00 MT $2,200,

$2,200,0

2) Emergency Description Explain the food security emergency. Provide details outlining what portion of the population has been affected by the food security emergency (breadth) and the severity of current and projected food insecurity at the household level (depth).

For Disaster Risk Reduction interventions, describe the causes, scale, and frequency of disasters that impact food security, as well as underlying risk factors.

As applicable, include:

● Specific indicators of food insecurity in the targeted geographic area

Depending on the stage of the emergency, this might include leading indicators (such as rainfall, projected yields, FEWS NET projections, disruption of livelihoods, disruption of markets, price volatility, displacement, etc.) or following indicators (such as food consumption score, household hunger scale, coping strategies index, or seasonally atypical levels of malnutrition).

● Scale and Context

How many people are affected and how severely in the targeted geographic area? Who within the area is most affected? How does that compare to the overall population in the targeted geographic area? How do current and projected conditions compare to the seasonal trend historically as well as to the five year average?

● Social Dynamic Briefly describe the targeted community context with particular regard to ongoing tensions among identity groups and other aspects of social cohesion that need to inform the response, including attention to age and…