FINAL- Mexico Travel Logistics NOFO.pdf

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. . U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Announcement Type: Request for Federal Assistance Award Applications

Funding Opportunity Title:

Mexico Travel and Logistics Program for Training

Support

Funding Opportunity Number: INL21CA0052-WHPMEX-TRVLLOGISTICS-081921

Program:

U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation Capacity-Building

Assistance Program

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

(CFDA) Number:

19.704 - Counternarcotics

Total Funding Available: $9,000,000.00 U.S. Dollars

Application Ceiling: Up to $9,000,000.00 U.S. U.S. Dollars

Application Floor: At least $8,000,000.00 U.S. U.S. Dollars

Anticipated Number of Awards: 1 award

Initial Project Implementation Length: 12 months

Estimated Project Start: February 2022

NOFO Issuance Date: August 19, 2021

Deadline for Submission of Questions: September 17, 2021 by 11:59 PM EST via email

Deadline for Submission of Applications:

October 19, 2021 by 11:59 PM EST via www.grants.gov

Assistance Type: Cooperative Agreement

Applicant Type: Organizations only – See Section C

Eligibility Categories:

Refer to Section C: Eligibility Information for more information.

INL Points of Contact:

Cheryl Price, PriceCH@state.gov

Mexico City Grant Unit, MexicoCityINLGU@state.gov Gabriela Camacho, CamachoGD@state.gov

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

mailto:PriceCH@state.gov mailto:MexicoCityINLGU@state.gov mailto:CamachoGD@state.gov

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The mission of the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement

Affairs (INL) is to keep Americans safe by countering crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. The

March 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, states, “Because the vital national interests of the United States are inextricably bound to the fortunes of our closest neighbors in the Americas, we will expand our engagement and partnerships throughout the Western Hemisphere—and especially with

Canada and Mexico—based on principles of mutual respect and equality and a commitment to economic prosperity, security, human rights, and dignity. This includes taking steps to address the root causes of human insecurity and irregular migration, including poverty, criminal violence, and corruption – problems made exponentially worse by COVID-19 and the deep recession and debt crisis it has wrought throughout

Latin America and the Caribbean. And we will cooperate to confront the regional effects of climate change, while helping our neighbors invest in good governance and democratic institutions.”

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is at the forefront of implementing foreign assistance to expand our engagement and partnerships.

INL strengthens the criminal justice sector capacities of our partners and allies to manage transnational threats more effectively before they reach U.S. borders or impact U.S. interests. Our work promotes U.S.

leadership by advancing rules- and norms-based international order grounded in the rule of law. We lead

U.S. government efforts to develop new, and implement existing, international standards on drug supply and drug demand reduction and against corruption and organized crime. We draw from the widest range of U.S. expertise in our implementation of criminal justice capacity-building programs, and through our promotion of international cooperation, common standards, and interoperability, our work contributes to effective investigations of crimes. We work closely with U.S. law enforcement agencies to develop and deliver both foundational skills and advanced skills ranging from basic police training to complex cybercrime and money laundering investigative techniques. This work enhances critical relationships between U.S. law enforcement entities and their foreign counterparts. We deliver security through justice.

INL’s foreign assistance programs and diplomatic engagement are critical tools in advancing U.S. policy objectives. One of our greatest strengths is our flexibility to confront emerging challenges, but we can be most effective if we are strategic in how and where we engage to build partner nation capacity.

Accordingly, this strategy sets up a framework for understanding how INL prioritizes foreign assistance and diplomatic engagement, which identifies three strategic goals to guide INL’s efforts:

1. Disrupt or deter significant illicit drug trafficking and other transnational criminal activity that threatens U.S. national security, public safety, or drives irregular migration to the United

States.

2. Reduce instability in strategically vital regions and strengthen the resilience of partners facing malign influence.

3. Drive global action through international engagement that promotes interoperable criminal justice systems and common standards to combat shared criminal threats.

The Bureau’s priority programs support three inter-related objectives:

• BUILDING CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS: Institutionalize rule of law by developing and expanding criminal justice systems to strengthen partner country law enforcement and judicial effectiveness, foster cooperation in legal affairs, and advance respect for human rights;

• COUNTER-NARCOTICS: Disrupt the overseas production and trafficking of illicit drugs

3 | P a g e through targeted counter-narcotics and institution-building assistance and coordination with foreign nations and international organizations, and;

• TRANSNATIONAL CRIME: Minimize the impact of transnational crime and criminal networks on the United States and its allies through enhanced international cooperation and foreign assistance.

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• TABLE OF CONTENTS

• A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

• B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

• C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

• D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

• E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

• F. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

• APPENDIX A: PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

• APPENDIX B: PROJECT MONITORING PLAN AND PROJECT RISK

ANALYSIS

• APPENDIX C: BUDGET AND BUDGET NARRATIVE

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A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the U.S. Department of

State in Mexico seeks applications from qualified organizations to carry out a project to provide programmatic, logistical, travel, and administrative support to the capacity-building program of INL

Mexico. The capacity-building program provides training and other relevant activities to appropriate participants with the overall goal of supporting the goals of the US-Mexico Security Cooperation Capacity-

Building Assistance Program.

INL is especially interested in proposals that provide a plan for addressing the participation of persons with disabilities, including specific means, measures and corresponding targets. INL is dedicated to strengthening the rule of law and supporting civil society in building strong and resilient communities.

INL plays a vital role in the development and synchronization of U.S. international anti-crime assistance.

1. Priority Countries:

Mexico

United States

Colombia

El Salvador

Guatemala

Multiple countries throughout the region

2. Project Goals

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

(INL) works to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.

The goal of this project is to deliver prompt and efficient programmatic, logistical, travel, and administrative services to support INL capacity building programs.

3. Project objectives

The award recipient will provide programmatic, logistical, and administrative support to the capacity-building program of INL Mexico. The U.S. government estimates that a minimum of

3,000 and a maximum of 12,000 people will attend INL capacity-building events in a 12-month period. The number of participants per event can range from just a few to over one hundred or more. The events usually last anywhere from one (1) day, one (1) week to six (6) months, but the average event is approximately five (5) to ten (10) days.

An example of an average month would be assisting with coordination of capacity-building programs for 400 participants in ten Mexican states and possibly another country. Most of these participants will travel via air. While some others by bus/ferry/train or a combination, depending on the departure city.

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Proposals should include a cost estimate based on the administrative costs of organizational processing of plane tickets, lodging reservations, facilities rental, refreshments during the events, bedding supplies, translation, electronic funds transfer, managing conferences and meetings, and other associated costs. Federal funds cost is limited to per person for refreshments: coffee, tea, water, etc.

INL understands that costs are estimates and the applicant will not know what fluctuations may exist in pricing over the course of the project period. Therefore, estimates should not be based on individual plane tickets and meeting locations, for example, but rather on the administrative costs of processing participation in capacity-building events for approximately 3,000 participants.

Please see Budget Guidelines for more detail.

The award recipient should be able to provide support seven days a week and for urgent needs respond to travel requests within 2 hours that the request is made. If requested, the award recipient should be able to provide lodging, airline tickets, and meals within 24 hours of a request. The award recipient should have in place all the mechanism to service unanticipated situations/issues.

The applicant shall be responsible for working with INL regularly in planning and scheduling all events in less than five (5) working days.

The U.S. government, INL, and the organization will work together to determine the appropriate assistance needed for each capacity-building event. Furthermore, INL and the recipient organization will meet after the award is made to develop a mutually agreeable work plan for conducting the assistance program. Applicants should provide a suggested work plan in the grant proposal. Additionally, applicant organizations should identify their own specific objectives and measurable outcomes based on these goals and the specifications provided in this solicitation.

Indicators could include timeliness of services, quality of interaction between the award recipient and program participants, etc.

Additional items not listed above may be included detailing INL’s involvement in the Cooperative

Agreement.

Proposals should include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Activity 1 - Travel Documents: The award recipient is responsible for collecting from INL, or from the participants if requested by INL, before travel, their bank account information, passports, and A-2, and for collecting the Annex 3 forms from INL. Additionally, if required by INL, the recipient will assist participants with obtaining appropriate travel documents such as visas, work permits (if required), immunization, costs for birth, health, PCR or Antigen test, and identity certificates, and other documents needed to attend the capacity-building event. The grantee should review the necessary travel requirements published on the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) website needed to enter the country to which the participants are traveling to.

Only costs authorized by the Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (2 CFR 230) will be allowed. The surveys are generated in Training Tracking System (TTS). The award recipient will be responsible for printing and deliver them to INL or as requested. The surveys will follow the INL provided format in most cases. Awardee should maintain express mail delivery services for delivery of materials or travel documents.

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As an exception, local government employees traveling for official purposes funded by the INL should apply for A-2 visas. INL will submit applications to the Visa Unit.

The award recipient will work closely with INL to set reasonable deadlines for obtaining participant information to secure travel documents. Grantee acknowledges that the process for vetting participants by INL may take longer than expected and may create situations in which participants are approved with short notice before programs are set to begin. No funds will be distributed to participants until vetting (see activity 17) has taken place. To the extent possible, awardee will work with the Grants Officer Representative (GOR) and the INL Program Officers to identify travel events well in advance of travel dates to secure the best prices. As part of regular reporting, grantee will provide INL with data on the advance times for requests received, to determine where travel processes may improve.

Activity 2 - Travel Advances and Reimbursement: When required, the award recipient shall provide the participants, instructors, subject matter experts (SME), and speakers with a travel advance up to the maximum per diem amount authorized by the U.S. Department of State or lesser amount as determined by the award recipient and INL. The applicant shall ensure the participant receives the travel advance with sufficient time, no later than two working days prior to departure, to reduce the financial burden associated with the event.

The awardee will provide participants with a monetary travel advance before travel to cover meals, baggage fees, incidentals, etc. whenever possible. The advance can be in form of cash, wire transfer, direct deposit or any other means not prohibited by U.S. or local laws. It is recommended that the recipient organization has a bank account that does not generate income.

It is also recommended for the grantee to have a Mexican bank account as well as a U.S. bank account. Awardee will provide reimbursement for costs associated with travel, to include per diem, baggage fees, incidentals, taxis, weapons fees when required (WEAP), etc.

Activity 3 - Airline Tickets/Air Transportation: When required, the organization shall provide round-trip economy restricted-refundable airline tickets for travel of students, participants, speakers, instructors, SME, or police canines, as needed. All flight arrangements must comply with the Fly America Act, the award recipient shall verify participant information such names as in passports, vetting and visas before purchasing e-tickets. Awardee will be responsible for oversight of all arrivals and departures.

Awardee can work with reputable travel agencies in Mexico and the U.S. to make airline reservations for the referred travels. Grantee will exercise due diligence to ensure the purchase price of airline tickets is within 15% of the lowest published price. Grantees is only authorized to purchase e-tickets for official routes and dates. In case any participant, student, instructor, subject matter expert, speaker wants to make changes for personal convenience, outside of INL operations, it will be the responsibility of each individual, and INL will be exempt from paying any additional fees related to those changes. No cost construct or extended trip are authorized, unless authorize by INL.

Activity 4 - Health, Travel, and Personal Property Insurance: When required, the award recipient shall provide each participant, when traveling, with up to the maximum amount of insurance authorized by the FTR or 2 CFR 200. The applicant must ensure that all participants have the appropriate level of insurance before the travel begins.

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Travel insurance for pilots, and dog handlers will be required in some trainings. International travel insurance coverage should include pre-existent conditions reimbursement for over

$5,000.00. Travel insurance within Mexico is not required for Mexican citizens, as Government of Mexico (GOM) participants have domestic health insurance. The insurance contracted by the grantee must include expenses related to COVID-19 and all variants.

Activity 5 - Ground Transportation: When required, the award recipient shall arrange the use of rented vehicles for individuals or groups to support INL capacity-building events. Ground transportation includes taxis, rented vehicles (sedans), pickup trucks, vans, or buses. For some activities, the participants are likely to travel by bus/ train/ ferry or a combination depending on their departure location. When traveling by bus or taxi these costs should be handled by reimbursement. If required by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Office in Mexico, the recipient organization shall take appropriate security measures to protect the safety of participants during the ground transportation process. The protection could include the use of armored vehicles.

Ground transportation could include transportation to and from hotels to meeting facilities, to and from the airport and hotel, between sites of interest, etc. The award recipient shall ensure participants arrive at the sponsored event location at least 15 minutes before the event begins and shall take the necessary measures to ensure the vehicles meet Government of Mexico and U.S.

Government safety standards.

When necessary, drivers hired by the recipient may need to obtain clearances for accessing government facilities. In cases of operational travel, recipient must provide boat, airplane, bus and vehicle fuel for task force use on an ad-hoc basis. Procurement will be structured for a specific location, specific type of vehicle, and authorized GOM unit. When required, the award recipient shall arrange the use of rented vehicles for individuals or groups to support of targeted operations. Ground transportation includes taxis, rented vehicles (sedans), pickup trucks, vans, or buses.

Activity 6 - Lodging: When required, the award recipient is responsible for providing participants with pre-paid lodging such as hotels or apartments using the U.S. Department of State approved per diem rates. In some cases, the U.S. government may be able to obtain lodging at academy dormitories or other facilities. In these cases, the award recipient shall coordinate lodging arrangements directly with USG representative responsible for the capacity-building event. The award recipient could be required to provide bedding supplies such as pillows, blankets, and other associated supplies.

The award recipient shall ensure that rented rooms are of adequate size to sleep one or two adults and take the necessary measures to ensure the rented lodging facilities meet USG or GOM sanitary and safety standards. The award recipient shall lease with lodging companies with flexible cancellation policies, to include agreement avoiding cancellation fees and those offering courtesy rooms and/or meeting rooms or parking. Recipient should negotiate prepaid lodging, when possible, to avoid participant payment and reimbursement.

Per guidance of INL, the award recipient on a case-by-case basis could be required to competitively bid longer term lodging stays.

Activity 7 – Event Management: When required, the award recipient shall organize events that support INL’s capacity building objectives for the various parts of the GOM. An event could be

9 | P a g e a conference, a training, or any other type of activity that advances INL goals for the Mexican institutions it supports. The award recipient shall also support, when required, the administrative requirements for the attendance of INL sponsored travelers to conferences and other events that support INL capacity building goals.

When required, the award recipient shall rent conference facilities appropriate for the capacity-building events located in Mexico, the United States, or other countries. The facilities should include small conference rooms with space for five to ten people or large conference centers with capacity for hundreds of people, and/or outdoor facilities that support specific training objectives, training centers, or training academies. In some cases, the U.S. government will coordinate with the Government of Mexico to obtain conference or training facilities such as training academies.

The award recipient could be required to provide audio-visual, computer equipment, communications (such as Internet, radios, cell phones, or other communications services), reception, cleaning, interpreter/translation services, administrative support, coffee breaks, and supplies to support an event’s stated objective. The award recipient shall take the necessary measures to ensure the rented conference/training facilities meet USG or GOM sanitary and safety standards.

When required, the award recipient shall help recruit/invite/contract with appropriate speakers, SME, trainers, and interpreters etc. to accomplish the event’s objectives. In the case of invited speakers, the award recipient may be required to pay honoraria that do not exceed the maximum allowable amount established in U.S. federal assistance guidelines based on factors such as reasonable rates, fair market value, profile, or level of expertise.

When required, the award recipient shall pay for event fees as training expenses for participants.

Event fees may be authorized and paid to the organization providing the conference or training.

This can range from a conference entrance fee to paying specific fees for licenses associated with training courses deemed to be in the interest of the U.S. government.

When necessary, the award recipient will provide one or more event assistants for coordination of the on-site event. When necessary, recipient will provide an in-country logistics coordinator for conferences and trainings to coordinate events in conjunction with INL Team. Awardee should share logistics schedule with subcontractors and INL point of contacts at least one (1) week in advance of events and provide INL with contact information for subcontracted POCs for coordination onsite.

Activity 8 - Refreshments and Meals: When required, the award recipient is responsible for providing participants with government approved per diem or meals such as hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner at locations where the participant cannot obtain meals at public facilities. Catered meals should be offset against the government approved per diem. When needed, the award recipient shall also provide snacks, coffee, tea, and non-alcoholic refreshments during capacity-building events. Federal funds cost is limited to per person for refreshments: coffee, tea, water, etc. Snacks and beverages shall be provided in the early morning, a few hours before lunch, and a few hours after lunch. The award recipient shall ensure that coffee, tea, and drinking water are available throughout the duration of the event. The award recipient shall maintain a regular inventory, storage and delivering plan for refreshments and coffee break services.

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The award recipient shall take the necessary measures to ensure food and beverages meet USG or GOM sanitary standards. The award recipient may be needed to provide meals “to-go” so disposable packages may be needed.

The award recipient is responsible to provide the maximum per diem rates for travel within

Mexico according to the norms published on the “Diario Official” of Mexico. GSA rates should be used for overseas per diem rates. The award recipient must pay catering services whenever required by INL, and/or if the host of the event is the only one who can provide this service.

Activity 9 – Event Close Out: The award recipient is responsible for gathering proof of participant attendance, closeout memos, or emails, and receipts to be reimbursed no later than 20 working days after the last day of the capacity-building event. Awardee will ensure that the record of attendance, sign-in sheets when possible, and closeout memoranda are filed with other event’s information for audit purposes. The surveys are generated in TTS. The award recipient will be responsible for printing and delivering them to INL, as requested. The surveys will follow the

INL provided format in most cases.

Activity 10 – Unused Funds Settlement: When required, the award recipient shall take required actions to recover unused funds resulting from cancellations by participants, vendors, facilities, etc. Voucher settlement includes obtaining receipts from hotels and other documentation. In the event the award recipient owes money to a participant, settlement shall be made no later than twenty (20) working days after the last day of the capacity-building event.

Awardee should prepare invoices with VAT expenses for recovery of funds per program and maintain a record of expenses and outstanding amounts per program. Grantee will be responsible for contacting participants to return the money deposited for M&IE and taxis. Also, shall maintain a database of this unused funds and provide a monthly report to the GOR.

Activity 11 – Unused E-ticket Funding Reporting: When required, the award recipient shall track unused e-tickets resulting from cancellations by participants, get reimbursement whenever possible, and/or reuse the tickets for other travelers. The recipients shall maintain a database of unused tickets and provide a monthly report to the GOR with this information.

Activity 12 – Database Management: The award recipient shall maintain accurate digital records of each participant, including name, parent organization, country of origin, event attended, dates, costs per participant, and final costs per activity INL project(s) that funded the event, and other information in a format mutually agreed to by the U.S. government and the recipient organization. The recipient will use their final attendance lists to verify that these lists match with those uploaded into the INL TTS by INL personnel. The recipient will use any other potential systems implemented by INL during the duration of the award. The recipient organization shall provide this information to the GOR no later than thirty (30) days after the completion of each capacity-building event.

Activity 13 – INL Training Center (INLTC): When required, the award recipient shall provide administrative and logistical support in the training facilities identified by INL. The INLTC hosts a series of training events throughout the year for Government of Mexico participants. Activities can vary from high-level executive meetings to week-long training events of several hundred

11 | P a g e participants. Activities may include setting up training rooms, printing materials for participants, setting up refreshments, greeting and directing participants, or other associated tasks.

Activity 14 – Payments Requests: It is recommended that the award recipient submits monthly requests for reimbursement to the Grants Officer (GO) and GOR. The recipient will receive disbursement of funds within 15 to 30 working days after the invoice approval. The recipient organization shall take necessary measures for covering monthly expenses from $300,000.00

USD to $900,000.00 USD.

The award recipient must track and account for any cost increase or decrease on the budget because of fluctuations in exchange rates, per regulations outline in 2 CFR 200.440 -Exchange

Rate.

Activity 15 – Prepare Event Materials and Presentations: The award recipient is responsible for preparing and printing event materials, including, but not limited to, travel and event agenda per participant, course packets, event guidebooks, attendance lists, event evaluation forms, name tags, and other materials, as required by INL. (The grantee shall follow the Department of State

Branding and Marketing requirements.) The recipient may be responsible for the design of certain training manuals, banners, or other materials related to the event. If necessary, the award recipient should be able to purchase supplies related to COVID-19, or other health phenomenon, such as hand sanitizer, face masks, thermometers, gloves, or any other item that may be necessary to safely conduct the event. The recipient should purchase the materials through vendors, following the recipient procurement policy. The recipients may be required to aid in the recruitment of appropriate speakers, SMEs or trainers with or without honoraria. Awardee should maintain express mail delivery services for delivery of materials or travel documents. Event materials and presentations are property of the US Government.

The award recipient should maintain a storage room/area for all materials received from vendors to clear, track and delivery them to all necessary locations within Mexico, as requested by INL.

Activity 16 – Interpretation and Translation Service: The award recipient may be responsible for providing translation of academic materials and interpretation services for national and international events. They also, will retain contacts with more than one translation and interpretation company to attain the best available prices for any event, and to ensure the availability of quality interpreters who may be recruited with short notice.

Activity 17 – Leahy and Local Vetting: The awardee shall assist INL with the tracking status of personnel nominated to attend INL sponsored events. The tracking includes coordinating with

U.S. government agencies responsible for the vetting process and includes maintaining a list of vetted individuals. Recipient must receive vetting clearances for each participant before travel. A copy of the INL Leahy and Local Vetting policy is included in this NOFO for reference (see pages

12-13).

Activity 18 – Operational Travel: The award recipient may be responsible for providing ad-hoc administrative and logistical support for travel with less of 24 hours in advance of operational travel.

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Activity 19 – Exceptional Circumstances: The award recipient may be responsible for providing ad-hoc administrative and logistical support for travel with 24 or 48 hours in advance on rare occasions. The award recipient will accommodate late travel and/or training requests whenever possible at least five working days in advance for activities for no more than five to eight people with complete documentation such as vetting, bank account information, and Annex

3.

Activity 20 – Customer Service and Corrective Action Reports: Recipient will ensure their staff maintain professional and customer-service oriented environment. Recipient should provide logistic support during official Embassy working hours, 7:30 thought 17:30. For operational and regular travel, the staff must be available at any time including weekends. Recipient will provide monthly incidents reports (e.g., issues with travel arrangements or insurance coverage, funds lost on last minute participant cancellation, etc.). The surveys are generated in TTS. The award recipient will be responsible for printing and deliver them to INL, as requested.

Activity 20- Training Tracking System: The award recipient will use INL’s TTS to monitor new travel or activity request, and to share any kind of files such as agendas, hotel information, and flight options. Awardee will use this system to share estimated and final costs of each training or activity requested by INL. Awardee staff must obtain relevant DOS clearances prior to accessing the systems. INL will take care of the clearances.

Activity 21- Procurement of Goods and Services for Activities: In general, all procurement transactions shall be conducted, to the maximum extent practical, by open competition. Awards shall be made to the bidder or offeror whose offer or bid is responsive to the solicitation criteria, and is the most advantageous based upon price, quality, and other factors identified in the solicitation.

Activity 22- Admin and Support Team: The award recipient should have the sufficient administrative staff to perform the following duties: provide administrative support, office administrative and clerical services, maintain project documentation and correspondence, assists

INL to analyze and anticipate requirements, articulate talking points and coordinate with host national counterparts, organize hard copy and electronic files for all program correspondence for improved retrieval, access, and audit, edit English and Spanish internal documents, prepare a variety of correspondence, reports, and presentations in both English and Spanish from drafts as requested by INL.

Activity 23- Virtual Trainings: The award recipient should be able to organize virtual events.

These virtual events could be in form of Webinars, conferences, trainings, workshops, and/or internal/ external hybrid events. Grantee should review that the following elements can be provided when required in each virtual event: event website, event registration, live presentation content, live one- way audio/video, question and answer, live polling, note taking/ favorite slides, recorded content, interactive video conferencing and feedback survey, and provide the corresponding platform for the event. If INL requires it, grantee could buy headphones with standard input.

Activity 24- Annex 3: The award recipient should gather from INL the Annex 3 form dully signed and will have to maintain a record of this document.

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4. Participants and Audiences

INL will identify target audiences, specific demographics, and the region(s) in which the project will be implemented, including the approximate number of beneficiaries to be directly and indirectly impacted by project activities. The U.S. government estimates that a minimum of 3,000 and a maximum of 12,000 people will attend INL capacity-building events in a 12-month period.

The number of participants per event can range from just a few to over one hundred or more.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Applicants are encouraged to reference the table on the first page(s) of this NOFO to determine the basic federal award information (e.g., project length, amount of funding available, anticipated number of awards, assistance type, etc.). Additional award information is included in this section, although specific aspects of the award(s) issued from this NOFO may differ from program to program.

1. Project Implementation Period

The initial project implementation length is one (1) year. Applicants should plan to implement the project, within that range.

INL may extend the project implementation period, contingent on INL priorities, good performance of the recipient, Department of State management approvals, and funding availability. INL projects shall not exceed five (5) total years of project implementation.

2. Assistance Type

The type of assistance is determined by scope of INL’s involvement in the implementation of the project. Refer to the table on the first page(s) of the NOFO to determine whether this particular project will be a grant or cooperative agreement.

For cooperative agreements, INL may be substantially involved in the following ways:

• Approval of the recipient’s annual work plans, including planned activities for the following year, travel plans, planned expenditures, event planning, and changes to any activity to be carried out under the Cooperative Agreement.

• Approval of specified key personnel.

• Approval of sub-award recipients (if any), and concurrence on the substantive provisions of the sub-awards; and coordination with other cooperating agencies; and

• Approval of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

• Other country- or project-specific approvals will be included in the award documents.

Funding Notices

This award will be supported with International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. This notice is subject to availability of funding.

Length of performance period: An initial period of one (1) year

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Number of awards anticipated: ONE award

Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $8,000,000 to a maximum of $9,000,000

Total available funding: $9,000,000

Type of Funding: INCLE Funds

Anticipated program start date: February 2022

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicant Types

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

• Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

Applicants must also meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply to this NOFO:

• Must have demonstrated experience implementing similar travel related services, preferably in Mexico and the United States.

• Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with the necessary partner organization(s) such as travel agencies, vendors such as airlines, rental car companies, hotels, translation services network with specialized topics, travel insurance enterprises in order to successfully fulfill the proposed program. Applicants must have demonstrated experience implementing similar education or capacity building programs. INL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering similar programs and/or federal grant awards.

• Applicants must have the ability to produce course materials, deliver training, and conduct evaluations in Spanish and English. The applicant’s staff should be proficient in English in order to fulfill reporting requirements.

• Applicants must have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with stakeholders in order to successfully carry out the proposed program.

• Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.

• Applicants must be able to respond to the NOFO and be able to mobilize in a short period of time.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost share is the portion of project costs not borne by the U.S. government. Cost share is recommended but not required for this project.

Any cost share proposed must be appropriately captured within the SF-424A, budget, and budget narrative.

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3. Other Eligibility Requirements

• In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a unique entity identifier (also known as UEI or DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet), as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov. Refer to Section D for additional guidance.

• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal, however one organization should be designated as the lead applicant and other organization(s) listed as sub-recipient partner(s).

• To be eligible to receive a federal assistance award, organizations must have a commitment to non‐discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. INL is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities. INL welcomes applications irrespective of an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.

• Applicants are reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in any sub‐awards issued under this grant award.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Applicants should carefully follow all instructions in this section to ensure their application is formatted properly and includes all required documents. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be deemed ineligible for review.

1. How to Apply and Submit Questions

This opportunity is posted on www.grants.gov, along with all required application forms and, where applicable, templates for application documents. Applications and all supporting documents must be submitted via www.grants.gov. INL reserves the right to reject any applications submitted through improper channels.

Applicants are encouraged to closely review the NOFO and email questions to the INL points of contact by the deadline listed on the first page(s) of this document. After the question deadline has passed, INL will respond to all questions publicly through a Questions & Answers document uploaded to the Related Documents tab of this opportunity.

2. Required Application Documents

All documents in the following list must be included in your application, unless explicitly listed as optional. If a document includes a page limit, please adhere to that limit in your application.

Applicants that do not submit all required documents will be notified via email of their ineligibility after the application deadline.

http://www.grants.gov/

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Standard Application Forms

SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – Organizations)

Must be signed by an authorized signatory of the applicant’s organization.

SF-424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs)

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

The SF-424B is only required for applicants who are not registered in SAM.gov.

Project Proposal

The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant is proposing to do. The following documents may be submitted separately or combined into one document. If combined, please be sure to adhere to the page limits for each section.

Proposal Narrative – Maximum 20 pages

Applicants may use their own proposal template, but it must include all the sections below. Refer to Appendix A for additional guidance on drafting a proposal narrative.

- Cover Page: include organization name, project title, requested number of months, target country(ies), point(s) of contact, and requested funding amount.

- Table of Contents: list all documents and attachments with page numbers.

- Executive Summary: include a synopsis of the project, including a breakdown of the goals, objectives, and activities. Include a brief statement on why the project is likely to achieve the goal and how it will be sustainable.

- Timeline: outline key milestones in the project, project start-up, and closeout, programmatic activities, and monitoring and evaluation activities (e.g., monitoring trips or semi-annual reviews).

- Future Funding Plan/Sustainability: briefly discuss the plan for ensuring the sustainability of the project (i.e., that the project continues to have impact beyond the grant period). Applicants may also include a brief section outlining how additional funds could potentially be used to expand work into additional activities or countries beyond the initial project period.

Logic Model

A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov.

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

This document outlines how activities will be monitored to ensure they are executed in a timely manner, and how the project will be evaluated to ensure the goals are met. A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov. Refer to Appendix B for additional guidance on drafting a

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

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Project Risk Analysis

A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov. Refer to Appendix B for additional guidance on drafting a Project

Risk Analysis.

Organization, Staff, and Partners

The following documents may be submitted separately or combined into one document. If combined, please be sure to adhere to the page limits for each section.

Biographical Information of Applicant Organization – Maximum 4 pages

Introduce the applicant organization, including biographical information such as mission statement, organization size, relevant office location(s), etc.

Provide a summary description of past and present operations, demonstrating the applicant’s ability to carry out the project

Describe any experience the organization has in the target country or region

Confirm whether the organization is a registered business entity within the target country or region

List of Key Personnel – Maximum3 pages

Names, titles, responsibilities, and relevant experience or qualifications of key personnel involved in the management of the project

Partner Information – Maximum 3 pages

Introduce and provide relevant information about key partner organizations and sub-awardees

Briefly describe the division of labor and/or distinct roles and responsibilities among the applicant organization and its partners

If proposing a sub-grantee, please briefly describe the applicant organization’s experience related to managing sub-recipients

Letters of Support – Optional

If desired, applicants may submit letters of support from project partners, host government entities, or other relevant stakeholders

Project Budget and Cost Documents

Summary and Detailed Budgets

A proposal budget must be submitted in spreadsheet format (e.g., Microsoft Excel). A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov. Refer to Appendix C for additional guidance on drafting a proposal budget.

One tab of the spreadsheet shall contain the Summary Budget, which lists the

OMB-approved budget categories and total estimated cost per category

One tab of the spreadsheet shall contain the Detailed Budget, which breaks down the OMB-approved budget categories into individual line items and provides detailed cost estimates per line item

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If applicable, federal costs and recipient cost share must be reported in separate columns

Budget Narrative

The Budget Narrative is a companion document to the summary and detailed budgets, and must be submitted in word document format. A template is included under the Related

Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov. Refer to Appendix

C for additional guidance on drafting a Budget Narrative.

The Budget Narrative should communicate to INL any budgetary information that is not readily apparent in the detailed budget. Rather than simply repeating with words what is stated numerically in the budget, the Budget Narrative should explain the logic behind the amount budgeted for each line item

If applicable, proposed recipient cost share must be included in the Budget

Narrative, including reference to the source of the cost share

NICRA – Optional

If the applicant has an approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

(NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, a copy of the organization’s most-recent NICRA must be included in the application

If the applicant is proposing a sub-grantee that has an approved NICRA, and includes NICRA charges in the sub-award budget, a copy of the sub-grantee organization’s most-recent NICRA must be included in the application

Applicant Management Capabilities

INL must assess each potential applicant for organizational risks related to the financial and programmatic management of a federal assistance project.

History of U.S. Government Federal Assistance Awards

This document outlines the applicant organization’s experience with implementing U.S.

government-funded federal assistance awards, including current and completed projects.

The list should include the awarding agency, point of contact, name of the project, start and end dates, and amount of the award.

If the applicant has never received a U.S. federal assistance award, please list other projects the organization has implemented, including the information requested in the bullet above.

Organizational Audit

If the applicant organization is required to undergo an audit (per regulations outlined in 2 CFR 200.500 – Subpart F), a complete copy of the organization’s most-recent audit must be submitted

If the applicant organization is not required to undergo an audit (per the regulation cited above), a brief explanation must be submitted with the application. This explanation shall include confirmation that the organization is under the threshold for which an audit is required and/or plans for the organization to undergo an audit in the future.

INL Applicant Pre-Award Risk Survey

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This risk survey reviews the applicant organization’s financial capacity, policies, and infrastructure. A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov.

Please take note of the questions within the survey that request additional documentation. These documents must be included in the application.

3. Document Formatting

Applicants must ensure that their application documents conform to the following requirements:

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

All documents are in English

All budgets are in U.S. dollars

All pages are numbered

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

All Word documents are, at minimum, single-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins

4. Required Entity and Account Registrations for Applicants

All prospective applicant organizations must register and/or maintain active registration in the systems outlined below in order to submit an application to this NOFO.

Organizations that are first-time applicants may need to register and/or create accounts in these systems. INL encourages prospective applicants to initiate these registrations as soon as possible.

Applicants that have previously applied to other opportunities may already have registrations and/or accounts in the necessary systems, though applicants should ensure their registrations are active.

Registration in these systems is free of charge; Applicants will never be asked to pay a fee to register or submit an application in these systems.

Unique Entity Identifier (DUNS Number)

Organizations must have a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet.

• If your organization does not have a DUNS Number already, you may obtain one by calling 1-866-705-5711 or submitting a request at…