Final NOFO LEAP MYAPS Round 06.pdf

Issuance Date:

Deadline for Questions:

Closing Date:

Closing Time:

December 17, 2024 January 6, 2025, 11:59 pm (Eastern Standard Time) February 7, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Subject: Round 06-BHA Leading through Excellence and Accountability Program (LEAP) under Base MYAPS 720BHA23APS00002

Program Title: BHA MYAPS: Round 06 -LEAP Activity

Federal Assistance Number 98.001

Introduction

Interested Applicants:

PLEASE NOTE: This Notification of Funding is Round 6 for full applications under existing BHA Multi

Year Annual Program Statement (BHA MYAPS) No. 720BHA23APS00002.

All interested organizations should carefully review both this Round AND the full APS, which can be found here: GRANTS.GOV Important information contained in the full Base APS is not repeated in this specific Round 6 documentation.

Round 6 of the Multi-Year Annual Program Statement (MY APS) No. 720BHA23APS00002 USAID

(referred to as Round 6) is requesting the submission of applications focused on the development and implementation of comprehensive, sustainable, and evidence-based senior leadership programs that focus on transformative, humanitarian leadership across the system leading to a more efficient, effective, and equitable humanitarian ecosystem to drive collective action, influence policy and systemic reform, and engage in rapid decision-making. USAID anticipates issuing multiple awards under

Round 6. Unless otherwise stated herein, all terms and conditions of the MY APS apply.

Please refer to the base document of the MY APS for additional information. While this Round is intended to be an elaboration of the information provided in the MY APS Base document, should there be differences between the two, this Round will supersede information in the base document. As such, both documents should be read in conjunction to ensure all application requirements are met.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, Christie Savage Agreement Officer

/s/ https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/348888

Table of Contents

SECTION A: Program Description

SECTION B: Federal Award Information

SECTION C: Eligibility Information

Section D: Application and Submission Information

SECTION E: Application Review Information

SECTION F: Federal Award and Administration Information

SECTION G: Federal Awarding Agency Contact

SECTION H: Other Information

SECTION A: Program Description

This funding opportunity is authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended. The resulting award will be subject to 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and USAID’s supplement, 2 CFR 700, as well as the additional requirements found in Section F.

1. Overview of Office/Division sponsoring the round

USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) leads and coordinates the U.S. Government’s (USG) international disaster assistance, reaching tens of millions of people around the world. BHA was created in 2020 by merging the expertise and resources of the two USAID offices— the Office of Food for Peace and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance -- each with more than half a century of experience— giving USAID one influential voice on humanitarian assistance. This enables BHA to provide life-saving aid more efficiently and effectively. BHA is the only USAID Bureau that works toward a more comprehensive approach to humanitarian responses. BHA does this by providing critical humanitarian aid to people in need, while also setting the initial foundations for longer term recovery, where appropriate. BHA responds to an average of 75 disasters in more than 70 countries every year, ensuring that aid reaches people affected by natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes, as well as protracted crises, such as drought and conflict. BHA also supports food insecure refugees fleeing war, violence, or persecution.

Within BHA, the Office of Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs, and Communication (G3PC) directs the

Bureau’s leadership in global humanitarian policy, showcases BHA’s life-saving work through strategic communication and information, and manages collaboration with external stakeholders, including public and private partners, international and multilateral organizations, NGOs and academic institutions, and the U.S. Government Interagency. Through its Global Capacity and Leadership Development Division, G3PC provides expertise on capacity strengthening to leaders at all levels across the humanitarian sector. BHA invests in leadership development because the positive effects on humanitarian efforts are far-reaching - it serves as a driver for more efficient response and effective decision making.

2. Problem Statement and Background

The number, severity, and complexity of humanitarian crises is increasing, leaving more people than ever vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance. Crises have become protracted for longer periods of time, exacerbating human suffering. The international community’s ability to tackle an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises is stretched beyond its current capacity. In light of these trends, ongoing systemic reforms have placed a specific focus on collective action and strengthened coordination across the humanitarian-development-peace spectrum. In addition, a staggering number of new initiatives are being introduced that contribute to more complex and competing demands in managing resources. All of these factors present new challenges and demands for skilled and effective humanitarian leadership. Capacity strengthening opportunities for senior leaders to address these complex dynamics has become imperative, as leadership is a key factor underpinning performance and effectiveness in the humanitarian sector. Every major strategic and operational action demands leadership; yet there remains significant gaps in training on humanitarian leadership, especially at the senior level. To address these gaps, leadership development needs to expand beyond individual development and incorporate capacity building around the interactions between the formal leader and a broader group of individuals.

BHA funds learning and capacity strengthening activities that improve humanitarian assistance by informing program design and implementation, contributing to the global humanitarian evidence base through research and other forms of analysis, advancing thought leadership, and through the provision of senior leadership programs that challenge leaders to make better decisions through collective action.

BHA will advance the skills of senior leaders across International Non-Governmental Organizations

(INGO), Public International Organizations (PIO), Local and National Non-Governmental Organization

(L/NNGO) and United Nations (UN) agencies to create, lead, and empower broader leadership teams;

strengthen humanitarian coordination to the benefit of the both affected communities and the wider humanitarian system; improve humanitarian innovation and thought leadership to improve the provision of assistance; and enabling systemic change in decision making and performance during crises.

USAID/BHA has a long history of supporting leadership development activities that can advance management and leadership capacities of local, national and international partners and stakeholders across the humanitarian system. USAID/BHA is committed to supporting innovative, evidence-based, senior leadership development programming. This Round 6 under the USAID/BHA Multi-Year Annual

Program Statement (APS) targets three priority capacity strengthening areas: humanitarian systems strengthening through senior leadership development; systems strengthening through locally led partnerships; and thought leadership and innovative impact.

2. 1 Systems strengthening through senior leadership development

Increasingly complex humanitarian contexts require a group of highly skilled leaders. The emergence of unforeseen events, increased variability in humanitarian contexts, engagement with a broader range of actors, and accelerated information flow require new forms of leadership to strengthen the humanitarian system. Humanitarian leaders must increasingly operate in highly complex environments and engage with a broad range of actors with a variety of motivations and ways of working. Senior field leaders are challenged to coordinate effectively with a broad range of stakeholders in a highly pressurized environment, while maintaining principled humanitarian action. Senior field leaders are often not afforded the space to reflect on the complexity of the systems in which they work and learn from the variety of experts across an array of specialities to shape their leadership actions and behaviors to meet these challenges. Engaging the private sector, not only as potential funders but as possible partners, can also bring new approaches, expertise, skills technology and innovative ideas for addressing leadership challenges.

2.2 Systems Strengthening through Locally Led Partnerships

Navigating political and social environments during a humanitarian crisis is complex. Pre-existing social norms related to culture, religion, ethnicity, and gender greatly influence structures and power within host governments, other authorities, and civil society. During a humanitarian emergency, the increased involvement of the international community adds further complexity and challenges that leaders must face while adjusting to a new operating environment. Therefore, there is a need for leadership programs to build effective relationships with local partners and institutions at all levels, empowering them to shape the learning environment with a variety of tools and resources. Improvements to the inclusion of program staff from local organizations will help to encourage greater diversity in the participation and facilitation of capacity and systems strengthening programs.

2.3 Thought Leadership and Innovative Impact

Traditional ideas of leadership, which are often anchored in an individualistic and ‘heroic’ approach, and long-standing approaches to decision-making developed for stable situations, are often inadequate for the realities of humanitarian emergencies. It is essential that field-based leaders constantly adapt -building new relationships, gathering new information and incorporating new views of humanitarian leadership while focusing on the soft skills and building accountability. There is a need to diversify learning and information modalities to introduce multifaceted thought leadership from within and outside the humanitarian sector (ie. private sector, local NGOs, academic institutions, etc.), contributing to the balanced understanding of the humanitarian contexts, improved political acumen and awareness, and mirroring the communities we serve.

3. Program Goal, Objectives and Outcomes

3.1 Overall Goal

The main goal of this USAID/BHA Multi-Year APS Round is to support sustainable, evidence-based senior leadership programs that focus on transformative, humanitarian leadership across the system, leading to a more efficient, effective, and equitable humanitarian ecosystem to drive collective action, influence policy and systemic reform, and engage in rapid decision-making.

Addressing the critical capacity gaps in senior humanitarian leadership highlighted in this Round will require strong collaboration between partners and USAID/BHA on a range of technical approaches to design and provide senior leadership tools, practices, methodologies, and innovations to the wider humanitarian community. Activities funded under this Round should address the gaps described above and the objectives outlined below through an appropriate combination of methodologies for the development and implementation of capacity strengthening activities, research, and peer exchange, resulting in improved humanitarian action. Activities should lead to measurable operational impacts through strengthened senior humanitarian leadership.

3.2 Objective 1 Build a cadre of senior humanitarian leaders who can make better decisions and improve collective humanitarian action.

Outcomes

● Increased inclusive pool of diverse leaders who are able to utilize a wide-range of leadership tools and perspectives to cultivate their own leadership style and advance solutions to make humanitarian response more efficient and effective.

● Self-sustaining networks of leaders exchanging lessons learned and best practices to support each other and problem solve.

● Cohort participants contribute to a cadre of thought leaders who actively participate in sharing knowledge with the humanitarian community.

● Increased knowledge sharing and peer support aimed at improving system-level coordination, and strong collaboration at the local, national, and international levels.

Illustrative Activities include:

● Design and implement senior level training, webinars, workshops and/or technical convenings aimed at finding solutions to complex humanitarian challenges using a variety of learning modalities

● Regular and intentional alumni engagement to share/highlight how they have applied their learning.

● Peer mentoring networks between cohort participants and alumni to foster continuous networking and lifelong learning; action learning groups or other hands-on approach to solving real-time leadership challenges in the humanitarian sector

3.3 Objective II: Strengthen relationships with senior leaders across the humanitarian ecosystem, with an emphasis on empowering local actors and underrepresented groups.

Outcomes:

● Increased pool of local leaders who are able to utilize a diverse array of leadership tools and perspectives to cultivate their own leadership style and advance solutions to make humanitarian response more efficient and effective.

● Curated curriculum that can be accessible in low-resourced environments to provide just-in-time learning for geographically dispersed senior leaders.

● Capacity Strengthening and Transition Award: Constructively build the capacity of sub-awardee organizations, and ensure the leveraging of their contextual understanding and skills to better achieve the goal of this activity.

● Learning management system of asynchronous and synchronous virtual learning opportunities.

● Regional workshops on bespoke leadership topics.

● A risk assessment of the local subrecipient(s) prior to recommending the local subrecipient for a transition award to ensure they have met the capacity development criteria. Guidance on capacity development criteria can be found in section D.5.

3.3 Objective III: Advance research and thought leadership aimed at improving humanitarian leadership using data-driven methods and contextually relevant practices.

Outcomes

● Broadly sharing thought leadership from a variety of organizations with various methods of knowledge sharing to include data analysis, lessons learned and best practices.

● Incorporate thought leadership into the enhancement of senior leadership curriculum

● Impact studies to support and advocate for the sustainability of leadership development programming.

● Longitudinal research on the impact of humanitarian leadership programs.

● Case study development and presentations on examples of use of leadership skills linked to curriculum.

● Publication and conference presentations on leadership studies using a diverse body of experts.

Please note that past BHA programmatic experience and existing evidence demonstrate that the following developmental approaches are unlikely to yield sustainable impact. Therefore, USAID/BHA would require a strong justification in order to consider supporting the following approaches in any applications under rounds to this MY APS:

● An entirely in person program

● A program that solely trains PIOs

● A program that trains local government officials

● A program that heavily relies on senior coaching

● A program that lacks diverse representation

● A program designed to train the private sector

Applicants may submit a concept paper for one or more objectives. Concept papers for one objective should not exceed ten (10) pages. Concept papers with more than one objective are allowed up to three

(3) additional pages per objective. Evaluation of concept papers will be conducted for each objective, and USAID reserves the right to ask the applicant to submit an application for selected objectives or to remove an objective. Please see section D.4 for information on the content specific to the Concept

Note.

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SECTION B: Federal Award Information

1 Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

USAID intends to award up to three Cooperative Agreements pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide

$8 million in total USAID funding over a four (4) year period.

● For Objective I USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement of $5,000,000 in IDA funding over a four-year period.

● For Objective II USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement of $1,500,000 in IDA funding over a four-year period.

● For Objective III USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement of $1,500,000 in IDA funding over a four-year period.

2 Expected Performance Indicators, Targets, Baseline Data, and Data Collection

This Round falls under BHA’s Humanitarian Policy, Studies, Analysis, or Application (HPSAA) sector;

Capacity Building, Training, and Technical Assistance subsector; Applied Research and Studies subsector;

Thought Leadership and Policy subsector. All award(s) for this Round will have the expected outputs, indicators, and targets described in Table B.1 below. Indicators, targets, baseline data, and expectations for data collection will be finalized as part of the co-creation and will be included in a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan.

Table B.1. Expected Outputs, Indicators, and Targets for Objective I, Objective II, and Objective III

Expected Output or Indicator

When Due Description End-of-Activity Target

Annual Work Plan

Draft submitted with full technical application Finalized post-award with substantial involvement of USAID/BHA Final draft submitted no later than 30 days post-award

The work plan must include a brief description of the discrete efforts being undertaken with a timeline for those efforts. Starting with year 2, annual work plans should also include a review of accomplishments; challenges encountered;

progress towards achieving specified results; and a dissemination plan, including proposed channels.

1 per objective

Indicator: Making Subawards and Subcontracts to Local and / or Regional Actors

In work plan, M&E plan and all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

The work plan must include a brief description of the discrete efforts being undertaken with a timeline for those efforts. M&E should describe how capacity strengthening progress will be collected , measured and used to ensure goals are met. Reports should include a review of accomplishments; challenges encountered;

progress towards achieving specified results.

2 per objective

Indicator: Using Demand- Driven Capacity Strengthening Approaches

In work plan, M&E plan and all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

The work plan must include a brief description of the discrete efforts being undertaken with a timeline for those efforts. M&E should describe how capacity strengthening progress will be collected , measured and used to ensure goals are met. Reports should include a review of accomplishments; challenges encountered;

progress towards achieving specified results.

2 per objective

Capacity Strengthening and Transition Award: Local Partner registered in all applicable USG systems (for example, System for Award Management)

In work plan, M&E plan and all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

The work plan must include a brief description of the discrete efforts being undertaken with a timeline for those efforts. M&E should describe how capacity strengthening progress will be collected , measured and used to ensure goals are met. Reports should include a review of accomplishments; challenges encountered;

progress towards achieving specified results.

2 per objective

# of individuals enrolled to access the training (s)

In all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

Indicator required for the Capacity Strengthening and Training subsector; and Thought Leadership and Policy subsector

2 per objective

Percentage of individuals who participated in the training(s) who report that it met their expected training needs

In all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

Indicator required for the Capacity Strengthening and Training subsector; and Thought Leadership and Policy subsector

2 per objective

Diversity of faculty, presenters, speakers to include but not limited to sector, gender, and ethnicity.

In all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

Indicator required for the Capacity Strengthening and Training subsector; and Thought Leadership and Policy subsector

2 per objective

Required permissions and approvals (e.g. Protection of Human Subjects)

Prior to beginning any research or data collection

Inform USAID/BHA in writing that requirements have been met (recipient must keep documentation on file). See USAID and USG policy.1

As needed

Final Research Report for each objective

Draft submitted at least 60 days before end of agreement

Report for each sub-purpose meeting the criteria described in Section A.3

2 per objective

Indicator:

Number of research reports produced

In all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

Indicator required for the Humanitarian Policy, Studies, Analysis and Applications;

subsector for Applied Research and Studies

2 per objective

Indicator:

Number of research reports shared with the humanitarian community

In all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

Indicator required for the Humanitarian Policy, Studies, Analysis and Applications;

subsector for Applied Research and Studies

2 per objective

Optional Custom Indicators In all required progress reports (semi-annual, annual, and final activity report)

Include additional output or outcome indicators as needed.

As needed

1 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/agency-policy/303mab.pdf, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-II/part-225, https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/agency-policy/series-300/references-chapter/303maa https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/agency-policy/303mab.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-II/part-225 https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/agency-policy/series-300/references-chapter/303maa https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/agency-policy/series-300/references-chapter/303maa

3 Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

The anticipated period of performance is 4 years for Objectives 1, 2 and 3. The estimated start date will be on/or around August 2025.

4 Substantial Involvement

Per Section B.4 of the Base APS and in accordance with the ADS 303.3.11, the cooperative agreements awarded through this Amendment will require the following elements of substantial involvement:

● SI #1 Review and approval of substantive provisions of proposed sub-awards or contracts (see definitions in 2 CFR 200.1). These would be provisions that go beyond existing policies on

Federal review of recipient procurement standards and sole-source procurement.

● SI#2 Involvement in the approval of key recipient personnel.

● SI #3 Approval of the recipient’s research plan, which should include the specific research question(s), problems and opportunities that are of interest

● SI #4 Approval of the recipient’s final research methodology which should describe the body of methods/approaches used to address the research question(s)

● SI #5 Monitoring to permit specific kinds of direction or redirection of the work because of the interrelationships with other projects or activities, to include faculty and participant staffing

● SI #6 Approval of country/countries of implementation

● SI#7 USAID approval of a program monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) plan.

● SI#8 USAID involvement in work planning, and approval of the recipient’s annual implementation plans.

● SI#9 Ability to immediately halt an activity if the recipient does not meet detailed performance specifications

5. Authorized Geographic Code

The geographic code for the procurement of commodities and services under rounds to this MY APS is anticipated to be 937; USAID reserves the right to modify this herein or within rounds as applicable.

6. Nature of the Relationship between USAID and the Recipient - See Base APS.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303.pdf

Section C: Eligibility Information

1 Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted.

See Base APS Section C.1. for additional information.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing is not required under this APS Round.

3. Additional Requirements for New Applicants- see Base APS Section C. 3.

4 Other - See Base APS.

Section D: Application and Submission Information

1. Agency Point of Contact

All communications concerning this Round, including its appendices and technical references, must be submitted in writing by January 6, 2025 11:59 pm (Eastern Standard Time) to:

Email: 720BHA23APS00002-06.LEAP@usaid.gov

2. Questions and Answers

Questions regarding this NOFO should be submitted via email to

720BHA23APS00002-06.LEAP@usaid.gov no later than the date and time indicated on the cover letter, as amended. Any information given to a prospective applicant concerning this NOFO will be furnished promptly to all other prospective applicants as an amendment to this NOFO, 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 - See Base APS Section D.3.

4. Application Submission Procedures Applications in response to this NOFO must be submitted no later than the closing date and time indicated on the cover letter, as amended. Late applications will not be reviewed nor considered.

Applicants must retain proof of timely delivery in the form of confirmation from the receiving office.

The application process will be completed in two stages as detailed below:

Phase 1: Concept Paper Stage: Content and Form of Concept Paper Submission

Concept papers and full applications must be prepared according to the formats described below.

1. Concept papers must be submitted electronically via email as indicated in the cover letter of this

NOFO and Section D.1 above. Hard copies, including faxed applications, will not be considered.

2. For all e-mailed concept papers:

a. The subject line of the e-mail containing the concept paper or full application (and modifications thereof) must read and specify―Leading through Excellence and

Accountability Program (LEAP)

b. An applicant shall submit a separate concept paper per each Objective applied for.

c. Once sent, an applicant must check its own emails to confirm that its attachments were indeed sent. If an error is discovered, the applicant must resend the material and note in the subject line of the email that it is a “corrected” submission. Do not send the same email more than one time unless there has been a change, and if so, note that it is a corrected email. Corrected emails must also be received within the due day/time.

d. To avoid confusion and duplication, only one authorized individual from each of the applicants’ organizations should send the email submission.

e. All concept papers must be formatted as Microsoft Word documents or as Adobe PDF documents. Use of zipped files may result in blocked submissions and are highly discouraged.

3. Concept papers will be evaluated by USAID using the merit review criteria to identify apparently successful applicant(s).

4. Concept papers must be completed in accordance with the format and page limits detailed below:

● Written in English and in 12-point Times New Roman font;

● Text in tables or charts may be 10-point Arial Narrow font;

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

Required Concept Note Sections and Page Limits

SECTION PAGE LIMIT

Cover Page 1

Executive Summary 1

Activity Design/Technical Approach, Including:

● Management Structure and Institutional Capacity

● Methodology and Results

Additional Objectives (only if more than 1 objective)

3 pages for each additional Objective

Draft Work Plan 2

Budget Overview 2

● Applicants are invited to submit a single Concept paper covering one or more objectives.

Evaluation of concept papers will be conducted for each objective, and USAID reserves the right to ask the application to submit an application for selected objectives.

● USAID/BHA will notify selected applicant(s), if appropriate, based on the initial merit review, via email to request them to expand the concept paper into a full application as described in this Section. USAID/BHA will provide a deadline and any additional submission instructions to the applicant(s) invited to submit full technical and cost applications.

● Before submitting a concept paper under this NOFO, it is recommended that applicants review the full application requirements below to ensure the applicant can meet all requirements listed for the full application.

○ Concept papers should not exceed the page limits stated in the table above. Up to three (3) additional pages may be included for each additional objective beyond the first objective, if applicable. Page limit does not include the table of contents, and acronym page. Any other pages in excess of this limit will not be considered.

○ Pages must be consecutively numbered on each page.

The concept paper should be specific, complete, and presented concisely. The concept paper must demonstrate the Applicant's capabilities and expertise with respect to achieving the goals of this program. The application should take into account the requirements of the program and merit review criteria found in Section E of this NOFO.

Applicants must review, understand, and comply with all aspects of this NOFO. Failure to do so may be considered as being non-responsive and may be evaluated accordingly. Applicants should retain a copy of the concept note and all enclosures for their records.

5. Activity Design/Technical Approach (6 pages)

a. Conceptual approach: Include a problem statement with a brief analysis of the stakeholders and intended beneficiaries involved. Describe the proposed approaches, including any innovative methods, techniques, or tools relevant to your program.

Describe how the proposed activities are likely to achieve the desired outputs, outcomes and results. Describe how the proposed program will link with other programs, other donors, government, private sector or NGO activities currently underway.

b. Institutional Capacity and Management Structure: Brief description of the applicant's accomplishments and experience in implementing the activities outlined in the summary of the activity design, and the applicant’s proposed management structure for achieving the purposes. The technical approach must address how the offeror intends to accomplish the outcomes related to a potential future transition award to a subawardee as per ADS reference 303mbb. Note: A transition award cannot be guaranteed; all USAID awards are subject to availability of funds.

i. The applicant must demonstrate their institutional capability and organizational experience to develop the capacity of subrecipients.

ii. The recipient should strengthen the capacity of at least two local subrecipients and notify USAID/BHA when the organizations have met the requirements for potential transition awards. Develop the capacity of local subrecipients to receive USAID direct awards (Capacity Strengthening and Transition Award).

c. Methodology: Discuss the anticipated causal link between the proposed activities and their intended impact on the objectives in this program, including the evidence base for any proposed activities, as relevant.

d. Results: Describe how anticipated results are logically connected to the results and outcomes stated in the NOFO program description and how the proposed approaches will reach the target population.

6. Draft work plan (maximum 2 pages)

7. Budget Overview (maximum 2 pages). The illustrative budget overview must state the total estimated amount for each objective. A sample budget template for IDA-funded activities is available on the BHA Emergency Application Guidelines Page.

Phase 2: Full Application: Content and Format of Full Application

Following concept note reviews, selected applicants will be requested to submit written full technical and cost applications). Only submit the full application if invited to do so by the Agreement Officer. If you have received a formal invitation from the Agreement Officer to submit a full application, please follow the instructions below:

Applications must be submitted in two separate parts: the Technical Application and the Cost

Application.

“Technical application under NOFO #XXXXX submitted by [Organization Name]”

“Cost application under NOFO#XXXXX, submitted by [Organization Name]”

The Technical application should be specific, complete and presented concisely. The application must address technical aspects and demonstrate the applicant’s capabilities and expertise with respect to achieving the goals of this program.

Both the Technical and Cost Applications must include a cover page containing the following information:

● Name of the organization(s) submitting the application;

● Identification and signature of the primary contact person (by name, title, organization, mailing address, telephone number and email address) and the identification of the alternate contact person (by name, title, organization, mailing address, telephone number and email address);

● Program name

● Notice of Funding Opportunity number

● Name of any proposed sub-recipients or partnerships (identify if any of the organizations are local organizations, per USAID’s definition of ‘local entity’ under ADS 303.

If applicants discover an error in their transmission, they may send the material again and note in the subject line of the email it is a "corrected" submission. The application will be reviewed in compliance with the application instructions. Applicants are expected to review, understand, and comply with all aspects of this NOFO. Erasures or other changes must be initiated by the person signing the application.

If the application is signed by an agent, it must be accompanied by evidence of that agent's authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.

If applicants include data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the

U.S. Government except for evaluation purposes, they must:

1. Mark the title page with the following legend:

"This application includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the U.S. Government shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed - in whole or in part - for any purpose other than to evaluate this application. If, however, an award is awarded to this applicant as a result of - or in connection with – the submission of this data, the U.S. Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting award. This restriction does not limit the U.S. Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets.”

2. Mark each sheet of restricted data with the following legend:

"Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this application."

Technical Application Format

Technical applications must be completed in accordance with the format and page limits detailed below:

● Must not exceed 20 single-spaced typed pages

● Written in English and in 12-point Times New Roman font;

● Text in tables or charts may be 10-point Arial Narrow font;

● Narratives must be prepared in Microsoft Word or compatible equivalent with print areas set to

8.5 x 11 inch, letter-sized paper with one-inch margins, left justification and a footer on each page including page number, date of submission, proposed country, and applicant name;

● Spreadsheets must be prepared in Microsoft Excel or 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, with one-inch margins; and

● Faxed or hard copy applications are not accepted.

The written applications will be submitted to the contacts specified at D.1 above. The final technical and cost/business applications will be reviewed according to the merit review criteria.

USAID’s Agreement Officer will engage in a final review, award negotiation, risk assessment, cost/price evaluation, and other steps as needed prior to award. USAID may request additional information from the Applicant(s) concerning its technical approach, organizational capacity, management structure and past performance, cost application and representations and certifications.

USAID may cancel the negotiation(s) and award process at no cost to the Government.

The requirements for the full Technical Application are listed below. To facilitate the competitive review of the applications, USAID will consider only applications conforming to these content guidelines:

Required Technical Application Sections

SECTION PAGE LIMIT

Cover Page 1

Executive Summary 2 pages

Activity Design Including Theory of Change, Purpose, Technical Approach/Program

Description, Problem Statement with Justification, Data Security, Privacy and Protection, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Capacity strengthening and transition award

20 pages maximum

Management Approach and Staffing Plan Key Personnel

In the appendix, include the CVs (not to exceed 2 pages each), and letters of availability/commitment (not to exceed 1 page). These are not within the page limit.

5 pages maximum

Institutional Capacity 2 pages maximum

Other Required Supporting Documents

Gender Analysis Summary Yes

Accountability to Affected Populations Yes

Organizational Chart Yes

Curriculum Vitae of Key Personnel Yes

Letters of Commitment of Key Personnel Yes

Nonexclusive letters of commitment from any proposed sub-awardees or consortium members, if applicable

Yes

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Yes

Workplan 5 pages maximum

Risk Assessment and Management Plan (RAMP) Yes

a) Cover page - See Base APS Section D.3

The cover page must include:

● Name and address of organization(s)/institution(s) involved with the lead or primary applicant clearly identified.

● Any proposed sub-grantees clearly listed.

● Type of organization of the primary applicant (e.g., for profit business, non-profit, university, government, inter-governmental, etc.).

● Operation/registration status in the US.

● Title of application.

● The total estimated cost, the dollar amount requested from USAID.

● Length of the proposed program.

● Contact person (lead contact name, title, telephone and e-mail information). Applicants should also clearly state whether the identified contact person has the authority to negotiate on behalf of the applicant, and, if not, the contact information for the appropriate person with authority to negotiate should also be listed; and

● Signature of authorized representative of the applicant.

b) Executive summary - See Base APS Section D.5 (2 pages maximum)

The executive summary must provide a high-level overview of key elements of the technical application, including the problem statement and justification for the activity, and the technical approach and program description.

c) Activity Design (20 pages maximum)

Theory of Change - See Base APS, Section D.5.c) for additional guidance

Purpose Overview - See Base APS, Section D.5.c) for additional guidance

Technical Approach/Program Description

The technical application will be the critical item of consideration in the selection of an applicant(s) for an award(s). The information provided in the technical application must be specific, complete, and presented concisely. The Technical application must demonstrate how the proposed activity(ies) contribute to the goal and will achieve the selected purpose(s)/objective(s), including specific results anticipated. The scoring in the merit review criteria set forth in Section E below of this amendment indicates the relative importance of the merit review criteria.

It is anticipated that the successful application(s) (as may be revised) will become the Program Description for the award(s) resulting from this round. Thus, applications submitted in response to this amendment must be written clearly and in results-oriented terms. The technical application must provide the information using the following headings:

● Problem statement and justification for the proposed activity(ies): This section must include a detailed description of the specific problem, gap, or research the application seeks to address and a justification for the activity that identifies and addresses the relevant goal and purpose(s) detailed in Section A of this round and how the final product(s) will contribute to the broader humanitarian community and support the improved delivery of humanitarian assistance

● Technical approach and program description: This section must include a detailed description of proposed interventions, as well as methodologies (with relevant rationales), processes, or steps that will be undertaken to implement each proposed intervention within the timeframes outlined in this APS. The section must demonstrate that proposed applicant interventions do not duplicate other efforts, including those of the host government and other local and international organizations, and show how the proposed activities complement other actors’ existing activities. The section must describe direct and indirect beneficiaries of the proposed activity (as applicable) and how the program will target them. (12 pages maximum)

■ Content should include:

▪ A short background/literature review section for the approach describing evidence base (2 pages maximum)

▪ Conceptual Approach

▪ Methodology

○ Describe the study design. Explain its appropriateness to the project and the objectives/questions previously outlined.

Describe how the study design helps address possible sources of bias. Explain how the study will involve relevant stakeholders and address community-identified priorities, as applicable. (4 pages maximum for each objective)

○ Sampling plan - Provide details about how the data will be identified and selected (2 page maximum)

○ Data collection - Describe any study instruments or methods that will be used to collect data or construct variables (3 page maximum)

○ Describe plan for data analysis (2 page maximum)

○ Ethics (1 page maximum)

▪ Timelines, charts, or other graphics may be included for illustrative purposes, within the overall 20 page maximum for the Activity Design section

● Data security, privacy, and protection: As relevant to the proposed design, this section must detail the approach to data management that is safe, ethical, and avoids harm.

Describe data responsibility at different levels, including interactions with beneficiaries or vulnerability populations, other organizations, or clusters/sectors and inter-agency coordination mechanisms. (1 page maximum)

● Diversity, equity, and inclusion: As relevant to the proposed design, this section must describe strategies for targeting and integrating diverse minority groups that are not typically represented in the sector (gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, ability, etc.). (1 page maximum)

● Capacity Strengthening and Transition Award: The technical approach must address how the offeror intends to accomplish the outcomes related to a potential future transition award to a subawardee as per ADS reference 303mbb. (3 page maximum)

■ The applicant must demonstrate their institutional capability and organizational experience to develop the capacity of subrecipients.

■ The recipient should strengthen the capacity of at least two local subrecipients for each targeted province and notify USAID/BHA when the organizations have met the requirements for potential transition awards. Develop the capacity of local subrecipients to receive USAID direct awards (Capacity Strengthening and

Transition Award).

■ Capacity development criteria includes but is not limited to:

▪ Is registered in all applicable USG systems (for example, System for

Award Management);

▪ Has demonstrated technical and management experience;

▪ Has the ability to use relevant IT systems;

▪ Has demonstrated an ability to maintain relationships with stakeholders;

▪ Has well-defined indicators of success and the ability to monitor its own program performance in a cost-effective and efficient manner;

▪ Has the necessary staff with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to carry out a program;

▪ Has proficiency of financial management systems and internal controls;

▪ Can address other general areas that would indicate potential success in managing specific technical programmatic areas; and

▪ Can meet the other pre-award requirements, including the risk assessment, and the required representations and certifications.

■ A transition award cannot be guaranteed; all USAID awards are subject to availability of funds.

d) Management Structure and Institutional Capacity

Management Approach and Staffing Plan (5 pages maximum)

This section must describe the organizational structure of the applicant that will implement the activity, and how it will ensure holistic, integrated, and adaptive management. This must include a description of:

● A holistic plan describing efforts to coordinate, link, and leverage complementary activities implemented by other actors;

● An adaptive plan describing its approach to support efficient technical, managerial, and administrative arrangements necessary to carry out the activity on schedule, submit quality and timely deliverables, and maintain a collaborative relationship with BHA. The approach should enable feedback cycles that foster experiential learning and utilization of data from assessments, surveys, research, and routine monitoring. Also describe the management processes that will enable the application of analysis and learning in adaptations to ongoing implementation and management strategies, and updates to learning strategies and plans.

These processes are expected to continue throughout the life of the award;

● An integrated plan describing how the applicant will coordinate, share information, and collaborate with UN agencies, local and international NGOs, other USG agencies, other donors, national governments, and existing coordination mechanisms as part of the proposed activities’ design, to successfully achieve the goal and objective(s). The applicant must detail their role and position within the sector in relation to other actors;

● Applicants must provide a staffing plan Performance management strategies that will measure the effectiveness of proposed interventions, and an explanation of how these interventions will achieve the intended outcomes in a sustainable fashion. Performance management strategies must include a description of how the applicant will monitor, identify, and link with adaptive management strategies, and address implementation quality issues throughout the life of the award;

● A management structure that ensures the efficient use of resources, effective and adaptive management, strong technical implementation, and administrative support;

○ The management structure must demonstrate the necessary technical competencies to implement the proposed interventions.

○ The applicant must explain their own management structure, and, if applicable, that of all members of a consortium and sub-awardees; personnel management of expatriate and national staff; lines of authority; and communication channels between organizations and staff.

● (If proposing sub-awardees or a consortium management model) How the partnerships will be structured, organized, and managed. Applicants must specify the responsibilities of all organizations and the rationale for their selection (i.e., organizational strengths and weaknesses, technical expertise, etc.); proposed staff and reporting relationships within and between each of these organizations; and how the consortium will be structured to ensure cohesive and coordinated knowledge sharing, planning, decision-making, and implementation across roles and organizational boundaries. Nonexclusive letters of commitment from any proposed sub-awardees or consortium members must be submitted with the application; and

● The degree to which the applicant and all proposed consortium members or sub-awardees possess the depth and breadth of institutional capacity, technical expertise, and management systems to plan, implement, and support the pathways and interventions described in the technical approach.

● Activity-Specific Staffing Plan comprising key and non-key personnel, including a staffing matrix, that outlines the entire team structure and states each position’s role on the team. The plan should:

○ Demonstrates their ability to recruit highly qualified staff, including any technical, managerial, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and program learning staff that will be sufficient to implement the proposed interventions and achieve the objectives outlined in the Technical Approach and Management Approach and Staffing sections of the

Round.

○ Include staff with substantive experience in the area being proposed (both key and non-key…