Food for Progress Q & A week of April 7 2022.pdf

Food for Progress FY2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity

Questions and Answers

April 1, 2022 through April 8, 2022

NOTE: Questions are answered in the order received. FFPr recommends using the document

“Find Text” function to find specific items.

1. Q: We are having trouble viewing the FY22 IFAD NOFO Public Meeting video.

A: Because of the large video size, USDA was unable to upload the video recording directly to Grants.gov. However, the video was successfully uploaded to the FAIS server and can be accessed through the NOFO Public Meeting Recording link located on the FAIS Home page.

2. Q: Page 30, Section 3. Content and Form of Application Submission, Sub-Section D.

Food Aid Information System (FAIS) states that for Activity Mapping under Results Section, applicants should “indicate where this information can be found”.

However, we understand that applicants need to map each activity to a specific result from a dropdown menu in FAIS that it will be contributing to?

A: For this stage of proposal submission, Applicants are not required to manually map each activity to a specific result from a dropdown menu in FAIS. Applicants should, however, follow guidance within the NOFO page 30 as follows: “To reduce the administrative burden of submitting an application and minimize the duplicative entry of information that has already been provided by an Applicant in another part of the application, Applicants may enter language referencing the location of the information in the application in the Results, Commodity, and Budget fields in FAIS. For example: “See Attachment X: Project Level Results Framework” could be entered in the field for Results."

3. Q: Could USDA indicate if there is a preferred source for the local exchange rate that applicants should use while building out the proposal budget, and how would USDA prefer that applicants indicate this, as a citation or note?

A: Applicants may use the exchange rates found on the U.S. Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange site Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange | U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data or The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Foreign Exchange Rate data The Fed - Foreign Exchange Rates - H.10 - April 04, 2022 (federalreserve.gov) https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/treasury-reporting-rates-exchange/treasury-reporting-rates-of-exchange https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/current/ https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/treasury-reporting-rates-exchange/treasury-reporting-rates-of-exchange https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/current/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/current/ https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/treasury-reporting-rates-exchange/treasury-reporting-rates-of-exchange https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/treasury-reporting-rates-exchange/treasury-reporting-rates-of-exchange https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/current/

4. In section D.3.a “Application Format” it states “Cite source information and/or provide an explanation of the analysis undertaken throughout proposal”. Can USDA clarify if the reviewers will be able to access hyperlinks for citations? And can USDA clarify if there is a preferred citation style?

A: Reviewers will be provided with electronic (PDF) copies of the proposal documents.

Applicants should ensure that the full hyperlink is viewable (rather than a shortened link).

USDA does not have a preferred citation style so long as the Applicant is consistent with their chosen citation style.

5. In section D.3.a Application Format the NOFO states “Use Times New Roman, 12 point font;

tables and graphs may use Times New Roman 10 point where appropriate” Can USDA clarify if Times New Roman, 10 point font is the only acceptable minimum font for graphics- in addition to table and charts- or if an equivalent sized font (such as Veranda or Arial) may be incorporated into graphics?

A: Times New Roman should be used for all visuals such as graphics, tables, and charts. The font may be size 10 for graphics, tables, and charts but it should be Times New Roman.

6. Under Appendix B - Country Specific Guidance, each priority country has a "Project Award Value" amount listed. Can you clarify if this is the amount that each applicant should budget for (applicant's budget funding to comprise: expected monetization sales proceeds + CCC funds requested as applicable)? For example, under the Country Specific Guidance for the regional program of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, it states "Project Award Value" of $39 million. Should applicants assume that their program budget funding should target expected monetization proceeds + CCC funding (as applicable) up to $39 million?

If this is not the amount that applicants should budget for, can you clarify what the target budget amounts should be for each priority country program? Note that in the previous 2020 USDA Food For Progress NOFO, under Appendix - B - Country Specific Guidance, each priority country had listed a "Project Budget" and not a "Project Award Value". On this basis, applicants utilized the "Project Budget" numbers as guidance for their program funding budgets (comprising expected monetization proceeds + CCC funds requested as applicable).

A: This has been clarified in the NOFO in NOFO Amendment 2 under Part B 1 page 12: Added “Each Country Guidance includes the Project Award Value (Total commodity cost + CCC admin funds + freight) as well as the Anticipated Operating Budget (Monetization proceeds + CCC admin funds). This Anticipated Operating Budget may also be supplemented by any cost share the

Applicant proposes, which is not included in the default provided Anticipated Operating Budget figure.”

7. Could USDA please confirm that an organization would request a monetization amount, but then budget against the expected commodity recovery - at least 70% of that amount?

Will program budgets then reflect a total amount lower than the CCC “cash funding” + Commodity for monetization value requested from USDA in order to account for less than 100% commodity cost recovery?

Is there a specific presentation or format requested for the budget in this case other than mentioning the adopted cost recovery rate in the Commodity Management section and the budget narrative?

A: This has been clarified in the NOFO in NOFO Amendment 2 under Part B 1 page 12: Added “Each Country Guidance includes the Project Award Value (Total commodity cost + CCC admin funds + freight) as well as the Anticipated Operating Budget (Monetization proceeds + CCC admin funds). This Anticipated Operating Budget may also be supplemented by any cost share the Applicant proposes, which is not included in the default provided Anticipated Operating Budget figure.”

8. On page 48 of the NOFO as part of the Burundi Country Guidance, USDA states that, "Beyond the use of standard Food for Progress indicators, the proposal will include and pilot the evaluation of broader improved landscape management and living income goals throughout its implementation. This should be done in partnership with international knowledge leadership partners/subcontractors on the topic that will stay engaged throughout the project’s duration.” Could USDA please confirm that working with local and regional partners, that provide the best overall outcome, would also be acceptable?

A: Yes, working with local and regional partners is acceptable and encouraged. Applicants may wish to propose how local and regional partners can measure their success in landscape management and living income goals specifically.