FY 2019 WSP Innovation - FINAL.pdf

WIC Special Project Innovation Grant - (Cooperative Agreement)

Fiscal Year 2019 Request for Applications

Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA): 10.557

Dates:

Release Date: June 20, 2019

Application Due Date: 11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time (EST), August 20, 2019

Anticipated Award Date: September 2019

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.

The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

On December 31, 2017, Grants.gov officially retired the legacy .PDF application package as a method to apply for a Federal grant. This changed the way many

Grants.gov users completed and submitted their grant applications.

For information on Workspace application process, visit:

https://grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://communications.grants.gov/app/l/6q3KZ8jGoQl892veDQGyBvbQ/8wUMOSFAzsZ0MK9DNLgLtg/hysv8Unh3EXvtNpco6IwbQ https://communications.grants.gov/app/l/6q3KZ8jGoQl892veDQGyBvbQ/8wUMOSFAzsZ0MK9DNLgLtg/hysv8Unh3EXvtNpco6IwbQ https://grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

Application Checklist

This application checklist provides a list of the required documents; however FNS expects that applicants will read the entire RFA prior to the submission of their application.

In order to apply, at least four weeks prior to submission, you must have:

Obtained a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number;

Registered the DUNS number into the System for Award Management (SAM); and, Registered in Grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure:

Your application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section IV

“Application and Submission Information,” including page limits, priorities outlined in

Section II and all necessary attachments.

When preparing your budget, ensure the following information is included:

All key staff who are paid by this grant.

The percentage of time the project director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents.

Your organization’s fringe benefit amount along with the basis for the computation.

The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.

Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justifications and basis for lodging estimates.

Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.

Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts.

Justification, description and itemized list of all consultant services.

Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

(NICRA) or if no agreement exists, the basis of the indirect costs requested). If none requested, please indicate this in the budget narrative.

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:

SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

SF-LLL - Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.

FNS-906 - Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire (page

37)

Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15)

When applicable, application packages are required to include the following documents:

AD-1047 - Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility

Matters Primary Covered Transactions http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SFLLL_1_2-V1.2.pdf

AD-1048 - Certification Regarding Department, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion Lower Tier Covered Transactions

AD-1049 - Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (Grants) Alternative

I – For Grantees Other Than Individuals

AD-1050 - Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (Grants) Alternative

II – For Grantees Who Are Individuals

AD-1052 - Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace State and State Agencies, Federal

Fiscal Year

AD-3030 – Representations Regarding Felony Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for

Corporate Applicants (fillable PDF in Grants.gov).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 5

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 6

Funding 6

Legislative Authority 7

Important Dates 7

Priority Area 8

Program requirements 8

Cooperative Agreement 12

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 15

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 16

Grant Application Format and Content Requirements 16

Application Format 17

Application Content 18

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 26

Evaluation Factors and Criteria 26

Review and Selection Process 28

VI. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 28

VII. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS 34

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION 34

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES

Program Description

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the nutrition assistance programs of the

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). FNS works to end hunger and obesity through the administration of 15 federal nutrition assistance programs, including the Special

Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

WIC provides Federal grants to State agencies for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education, including breastfeeding promotion and support, for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. Starting in 1995 (and based on available funding), FNS has awarded grants for special projects to support opportunities to improve the delivery of

WIC services.

Section 17(h)(10)(III) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, authorizes funding for

WIC special projects, which are intended to improve the delivery of program services and that demonstrate national or regional significance.

This RFA intends to select one academic or non-profit organization to establish a USDA “WIC

Special Project Innovation Grant” or WSPI. The role of WSPI will be to award sub-grants to

State and local WIC agencies to develop interactive tools and/or technical resources; modernize or redesign clinic processes, or develop other innovative solutions and program enhancements that improve customer service in WIC clinics; and ultimately, improve the WIC certification and eligibility determination process within Program rules. Projects (sub-grants) will in part build on and improve our understanding of the diverse personal experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of those eligible for WIC services and allow the Program to refine and enhance service delivery and customer service based on our understanding of the participant experience. Project strategies/solutions, suitable for implementation and testing, will be evaluated for their impact on clinic wait time, participant satisfaction, and other customer service related measures.

The Grantee will manage the special projects (formerly known as WIC Special Project Grants) and work directly with WIC State and local agencies as they develop, implement, and evaluate new or innovative projects to meet the changing needs of WIC participants.

Historically, FNS has not received many Special Project Grant applications that focus on improving the certification process. Therefore, FNS requires two approaches for this grant opportunity. First, we request the Grantee work with FNS to develop a minimum of two certification enhancement opportunities for WIC agencies to subscribe to that are expected to improve customer service in the clinic. Second, the Grantee will work with interested WIC agencies, in coordination with FNS, to help them further develop original project ideas prior to applying1 for sub-grant opportunities.

FNS expects the Grantee to draft its own Request for Applications (RFA) for the sub-grant awards, and to develop a simple fillable application template to help facilitate applications from

State and local WIC agencies. Once the Grantee awards the sub-grants, it must provide technical assistance to sub-grantees and facilitate the management of the sub-grants, including: reviewing quarterly progress and financial reports, setting up quarterly conference calls, and hosting the closeout meeting for awardees to present their projects to FNS.

In order to be considered for sub-grant funding, a State or local WIC agency must either subscribe to one of the Grantee’s project ideas, or present a project that: tests new and innovative ideas; include an evaluation component with measurable results; and be designed in way that the key project activities can be replicated or transferred to other WIC agencies nationally.

Brief descriptions of previously awarded WIC Special Project Grants are located on the USDA

FNS public website at the following link: http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-special-project-grants. For more information about previous Special Project Grants, please visit the WIC Works

Resource System Sharing Gallery that includes a list of completed projects as well as final reports and materials:

https://wicworks.fns.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/gallery/special_grants.html

Key Objectives

Below is a list of the Program objectives, which proposed activities should be clearly aligned to in the Activities/Indicators Tracker under Section II:

# Objectives

1 Identify WIC Certification and Eligibility enhancement projects

2 Award sub-grants to WIC State and local agencies to fund WIC Certification and

Eligibility enhancement projects

3 Monitor and evaluate sub-grant projects

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1 Please refer to Important Dates chart on page 7 http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-special-project-grants http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-special-project-grants https://wicworks.fns.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/gallery/special_grants.html

For Fiscal Years 2019 to 2022, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) expects to award up to $2,000,000 each year, for one grant award, to establish a WIC Special Project Innovation

Grant that in turn awards sub-grants to WIC agencies. The grant award is contingent upon the availability of funding and will be awarded as a cooperative agreement to allow FNS more active participation with the Grantee during both project development and project execution.

The Grantee will be responsible for the oversight and management of special projects and to provide technical assistance to WIC agencies in their creation and execution of special projects.

Since collaboration among local WIC agencies can enhance the delivery of WIC services, it is strongly recommended that State agencies solicit input from local WIC agencies when developing a proposal for a sub-grant project. Local WIC agencies may also work with their

State agencies to develop innovative proposal ideas for sub-grant projects. Projects may also include partnerships with colleges or universities, public health organizations (government or non-government), Head Start Programs, or other similar programs serving low-income families with children under 5 years of age.

Regardless of the approach, State agencies are responsible to lead all proposals and partnerships.

In coordination with their State, local agencies may manage a project within their jurisdiction.

FNS reserves the right to reduce, increase, or revise proposed budgets based on the availability of funds. FNS also reserves the right to cancel this RFA in whole or in part if funds are not available. FNS also reserves the right to increase the number of grants awarded under this competition.

Important Dates

FNS plans to announce the selected Grantee by September 2019 and enter into a cooperative agreement with the Grantee by September 2019. The Grantee will be allowed to use the funds consistent with its application. Applicants may apply for funds for up to three years with a period of performance end date no later than September 30, 2022.

07/31/2019 Letter of Intent to submit an application (optional) is due to FNS. See Attachment A Letter of Intent.

08/20/2019 Applications are due to FNS

09/16/2019 WIC Special Project Innovation Grant is anticipated to be awarded

05/15/2020 WSPI sub-grant RFA to be released

1/31/2021 Applications from WIC State and local agencies are due to WSPI

02/31/2021 Sub-grants are awarded

9/30/2022 Grant expiration

Legislative Authority: This grant is issued under the authority of section 17(h)(10)(III) of the

Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended. This section authorizes funding for WIC special projects, which are intended to improve the delivery of program services and that demonstrate national or regional significance.

Sub-Grant Priority Area

The focus area of the WIC special project sub-grants is Optimizing WIC Service Delivery.

FNS is particularly interested in innovative ideas and replicable interactive tools, technical, or other practical solutions that support positive WIC participant experiences in the Program, especially in the clinic environment.

Examples of approaches that may be explored include, but are not limited to:

Interactive tools that can be shown to effectively coordinate clinic appointments, nutrition education, and food package issuance for participants.

Technical resources that help local WIC staff design more effective communication strategies to ensure eligible nonparticipants are aware of the program and their eligibility.

Collaborations with area hospitals, other health service providers including pediatricians, and Indian Health Service Hospitals (where applicable) to certify eligible WIC participants in hospitals.

Collaborations with local and community programs (for example, the Maternal Child

Health Bureau Home Visiting Program) to provide WIC services to eligible community members.

Streamline the certification process by pre-screening applicants for adjunctive income eligibility.

This is an opportunity for State and local agencies to examine their processes and identify opportunities for more efficient delivery of Program services. FNS requires that the Grantee develop a minimum of two project ideas and also work with WIC State and local agencies to focus on innovative ways to improve upon any and all aspects of certification, eligibility, and coordination in their applications.

FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation.

Program Specific Requirements

Grant applicants must demonstrate the following program specific requirements in their proposals:

1. Experience with and/or capacity for designing, implementing, and coordinating a competitive RFA process that solicits proposals from WIC State and local agencies. All applications must clearly articulate an administration plan for awarding competitive sub-grants to local WIC agencies;

2. Experience in developing online applications or templates/forms;

3. Experience conducting high-quality evaluations in partnership with WIC or similar public health agencies, as evidenced by reports, publications, and/or other materials.

4. Knowledge about WIC certification, eligibility, and coordination policies and WIC regulations.

5. Experience with and/or capacity for providing high-quality, technical assistance to WIC and other public health agencies and to community practitioners;

6. A dissemination plan that presents broad dissemination strategies as well as a clear description of how products developed from the special projects could be transferred or replicated by WIC agencies across the country.

7. Description of the expected set of final deliverables that will be submitted by the Grantee during and at the end of the cooperative agreement. All reports or products generated by efforts funded through this cooperative agreement are subject to review by FNS before publication. This includes review of final reports before submission.

8. All applications must address how the findings will be disseminated to stakeholders

(FNS, partner organizations, and State and local WIC agencies and their staff) and dissemination plans must meet the requirements as specified later in this RFA.

9. Inclusion of subject matter experts on WIC certification and eligibility policy is required.

10. All applications must provide a clear timeline for carrying out all proposed activities and demonstrate evidence of planning to meet other grant requirements as specified in this

RFA.

FNS. To the extent practicable, FNS is available to provide technical consultation to the Grantee, as needed. FNS will comment on major project aspects and issues in advance of implementation of the grant, and in a manner and timeframe agreed upon between the Grantee and FNS.

At FNS’ discretion, FNS involvement with the Grantee may include:

1. Providing comments on and having ongoing conversations with the Grantee regarding their plans to meet this RFA’s requirements;

2. Reviewing and approving sub-grant project proposals with the Grantee;

3. Reviewing administration, dissemination, and evaluation plans associated with projects performed at WIC State and local agencies funded by this cooperative agreement;

4. Approving the date, time, and agendas of the two in-person meetings;

5. Reviewing final reports and presentations;

6. Receiving a courtesy copy of all Grantee-produced documents resulting from this cooperative agreement.

Grantee. The Grantee is the academic or non-profit organization that will be selected competitively based on the merits of its application to operate the WIC Special Project

Innovation Grant. The Grantee has overall responsibility for administering the competitive RFA award system, coordinating project implementations, evaluating project success, providing evaluation-related technical assistance, and reporting.

The Grantee shall:

1. Select or hire appropriately credentialed personnel to manage and operate project components;

2. Delegate responsibilities to their staff or other partners as appropriate;

3. Conduct appropriate training and provide necessary support for staff and other partners to successfully handle project responsibilities. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

a. providing data on participating WIC State and local agencies and organizations to

FNS;

b. coordinating site visits to participating sites for FNS if requested; and

c. fulfilling obligations to FNS;

4. Keep FNS informed on critical junctures and checkpoints after award of cooperative agreement, including management plan, budget, administration plan, and dissemination plans that are submitted in preliminary form in the application, as well as evaluation plans once developed after award of sub-grants and the management and staffing plans discussed later in this RFA;

5. Meet specific obligations and approval points as specified by the cooperative agreement;

6. Submit timely progress reports, financial reports and annual reports throughout the award period, and submit a final progress report and final financial report;

7. Attend progress meetings via teleconference;

8. Account for project funds separately from federal food and nutrition assistance administrative funds and establish financial and managerial reporting controls to assure project funds are not commingled or used inappropriately. A separate and distinct audit trail must be established and maintained for the expenditure of project funds that clearly demonstrates that they are used solely for project purposes;

9. Provide FNS with any data files created and used to generate reports and presentations resulting from this grant. Such data shall be accompanied with analytic code, output files, and codebooks and other applicable documentation sufficient for FNS to replicate analyses;

10. Carry out all activities necessary to fulfill the items as described in the Purpose of

Cooperative Agreement section on page 12 of this RFA;

11. Coordinate other grant-related dissemination activities;

12. For internal use and informational purposes, provide FNS with an electronic copy of all documents resulting from this grant.

Regular Conference Calls

Quarterly conference calls with FNS, the Grantee, and sub-grantees shall provide an overview of the activities conducted during the previous quarter, major accomplishments with completion dates and budget, deviations from the proposed plan, difficulties encountered, solutions developed to overcome difficulties, assistance needed from FNS on technical issues, and major planned activities for the next quarter.

Should a major issue arise between calls, the Grantee shall contact the FNS Grants and Program

Officers immediately. During the development stages of the project, conference calls with FNS shall occur monthly; i.e. at the start of the agreement, leading up to the release of the RFA and selecting sub-grantees. The Grantee shall provide FNS with an agenda three business days prior to each call. The Grantee shall also prepare minutes for each call and distribute to FNS no later than five business days after the call.

Final Deliverable(s)

At a minimum, the Grantee shall prepare and deliver to FNS one final report integrating all the information learned from all work funded by this project in an acceptable format for FNS to publish on their website, and present findings from the special projects at a national conference.

All materials that will be published on FNS’s website must be 508-compliant. Please see http://www.section508.gov/ for more information. The Grantee is responsible for delivering 508-compliant documents to FNS for website publication.

Allowable Costs

Among other costs, budgets may include expenses related to personnel, contractors, equipment and supplies, meeting expenses, travel, and trainings.

Equipment and Supplies: Expenditures for both equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $5,000 or more) and supplies are allowable expenses.

Funding

FNS will accept one application package per applicant. The Grantee will be responsible for utilizing their awarded amount (1) to carry out a competition to award a minimum of three sub-grants to WIC State and/or local agencies to design and implement interactive tools, technical resources, or practical solutions that help improve the WIC certification, eligibility, and http://www.section508.gov/ coordination process in the WIC clinic, (2) to evaluate the project interventions, and (3) provide technical assistance to recipients of the WIC special project sub-grants.

This grant award is contingent upon the availability of Federal funding. FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to award additional grants this or the subsequent fiscal year should additional funds become available.

Cooperative Agreement

This grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement. This agreement is a legal instrument reflecting a relationship between the Federal government and the Grantee (the WIC

Special Project Innovation Grant). Cooperative agreements will allow more involvement and collaboration by FNS in the project compared to a typical grant, and provide less direction of project activities than a contract. The roles and responsibilities of both the Grantee and FNS will be stated in the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement.

FNS’ involvement in this cooperative agreement with the Grantee will largely entail: providing technical assistance on WIC certification policy as it relates to the sub-grant project proposals;

review and approve the proposed sub-grant awards; providing feedback on proposed project deliverables; and, dissemination of best practices learned from these efforts, such as proposed publications and presentation materials.

Purpose of Cooperative Agreement

The Grantee shall work cooperatively with FNS to:

1. Develop and manage a competitive sub-grant award process to WIC State agencies and/or local agencies to implement interventions expected to enhance the WIC participant certification process. FNS anticipates a minimum of three sub-grants to be awarded to WIC

State and local agencies. The Grantee, along with guidance and approval from FNS, will select, award, and monitor the sub-grants through regular communication, quarterly reports, and annual meetings. The Grantee will work with sub-grantees to evaluate their projects.

2. Develop a Request for Application (RFA) as a fillable application for sub-grantee applicants.

The RFA will describe the opportunity, explain eligibility for the sub-grants, and establish evaluation criteria for the award. The Grantee shall describe and justify their capacity for the competitive sub-grant award process, their evaluation criteria for selecting sub-grantees, their plans for promoting the opportunity among WIC State and local agencies, and their plans for managing and collaborating with sub-grantees upon award. State and regional diversity should be considered when selecting sub-grantees. The RFA shall require that the proposals use the fillable RFA application created by the Grantee.

The sub-grant application must include the following:

a. A description of the applicant’s agency/clinic, including:

i. Staff profiles

ii. Management Information System (MIS)

iii. Current clinic flow and estimated wait times

b. A description of the populations served by the sub-grantee applicant;

c. Documentation of support from the relevant WIC State Agency, if submitted by a local agency;

d. A plan of how the sub-grantee will implement the selected intervention;

e. A budget of intended costs to implement the intervention;

f. Documentation of procedures used to maintain the quality and integrity of all data and analyses; and

g. Demonstrated compliance with Federal Program Regulations for all proposed strategies/solutions.

3. Prior to selection of sub-grantees, the Grantee will submit to FNS summaries of all proposals submitted by those applying for sub-grants and discuss the proposals with FNS. At a minimum, the summaries shall include the name of the State or local agency and their point-of-contact for the project, award amount, and a brief description of the sub-grantees’ timeline and proposed intervention. FNS will make final selection decisions for the sub-grants.

4. After sub-grantees are selected, the Grantee will submit updated summaries of selected sub-grantee projects for publication on FNS’s website.

5. Following award of sub grants, the Grantee will host an on-line post-competition project meeting for FNS and the sub-grantees. This meeting will provide an opportunity for sub-grantees to present an overview of their project plan and concept to FNS. FNS will provide feedback to the sub-grantee during this meeting, and through subsequent communications.

6. In collaboration with sub-grant awardees, the Grantee will execute an evaluation of implemented strategies/solutions that documents impact, if any, on improving the certification process in WIC. The evaluation requires a clear operational goal established before implementation. Applications for this RFA should articulate the Grantee’s approach to developing an evaluation plan for sub-grantee projects. Other measures shall be included in the evaluation to capture relevant outcomes and process metrics; all included process variables and outcomes must be clearly measured. The Grantee shall:

a. Work collaboratively with sub-grantee recipients to design the intervention to support evaluation. An evaluation plan submitted to and approved by FNS is required for evaluating sub-grantee projects within three months of awarding sub-grants. The evaluation plan will outline the study design, evaluation outcomes with operational definitions clearly stated, and a timeline outlining specific implementation and evaluation milestones.

b. Use (or develop) validated instruments and sound methodological and statistical methods to conduct the evaluation.

c. Provide sub-grantees with evaluation results to inform practices and reporting.

7. At a minimum, FNS requires the Grantee to submit quarterly reports and a final report for each project/sub-grant as well as a quarterly and final report from the Grantee. Final reports shall describe the sub-grantee projects, the approach to evaluation including methodology and any guiding theories or framework, results of the implemented evaluation, and a discussion of strengths, limitations, and possible next steps in dissemination. Final reports must also include an executive summary. FNS encourages the Grantee to present research findings at professional conferences.

a. For internal use and informational purposes, the Grantee shall provide FNS with an electronic copy of all dissemination materials (for example, outreach materials and documents, PowerPoint slides, demonstration and operational versions of applications) resulting from this grant and sub-grant activity at the time of submission for publication and in final form when published.

b. The Grantee shall host periodic (at least quarterly) meetings with FNS and sub-grantees, to provide technical assistance and to discuss any issues related to project implementation and evaluation.

c. The Grantee will host an in-person kick-off and project planning meeting whereby the Grantee will present on its plan to disseminate the RFA and work with State and local WIC agencies to identify and form project ideas.

d. All reports generated by efforts funded through this cooperative agreement must be reviewed by FNS before general distribution. Reports to be published by FNS on the USDA website require FNS review and clearance.

8. The Grantee will use their demonstrated technical and subject matter expertise to provide assistance to WIC agencies working to create a more participant-focused and efficient certification process. Technical assistance includes: providing guidance and consult regarding project idea development; project implementation; and/or evaluation requests, in coordination with FNS; and ensuring that the projects are designed to meet the intent of the sub-grants (projects that enhance WIC certification). Additionally, the Grantee will ensure that the sub-grantees have the capacity to implement successful interventions beyond the grant timeline. Applicants for this RFA will describe and document previous experience providing technical assistance to public, service-providing agencies or similar entities, including but not limited to WIC State and/or local agencies.

9. Sponsor and coordinate two in-person meetings at FNS headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

First, a kick-off and planning orientation meeting at the beginning of the cooperative agreement. Second, a closeout session with sub-grantees at the project’s completion.

a. The Orientation Meeting shall be held within 60 days after award. The Grantee will present information on the focus area for the competitive RFA sub-grant process and possible intervention strategies with FNS. The Grantee will also present an updated administration plan for the competitive RFA process for the sub-grants. FNS staff will provide input during the presentation and subsequently on any materials generated for the meeting via email. Additionally, potential evaluation strategies will be presented.

b. The Closeout Session shall be held at the end of the grant period and will include presentations from sub-grantees of project findings, limitations, sustainability procedures, and dissemination plans. The Grantee will present a collective presentation on the individual projects and corresponding lessons learned.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible applicants

This Request for Application (RFA) is open to all accredited institutions of higher education

(colleges/universities), non-profit research entities, and non-profit organizations.

2. Cost sharing or matching considerations

There are no cost sharing or matching requirements. Any matching or cost sharing offered is at the discretion of the applicant. Any cost sharing or matching may be presented in a percentage amount.

3. Other eligibility criteria

FNS will accept only one application from each applicant. Suspended or debarred organizations are ineligible to submit applications in response to this grant solicitation.

4. Pre-application Screening Requirements

In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, Federal Awarding Agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.400, are required, prior to making a Federal award, to review information available through various OMB-designated repositories for eligibility qualification or financial integrity, and to have in place a framework for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated repository systems and the risk assessment may result in the Food and Nutrition

Service Agency (FNS) imposing special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk assessed. The Federal repository systems FNS will review include:

a. SAM, the System for Award Management, the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS;

b. FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, is a database that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance;

c. Dun and Bradstreet, the system where applicants establish a DUNS number which is used by the Federal government to better identify related organizations that are receiving funding under grants and cooperative agreements, and to provide consistent name and address data for electronic grant application systems. The Federal government requires that all applicants for Federal grants and cooperative agreements with the exception of individuals other than sole proprietors have a DUNS number.

d. U.S. Department of Agriculture, AD-3030, Representations Regarding Felony

Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for Corporate Applicants.

Applicants must also respond to the pre-application assessment questions below to allow FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports and findings from audits. A questionnaire containing these questions has been provided to facilitate the process. Applicants must answer all the pre-application questions.

While answering “yes” may be an indicator of risk, the consideration and evaluation of these questions is only an indicator of potential risk and may or may not result in additional oversight requirements or special conditions to be placed on an award, should an award be made.

Decisions regarding additional oversight requirements will take into consideration the total number of risks identified in the questionnaire.

5. Acknowledge USDA support: As outlined in 2 CFR 415.2, grant recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any publications written or published with grant support and, if feasible, on any publication reporting the results of, or describing, a grant-supported activity. Recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any audiovisual which is produced with grant support and which has a direct production cost of over

$5,000.

a. When acknowledging USDA support, use the following language: "This material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture.” Grantees are asked to follow the USDA Visual

Standards Guide when using the USDA logo.

Grant recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Applicants may request paper copy of this solicitation and required forms by contacting the FNS

Grants Officer at:

Trinity Richardson, Grant Officer

Grants and Fiscal Policy Division

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FNS

3101 Park Center Drive Room 740 https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/visual-standards-guide-january-2013.pdf https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/visual-standards-guide-january-2013.pdf

Alexandra, VA 22302

E-mail trichardson@usda.gov

Content and form of application submission

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be typed on 8 ½” X 11” white paper with at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced, in

12 point font. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 20 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of contents, resumes, letter of commitment(s), endorsement letter(s), budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages, excluding the form pages, must be numbered.

Special Instructions:

Late application submission will not be considered in this competition.

Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, certification will not be considered.

Applications not submitted via the Grants.gov portal will not be considered.

If multiple application packages are submitted through the Grants.gov web portal by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to award additional grants in the next fiscal year should additional funds be made available.

Grant awards are contingent upon the availability of Federal funds.

Cover Sheet

The cover page should include, at a minimum:

Applicant’s name and mailing address

Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address

Grant project title and sub-project title (if applicable)

Table of Contents

Include relevant topic page number

Application Project Summary

The application should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal is funded.

Project Narrative

The Project Narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing for the competitive

RFA process for awarding the sub-grants, including: how it will solicit, evaluate, and select proposals submitted by State and local WIC agencies.

The Project Narrative shall also discuss the applicant’s experience at WIC clinics and/or other related programs. The applicant will describe its capacity to provide technical assistance to WIC special project sub-grant recipients. The Project Narrative should also indicate plans for disseminating work. The Management Plan should describe administrative procedures, staffing, quality assurance, and other activities as described below.

In preparing your Project Narrative, provide the information requested below, in the order presented below.

Introduction: Provide background information on the proposed team’s experience performing research and evaluation on related public health program participation and plans for administering a competitive sub-grant award system for State and local WIC agencies with a focus on improving the WIC certification process. Please note any successes, lessons learned, or challenges from previous efforts.

Background: The Background section will provide a summary of the most recent understanding, especially through peer-reviewed published literature, government reports, and previously conducted research of various factors, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions that influence known barriers to enrollment or participation in WIC. This section should also describe known innovations that have helped the WIC participant experience during the certification process.

Objectives, Activities and Timeline: Clearly state project objectives; use descriptive statements that specifically discuss what you hope to accomplish, include specific activities you will perform to accomplish the project objectives as stated in the Purpose of Cooperative Agreement section, and include deadlines. All objectives should lead to a clearly stated goal relevant to this RFA. The project timeline should start on the award date and end 36 months later. For planning purposes, use the date of award as planned and include dates for important project milestones and deadlines and include dates for items described in the Purpose of Cooperative Agreement and Program Specific

Requirements section.

Administration Plan: Describe the team’s plan to administer a competitive Request for

Applications (RFA) process that includes an online application, an overview of the procedures for developing the solicitation, promotion of the solicitation among WIC

State and local agencies, and evaluation criteria for received proposals. Planned items that will be included in the solicitation beyond those stated in section 1 of the Purpose of

Cooperative Agreement section of this RFA should be explained. The applicant should also describe plans to provide preliminary assistance to WIC State and local agencies to develop their project ideas, as well as manage and collaborate with sub-grant awardees during the period of performance.

Evaluation: A key component of this work, once awarded, is evaluating implemented projects. The application should demonstrate the applicant’s abilities in evaluating interventions and projects implemented in clinic environments and in practice. Please provide details of two to three major evaluation projects previously managed.

Dissemination Plan: Applicant will describe plans for disseminating findings from this grant. Describe specific plans to make project findings accessible to others at various levels: program participants, communities, practitioners, and partner organizations.

Indicate possible opportunities to present at conferences, participate in working groups, host roundtable discussions, and present on webinars.

Technical Assistance Plan: The Technical Assistance (TA) Plan should indicate the process, frequency, and mode by which the Grantee will interact with the sub-grantees

(individually or as a group) to provide project and evaluation assistance, including how recipient agencies will be able to request assistance and how requests for assistance will be managed. The plan should describe a process to document and track each technical assistance experience.

The purpose of technical assistance is to support special projects identified as optimizing the WIC certification experience, and can include, but are not limited to:

recommendations for evaluation designs, sample size estimations and sampling frame development, consultation on and construction of validated information collection instruments such as quantitative surveys, qualitative interview and focus group question guides, analysis of data, and development of reporting materials. The application should provide evidence attesting to the applicant’s ability to provide technical assistance to

State and local agencies.

Management Plan: Provide a clear description of the activities to be undertaken to manage the project to ensure that project activities are completed on time, within budget, and with quality results. Describe the organizational structure and identify the staff and/or contractors who will manage the project. Describe roles and responsibilities of these employees or contractors, as well as relevant qualifications and experience, and a level of effort specified for specific staff proposed. Note any relevant experience in managing similar activities. Explain contingency plans for staff turnover. Describe how quality assurance, recordkeeping, and accounting activities will be executed. Provide a clear description of how funds will be administered and distributed.

Reports and Products Review

All reports and products generated by efforts funded through this cooperative agreement are subject to review by FNS before publication. This includes reviews of communications materials meant for general and WIC audiences, presentations, final reports and other items. Project timelines should factor in review of reports and products by FNS, with three weeks for items 30 pages or less, and six weeks for items greater than 30 pages in length.

Application Budget Narrative

The budget narrative should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. The narrative must justify and support the bona fide needs of the budget’s direct cost. If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. All non-profit organizations must include their

501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

Activities/Indicators Tracker

Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section I – PROGRAM DESCRIPTION) in the below format (note that additional

Activities/Indicators can be added as needed). Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant.

Objective 1: Identify WIC Certification and Eligibility enhancement projects

Proposed Activity 1:

Indicator 1:

Indicator 2:

Proposed Activity 2:

Objective 2: Award sub-grants to WIC State and local agencies to fund WIC

Certification and Eligibility enhancement projects

Proposed Activity 1:

Objective 2: Monitor and evaluate sub-grant projects

Proposed Activity 1:

Indirect Cost Rate: A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a Federal negotiating agency, is to be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have, and has never been approved for, a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis; in this instance, the applicant must note that this is what they are requesting. An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and, instead, use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase "None requested" should be stated in the budget narrative. If there are any questions related to Indirect Cost

Rate, please work with the Grant Officer (see contact information provided in below section) to address.

Required Grant Application Forms

Please refer to the Application Checklist on page 3 for a list of required grant forms.

Submission Dates

Complete grant applications must be uploaded to www.grants.gov by 11:59 PM, Eastern

Standard Time (EST), on August 20, 2019.

Late applications will not be considered.

Applications must be submitted via the Grants.gov web portal. Mailed, e-mailed or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted.

Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to award additional grants this or subsequent fiscal years should additional funds become available.

USDA strongly encourages applicants to begin the process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to Grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues, should they arise. The Grants.gov system provides several confirmation notices; applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting an application to www.grants.gov should contact the grant support team listed in Section VII: Federal Awarding Agency

Contacts.

Electronic Submission Details

Please be aware that the Grants.gov system provides several confirmation notices; applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications to www.grants.gov should contact the grant support team at 1-800-518-4726 or via e-mail at support@Grants.gov.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a DUNS number

In order to obtain a DUNS number, if your organization does not have one, or if you are unsure of your organization’s number, contact Dun and Bradstreet via the internet at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform or by calling 1-888-814-1435, Monday thru

Friday, 8am-9pm ET. There is no fee associated with obtaining a DUNS number.

There is no fee associated with obtaining a DUNS number.

It may take 2-3 business days to obtain a DUNS number.

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)

SAM combines Federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance into one new system. For additional information regarding SAM, see the http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@Grants.gov http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform following link:

https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/.https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

Must have organization’s DUNS, entity’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name

(as it appears on last tax return). It may take 3-5 business days to register in SAM, however in some instances the SAM process to complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of the entity record will require 5-7 days or more.

All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25.

We strongly encourage applicants to begin the process at least four weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account: The next step in the registration process is to…