FY18 Underrepresented HPF NOFO.pdf

U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service

Financial Assistance

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Program Title Underrepresented Community Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: P18AS00554 Announcement Type: Initial CFDA Number: 15.904

Issue Date: August 20, 2018 Application Due Date: November 1, 2018 Time AM/PM Zone 11:59 EST

Agency Contact Information Questions and Requests Name Megan J. Brown Name STLPG Staff Address State, Tribal, Local Plans & Grants

Division National Park Service 1849 C Street, NW Mail Stop 7360 Washington, DC 20240

Address State, Tribal, Local Plans & Grants Division National Park Service 1849 C Street, NW Mail Stop 7360 Washington, DC 20240

Phone 202-354-2020 Phone 202-354-2020 Email stlpg@nps.gov Email stlpg@nps.gov

Table of Contents

Section A: Program Description

Section B: Federal Award Information

Section C: Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Section D: Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

2. Contents and Form of Application Submission

3. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

7. Other Submission Requirements

Section E: Application Review Information

1. Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Evaluation of Applicant Risk

Section F: Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

Section G: Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Section H: Other Information:

Appendix A – Budget Justification Instructions

Section A: Program Description

Federal Agency Name: Department of the Interior, National Park Service

Funding Opportunity Title: Fiscal Year 2018 Underrepresented Community Grants

Funding Opportunity Number: P18AS00554

Catalog Of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 15.904

Legislative Authority: Pub. L. 115-141

Federal Regulations: 2 C.F.R. § 200, 2 C.F.R. § 1402

Program Background Information and Objectives:

The National Park Service’s (NPS) Fiscal Year 2018 Underrepresented Community Grant Program (URC) will diversity the nominations submitted to the National Register of Historic Places. URC grants are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), and are administered by the NPS. Projects include surveys and inventories of historic properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register, as well as the development of nominations to the National Register for specific sites. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and do not require non-Federal match.

Department of the Interior Priorities:

This program supports Department of the Interior priorities:

• Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt: Examine land use planning processes and land use designations that govern public use and access; and

• Restoring trust with local communities: Expand the lines of communication with Governors, state natural resource offices, Fish and Wildlife offices, water authorities, county commissioners, Tribes, and local communities.

Section B: Federal Award Information

Anticipated Federal Funding:

The FY2018 and FY2019 appropriations for this program may be combined to total at least $500,000 (FY2018 appropriation) and awarded dependent on receipt of sufficient eligible applications.

Non-Federal Entity Cost Share:

Non-Federal cost share is not required for this agreement.

Estimated Number of Agreements to be Awarded: 12-15 Each activity or project under this agreement will be treated individually, with more detail through project statements, project plans and budgets developed cooperatively between the NPS and the non-Federal entity.

Estimated Amount of Funding Available Per Award:

An estimated range of $15,000 to $50,000 of funding is anticipated for each award.

The amount of funding available per award for this NOFO will be determined as part of the application review process based on applications received and funding made available through appropriations.

Anticipated Start Date:

Projects receiving funding through this NOFO will start once funding has been secured and awards have been made.

Anticipated Term of the Agreement:

Agreement terms for funded projects are estimated to range between one and three years, depending on the negotiated project statement of work. Agreements are not effective until fully executed with signature from the NPS Financial Assistance Awarding Officer.

Grant Agreement - A legal instrument of financial assistance between The National Park Service and a non-Federal entity that, consistent with 31 U.S.C. § 6302, 6304:

(1) Is used to enter into a relationship the principal purpose of which is to transfer anything of value from the Federal awarding agency to the non-Federal entity to carry out a public purpose authorized by a law of the United States (see 31 U.S.C. § 6101(3)); and not to acquire property or services for the Federal awarding agency’s direct benefit or use;

(2) Is distinguished from a cooperative agreement in that it does not provide for substantial involvement between the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity and the non-Federal entity in carrying out the activity contemplated by the Federal award.

Substantial Involvement:

No substantial involvement on the part of the National Park Service is anticipated.

Other Information:

Applications for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are not eligible to compete with applications for new Federal awards.

Section C: Eligibility Information

Application Due Date: November 1, 2018 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time An applicant's failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the time of the application deadline will result in the application being excluded from consideration. This includes but is not limited to late and incomplete application packages.

1. Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants are:

• Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs), Federally Recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Groups, Native Hawaiian Organizations as defined by 54 U.S.C. 300300 et seq.

• State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)

• Certified Local Governments (CLGs); a current list of CLGs is available at nps.gov/clg o Certified Local Government applicants must acknowledge the CLG jurisdiction and the project should describe how it will enhance the local CLG inventory.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching Non-Federal cost sharing is not required to be eligible for an award under this NOFO but will be considered as a competitive factor.

3. What is funded?

Grant projects must support the survey, inventory, and designation of historic properties that are associated with communities currently underrepresented in the National Register of Historic Places and among National Historic Landmarks. Successful proposals will emphasize creative projects that promote the preservation of your jurisdiction’s diverse cultural resources.

Please Note:

For archaeological surveys, please provide plans for curating any artifacts recovered incidentally, including any strategies for outreach and the sharing of survey reports, research, results, etc.

These will also require NEPA and NPS review prior to surveying.

For nominations, documentation of owner permission to nominate, if not owned by the grantee, must be provided with the application.

Before a grant will be considered complete, one of the following must happen:

• The submission of a new nomination to the National Register of Historic Places or National Historic Landmark program, or

• An amendment to an existing National Register or National Historic Landmark nomination to include underrepresented communities.

4. What Is Not Funded

• Construction of new buildings

• Acquisition of collections or historic sites

• Conservation of collections, except as part of gathering oral history documentation

• Long-term maintenance or curatorial work beyond the grant period

• Reconstructing historic properties (recreating all or a significant portion that no longer exists)

• Moving or work on moved historic properties that are no longer eligible for listing in the NRHP

• Cash reserves, endowments, revolving funds, or fund-raising costs

• Work performed prior to announcement of award

• Lobbying or advocacy activities

• Costs for work already completed or funded through other federal programs

• Administrative costs may exceed 25% of project budget

• Miscellaneous costs, contingencies, reserves, and overhead

• Nominations of sites not previously determined eligible by the SHPO or that may have owner objection to listing

Section D: Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package All application materials, including photographs, become the property of the National Park Service and may be reproduced by NPS or its partner organizations without permission;

appropriate credit will be given for any such use. Additional materials not specifically requested by NPS, and materials sent separately from the application, will be discarded.

The Application Package contains several mandatory forms, which must be submitted with your proposal.

Documents 1 through 4 will be available within the “Manage Workspace” Page on

1. SF-424 (Application for Financial Assistance)

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

3. SF-424B (Assurance for Non-Construction Programs)

4. Attachments Form

Documents 5 through 8 can be found in the “Related Documents” tab within Grant Opportunity P18AS00554.

5. Project Description Worksheet

6. Budget Justification Worksheet

7. Project Images Worksheet

8. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)

9. Statement of Overlap of Federal Funds

2. Contents and Form of Application Submission You must complete the mandatory forms and any applicable optional forms, in accordance with the instructions below, as required by this NOFO. Do not include any proprietary or personally identifiable information. A complete application should include:

• Standard Form 424 (SF 424) – Application for Federal Assistance o Complete this form as much as possible with all applicable information. Please note: You must provide your ZIP Code + 4. Your DUNS Number must exactly match your SAM.gov registration.

• Standard Form 424A– Budget Information o The project budget shall include detailed information on all cost categories and must clearly identify all project costs. Unit costs shall be provided for all budget items including the cost of work to be provided by contractors or sub-recipients.

All costs shown in the budget documents should match what is discussed in the project description worksheet. Cost categories can include, but are not limited to, those costs items included on the SF424A.

o NOTE: No more than 25% of the entire budget may be applied towards administrative costs (defined below), plus indirect costs.

o Administrative costs are: Allowable, reasonable, and allocable costs related to the overall management of activities directly related to finance (accounting, auditing, budgeting, contracting), general administrative salaries and wages (grant administration, personnel, property management, equal opportunity) and other “overhead” functions (general legal services, general liability insurance, depreciation on buildings and equipment, etc.) not directly attributable to specific program areas identified in the grant agreement. All administrative costs reported must be absolutely necessary for project and/or program implementation, such as the cost items identified in the final grant agreement or items otherwise approved in writing by the NPS Awarding Officer (AO).

• Standard Form 424B - Assurances o By downloading this form on the “Manage Workspace” page, this form will be marked as “passed” and will be considered completed and marked as “Read Only”. You do not need to re-upload it on the attachments form.

• Attachments Form o This form is in Workspace and is where each applicant will attach the necessary documents listed above as 5-8. The attachments form is downloaded from the “Manage Workspace” page. You will then add up to the allowed 15 attachments and re-upload to your Workspace.

• Project Description Worksheet o Project descriptions must address each of the evaluation criteria and applications will be reviewed against this rubric as part of the merit evaluation process. NPS will evaluate and consider only those applications that separately address each of the five criteria listed in Section E.

• Budget Justification Worksheet o All costs listed in the SF-424A must correspond to the activities in the Project Description and must be outlined in the Budget Justification Worksheet.

However, do not include your cost breakdown as part of the narrative Project Description.

o Please note : Maximum hourly wages charged to this grant for personnel and consultants may not exceed 120% of the salary of a Federal Civil Service GS-15, Step 10. Current salary tables for your location can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website: https://www.opm.gov.

• Project Images Worksheet o Photographs of the community or the historic site, museum property, downtown, or significant resource involved in the project. Color or black and white photos are both accepted.

• Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable o If your proposed budget includes indirect costs, the rate as proposed must meet the requirements of 2 CFR Part 200, Section 200.414 and 2 CFR Part 200, Appendix III through Appendix VII as applicable. A negotiated indirect cost rate agreement must be provided with your proposal.

o If selecting use of 10% de minimus rate because of no prior negotiated indirect cost rate a De Minimis Indirect Cost Rate Certification must be submitted.

o If your proposed budget includes indirect costs, please submit either:

Your organization’s Indirect Cost Rate Negotiation Agreement, or DeMinimus Indirect Cost Rate Certification. If selecting use of 10% de minimus rate because of no prior negotiated indirect cost rate a De Minimis Indirect Cost Rate Certification must be submitted. Proposals that fail to document their indirect costs will have those costs disallowed.

o Indirect and direct administrative costs may not exceed 25% of the total project budget as defined in 54 USC 301 et seq.

o Proposals that fail to document their indirect costs will have those costs disallowed.

• Statement of Overlap of Federal Funds o All applicants must provide a statement to identify whether or not any overlap exists between the proposed project and any other active or anticipated project(s) in terms of activities, costs, or time commitment of key personnel, including any application that was submitted for funding consideration to any other potential funding source (Federal or non-Federal).

o The statement and the description of overlap or duplication should be provided as a separate attachment to the application.

o If no overlap or duplication exists, a sample statement to satisfy this requirement might be: “[Insert Applicant Name] affirms that no overlap or duplication exists between the proposed project in this application and any other active or anticipated project in terms of activities, costs, or time commitment of key personnel, including any application that was submitted for funding consideration to any other potential funding source (Federal or non-Federal).”

o If any overlap or duplication does exist, applicants must provide a description of the overlap including when the overlapping or duplicative proposal(s) were submitted, to whom (entity and program), and when funding decisions are expected to be announced.

o If at any time a proposal is awarded funds that would be overlapping or duplicative of the funding requested from NPS, the applicant must immediately notify the NPS point of contact. Any overlap or duplication of funding between the proposed project and other active or anticipated projects may impact selection and/or funding amount.

If selected for award, NPS reserves the right to request additional or clarifying information for any reason deemed necessary, including, but not limited to:

(a) Other budget information

(b) Financial capability

(c) Evaluation of risk

(d) Name and phone number of the Designated Responsible Employee for complying with national policies prohibiting discrimination (See 43 C.F.R. § 17)

3. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) Each applicant (unless exempt under 2 CFR §25.110) is required to:

(a) Be registered in SAM;

(b) Provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application (currently a DUNS number);

(c) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

Registration processes for SAM can be found at https://www.sam.gov

A financial assistance agreement will not be made with a non-Federal entity until the non- Federal entity has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements.

If a non-Federal entity has not fully complied with the requirements by the time that an agreement is ready for award, a determination may be made that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award. That determination may be used as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

In addition, in order to submit an application through Grants.gov an applicant must have an active SAM registration and register for submission permissions through the Grants.gov website.

Utilize the following link to guide you through this process:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html

4. Submission Dates and Times Applicants are held responsible for their proposals being submitted to the National Park Service.

Applications must be received by November 1, 2018 at 11:59 PM ES. Applicants are encouraged to submit the application well before the deadline.

Application preparation time may take several weeks, so please start the application process as soon as possible. Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed or considered for award. If it is determined that a proposal was not considered due to lateness, the applicant will be notified during the selection process.

*Please note: registration in these systems can take several weeks. Extensions due to incomplete registrations in these systems will NOT be provided.

https://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html

5. Intergovernmental Review This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order (EO) 12372 “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” Applicants subject to EO 12372 must contact their State’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to find out about and comply with the State’s process. The names and addresses of the SPOC’s are listed in the OMB’s home page at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/assets/OMB/grants/spoc.pdf

6. Funding Restrictions Costs incurred by the applicant prior to the start date of the period of performance of a signed Federal award are only allowable with written approval by a Financial Assistance Awarding Officer.

7. Other Submission Requirements Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov to the National Park Service by November 1, 2018 at 11:59 PM ES. Applications submitted by other means or not received by the deadline will not be considered.

After you submit your application you should receive three emails from grants.gov.

1. The first email will be a confirmation that you have submitted your application.

2. The second email will confirm receipt of your application by the grants.gov system.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/assets/OMB/grants/spoc.pdf

3. The third will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated by the system or rejected due to errors. If your application is rejected due to errors, please contact grants.gov immediately. Your application must be validated in order for your application to be forwarded to NPS and be considered for funding.

In the event the applicant experiences technical difficulties with submitting their application, please contact: STLPG@nps.gov or 202-354-2020. Issues with Grants.gov should be resolved by calling 1-800-518-4726 or visiting their online help desk. Document any issues with submission carefully.

mailto:stlpg@nps.gov

START THIS PROCESS EARLY DON’T DELAY!

Section E: Application Review Information

1. Criteria NPS will evaluate and consider only those applications that separately address each of the merit review criteria. Each applicant is required to provide a detailed project description, in accordance with section D.2., of the following criteria elements.

Criterion 1 Weight 25% Significance

Describe the community and the historic resources affected by this project, including a description of why they are determined to be underrepresented in your jurisdiction. Include whether they are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and/or designated at the State, Tribal, or local level, and if not currently listed, why they should

be. Applicants must include concurrence of eligibility from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), such as a determination of eligibility from the SHPO or a completed survey that was reviewed by the SHPO.

Criterion 2 Weight 15% Planning

Describe how the project meets the goals of a local, state, or tribal preservation plan or comparable planning document for your jurisdiction.

Criterion 3 Weight 20% Feasibility

List and describe all tasks and their results. Discuss your timeline and budget justification to show that costs are necessary, reasonable, and allowable. Demonstrate how you will successfully complete the project within the given timeframe (2-3 years) and with the given resources, while meeting all Federal requirements and guidelines.

Briefly describe who will be involved in carrying out the project and their qualifications, attach resumes/CVs as applicable.

Criterion 4 Weight 20% Sustainability

Describe the impacts of the project after completion including long lasting effects. Describe the public-private partnerships and community engagement involved in the project and how these partnerships will sustain and continue to support the resource(s) after the grant project is complete.

Criterion 5 Description Weight 20% Department of the Interior Priorities

Discuss how your project will support the following Department of the Interior Priorities:

• Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt: Examine land use planning processes and land use designations that govern public use and access; and

• Restoring trust with local communities: Expand the lines of communication with Governors, state natural resource offices, Fish and Wildlife offices, water authorities, county commissioners, Tribes, and local communities.

2. Review and Selection Process NPS personnel, and in some cases independent reviewers, will review all proposals. All proposals for funding will be considered using the criteria outlined above. A summary of the review panel comments may be provided to the applicant if requested.

a. Initial Review Prior to conducting the comprehensive merit review, an initial review will be performed to determine whether: (1) the applicant is eligible for an award; (2) the information required by the NOFO has been submitted; (3) all mandatory requirements of the NOFO are satisfied;

and (4) the proposed project is responsive to the program objectives of the NOFO (program determination). If an applicant fails to meet the requirements or objectives of the NOFO, or does not provide sufficient information for review, the applicant will be considered non-responsive and eliminated from further review.

b. Comprehensive Merit Review All applications that satisfactorily pass the initial review will be eligible for the Comprehensive Merit Review. Each criteria element will be scored 25 point scale:

Description Criterion 1 Criterion 2 Criterion 3 Criterion 4 Criterion 5 25 15 20 20 20 Superior 20 12 16 16 16 Good 14 9 12 12 12 Satisfactory 10 6 8 8 8 Marginal 6 3 4 4 4 Poor 0 0 0 0 0 Not

Acceptable

The scoring of each criterion must be based on the strengths and weaknesses of the application narrative. To assist in assigning an appropriate score, the following will be used as a guideline:

Rating Descriptive Statement

Superior Applicant fully addresses all aspects of the criterion, convincingly demonstrates that it will meet the Government's performance requirements, and demonstrates no weaknesses.

Good Applicant fully addresses all aspects of the criterion, convincingly demonstrates a likelihood of meeting the Government's requirements, and demonstrates only a few minor weaknesses.

Satisfactory Applicant addresses all aspects of the criterion and demonstrates the ability to meet the Government's performance requirements. The Application contains weaknesses and/or a number of minor weaknesses.

Marginal Applicant addresses all aspects of the criterion and demonstrates the ability to meet the Government's performance requirements. The Application contains significant weaknesses and/or significant minor weaknesses.

Poor The likelihood of successfully meeting the Government's requirements.

Significant weaknesses are demonstrated and clearly outweigh any strength presented.

Not Acceptable

Applicant does not address all aspects of the criterion and the information presented indicates a strong likelihood of failure to meet the Government's requirements.

c. Selection The Selection Official may consider the merit review recommendation, program policy factors, and the amount of funds available to select applications for funding. All proposals for funding will be considered using the criteria outlined above. A summary of the review panel comments may be provided to the applicant if requested.

d. Discussions and Award The Government may enter into discussions with a selected applicant for any reason deemed necessary, including, but not limited to: (1) only a portion of the application is selected for award; (2) the Government needs additional information to determine that the applicant is capable of complying with the requirements of DOI Financial Assistance Regulations, and/or

(3) additional specific terms and conditions are required. Failure to satisfactorily resolve the issues identified by the Government may preclude award to the applicant.

3. Evaluation of Applicant Risk In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.205, applications selected for funding will be subject to a pre-award risk assessment which may include a review of information contained within the applicant’s proposal, past audits, Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), and/or past performance on previous Federal financial assistance awards.

Negative information that leads to an applicant being designated as “Medium Risk” or “High Risk” may result in specific conditions, as identified in 2 C.F.R. § 200.207, being incorporated into the final award.

Section F: Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices Upon being selected for the award, successful applicants will receive a notification of the selection of their application for funding. NPS will notify the applicant selected for award by spring of 2019. A notice of selection is not an authorization to begin performance on an agreement. This notice will detail the next steps in the awarding process. Once all clearances and reviews have been conducted, a grant agreement will be sent for signature.

Work cannot begin before the non-Federal entity receives a fully executed copy of the grant agreement which contains the signature of the Financial Assistance Awarding Officer. Any pre-award costs incurred prior to the receipt of a signed agreement or written notice signed by a Financial Assistance Awarding Officer authorizing pre-award costs, is at the applicant’s own risk. A signed grant agreement signed by a Financial Assistance Awarding Officer is the only authorizing document to begin performance.

Organizations whose applications have not been selected will be advised as promptly as possible.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

a. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) By accepting Federal financial assistance, the non-Federal entity agrees to abide by the applicable Federal regulations in the expenditure of Federal funds and performance under this program: 2 C.F.R. Part 200 - Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements For Federal Awards

b. Standard Award Terms and Conditions Acceptance of a Federal financial assistance award from the Department of the Interior carries with it the responsibility to be aware of and comply with the terms and conditions of the award. Acceptance is defined as the start of work, drawing down funds, or accepting the award via electronic means. Awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by the Financial Assistance Awarding Officer. All financial assistance awards are subject to the terms and conditions incorporated either directly or by reference in the award document. Code of Federal Regulations/Regulatory Requirements, as applicable, are listed within Appendix B of this announcement (Contact the Financial Assistance Awarding Officer with any questions regarding the applicability of any terms and conditions).

• 2 C.F.R. Part 175 - Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000

• 2 C.F.R. Parts 182 & 1401 - Government-wide Requirements for a Drug-Free

Workplace

• 2 C.F.R. Parts 180 & 1400 - Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement)

• 43 CFR. 18 - Restrictions on Lobbying http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=63fa3a961cf535c2c8382c1da1d0f279&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=63fa3a961cf535c2c8382c1da1d0f279&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5

c. Order of Precedence Any inconsistency in the agreement shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order: (a) Any national policy requirements and administrative management standards; (b) 2 C.F.R. Part 200, in its entirety; (c) requirements of the applicable OMB Circulars and Treasury regulations; (d) special terms and conditions; (e) all agreement sections, documents, exhibits, and attachments; (f) and the non-Federal Entity’s project proposal.

d. Modifications The agreement may be modified by written agreement signed by both the non-Federal entity’s Authorized Representative and the Financial Assistance Awarding Officer.

Administrative changes (i.e. Financial Assistance Awarding Officer name change, etc.)

which do not change the statement of work, agreement amount, etc., or otherwise affect the non-Federal entity may be signed unilaterally by the Financial Assistance Awarding Officer.

Additionally, a unilateral modification may be utilized if it should become necessary to impose remedies for non- compliance, suspension or termination of the agreement in accordance with 2 CFR 200, Section 200.338 – 200.342.

All other changes shall be made by means of a bilateral modification to the agreement. No oral statement made by any person, or written statement by any person other than the NPS Financial Assistance Awarding Officer shall be allowed in any manner or degree to modify or otherwise effect the terms of the agreement.

e. Payments All applicants must be registered in the System for Awards Management (SAM) prior to award under this NOFO. Instructions for registering for SAM are located at http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM. All applicants must maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times while they have an active Federal award or an application under consideration.

All applicants must also be registered with, and willing to process all payments through, the Department of the Treasury Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system.

All non-Federal entities with active NPS financial assistance agreements must be enrolled in ASAP under the appropriate Agency Location Code(s) (ALC) and the Data Universal Number System (DUNS) Number prior to the award of funds. If a non-Federal has multiple DUNS numbers they must separately enroll within ASAP for each unique DUNS Number and/or Agency. Note that if your entity is currently enrolled in the ASAP system with an agency other than NPS, you must enroll specifically with NPS in order to process payments.

f. Funding Restrictions All funding is contingent upon the availability and appropriation of funds by the United States Congress.

g. Cost Principles:

Costs must be allowable in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles referenced in 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E – Cost Principles.

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

h. Pre-award Costs:

No pre-award costs are allowed for this opportunity.

3. Reporting

a. Financial Status Reports:

A report of expenditures is required as documentation of the financial status of awards according to the official accounting records of the non-Federal entity. The financial information will be reported by completing and submitting the Federal Financial Report (FFR), SF425. At a minimum, financial reports will be required annually and shall be submitted within 90 calendar days after the end of the annual reporting period. The Financial Assistance Awarding Officer may designate a reporting schedule requiring more frequent reporting based on the assessment of risk. The reporting requirements will be defined within the grant agreement. A final FFR shall be submitted no more than 90 calendar days after the end date of the agreement.

The FFR can be downloaded at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/standard_forms/ffr.pdf

The NPS Financial Assistance Awarding Officer will review the report for patterns of cash expenditures and assess whether performance or financial management problems exist.

Before submitting the FFR to the NPS Financial Assistance Awarding Officer, the non- Federal entity must ensure that the information submitted is accurate, complete, and consistent with the non-Federal entity’s accounting system. The non-Federal entity’s Authorized Certifying Official’s signature on the FFR certifies that the information in the FFR is correct and complete and that all outlays and obligations are for the purposes set forth in the agreement documents, and represents a claim to the Federal Government. Filing a false claim may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

b. Performance Reports:

A report of performance is required as documentation of performance towards the accomplishments of the Federal award and detailing project activity and participant profile information. At a minimum, performance reports will be required annually and shall be submitted within 90 calendar days after the end of the annual reporting period. The Financial Assistance Awarding Officer may designate a reporting schedule requiring more frequent reporting based on the assessment of risk. The reporting requirements will be defined within the grant agreement. A final performance report shall be submitted no more than 90 calendar days after the end date of the agreement.

In accordance with 2 C.F.R. 200 § 200.328, the performance reports shall contain brief information on:

(1) A comparison of actual accomplishments to the objectives of the Federal award established for the period. Where the accomplishments of the Federal award can be quantified, a computation of the cost (for example, related to units of accomplishment) http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/standard_forms/ffr.pdf may be required if that information will be useful. Where performance trend data and analysis would be informative to the Federal awarding agency program, the Federal awarding agency should include this as a performance reporting requirement;

(2) The reasons why established goals were not met, if appropriate; and

(3) Additional pertinent information including, when appropriate, analysis and explanation of cost overruns or high unit costs.

Before submitting the performance report to the NPS Financial Assistance Awarding Officer, the non-Federal entity must ensure that the information submitted is accurate, complete, and consistent with the non-Federal entity’s Federal financial report. Filing false information may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

c. Non-Compliance:

Failure to comply with the reporting requirements contained in an agreement may be considered a material non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the award. Non-compliance may result in withholding of future payments, suspension or termination of the agreement, recovery of funds paid under the agreement, and the withholding of future awards. The specific information regarding type, frequency and means of submission of post-Federal award reporting requirements will be contained in the award document.

4. Reporting Matters Related to Recipient Integrity and Performance:

If the total value of your currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of this Federal award, then you as the recipient during that period of time must maintain the currency of information reported to the System for Award Management (SAM) that is made available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)) about civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings in accordance with Appendix XII to 2 C.F.R. 200.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=9c3f1f088a2ef78a524a9c28e4cd43b0&mc=true&node=ap2.1.200_1521.xii&rgn=div9

Section G: Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Agency Contact Information:

Name: Megan Brown, Chief, State, Tribal, Local, Plans & Grants Division Address: National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 7360, Washington, DC 20240 Phone: 202-354-2020 E-mail: STLPG@nps.gov

Questions and Requests pertaining to this Notice of Funding Opportunity shall be submitted to:

Name: STLPG Staff Address: National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 7360, Washington, DC 20240 Phone: 202-354-2020 E-mail: STLPG@nps.gov Email preferred.

Section H: Other Information:

1. Program Information

The National Park Service’s (NPS) FY2018 Underrepresented Community Grant Program (URC) will diversity the nominations submitted to the National Register of Historic Places.

URC Grant awards are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), and administered by the NPS. This competitive grant program provides grants to State Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Native Alaskan Organizations, Native Hawaiian Organizations and Certified Local Governments. Non-federal matching share is not required, but preference will be given to applications that show community commitment through non-federal match and partnership collaboration. For more information on the Underrepresented Communities grant program, please visit go.nps.gov/urc

General program information is available at the State, Tribal, Local, Plans & Grants Division website at www.nps.gov/stlpg

2. Proprietary and Personally Identifiable Information

a. Notice of Potential Disclosure under Freedom of Information Act Applicants should be advised that identifying information regarding all applicants, including applicant names and/or points of contact, may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, whether or not such applicants are selected for negotiation of award. Applicants must identify any proprietary information within their applications.

b. Personally Identifiable Information In responding to this NOFO, applicants must ensure that Protected Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is not included in the following documents: Project Abstract, Project Narrative, Biographical Sketches, Budget or Budget Justification. These documents will be used by the Merit Review Committee in the review process to evaluate each application. PII is defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as:

Any information about an individual maintained by an agency, including but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as their name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, biometric records, etc., including any other personal information that is linked or linkable to an individual. This definition of PII can be further defined as: (1) Public PII and (2) Protected PII.

Public PII:

PII found in public sources such as telephone books, public websites, business cards, university listing, etc. Public PII includes first and last name, address, work telephone number, email address, home telephone number, and general education credentials.

Protected PII:

PII that requires enhanced protection. This information includes data that if compromised could cause harm to an individual such as identity theft.

3. Routine Notices to Applicants

a. Modification or Changes to the Notice of Funding Opportunity Notices of any modifications to this NOFO will be posted on Grants.gov. You can receive an email when a modification or an announcement message is posted. When you download the application at Grants.gov; you can also register to receive notifications of changes through Grants.gov.

b. Government Right to Reject or Negotiate NPS reserves the right, without qualification, to reject any or all applications received in response to this announcement and to select any application, in whole or in part, as a basis for negotiation and/or award.

c. Evaluation and Administration by Non-Federal Personnel In conducting the merit review evaluation, the Government may seek the advice of qualified non-Federal personnel as reviewers. The Government may also use non-Federal personnel to conduct routine, nondiscretionary administrative activities. The applicant, by submitting its application, consents to the use of non-Federal reviewers/administrators. Non-Federal reviewers must sign conflict of interest and non-disclosure agreements prior to reviewing an application. Non-Federal personnel conducting administrative activities must sign a nondisclosure agreement.

d. Notice of Right to Conduct a Review of Financial Capability NPS reserves the right to conduct an independent third party review of financial capability for applicants that are selected for negotiation of award (including personal credit information of principal(s) of a small business if there is insufficient information to determine financial capability of the organization).

Appendix A – Budget Justification Instructions

The budget justification worksheet is where the applicant breaks down their total project cost into Federal or matching share within nine budget categories. All costs must be eligible, reasonable, and directly relevant to the project, including costs covered by matching share. All costs must be justified in the project description. Please make sure to confirm matching requirements for the grant program you are applying for. If your project does not include costs for a particular category, please simply leave it blank or enter “N/A” into the first box.

Section One: Personnel The first section on the budget justification worksheet lists the staff that you will have involved managing the project. Please include the title of each person, and their name if applicable, the percent of time they will spend on the grant project each year, the number of years they will work on the project, and their annual salary. Then break out their costs between Federal and matching share.

For example: Project Manager, Jane Smith will work on the project for 10% of her time for two years with an annual salary of $100,000. To split the amount between Federal and matching funds, you would divide Jane’s salary by the percent of time spent on the project, in this case $10,000 per year for a total of $20,000 for two years.

Section Two: Fringe Benefits For the second section, you are documenting any personnel that have fringe benefits charged to the project. Please note, charged salary is how much you are charging towards the grant.

Continuing the example from above, Jane’s charged salary would be $20,000 over the two years she will work on the project. With a fringe benefits rate of 25%, the total for Jane would be $4,000.

Section Three: Consultant Fees The third section lists any consultants you expect to hire to assist with your project. Examples include historic preservation consultants, architects, engineers, conservators, etc. You need to either provide a flat rate for each consultant OR a daily rate and the number of days they will work on the project. You should not provide both. Remember that all consultants must be chosen through a competitive procurement process.

Section Four: Travel and Per Diem The fourth section covers necessary travel, though many grants will not need travel. If your application includes travel, please make sure you have discussed this in detail in your project description including where you are going, why, and how this supports the project. The budget section asks you to input some simple information first: where you are traveling to/from, how many people will be going on each trip, the number of days of the trip. If you are travelling overnight, please include a daily sum for lodging plus per diem. These rates cannot exceed federal rates, which can be found at www.gsa.gov. Also, include the transportation costs per person, i.e. plane ticket cost, train, rental car cost, broken out per person, etc. Travel must be directly tied to the grant assisted project.

It should be easy for reviewers to see that there are 2 people going for 2 days with daily lodging at $100 and transport at $100. That would mean $200 total for transport ($100 x 2 people) and $400 for lodging and per diem ($100 x 2 days x 2 people) for a total of $600.

http://www.gsa.gov/

Section Five: Supplies and Materials & Section Six: Equipment For sections five and six, please pay close attention to the definitions provided for what is a supply/material and what is equipment. Construction materials should NOT go in these sections, they belong in section seven.

Section five is supplies, which are defined as any items costing less than $5,000 or with an estimated useful life of less than one year. If any supplies cost more than $5,000 they are automatically equipment.

Section six is equipment. All equipment requires written NPS approval prior to purchase.

Equipment is anything costing over $5,000 with an estimated useful life of more than one year.

Section Seven: Construction/Conservation Materials and Labor Section seven is for any costs related to physical construction or conservation. Costs can be broken into large categories such as “repair roof” and “underpin foundation”. The costs should not be a lump sum “construction” line item. Contingency is not allowed as a separate line item.

Section Eight: Administrative Costs Section eight is for costs related to the management of the grant. All grant programs funded through the Historic Preservation Fund have a maximum 25% of total project cost (Federal plus match) that can go towards both administrative and indirect costs combined.

Administrative costs can be defined as: Allowable, reasonable, and allocable costs related to the overall management of activities directly related to finance (accounting, auditing, budgeting, contracting), general administrative salaries and wages (grant administration, personnel, property management, equal opportunity) and other “overhead” functions (general legal services, general liability insurance, depreciation on buildings and equipment, etc.) not directly attributable to specific program areas identified in the grant agreement. All administrative costs reported must be absolutely necessary for project and/or program implementation, such as the cost items identified in the final grant agreement or items otherwise approved in writing by the NPS Awarding Officer (AO).

This section also provides a line for your indirect costs if you are charging indirect costs to the grant. Please make sure you are submitting an approved indirect cost rate agreement or a De Minimis cost rate worksheet if charging.

Section Nine: Other Costs Section nine is for any other costs either not captured in the sections above or as overflow from above sections. If overflow, please ensure you mark which category the cost belongs with. Please pay attention to the directions in the worksheet. “Miscellaneous” and “Contingency fees” are NOT allowable budget items. All costs must be broken out into acceptable categories and costs.

Match After all of the budget categories, the worksheet asks for sources of non-Federal match. Non- Federal match is not required for all grant programs, but please pay attention to make sure you are providing match when needed. For all programs where match is not required, it can be considered a competitive factor. Any match that is secured, or in hand, should go in the “secured match” section. Any match you are still in the process of raising goes under “unsecured match.”

There is also a notes box for any comments you have regarding your matching share.

Organization Questions For all non-Federal applicants, we ask that you input your most recently completed fiscal year along with your non-Federal budget for that year. After the worksheet’s automated budget summary there are a few more questions. First is asking about your organization’s financial management standards. Second is if your organization has a single audit, and if not, then is there any other audit or financial statement. Finally, we ask all applicants to list any/all Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grants received in the last 5 years.

If you need assistance in completing the project description or budget justification worksheet, please…