FY2023 PTIG RFA.pdf

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Process and Technology Improvement Grants

Fiscal Year 2023 Request for Applications (RFA)

Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.580

Release Date: April 14, 2023

Application Due Date: June 15, 2023; 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

Anticipated Award Date: August 2023

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: OMB Burden Statement: The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The estimated average time required to complete this information collection is 50 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

This application checklist provides a list of the required documents. However, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) expects that applicants will read the entire Request for Application (RFA) prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation. The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and should not be submitted as part of the Application Package.

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:

Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and, Register in Grants.gov.

The RFA discusses these requirements in Section 2 “Federal Award Information.”

When preparing your application, ensure:

Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 “Application and Submission Information." This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 “Application Review Information”, and all necessary attachments.

o The application should be 25 pages or less, excluding the cover sheet, table of contents, resumes, letter(s) of commitment, letter(s) of endorsement, appendices, and required forms.

o The application must include a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement to be considered for funding unless the applicant is a State agency submitting an application on its own.

o The application includes a line-item budget narrative, formatted in a table.

o The line-item budget and other budget references in the application must be consistent with the SF-424A form.

Your application meets the objective areas outlined in Section 1 “Program Description.”

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

Cost Allocation

If other programs will benefit from this project, the costs supported by the grant will only fund the SNAP aspects of the project.

Personnel Proposal includes all key employees paid for by the grant.

Proposal identifies employees by name, position, and title.

The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTEs).

Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

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

Travel Expenses are itemized and explained in the budget narrative. For example:

origination/destination points, number and purpose of trips, number of staff traveling, mode of transportation, and cost of each trip.

Attendee objectives and travel justifications are included in the budget narrative.

Basis for lodging estimates are identified in the budget narrative.

Equipment

Equipment costs are justified in the budget narrative.

Types of equipment, unit costs, and number of items are listed in the budget narrative, along with basis for cost per item.

Supplies

Types of supplies, unit costs, and number of items are listed in the budget narrative, along with basis for cost per item.

Contractual and Consultant Costs The need for a contractor has been identified in the proposal, and the cost is justified in the budget narrative.

Applicants that are required to issue a bid have provided a narrative explaining the requirement and provided a reasonable estimate for contractual and consultant costs.

Indirect Cost Information

Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists and the applicant has never been approved for a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis). If applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not requested, please indicate this in the budget narrative.

Other Any other costs associated with this project are itemized, explained, and reasonable.

As part of the application, applicants must certify:

Grant funds will be used for a new project and will not be used for ongoing costs to carry out an existing project.

No more than 25% of the required grant funds support outreach activities.

The RFA discusses these requirements in Section 2 “Federal Award Information.”

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following, which are available on the Grants.gov web portal:

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

(Appendix B) 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:

All non-profit organizations must include their 501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Letter(s) of Commitment Letter(s) of Endorsement The IRS determination letter, the letter of commitment, and the letter of endorsement are all discussed in Section 4 “Application and Submission Information.”

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://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/r-r-family.html

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

1. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

PURPOSE

AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION

Fiscal Year 2023 Objectives

Fiscal Year 2023 Bonus Points

2. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

FUNDING AND DURATION

Type of Award

Procurement Contracts

Allowable Uses of Funds

Restrictions on Funding Use

3. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

Eligible Applicants

Condition of Award

Ineligible Applicants

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations

Pre-Award Costs

Number of Applications and Partnership Criteria

PRE-AWARD SCREENING REQUIREMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF USDA SUPPORT

4. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

Cover Sheet

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Project Narrative

Letters of Commitment or Endorsement

Required Grant Application Forms

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Submission Date

Preparing for Electronic Submission Through Grants.gov

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

5. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

EVALUATION OF GRANT APPLICATION CRITERIA

Review Criteria

Evaluation Factors and Criteria

Activities/Indicators Tracker

Bonus Points (up to nine points total)

Review and Selection Process

6. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

FEDERAL AWARD NOTICE

ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

Confidentiality of an Application

Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process

Administrative Regulations

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Financial Reports

Progress Reports

7. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT

8. OTHER INFORMATION

DEBRIEFING REQUESTS

APPENDIX A: TIPS FOR PROPOSAL WRITERS

APPENDIX B: RFA BUDGET NARRATIVE CHECKLIST

APPENDIX C: FNS-906 GRANT PROGRAM ACCOUNTING SYSTEM & FINANCIAL CAPABILITY

QUESTIONNAIRE

Appendix D: FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR)

1. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Process and Technology Improvement Grants (PTIGs) is to support efforts by State agencies and their community-based and faith-based partners to develop and implement projects that use technology to improve the quality and efficiency of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application and eligibility determination systems. SNAP intends to award up to $5 million in grants to eligible entities, including State agencies administering the SNAP; State or local governments; agencies providing health or welfare services; public health or educational entities; or private nonprofit entities, such as community-based or faith-based organizations, food banks, or other emergency feeding organizations.1 Throughout this Request for Applications (RFA), the term “State agencies” refers to the agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Guam that administer SNAP.

AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION

Section 11(t) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (Public Law 116-94), as amended, “Grants for Simplified Application and Eligibility Determination Systems and Improved Access to Benefits”, authorizes the Food and Nutrition Service Agency (FNS) to award up to $5 million in grants that allow applicants to “develop and implement supplemental nutrition assistance program simplified application and eligibility determination systems.”

Fiscal Year 2023 Objectives This grant competition requires applicants to respond to at least one of the following three objective areas and to report qualitative and quantitative data in order to measure meeting the activities associated with those objective area(s). Proposed project activities must be clearly aligned to at least one of these objective(s) in the Activities/Indicators Tracker. Note that if awarded, grantees will be required to report on progress towards activities aligned with the required objective(s) and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR). Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

1. Modernize SNAP customer service and client communication to improve accessibility, transparency, and responsiveness in processing applications and determining eligibility. Proposals will use technology-based tools to help improve the customer experience and access to SNAP. Proposals may include activities such as:

o Engaging in business process improvement efforts that identify technology needed to enhance the client experience;

o Creating or improving client self-service options, such as Question and Answer (Q&A) bots, updating personal information via a client portal, or tracking application status online;

1 These awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/fna-2008-amended-through-pl-116-94 o Reducing technology-based barriers to entry for persons with a disability or Limited English Proficiency; or o Developing and/or enhancing mobile responsive websites, mobile applications, online applications, and online portals.

2. Improve administrative infrastructure and day-to-day SNAP operations in processing applications and determining eligibility. Proposals will employ technology to maintain or improve service levels, ease administrative burden, and incorporate lessons learned about effective use of technology and new ways of working from the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposals may include activities such as:

o Establishing or enhancing telephonic interview and telephonic or electronic signature capabilities;

o Creating a policy bot that would allow eligibility workers to consult a SNAP policy database to facilitate the application process and eligibility determination;

o Enhancing eligibility systems and applications, such as using an Application Programming Interface (API) or other system integration or data sharing methods to eliminate duplicate entry or prepopulate eligibility systems from the online application;

o Improvement of call centers, such as increasing State call center capacity by adding phone lines, improving automated telephone systems like phone trees, or implementing Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology;

o Investing in or modernizing tools for Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) operations, such as online pre-registration capabilities, online ID verification via data matching and/or other State agencies and other available sources, and expedited EBT card issuance.

3. Invest in technology and systems to encourage cross collaboration and cross enrollment between SNAP and other Federal, State, and local assistance programs.

Proposals will improve access to benefits for eligible populations and improve State administration between programs, as allowable by program requirements. Proposals may include activities such as:

o Developing combined applications and partnerships across State operated assistance programs to increase client access and alignment between programs;

o Enhancing cross-program enrollment through integrated mobile applications and online portals;

o Improving data sharing and verification between SNAP and other Federal, State, and local assistance programs within the State agency; or o Creating a technology improvement plan to enhance or develop easy cross-enrollment or administration between SNAP and other programs.

The examples above are only suggestions. FNS welcomes other projects that support these objectives. FNS also highly encourages applicants to propose innovative ideas to solve both common and unique problems associated with application and eligibility processes. Proposed activities should clearly align to these objectives in the Activities/Indicators Tracker and must not deviate from what is authorized in the legislation referenced above.

In addition, proposals should clearly demonstrate how they will support any of the objective areas listed above, including how they may affect one or more aspects of the SNAP certification process. Proposals must identify how one or more of the following SNAP processes will be improved as a result of the proposed project:

• Application intake

• Application screening, especially for underserved populations

• Interview

• Verification

• Client reporting

• Recertification

• Program access, especially for underserved populations

• Program integrity

• Notices

Please note that Process and Technology Improvement Grant projects cannot be predicated on waivers of SNAP regulations. Applicants must ensure their projects are allowable under current SNAP regulations.

Fiscal Year 2023 Bonus Points

FNS may award bonus point(s) for applications that address Agency priorities, which includes proposals that are particularly data driven, proposals from applicants that have never received a PTIG, and proposals that approach solutions from a human-centered design perspective to modernize program delivery and improve the customer experience. Proposals may receive up to nine total bonus points; up to three bonus points will be available for each bonus point area.

Additional information may be found where evaluation criteria is outlined in Section 5 “Application Review Information” under the Bonus Points sub-header.

2. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

FUNDING AND DURATION

The following is intended to provide information to help applicants make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $5,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: Not to exceed 12 awards

• Minimum award amount (award floor): $20,000

• Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $2,000,000

• Anticipated award announcement date: August 2023

• Anticipated period of performance: September 1, 2023 through September 30, 2026 https://www.usda.gov/priorities

• Application due date: June 15, 2023; 11:59 pm EDT

Please note:

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

• FNS reserves the right to use this RFA and competition to award additional grants this or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

Type of Award

FNS will award Process and Technology Improvement Grants in the form of a Federal grant.

FNS will provide funding for approved grants through the Grant Award/Letter of Credit process, upon receipt of a properly executed FNS-529, Grant Award Agreement. The recipient whose name appears in block 9 of the awarded project’s FNS-529 is referred to as the “lead agency”.

Procurement Contracts

Grantees may use grant funds to procure contracts for goods or services.

Allowable Uses of Funds

• Funds from this RFA are for new projects.

• 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 with prior approval by FNS. While these expenditures are allowable, FNS reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based upon the needs of the Agency and the proposed project. Approval of the budget will serve as the pre-award approval for capital expenditures.

• If the activities funded under this grant are part of a larger eligibility system project with total projected costs exceeding $6 million, an Advance Planning Document (APD) must be submitted and approved prior to the expenditure of these grant funds. Guidance on the APD process is available at www.fns.usda.gov/apd/.

• Process and Technology Improvement Grant funded projects may benefit other governmental programs; however, grant funds must only support SNAP’s share of the project costs and therefore be properly allocated.

Restrictions on Funding Use

• Process and Technology Improvement Grant funds cannot be used for the ongoing cost of carrying out an existing project.

• FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and comply with all Program regulations.

• No more than 25% of grant funds may be budgeted towards outreach activities.

o The drafting or printing of informational materials, pure application assistance, screening/pre-qualifying applicants, or other similar activities cannot be funded by Process and Technology Improvement Grants.

• Pre-award costs will not be awarded for these grant projects.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/apd/

• All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

3. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

Eligible Applicants

The entities eligible to receive grants under this competition are:

• The 53 State agencies that administer SNAP;2

• State or local governments;3

• Agencies providing health or welfare services;

• Public health or educational entities; and

• Private non-profit entities such as community-based or faith-based organizations, food banks, or other emergency feeding organizations.4

Unless the applicant is a State agency submitting an application on its own, a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement from the relevant State SNAP agency must be included in the application package to be considered for funding.

Condition of Award Process and Technology Improvement Grant project proposals must delineate how all data and client personally identifiable information (PII) would be protected in accordance with in accordance with Section 11(e)(8) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, Federal regulations at 7 CFR 272.1(c), and the Privacy Act of 1974. Use and disclosure of information obtained from SNAP applications or recipient households is restricted to persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 or its regulations as specified in 7 CFR 272.1(c). More information on safeguarding PII is provided in Section 6 “Federal Award Administration Information.” If a proposal involves the sharing of SNAP household data from a SNAP State agency to an external partner, the applicant must include the following information as a part of the grant proposal and, if awarded, the parties must sign an MOU outlining the following processes:

• All data and PII protection protocols the entity will take;

• How the data and findings will be used to further administration of SNAP;

2 State agencies should have the necessary approvals of State officials (such as councils or legislatures) of funding prior to submitting the application. Applicants should also acknowledge in their application that all necessary approvals for funding have been obtained.

3 State and local governments should have the necessary approvals of State officials (such as councils or legislatures) of funding prior to submitting the application. Applicants should also acknowledge in their application that all necessary approvals for funding have been obtained.

4 Non-profit organizations are required to submit a copy of the IRS Determination Letter, form 501(c)(3) or proof of application for exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and a list of their Board of Directors, if applicable. All corporations, including nonprofit corporations are required to complete the attached representation regarding felony convictions and tax delinquency.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E

• Data that will be exchanged using encrypted servers;

• How data will be stored and who will have access;

• Training procedures for individuals who will be handling PII;

• Procedures used to exchange the data between the two entities (may include a release of information signed by the client);

• Steps to be taken in case of a data breach; and

• Steps to securely destroy data 90 days after it is no longer in use.

Ineligible Applicants

Any eligible entity that received a Process and Technology Improvement Grant award in either of the last two fiscal years (FY 2021 or FY 2022) is ineligible to apply and receive a PTI grant this fiscal year (FY 2023). This restriction only applies to the lead entity on the award (i.e., the recipient whose name appears in block 9 of the awarded project’s FNS-529) and not to partner organizations or government agencies on a particular project.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations

There is no cost sharing or matching required for this grant.

Pre-Award Costs

Pre-award costs will not be awarded for these grant projects.

Number of Applications and Partnership Criteria

As noted above, nongovernmental entities may apply for this grant, either individually with consent from the State agency or in partnership with the State agency.

For the purposes of this grant competition, State agencies may submit more than one application each, or enter into more than one partnership, as explained in the Letters of Commitment subsection below. However, if the State submits more than one application, the State must make explicit in each application its relationship to any others. State agencies that submit more than one application should carefully consider the allocation of time stated in each application. State agencies with more than one partner organization may also consider submitting a single application designed to make sub-grants to the partner organizations. Proposals forwarded by any given State agency should request funding for distinct, non-overlapping activities.

Additionally, if a State submits more than one application or is part of more than one partnership the State must ensure that costs are clearly allocated. For example, if a State submits more than one proposal and is using the same project manager under both project concepts the budget must reflect proper cost allocation.

FNS has designed this grant competition to allow State agencies to work in concert with nongovernmental entities that wish to apply for this grant through Letters of Commitment or

Endorsement. Additional information can be found in Section 4, “Application and Submission Information”.

PRE-AWARD SCREENING REQUIREMENTS

In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.205, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information. Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following:

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

• FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance;

• FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire o Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial

Capability Questionnaire (See Appendix C) that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF 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.

• 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 should 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 reasonable costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

4. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

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

CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be presented 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 application should be 25 pages or less, not including the cover sheet, executive summary, 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 submissions will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• Letters of support and/or letters of endorsement must be submitted with the application through Grants.gov. Letters submitted via email will not be considered.

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

• Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and deemed nonresponsive.

• FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

• Applications not submitted via Grants.gov will not be considered.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov 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.

The review committee will evaluate proposals against the criteria below and score them based on how well they address the requirements in Section 5 "Application Review Information".

Proposals can receive up to 109 points. FNS has provided a checklist at the beginning of this document to assist applicants in meeting the necessary requirements.

Every proposal must include the following sections: Cover Sheet, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Project Narrative (including Project Design; Organizational Experience, Staff Capability, and Management; Evaluation; and Budget Appropriateness and Economic Efficiency), and the Activities/Indicator Tracker. Unless the applicant is a State agency submitting an application on its own, a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement must be included in the application package to be considered for funding. Details on requirements for each section are described below.

Cover Sheet The cover page should include the following:

1. Grant program title;

2. Applicant’s name and mailing address;

3. Project title and subproject title (if applicable);

4. Project summary (a one to two sentence description of project); and

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

Table of Contents

Proposals must include a table of contents that mirrors the outline included in this section of the RFA and include relevant topic page numbers.

Executive Summary The executive summary must include the following:

1. The specific problem that prompted the applicant to submit a Process and Technology Improvement Grant application;

2. How exactly the project proposed in this grant application solves the problem identified;

3. Identify the State agency and/or eligible entities involved in the project;

4. Amount of funding requested;

5. Which objective area(s)/activity(ies) the proposal addresses and whether the submission includes the bonus point area(s);

6. The proposed activities and anticipated outcomes that would result from the project; and

7. Which SNAP processes will be improved by the project.

Note: The executive summary should not exceed one page.

Project Narrative The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address a solution, the expected results and/or benefits once the solution is achieved, and how it will meet the RFA purpose and objectives. The proposed project methodology should describe the project design, address program specific methodology needs, procedures, timetables, monitoring/oversight, and the organization’s project staffing. For additional details, please see Section 5 "Application Review Information" below.

The project’s narrative should include the following four sections, in the order presented below:

1. Project Design

2. Organizational Experience, Staff Capability, and Management

3. Evaluation

4. Budget Appropriateness and Economic Efficiency

Letters of Commitment or Endorsement

Unless the applicant is a State agency submitting an application on its own, a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement must be included in the application package to be considered for funding. Such letters may be addressed to the FNS Grants Officer. Applications that require a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement, which fail to provide one, will not be considered. Please refer to the letter descriptions below for additional information.

Letters of Commitment A letter of commitment is required if the grant proposal is from a State agency working in partnership with another organization(s), where the State agency is the lead entity on the award

(i.e., the recipient whose name appears in block 9 of the awarded project’s FNS-529). The State agency applying must submit a letter(s) of commitment from its partners. The letter(s) of commitment must:

• Be specific to the proposed project;

• Describe the organization’s role in the project;

• Specify the amount of time the partner organization intends to commit to the project and an attestation that it will cooperate with the grant applicant in implementing the project;

and

• Be on the respective organization’s letterhead and signed by an authorizing individual.

Letters of Endorsement FNS also welcomes grant proposals from entities other than a State agency; however, such applicants must demonstrate that the State agency strongly endorses and/or is involved in the proposed project through a letter of endorsement. This letter of endorsement serves as the “consent” requirement discussed in Section 3 “Eligibility Information.” A letter of endorsement is required if an applicant is an entity other than a State agency and is not directly partnering with a State agency on the project. Letters of endorsement from the State are also required when local or county governments submit an application. The State agency’s letter of endorsement must:

• Be specific to the proposed project;

• Explain that the State agency is aware of the project and its projected impact on the

State’s eligibility system;

• Acknowledge whether the project creates any additional work for the State agency and identify the State capacity to address the additional work;

• Express support for the proposed project;

• Describe how the proposed project will support the State agency’s current or planned technology and/or business process improvement efforts and priorities; and

• Be on the respective State agency’s letterhead and signed by an authorizing official.

Letters must address the details of the specific project. Generic letters acknowledging an ongoing partnership with the State will not be accepted.

Required Grant Application Forms The required Grants.gov forms are located at Forms Repository.

• Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family o Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424) o Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A) o Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

• SF LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) o Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities. If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed.

• Additional Required Forms and Information o Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information o SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Submission Date

Complete grant applications must be uploaded to Grants.gov by 11:59 PM EDT on the due date listed on the cover page.

• Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov. Mailed, e-mailed or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, go to the section below describing “How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov.”

• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

• FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov 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 strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration 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. Please note that upon submission, Grants.gov may send multiple confirmation notices; applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted.

FNS will not accept applications outside of Grants.gov. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications through grants.gov should contact applicant support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. This service is available 24/7.

Preparing for Electronic Submission Through Grants.gov

Applicants must register with Grants.gov and SAM.gov in order to submit an application to FNS via Grants.gov as required. FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

A UEI is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. For more information, visit the U.S. General Services Administration website.

Where do I go to learn more about the UEI?

http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/ https://sam.gov/content/home https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update?gsaredirect=entityid https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update?gsaredirect=entityid

The U.S. General Services Administration Unique Entity Identifier Update page contains the most up-to-date information about the UEI.

Note: After April 4, 2022, entities can register in SAM.gov and will be assigned their “SAM UEI.” They will no longer obtain or use a “DUNS UEI” for entity registration or reporting. For additional information on the UEI process, please visit SAM.gov.

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

• On April 4, 2022, the UEI used across the federal government changed from the DUNS number to the UEI (generated by SAM.gov).

• SAM combines federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. Visit SAM.gov for additional information.

• To register, you must have your organization’s UEI, the organization’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on the last tax return). It may take up to 5 to 7 business days or more to register and/or complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of an entity record.

• 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.

• FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin this process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account

The next step in the registration process is to create an account with grants.gov.

Applicants must know their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to complete this process. For more detailed instruction about creating a profile visit Applicant Registration.

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to: How to Apply for Grants.

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support via the toll-free number 1-800- 518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to call the Grants.gov Support Center and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue and understanding background information on the issue.

For questions related to the specific grant opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in the Section 7 "Federal Awarding Agency Contact."

https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html https://www.grants.gov/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html mailto:support@grants.gov

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EDT on the due date listed on the cover page.

Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by Grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by Grants.gov. The applicant Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) from Grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application. Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and Grants.gov Tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

When FNS successfully retrieves the application from Grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, Grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgment of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that Grants.gov receives your application.

Applications received by Grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNS funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before Grants.gov receives your application. Again, Grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role. The Grants.gov Support Center reports that some applicants end the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to process the application.

Additional Information on Grants.gov and the Registration Process:

NOTICE: Special Characters and Naming Conventions All applicants MUST follow Grants.gov guidance on file naming conventions. To avoid submission issues, please follow the guidance provided by Grants.gov per the Grants.gov Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Are there restrictions on file names for any attachment I include with my application package?

File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages. Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters (examples:

& – * % / # ’ -). This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file. To separate words in naming a file, use underscore, as in the following example: Attached_File.pdf.

Please note that if these guidelines are not followed, your application will be rejected. FNS will not accept any application rejected from Grants.gov portal due to incorrect naming conventions. Additional information and applicant resources are available at: Workspace Overview.

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/submit_application_faqs.jsp http://www.grants.gov/applicants/submit_application_faqs.jsp http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.htmld https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.htmld

5. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

EVALUATION OF GRANT APPLICATION CRITERIA

Review Criteria

FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations. FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation. If an application does not include all appropriate information (proposal narrative, budget narrative, required forms/letters), FNS will consider the application to be non-responsive and will eliminate it from further evaluation.

Evaluation Factors and Criteria

All complete applications will be reviewed competitively and scored against the criteria listed below, including:

• Project design (45 points)

• Organizational experience, staff capability, and management (15 points)

• Project evaluation (20 points)

• Budget and economic efficiency (20 points)

• Bonus points (up to 9 points)

Total points: 109

1. Project Design (45 points)

Problem Analysis

• The proposal clearly defines the problem facing the SNAP certification and eligibility determination process.

• The proposal clearly defines the solution and provides evidence or compelling justification that the proposed project will solve or ameliorate the identified problem.

o The proposal includes a proposed solution that is either innovative, building on strengths of the current SNAP processes, or helps to address ongoing issues that the applicant is encountering in their SNAP activities.

Impact

• The proposal clearly quantifies the proposed project’s direct effect on the SNAP certification and eligibility determination process and provides measurable evidence that the proposed changes will benefit the applicant, recipient, or caseworkers.

o For example, proposals may demonstrate impact by measuring time savings or cost savings, listing out the benefit(s) that applicants or participants may experience while going through the application or certification process, the percentage of the caseload that is expected to benefit, or the size of positive impact on a specific population, such as elderly applicants.

• Proposed Activities and Indicators measuring success must be mapped to the objective(s) listed in the Objective Areas (as described in Section 1 “Program Description”) using the Activities/Indicators Tracker. The proposal should also include a description of how the project integrates with and supports the State’s current or planned process improvement and/or technology initiatives.

Implementation

• The proposal clearly articulates how the applicant will implement this project.

• The proposal includes a project timeline that outlines proposed tasks and demonstrates that sufficient time is allotted for each activity.

Racial Equity and Inclusion (REI)

• The proposal analyzes the project’s impacts on specific underserved communities.5 All proposals must outline and analyze how their project will impact racial equity and inclusion. When completing this section, applicants should consider the following guiding questions. Applicants are not required to submit explicit answers to these questions or incorporate these activities into their proposals, they are only meant to assist in crafting meaningful applications.

1. How will the project reduce racial/ethnic disparities in access to SNAP? How will the project promote equity as defined in Executive Order 13985?

2. Does your project design include consultation with the SNAP participants that your project intends to serve? What type of consultation?

3. How does your State agency or organization ensure that project outputs are accessible to all SNAP participants, especially underserved populations? How will your State agency or organization measure the project outputs?

Sustainability

• The proposal shows that the applicant has a plan for sustaining the project after the grant period of performance ends.

2. Organizational Experience, Staff Capability, and Management (15 points) Oversight

• The proposal describes a plan for effective and consistent oversight by qualified project managers that will be implemented throughout the project.

• The proposal includes an organizational chart for the project, including names of key personnel where applicable.

Communication

• The proposal includes an internal communication plan.

• If applicable, the proposal provides a communication plan for communicating externally with partner organizations.

Staff

• The proposal identifies the project director or manager and other key staff.

5 Underserved populations may include: persons of color; persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP); immigrant communities and mixed status families; veterans; college students; and all other populations listed as underserved communities in E.O. 13985 “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/?msclkid=345b4e48afa511ec83be234043a9c8e4 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/?msclkid=345b4e48afa511ec83be234043a9c8e4 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/?msclkid=345b4e48afa511ec83be234043a9c8e4

• The proposal includes resumes and proposed project job descriptions that demonstrate that staff have the appropriate technical…