FY24 Bangladesh PH NOFO - USDA-FAS-10960-0700-10-24-0003.pdf

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Strengthening Bangladesh’s Trade Facilitative Phytosanitary Regulatory Systems

Application Submission Deadline: March 15, 2024

Summary The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Trade and Regulatory Capacity Building, announces this funding opportunity to support the Technical Agricultural Assistance Program by issuing a new award(s). This opportunity is available to public or private agricultural experiment stations, public or private cooperative extension services, all colleges and universities, research or education institutions and organizations, Federal or private agencies and organizations, individuals, and any other organization, whether foreign or domestic which is able to support improving Bangladesh’s understanding of prevailing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreements and international trade standards.

A. Program Description FAS seeks to build upon past and current USDA/FAS-sponsored sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory technical assistance work in Bangladesh that focused on building the transparency and technical skills of the Government of Bangladesh’s National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO). Past work focused on improving the NPPO’s knowledge of, and, in turn, adherence to, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)-established standards through workshops and training series. The recipient will work closely with the Bangladesh NPPO, stakeholders within Bangladesh’s agricultural sector, USDA/FAS, and donor in-country partners to strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of the NPPO to implement its mandates guided by the IPPC. This program will also collaborate with regional partner programs in South and Southeast Asia to facilitate regional dialogues on SPS regulatory harmonization.

FAS will support the recipient to provide technical, strategic, and requisite logistical support for activities to strengthen Bangladesh´s ability to conduct pest risk analyses, utilize integrated pest management strategies, promote new pest control technology such as biopesticide and biocontrol, integrate SPS information systems including data management, and digital tools. To achieve sustained results, it is beneficial to have in-country presence and strong network in facilitating SPS regulatory technical assistance and a strong network with the Government of Bangladesh to successfully communicate the importance of meeting SPS international standards.

The award aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Identification of gaps in Bangladesh’s current regulatory structures and policies, specifically: challenges of Bangladesh’s inconsistent import and export regulations and procedures that pose barriers to trade.

2. Incorporation of an institutionalized framework within the Bangladesh NPPO to monitoring and surveilling quarantine pests.

3. Understanding and ability of the Bangladesh NPPO to conduct in-house Pest Risk Analyses (PRAs).

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service

4. Integration of improved technology and electronic resources for the purposes of NPPO training and communication.

5. Implementation of new pest control technologies, such as biopesticides and biocontrol, through best practices, awareness-building, and the incorporation of Integrated Pest Management.

6. Collaboration with agricultural local academic institutions and private industries to synergize efforts.

7. Accurately record and assess program outcomes in a monitoring, evaluation and learning plan.

Target Outcomes:

• The Bangladesh NPPO will better understand international, science based SPS standards and obligations aligned with the World Trade Organization agreements.

• Bangladesh will incorporate scientific best practices into a biopesticide regulatory framework for biopesticide registration and post-registration processes.

• The Government of Bangladesh will improve the use SPS knowledge management processes to facilitate knowledge retention and transfer, private sector outreach, and inter-departmental communication.

• The Government of Bangladesh will improve engagement with regional collaborators to support knowledge exchange and regulatory harmonization across South and Southeast Asia.

Funding Opportunity Number

USDA-FAS-10960-0700-10.-24-0003

Assistance Listing Number

10.960 Technical Agricultural Assistance

Authorizing Legislation National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, PL 95-113, as amended, 7 USC § 3291.

B. Federal Award Information

Total Available Federal Funding: The initial funding amount will be $200,000.

Subject to availability of funding, a cumulative total of up to $500,000, may be available throughout the period of performance of the award. See Section H, Other information for additional information on incremental funding.

Anticipated Number of Awards: 1

Cost Share/Match Requirement: None/Not Required

Projected Period of Performance Start: April 15, 2024

Projected Period of Performance End: September 30, 2027

Extensions to this program are permitted, subject to approval

Type of Assistance Instrument:

USDA/FAS anticipates that a Cooperative Agreement will be funded pursuant to this funding opportunity.

This type of agreement provides for substantial involvement between USDA/FAS and/or other USDA agencies, and the selected applicant in the performance of the project. This may include:

• close monitoring of the successful applicant’s performance to verify the results proposed by the applicant;

• collaboration during performance of the scope of work;

• in accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, review of proposed procurement;

• approving qualifications of key personnel (USDA will not select the recipient’s employees or contractors; but may disallow costs for specific individuals where required by statute or regulation); and

• review and comment on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient).

Additional Awards USDA/FAS reserves the right to make additional awards under this solicitation, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than 6 months after the original selection decisions.

No Awards USDA/FAS reserves the right to make no awards under this competition.

C. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants: State agricultural experiment stations, State cooperative extension services, all colleges and universities, other research or education institutions and organizations, Federal and private agencies and organizations, individuals, and any other organization, whether foreign or domestic.

All applicants must have an active registration in the U.S. Government System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) before the application submission deadline of the announcement;

applicants with inactive, expired, pending, or excluded listings will be deemed ineligible.

Exceptions, waivers, or extensions will not be considered. Please contact the program officer(s) listed in Section G, Federal Awarding Agency Contact, if you have questions about this requirement. Applicants with inactive, expired, pending, or excluded listings will be deemed ineligible. Exceptions, waivers, or extensions will not be considered. Please contact the program http://www.sam.gov/ officer(s) listed in Section G, Federal Awarding Agency Contact, if you have questions about this requirement.

Cost Share/Match Requirement: None/Not Required

Ineligible activities: If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks or activities, that portion of the application will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire application ineligible for funding.

Application packages submitted on expired/inactive standard forms, will be deemed ineligible.

Applicants must ensure they are utilizing the active/nonexpired forms available on grants.gov.

Multiple Applications/Awards An individual applicant may submit more than one application in response to this NOFO, and may not be offered more than one award.

Substantial Compliance All applications will be reviewed for eligibility and must meet the eligibility requirements described in Section C to be considered eligible. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified 30 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section D of this solicitation or else they will be rejected. However, where a page limit is expressed in Section D with respect to the application, or parts thereof, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed. Applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in application format, including selecting a legible font type and size for use in the application.

Evidence of Eligibility Applicants are responsible for including documentation, if necessary, establishing that they meet the stated eligibility requirements, when it is not immediately obvious. Applicants should not presume that USDA/FAS is sufficiently familiar with their organization that this is unnecessary, and USDA/FAS will not make assumptions as to the nature of the applicant’s organization.

D. Application and Submission Information

This announcement contains all information necessary to apply to this funding opportunity.

Deadline for Question Submission: February 26, 2024

Applicants may submit questions regarding this announcement via email to the USDA contact listed in Section G. Responses to questions will be given within five (5) business days.

Submission Dates and Times Application Submission Deadline: March 15, 2024 at 11:59pm EST (UTC -05:00) https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

Applications received after this time will not be accepted. Applicants are advised to make their submissions 1-2 days before this deadline in case of computer problems

Anticipated Award Date: April 15, 2024

Content and Form of Application Submission A complete application package must include:

• Standard Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, showing the Unique Entity Identifier, and signed by the applicant

• Standard Form SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs, showing the budget categorization. Applicants are advised to consult 2 CFR 200 Subpart E for guidance on proper categorization of cost items. An improper categorization will not itself be grounds for a determination of ineligibility but may delay approval and/or adversely impact the application’s evaluation scoring.

• A detailed budget and narrative, in which cost items are quantified and described in sufficient detail to enable USDA/FAS to independently determine that the proposed costs are reasonable and allowable for the project and consistent with applicable regulations.

o If indirect costs are included in the budget, attach a copy of the latest indirect cost rate agreement negotiated with a cognizant federal agency. If a negotiated indirect cost agreement does not exist, please attach a description of the basis for the indirect cost calculation. If electing to utilize the de minimis rate, consistent with 2 CFR 200.414(f), please include a statement of election.

o Since this award will be incrementally funded, the detailed budget and narrative should reflect a total of $500,000 for 2.5 years with a break down for every year, including $200,000 for the first year.

o As part of the budget narrative, please include illustrative budgets for the venue;

accommodation; transportation; catering; marketing; and other activities.

• A detailed project narrative or plan of operation, including:

o Description of your technical approach for achieving the goal and each of the objectives of the program as described in Section A.

o Collaborate with host-country government or relevant research institutions or relevant stakeholders.

o Description of how you will evaluate the success of the program.

o Description of experience conducting relevant activities in Bangladesh.

o Description of in-country presence and experience working with the Government of Bangladesh.

Detailed connections with stakeholders from the Bangladesh NPPO and plant health protection apparatuses, corroborated by current partner networks and listed Past Performance (see next section); stakeholders may be from public or private institutions o Detailed workshop and training goals which delineate how outcomes will be accomplished through trainings and related activities.

o Outlined approaches to fostering participant engagement, interaction and knowledge sharing during workshops.

• Standard Form SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, if applicable to the applicant

• Applications should be complete and free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Programmatic Capability and Past Performance Submit a list of federally funded assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) that your organization performed within the last three years (no more than 5 agreements, and preferably USDA or USDA/FAS agreements) and describe:

(i) whether, and how, you were able to successfully complete and manage those agreements; and

(ii) your history of meeting the reporting requirements under those agreements including whether you adequately and timely reported on your progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes of those agreements (and if not, explain why not) and whether you submitted acceptable final technical reports under the agreements; and

(iii) your organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project, and your staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

In evaluating applicants under these factors in Section E, USDA/FAS will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources, including information from USDA/FAS files and from current/prior grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information provided by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or past reporting information, please indicate this in the application and you will receive a neutral score for these factors (a neutral score is half of the total points available in a subset of possible points). If you do not provide any response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors.

Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) Each applicant is required to:

(i) Have an active registration in SAM before submitting its application;

(ii) Have assented to the federal assistance certifications in the SAM platform;

(iii) Provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in its application; and

(iv) 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.

SAM.gov Registration Instructions Organizations applying to this funding opportunity must have an active SAM.gov registration. If you have never done business with the Federal Government, you will need to register your organization in SAM.gov. If you do not have a SAM.gov account, then you will create an account using login.gov1 to complete your SAM.gov registration. SAM.gov registration is FREE. The process for entity registrations includes obtaining Unique Entity ID (UEI), a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned an entity by SAM.gov, and requires assertions, 1 Login.gov a secure sign in service used by the public to sign into Federal Agency systems including SAM.gov and Grants.gov. For help with login.gov accounts you should visit http://login.gov/help.

https://login.gov/ http://login.gov/help representations and certifications, and other information about your organization. Please review the Entity Registration Checklist for details on this process.

Entities outside the United States (defined at 2 CFR 200.1 as “foreign organizations” and “foreign public entities”) must obtain a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code prior to SAM.gov registration An NCAGE is required for all foreign entities prior to registering in SAM.gov. You can complete the registration once you enter the NCAGE. You can submit your request for an NCAGE Code by going to the NATO Support Activity (NSPA) NCAGE Request Tool at CAGE/NCAGE Code Request which contains detailed instructions.

If you have done business with the Federal Government previously, you can check your entity status using your government issued UEI to determine if your registration is active. SAM.gov requires you renew your registration every 365 days to keep it active.

Please note that SAM.gov registration is different than obtaining a UEI only. Obtaining an UEI only validates your organization’s legal business name and address. Please review the Frequently Asked Question on the difference for additional details.

Organizations should ensure that their SAM.gov registration includes a current e-Business (EBiz) point of contact name and email address. The EBiz point of contact is critical for Grants.gov Registration and system functionality.

Contact the Federal Service Desk for help with your SAM.gov account, to resolve technical issues or chat with a help desk agent: (866) 606-8220. The Federal Service desk hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm ET.

Intergovernmental Review Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs, may be applicable to awards resulting from this announcement. USDA implemented the Executive Order in 2 CFR

415.5. USDA/FAS may require applicants selected for funding to provide a copy of their application to their State Point of Contact (SPOC) for review. These reviews are not required before submitting an application. Only applicants that USDA/FAS selects for funding under this announcement are subject to the Intergovernmental Review requirement. For more information about USDA’s implementation for Intergovernmental Review, please visit https://www.usda.gov/ocfo/federal-financial-assistance-policy/intergovernmental-review#:~:text=Executive%20Order%20(EO)%2012372%2C,of%20proposed%20Federal%20fi nancial%20assistance.

Funding Restrictions Generally, funds may not be used in any manner that is prohibited by applicable regulations, including 2 CFR Part 200 and 2 CFR Part 400. Awards issued pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity may only be used for the purpose set forth in the award, consistent with the statutory authority for the award. Capital expenses, such as the purchase of equipment, not entirely attributable to this award, must be pro-rated.

https://www.fsd.gov/sys_attachment.do?sys_id=622e0a761b8fe114cc45ea04bc4bcb9a https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1#p-200.1(Foreign%20organization) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1#p-200.1(Foreign%20public%20entity) https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/CageTool/home https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0051214&sys_kb_id=dd40f4ef1b9641d0937fa64ce54bcb7a&spa=1 https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0051214&sys_kb_id=dd40f4ef1b9641d0937fa64ce54bcb7a&spa=1 https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp https://www.usda.gov/ocfo/federal-financial-assistance-policy/intergovernmental-review#:%7E:text=Executive%20Order%20(EO)%2012372%2C,of%20proposed%20Federal%20financial%20assistance https://www.usda.gov/ocfo/federal-financial-assistance-policy/intergovernmental-review#:%7E:text=Executive%20Order%20(EO)%2012372%2C,of%20proposed%20Federal%20financial%20assistance https://www.usda.gov/ocfo/federal-financial-assistance-policy/intergovernmental-review#:%7E:text=Executive%20Order%20(EO)%2012372%2C,of%20proposed%20Federal%20financial%20assistance

For example, agreement funds and other support may not be used for matching contributions for other federal grants or cooperative agreements, lobbying, or intervention in federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings. Federal employees are prohibited from acting as an agent of the applicant in any capacity (paid or unpaid) on any proposal submitted under this program. Also, federal funds may not be used to sue the Federal Government or any other government entity.

Compensation for personal services: Employees, consultants, or other personnel, including those of subrecipients, and regardless of the method of engagement, may not exceed the pro-rata equivalent of GS-15 on the General Schedule (for 2024, $159,950 per year, $612.84 per day, or $76.60 per hour). Non-monetizable fringe benefits, such as health insurance coverage, are not included to this ceiling.

Indirect Costs: In general, costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than one cost objective but not readily assignable to specific awards, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved, are considered indirect costs. These may include facilities not specific to individual projects, enterprise-wide services such as IT, and enterprise management. Pursuant to USDA Departmental Regulation DR2255-001, a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with a cognizant U.S. Government agency will be honored, except where prohibited by statute.

Other Submission Information Applications should be submitted through the ezFedGrants system at https://grants.fms.usda.gov/

Applicants who require assistance with any USDA-managed computer system should reach out to the program officer(s) listed in Section G, Federal Awarding Agency Contact, at least 5 business days in advance of the application submission deadline. Applicants should provide as much detail as possible to facilitate resolution of the issue.

E. Application Review Information

Review and Selection Process In all cases, the agency will conduct an initial responsiveness review of all applications submitted to determine:

1) the application was submitted on time as specified in this announcement (See Section D. Application and Submission Information);

2) the applicant is eligible (see Section C. Eligibility Information);

3) all the required forms and documents are submitted no later than the Application Submission Deadline specified in Section D. Application and Submission Information, Content and Form of Application Submission.

If an applicant is determined to be ineligible or an application is determined to be incomplete, the agency will notify the applicant prior to commencing with evaluation of applications, usually within 5 business days of the Application Submission Deadline. An applicant that feels such a determination is made in error may request reconsideration, highlighting evidence supporting their claim, by email to the program officer(s) listed in Section G, Federal Awarding Agency Contact, within 3 business days of notification.

The agency will convene a review panel, which may include both federal and non-federal reviewers, to review the eligible applications against the evaluation criteria described below. The reviewers will ensure that the applicant is capable of delivering the programs/activities as described in the announcement based on the applicant’s project narrative and assign a score and provide summary comments based on the evaluation criteria identified below. The review panel will make a recommendation list to the selecting official, who is not a member of the panel.

The selecting official may select applications out of rank order in consideration of strategic program priorities, such as geographical distribution, incorporation of minority-serving institutions, or congressional directive. Selection determinations are final and cannot be appealed.

Prior to selection, the agency may contact the highest-ranking applicants to seek clarification and to negotiate technical and programmatic aspects of the application. If an application includes a subaward, FAS may request to speak with all parties included in the application to ensure sufficient planning and coordination has taken place prior to making an award.

Evaluation Criteria Each eligible application will be evaluated according to the criteria set forth below. Applicants must directly and explicitly address the evaluation factors in their application.

Technical Approach and Evaluation Plan (50 points total) Applications will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which their project narrative fulfills the objectives of the program as outlined in Section A. This includes the strength of proposed approach on the following elements:

i. Establish project goals and outcomes to meet the phytosanitary regulatory technical assistance objectives. (15 Points)

ii. Provide detailed workshop and training goals and delineate how outcomes will be accomplished. (10 Points)

iii. Outline approach on participant engagement, interaction and knowledge sharing during workshops. (10 Points)

iv. Describe in-country engagement plan with the Government of Bangladesh and relevant stakeholders as collaborators. (15 Points)

Budget (25 points total) Applicants will be evaluated on the reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and adequacy of the proposed budget to accomplish the project, along with the extent and quality to which the budget documents are detailed, organized, in-scope, and appropriate, including:

i. Applicant’s demonstration that the proposed budget is appropriate for the number of activities, type of activities, and number of participants. (15 Points)

ii. Applicant’s use of a detailed budget table that utilizes cost item categories and includes appropriate cost savings where available. (10 Points)

Past Performance (15 points)

Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their ability to successfully complete and manage the proposed project considering their:

i. Past performance in successfully completing and managing the assistance agreements identified in response to Section D of the solicitation. (5 Points)

ii. History of meeting the reporting requirements under the assistance agreements identified in response to Section D of the solicitation including whether the applicant submitted acceptable final technical reports under those agreements and the extent to which the applicant adequately and timely reported on their progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes under those agreements and if such progress was not being made whether the applicant adequately reported why not. (3 Points)

iii. Organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project. (3 Points)

iv. Staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project. (4 Points)

Note: In evaluating applicants under items i and ii of this criterion, USDA/FAS will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources including agency files and prior/current grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information supplied by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or past reporting information, please indicate this in the application and you will receive a neutral score for these subfactors (items i and ii above-a neutral score is half of the total points available in a subset of possible points). If you do not provide any response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors.

Professional Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Utilized (10 Pts) Applicants will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which they demonstrate professional organization, and formatting throughout the project narrative and supporting documents with limited spelling and grammatical errors.

Integrity in Performance Prior to making a Federal award, the Federal awarding agency is required by 31 USC 3321 and 41 USC 2313 to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualification or financial integrity information. Therefore, application evaluation criteria may include the following risk based considerations of the applicant: (1) financial stability; (2) quality of management systems and ability to meet management standards; (3) history of performance in managing federal award; (4) reports and findings from audits; and (5) ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements.

Prior to making a federal award with a total amount of Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, currently $250,000, the federal agency is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM.gov (currently FAPIIS).

• An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM.gov and comment on any information https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/3321 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/41/2313 about itself that a federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM.gov.

• The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 2

CFR § 200.206

Conflict of Interest The Applicant’s Conflict of Interest (COI) Point of Contact as defined in USDA/FAS Conflict of Interest Policy must notify the USDA/FAS contact identified in Section G of this solicitation of any actual or potential conflict of interest that they are aware of that may provide the Applicant with an unfair competitive advantage in competing for USDA/FAS financial assistance awards within 10 calendar days of becoming aware of the conflict of interest. Examples of an unfair competitive advantage include but are not limited to situations in which an USDA/FAS employee reviewed and commented on or drafted all or part of an applicant’s application. Note that USDA/FAS does not generally consider receiving information from an USDA/FAS employee limited to whether the applicant or the applicant’s proposed project is eligible to compete for funding to confer an unfair competitive advantage. In addition, assistance agreements made under this solicitation will include a term and condition notifying recipients of their COI disclosure obligations and responsibilities under the award including the need to have systems in place to address, resolve and disclose COIs to USDA/FAS.

F. Federal Award Administration Information Federal Award Notices Successful applicants will be notified of the status of their application/award by email. This notification is not authorization to proceed, and such notification should be construed as provisional.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements All successful applicants for all grant and cooperative agreements are required to comply with the applicable General Administrative Terms and Conditions, which can be found at https://www.fas.usda.gov/grants/general_terms_and_conditions/default.asp. The applicant is presumed to have read, understood, and accepted these terms when accepting a USDA/FAS award. Applicants with questions about the applicable terms should contact the program officer(s) listed in Section G, Federal Awarding Agency Contact.

The applicable Terms and Conditions will be for the last year specified at that URL.

Before accepting an award, the applicant should carefully read the award package for instructions on administering the award and the terms and conditions associated with responsibilities under Federal Awards. Recipients must accept all conditions in this NOFO as well as any Special Terms and Conditions in the Notice of Award to receive an award under this program.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/2/200.206 https://www.fas.usda.gov/grants/general_terms_and_conditions/default.asp

Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting Applicants must ensure that they have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the subaward and executive total compensation reporting requirements established at 2 CFR 170, unless they quality for an exception from the requirements, should they be selected for funding.

Mandatory Disclosures As required by 2 CFR 200.113, non-federal entities or applicants for a Federal award must disclose, in a timely manner, in writing to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity all violations of Federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the Federal award. Failure to make required disclosures can result in any of the remedies described in 2 CFR 200.339 including suspension and debarment.

Reporting Financial Reports, using form SF-425, Federal Financial Report (FFR), must be submitted quarterly, for the periods ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 30, within 30 days of the end of the reporting period. A final financial report must be submitted within 120 days of the end date of the agreement.

Performance Progress Reports must be submitted quarterly, for the periods ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 30, within 30 days of the end of the reporting period. A final performance progress report must be submitted within 120 days of the end date of the agreement. The recipient may use any appropriate format for performance progress reports, provided the report includes:

a) A comparison of actual accomplishments to those projected for the period;

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

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

Recipients are encouraged to include photographs and other supplemental material in performance progress reports. For awards in which the total lifetime value exceeds $500,000, additional reporting may be required as described in Appendix XII to 2 CFR 200.

Monitoring USDA/FAS through its authorized representatives, has the right, at all reasonable times, to make site visits to review project accomplishments and management control systems and to provide such technical assistance as may be required. During site visits, USDA/FAS will review recipients’ files related to the program.

As part of any monitoring and program evaluation activities, grant recipients must permit USDA/FAS, upon reasonable notice, to review assistance agreement-related records and to interview the organization’s staff and clients regarding the program, and to respond in a timely and accurate manner to FAS requests for information relating to the program.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-170.210 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-170.210 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-B/section-200.113 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR86b76dde0e1e9dc/section-200.339 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/2/appendix-XII_to_part_200

Closeout Within 120 days after the end of the period of performance, recipients must submit a final FFR and final progress report detailing all accomplishments and a qualitative summary of the impact of those accomplishments throughout the period of performance. After final reports have been reviewed and approved by the agency, and any residual amount due to the recipient or due to be returned to the agency, the award is subject to closeout. Acceptance of final reports by the agency constitutes a closeout of the award with no further notice or obligation to either party.

This acceptance will indicate the period of performance has expired, and any remaining funds will be deobligated. Records must be retained for a minimum of three years after the final reports are submitted.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact For all inquiries, contact:

Name: Jessica Mudjitaba-Fernández Email Address: Jessica.Mudjitaba-Fernandez@usda.gov Phone Number: +1 301-466-0027 Hours of Operation: 9am—4pm, Monday through Friday

H. Other Information

Incremental Funding These awards will be incrementally funded with a potential cumulative total of $500,000 over the 2-year period of performance. The first year of funding will be $200,000. The detailed budget and narrative should reflect a total budget of $500,000 for 2 years with a break down for every year, including $200,000 for the first year. All incremental funding will be based on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

Budget Revisions Transfers of funds between direct cost categories in the approved budget when such cumulative transfers among those direct cost categories exceed ten percent of the total budget approved in this Award require written approval from the agency. The total budget amount may not be increased without a bilaterally executed amendment to the award.

Post-award program income In the event program income becomes available to the recipient post-award, it is the recipient’s responsibility to notify the USDA/FAS Program Manager to explain how that development occurred, as part of their request for guidance and/or approval. If approval is granted, an award modification will be issued with an explanatory note in the remarks section of the face page concerning guidance and/or options pertaining to the recipient’s approved request. All instances of program income shall be listed in the progress and financial reports.

Electronic Signatures Consistent with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN Act), USDA/FAS uses and accepts electronic signatures for application and award documents.

USDA/FAS will neither solicit nor send physical copies of documents.

mailto:Jessica.Mudjitaba-Fernandez@usda.gov