FY24 NOFO Int'l Climate Hub (FINAL).pdf

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

USDA International Climate Hub Collaboration

Application Submission Deadline: August 9, 2024

Summary The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, International Climate Hub, announces this funding opportunity to support the Technical Agricultural Assistance Program by issuing new award(s). This opportunity is available to state cooperative institutions and other colleges and universities in the United States and is intended to support climate-informed decision making domestically and internationally.

A. Program Description The International Climate Hub is a year-old USDA initiative that builds on the model of USDA’s 10 regional climate hubs to translate climate science into action around the world. It supports domestic and international natural resource managers, country officials, researchers, students, and communities with three streams of work: scientific research and data synthesis; tools and resources; and training, outreach, and convening opportunities. These efforts are intended to lead to more climate-informed decision making, both at home and abroad. The International Climate Hub seeks to work closely with an institution with comparable goals to develop and execute initiatives where collaboration would yield stronger results than independent efforts.

This collaboration would involve climate-smart agriculture, forestry, and ranching initiatives with global interest and impact; mutually beneficial research and development of outputs such as resources, tools, trainings, and events on climate-smart topics that could result in practical and scalable application of that research to international users and audiences; and technical, programmatic, human capital, and administrative support for these endeavors. The selected recipient would work closely with the members of the International Climate Hub on the conception, planning, development, and delivery of the agreed work. It would involve the designation of qualified personnel as appropriate to accomplish this work, along with management of subawards, if necessary.

SCOPE AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The goal of this Notice of Funding Opportunity is to research and develop tangible outputs that analyze, demonstrate or predict climate impacts on global working lands and build resilience through recommended adaptation strategies or that reduce greenhouse gas impacts through recommended mitigation strategies; to improve international climate literacy involving the agriculture, ranching and forestry sectors; and to improve International Climate Hub information and services, and other related topics as proposed. The resulting outputs could include, but are not limited to, white papers published or co-published in peer-reviewed journals, summaries for non-technical audiences for the International Climate Hub website, the creation of tools for the audiences of the International Climate Hub, participation in trainings on the results of the

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/international research and outputs, creation of surveys, creation of training modules for International Climate Hub audiences, development of webinars, and the creation of supporting international events, study tours, and initiatives to increase climate related decision making and understanding in natural resources management.

Applications must include the following elements:

• Proposed research and outputs (e.g. summaries for non-technical audiences, decision-support tools, trainings, supporting international symposiums, etc.) that would analyze, demonstrate, or predict specified climate impacts or challenges affecting international farmers, ranchers, and/or foresters and that would include localized or regionally appropriate adaptation strategies to increase resilience of those working lands to the specified climate impacts or that would seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through recommended mitigation strategies in these sectors, or other related research and outputs as proposed, to include the expected international impact from this research and outputs.

• Proposed research and outputs (e.g. surveys, training modules, international events, tools, etc.) that would identify unfulfilled climate information needs of the International Climate Hub’s primary audiences (global farmers/ranchers/foresters, country officials, international youth and communities, researchers), that would identify the factors contributing to their decision making, and that would propose outputs to improve their climate literacy and climate-related decision making, to include the expected international impact from this research and outputs.

• Provision of a climate scientific coordinator to provide overall coordination of this proposed research and outputs and to work closely with the International Climate Hub.

Funding Opportunity Number

USDA-FAS-10960-0700-10.-24-0010

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 & 3319a

B. Federal Award Information

Total Available Federal Funding: $575,590

The initial funding amount will be $575,590. Subject to availability of funding, a cumulative total of $2,575,590, 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: September 15, 2024

Projected Period of Performance End: September 14, 2027

Type of Assistance Instrument:

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

This type of agreement allows for a collaborative relationship between USDA/FAS, the selected recipient, and other collaborating partners. The particular scope and depth of this collaboration may vary throughout performance, depending on the needs of the activity and the desires of the participants.

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 cooperative institutions or other colleges and universities in the United States, as defined at 7 USC 3103

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 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.

Applicants should utilize active/nonexpired forms available on grants.gov

Multiple Applications/Awards http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

An individual applicant may submit more than one application in response to this NOFO, and may be offered more than one award.

In cases where a single entity is selected for more than one award, USDA/FAS may request to combine the corresponding application(s) into a single award for ease of administration.

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 within 4 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.

While these guidelines may establish the minimum type size requirements, applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in selection of an appropriate font 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: August 2, 2024

Applicants may submit questions about this funding opportunity to the Section G contact.

Submission Dates and Times Application Submission Deadline: August 9, 2024 at 11:59pm EST (UTC -05:00)

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: September 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.

Since this award will be incrementally funded, the detailed budget and narrative should reflect a total of $2,575,590 for 3 years with a break down for every year, including $575,590 for the first year.

(i) Indirect costs are statutorily capped at 10% for cost reimbursable agreements

• A detailed project narrative or plan of operation that:

(i) Describes the proposed research and outputs qualitatively and quantitatively, with indication of all proposed research and output elements, timelines, optimal staffing levels and qualified personnel – including one dedicated climate science coordinator to manage proposed activities. Optimal staffing level refers to an adequate number of personnel in place to undertake the activities within the period of performance. Qualified personnel are those with demonstrated, successful, practical experience implementing similar projects.

(ii) Describes the expected international impact of the proposed research and outputs, including how it would be expected to analyze, demonstrate, or predict specified climate impacts on global working lands and how it would build resilience of global working lands through recommended localized or regionally appropriate adaptation strategies for those impacts or how it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions through recommended mitigation strategies or how it would have similar international impacts for similar proposed projects; and how it would improve international climate literacy and climate-informed decision making in the global agriculture, ranching and forestry sectors by identifying unfulfilled climate information needs of the primary audiences of the International Climate Hub (global farmers/ranchers/foresters, country officials, international youth and communities, researchers), by identifying factors contributing to their climate-informed decision-making, and by recommending improvements to International Climate Hub information and services, or how similar proposed projects would have similar international impacts.

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

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, 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

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/ 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) http://login.gov/help 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 or 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.

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 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 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 4 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.

Evaluation Criteria

Factor 1: Technical merit and feasibility (25 Points) The applicant will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which they demonstrate the merit of the proposed activities, including applicability and connection to the NOFO goals in Section A;

the extent to which the proposed activities are germane to the issues/objectives described, and link to success in achieving objectives.

• The overall project plan and design is relevant to the specified objectives outlined in Section A of this NOFO. (10 points)

• The applicant’s proposal clearly outlines all proposed research and output elements, timelines, optimal staffing levels and qualified personnel, and a proposed timeline. (10 points)

• The applicant’s proposal describes a realistic, effective, and sound approach for achieving the program objectives described in Section A. (5 points)

Factor 2: Applicant’s technical expertise, capacity, and ability (30 Points) The applicant will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which they demonstrate that they have the technical expertise and capacity to implement the projects described in a credible, effective, and time-bound manner, including:

• The applicant´s proposal demonstrates technical knowledge of the subject areas proposed. (10 points)

• The applicant´s proposal demonstrates the expertise and capacity to implement the research and outputs and meet the objectives of Section A of the NOFO. (10 points)

• The applicant´s proposal demonstrates optimal staffing levels and qualified personnel to undertake the activities described in their proposal, including a dedicated climate science coordinator for overall project coordination. Optimal staffing level refers to an adequate number of personnel in place to undertake the activities within the period of performance.

Qualified personnel are those with demonstrated, successful, practical experience implementing similar projects. (10 points)

Factor 3: International impact of the proposed activities (30 Points) The applicant will be evaluated on the overall quality and extent to which the proposed research and outputs would be expected to have an international impact, by following a chain of cause-and-effect with no significant gaps from one level in the causal hierarchy to the next, in the proposal’s ability to:

• Help global farmers, ranchers, and/or foresters analyze, understand, or predict climate impacts on their working lands and obtain localized or regionally appropriate adaptation strategies to become more resilient to climate impacts or to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through mitigation strategies in these sectors, or similar international impacts for similar proposed projects. (15 points)

• Help the primary international audiences of the International Climate Hub (global farmers/ranchers/foresters, country officials, international youth and communities, researchers), improve their climate literacy and climate-informed decision making by identifying their unfulfilled climate-related information needs, the factors that contribute to their climate-informed decision making, and proposed outputs that would improve their climate literacy and climate-informed decision-making, or similar international impacts for similar proposed projects. (15 points)

Factor 4: Cost-effectiveness (5 Points) Applications will be evaluated on the reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and adequacy of the proposed budget to accomplish the project. The budget will be evaluated on cost savings, where available, and the inclusion of a budget narrative for each line item. For cost effectiveness, the agency will consider “value for money” in its evaluation of the program. This factor does not consider the cost alone, but rather the cost relative to the value for the work to be performed.

Note that the agency’s available funding will not exceed the anticipated cumulative funding amount shown in Section B.

Factor 5: Professional formatting, spelling, and grammar (5 Points) The applicant will be evaluated on the extent to which their project narrative and budget documents are detailed, organized, in-scope, and appropriate including demonstration of professional organization and formatting throughout the project narrative and supporting documents with limited spelling and grammatical errors.

Factor 6: Past Performance (5 Points) Applicants who performed federally funded assistance agreements in the last 3 years, will also be evaluated based on their ability to successfully complete and manage the proposed project considering their:

• Past performance in successfully completing and managing the assistance agreements identified in response to Section D of the solicitation.

• 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.

• Organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project.

Note: In evaluating applicants under the first two items of this criteria, 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 (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.

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 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 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/3321 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/41/2313 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/2/200.206

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.

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 semi-annually, 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 semi-annually, 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 https://www.fas.usda.gov/grants/general_terms_and_conditions/default.asp 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

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.

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: Barbara Bennett Email Address: Barbara.Bennett1@usda.gov Phone Number: (202) 384-4468 Hours of Operation: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm EDT

H. Other Information Incremental Funding This award will be incrementally funded with a potential cumulative total of $2,575,590over the three-year period of performance. The first year of funding will be $575,590. The detailed budget and narrative should reflect a total budget of $2,575,590for 3 years with a break down for every year, including $575,590 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.