HHE_ RFA__final06-14-19.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: Household Energy and Clean Indoor and Ambient Air

ACTION: Request for Applications (RFA)

RFA NUMBER: EPA-OAR-ORIA-19-03

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO: 66.034

IMPORTANT DATES

June 19, 2019 RFA OPENS

August 6, 2019 RFA CLOSES – APPLICATIONS DUE

September 6, 2019 ANTICIPATED NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

December 6, 2019 ANTICIPATED AWARD

The closing date and time for receipt of applications is August 6, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern

Time (ET) to be considered for funding. Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) by the closing date and time.

To allow for efficient management of the competitive process, EPA requests submittal of an informal notice of an Intent to Apply by close of business July 12, 2019 to Kim Durkin at durkin.kim@epa.gov. Submission of Intent to apply is optional; it is a process management tool that will allow EPA to better anticipate the total staff time required for efficient review, evaluation, and selection of submitted applications.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications to improve human health and the environment by reducing exposure in developing countries from indoor air pollution generated from household energy use. EPA is soliciting applications for projects that support this effort through:

• capacity building;

• technical assistance;

• strengthening of policies, standards, and supply chains for household energy technologies;

• the transition to cleaner fuels; and

• information exchanges.

Eligible entities with experience conducting capacity building and technical assistance efforts that have achieved positive outcomes in the international household energy and health sector are encouraged to submit applications that will reduce indoor exposure to harmful air pollutants from household energy use and yield measurable environmental outcomes.

http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:durkin.kim@epa.gov

NOTE: If you intend to name a contractor (including an individual consultant) or a subrecipient as a project partner or otherwise in your application, EPA recommends that you carefully review, and comply with, the directions contained in the “Contracts and Subawards” clause that can be accessed under the Section IV.E clause for “Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated

Into the Solicitation.”

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $900,000, with up to $300,000 available annually per award, for up to three years.

EPA anticipates awarding 1 to 2 cooperative agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

B. Scope of Work

C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage, Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes and Performance Measures

D. Statutory Authority

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. What is the Amount of Funding Available?

B. Partial Funding

C. How Many Agreements Will EPA Award in This Competition?

D. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting From This Solicitation?

E. Funding Type

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Entities

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures

B. Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions (see Appendix A)

C. Content of Application Submission

D. Submission Date and Times

E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Evaluation Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

C. Other Factors

D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

C. Reporting Requirement

D. Disputes

E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

APPENDIX A - Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions

APPENDIX B – Budget Detail Sample

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

Approximately three billion people around the world, including 600,000 low-income

Americans, cook their food and/or heat their homes over open fires or with rudimentary stoves using biomass fuel (e.g., wood, dung, crop residues) and/or coal. The resulting exposure to extraordinarily high levels of indoor air pollution results in approximately three to four million premature deaths worldwide annually (exceeding the combined deaths attributable to malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis). Other significant health impacts include severe burns and poisoning from ingesting kerosene. Exposure to indoor pollution from such practices is ranked as the fourth greatest risk by the World Health Organization.

The emissions from home cooking and heating also contribute an estimated 20-40%

(depending on the season and location) to ambient air pollution in Asia, exposing everyone in those countries to the worst ambient air pollution on the planet. The health impact from the contribution of household energy emissions to ambient air pollution is estimated to result in approximately one million additional deaths annually. This ambient air pollution from Asia also drifts to the U.S., contributing to exposures for American residents; therefore, reducing emissions from household energy use has a local, regional, and global impact. According to the National Research Council, “Pollutants from traffic, cooking stoves, and factories emitted half a world away can make the air we inhale today more hazardous for our health.”1

EPA has been addressing this challenge since 2002, first through leading the Partnership for

Clean Indoor Air with more than 600 partners working in 135 countries. EPA is now working with other federal agencies and partners around the world through the Clean Cooking

Alliance to improve health, livelihood, and quality of life by reducing exposure to indoor air pollution, primarily among women and children, from household energy use.

The global nature of the problem, as well as the cross-sector impacts (e.g., health, environment, gender, energy) make this issue an enormous challenge to solve on a broad scale. To achieve sustainable progress, EPA is supporting technical assistance, policies, standards of performance and practice, and development of supply chains for household energy technologies. EPA is also promoting the transition to cleaner fuels in Africa, Asia and

Latin America - particularly household biogas and biomass pellets through multiple strategies: testing technologies in the lab and the field to demonstrate effectiveness, capacity building, and information exchange among key sectors to enhance their expertise, experience and effectiveness in increasing the use of clean, reliable, affordable, efficient and safe home cooking and heating practices.

The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to increase the exchange of technical and programmatic information among organizations working in the global household energy and

1 Global Sources of Local Pollution, An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. National Research Council. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 2010. DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17226/12743 https://doi.org/10.17226/12743 health sector and to facilitate the identification and promotion of effective approaches that increase the use of clean, reliable, affordable, efficient and safe home cooking and heating practices. Priority areas include:

• Developing, disseminating, and encouraging the adoption by foreign governments of household energy standards of performance and practice;

• Supporting the more than two dozen U.S.-based household energy companies to improve the design and performance of technologies used domestically and internationally;

• Improving the design and performance of technologies and fuels;

• Innovative approaches to foster or accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels;

• Monitoring indoor air pollution and other environmental impacts of interventions;

• Characterizing the contribution of household energy emissions to ambient air pollution; and

• Incorporating social and cultural practices to promote adoption of new technology and tracking the socio-economic impacts.

B. Scope of Work

EPA is requesting applications from eligible entities to increase the exchange of technical and programmatic information among organizations working in the global household energy and health sectors. EPA is requesting applicant organizations to indicate how they will facilitate the identification and promotion of effective approaches to increase the use of clean, reliable, affordable, efficient and safe home cooking and heating practices. Activities will increase the capacity of public and private sector organizations working in Asia, Africa and Latin America to identify effective approaches, share lessons learned, and more rapidly assimilate insights and innovations from around the world. Applicants should describe in detail how their project will address improvements of existing home cooking and heating technologies and fuels. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Conducting field work and technical assistance activities to identify and promote effective approaches for activities such as: standards development, dissemination, and adoption.

• Identify approaches to raise public awareness and education to improve technology design, manufacture, performance and adoption, and to evaluate the health, socio-economic and environmental impacts of interventions.

• Promoting the rapid and widespread transition to cleaner fuels, specifically household biogas, and other energy sources like electricity, ethanol, LPG, biomass pellets, solar, etc.

• Organizing, developing and providing logistical support for workshops and related events

(e.g. technical meetings, thematic workshops, webinars, etc.), including identifying technical presenters and participants.

• Compiling key findings from meetings, workshops and other related activities/events then disseminating them through established communication channels and peer reviewed publications.

All applications:

• Must yield results that can be tracked, evaluated and reported.

• Must clearly articulate a plan to produce results that can be replicated in other communities, regions, or countries.

• Must align with EPA strategic goals, objectives, outputs and outcomes as described in

Section I.C., below.

EPA will not consider any applications that are exclusively designed to conduct scientific research. Applications may include research components such as building blocks to demonstration, training, education and/or outreach projects. In such cases, proposals should clearly articulate this link, explain why the research is necessary for the project’s success, and ensure that such research does not already exist.

C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage, Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes and Performance

Measures

Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance

Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements with the Agency’s Strategic Plan.

EPA also requires that grant applicants and recipients adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf).

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan: The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan. Awards made under this announcement will support Goal 1, “Core Mission: Deliver real results to provide Americans with clean air, land, and water, and ensure chemical safety,” Objective 1.1, “Improve Air Quality.” Under this objective, EPA will “Work with states and tribes to accurately measure air quality and ensure that more Americans are living and working in areas that meet high air quality standards.” Applicants must explain in their application how their project will further these objectives.

Please read EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan (www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan) for more information.

EPA also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf).

Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the priorities described above.

2. Outputs: The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and objective that will be produced or provided over a period or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period.

Examples of outputs include, but are not limited to the following:

• Workshops and related events (e.g. technical meetings, thematic workshops, webinars, etc.).

• Conducting field work and technical assistance activities to identify and promote effective approaches for activities such as: standards development, dissemination, and adoption.

• Identify approaches to raise public awareness and education to improve technology design, manufacture, performance and adoption, and to evaluate the health, socio-economic and environmental impacts of interventions.

• Disseminate key findings and approaches from meetings, workshops and activities through established communication channels and peer reviewed publications.

Progress reports and a final report will also be required outputs, as specified in Section VI.C

“Reporting Requirement,” of this RFA.

3. Outcomes: The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related or programmatic in nature, but must also be quantitative. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period.

Expected outcomes from the projects to be funded under this announcement include, but are not limited to:

• Increased awareness, capacity, and action among organizations to accelerate adoption and sustained use of clean, efficient, and affordable cooking/heating technologies.

• Reduce indoor and ambient air pollution from household energy use.

• Widespread use of cleaner fuels, specifically household biogas, as well as other energy sources like electricity, ethanol, LPG, biomass pellets, and/or solar.

4. Performance Measures. The applicant should also develop performance measures they expect to achieve through the proposed activities and describe them in their application.

These performance measures will help gather insights and will be the mechanism used to track progress concerning successful processes and output and outcome strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future recipients. It is expected that the description of performance measures will directly relate to the project outputs and outcomes.

The following are questions to consider when developing output and outcome measures of quantitative and qualitative results:

• What are the measurable short term and longer term results the project will achieve?

• How does the plan measure progress in achieving the expected results (including outputs and outcomes) and how will the approach use resources effectively and efficiently?

D. Statutory Authority

The statutory authorities for this action are the Clean Air Act, §103(b)(3) and the National

Environmental Protection Act §102(2)(F). The Clean Air Act §103(b)(3) authorizes the award of grants for research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and studies related to the causes, effects, (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, and control of air pollution. The National Environmental Protection Act §102(2)(F) authorizes federal agencies to lend appropriate support to initiatives, resolutions, and programs designed to maximize international cooperation to anticipate and prevent a decline in the quality of mankind's world environment.

The anticipated activities to be funded under this solicitation are consistent with both authorities.

Selected applications will reduce international indoor and ambient air pollution from household energy use through research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and studies related to the causes, effects, (including health and welfare effects), as well as organize workshops and related events, conduct field studies and technical assistance, promote the transition to cleaner fuels, and compile and disseminate key findings to result in the prevention and control of indoor and ambient air pollution. Additionally, this solicitation will lend appropriate support to initiatives and programs designed to maximize international cooperation in preventing a decline in the quality of mankind's world environment.

Demonstrations must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine, traditional, or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project might be, is not considered a demonstration project. Implementation activities are not eligible for funding under this announcement.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. What is the Amount of Funding Available?

The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this competitive opportunity is approximately $900,000, with up to $300,000 available per year per award for up to 3 years. EPA will not accept any application that exceeds $300,000 in federal funds per year.

Funding is dependent upon agency appropriations, funding availability and other applicable considerations.

B. Partial Funding

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions of proposed projects. If EPA decides to partially fund an application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the application was evaluated and selected for award, thereby maintaining the integrity of the competition and selection process.

C. How Many Agreements Will EPA Award in This Competition?

It is anticipated that 1 to 2 cooperative agreements will be awarded from this announcement subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.

EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with

Agency policy and other applicable considerations, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selections.

In addition, EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or to make fewer awards than anticipated.

D. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from This Solicitation?

The estimated project period for awards resulting from this solicitation is expected to be up to three years, estimated to begin on December 6, 2019, with an estimated completion date of

December 5, 2022.

E. Funding Type

The funding for selected projects will be in the form of a cooperative agreement.

Cooperative agreements provide for substantial involvement between the EPA Project Officer and the selected applicants in the performance of the work supported. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for these projects 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 (EPA will not select employees or contractors employed by the award recipient); and

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

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Entities

In accordance with the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA 66.034), applications will be accepted from states, local governments, territories, Indian tribes, and possessions of the

U.S., including the District of Columbia, international organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, and other public or private non-profit institutions.

Non-profit organization, as defined by 2 CFR 200.70, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative or other organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations. Note that

2 CFR Part 200 specifically excludes the following types of organizations from the definition of

“non-profit organization” because they are separately defined in the regulation: (i) institutions of higher education; and (ii) state, local and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments. While not considered to be a “non-profit organization(s)” as defined by 2 CFR 200.270, institutions of higher education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA.

For-profit organizations are not an eligible entity for this funding opportunity. Additionally, non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

No matching funds are required under this competition. Although cost sharing/matching is not required as a condition of eligibility under this competition, under Section V of this announcement EPA will evaluate applications based on a leveraging criterion.

Leveraging is generally when an applicant proposes to provide its own additional funds/resources or those from third party sources to support or complement the project they are awarded under the competition which are above and beyond the EPA grant funds awarded. Any leveraged funds/resources, and their source, must be identified in the application (See Section IV of the announcement). Leveraged funds and resources may take various forms as noted below.

Voluntary cost share is a form of leveraging. Voluntary cost sharing is when an applicant voluntarily proposes to legally commit to provide costs or contributions to support the project when a cost share is not required. Applicants who propose to use a voluntary cost share must include the costs or contributions for the voluntary cost share in the project budget on the SF-

424. If an applicant proposes a voluntary cost share, the following apply:

• A voluntary cost share is subject to the match provisions in the grant regulations 2

CFR Part 200 as applicable.

• A voluntary cost share may only be met with eligible and allowable costs.

• The recipient may not use other sources of federal funds to meet a voluntary cost share unless the statute authorizing the other federal funding provides that the federal funds may be used to meet a cost share requirement on a federal grant.

• The recipient is legally obligated to meet any proposed voluntary cost share that is included in the approved project budget. If the proposed voluntary cost share does not materialize during grant performance, then EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR Part 200 as applicable.

Other leveraged funding/resources that are not identified as a voluntary cost share. This form of leveraging may be met by funding from another federal grant, from an applicant's own resources, or resources from other third-party sources. This form of leveraging should not be included in the budget and the costs need not be eligible and allowable project costs under the

EPA assistance agreement. While this form of leveraging should not be included in the budget, the grant workplan should include a statement indicating that the applicant is expected to produce the proposed leveraging consistent with the terms of the announcement and the applicant's application. If applicants propose to provide this form of leveraging, EPA expects them to make the effort to secure the leveraged resources described in their applications. If the proposed leveraging does not materialize during grant performance, then EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR Part 200 as applicable.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

Threshold eligibility criteria are requirements that if not met by the time of application submission will result in elimination of the application from consideration for funding. Only applications from eligible applicants (see Section III.A of this RFA) that meet all of these threshold eligibility criteria will be evaluated against the ranking criteria in Section V of this

RFA. If necessary, EPA may contact applicants to clarify threshold eligibility questions prior to making an eligibility determination. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration because of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Application Content and Submission

a. Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and application content requirements set forth in Section IV and Appendix B of this RFA or else they will be rejected.

b. Where a page limit is expressed in Section IV and Appendix B of this RFA with respect to the Project Narrative, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

c. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement to ensure that their application is timely and properly submitted.

https://grants.gov/

Applications submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with

Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission.

2. Applications must further EPA’s current priorities for improving air quality, which focus on improving air quality to ensure more Americans are living and working in areas that meet high air quality standards. (See Section I.C.)

3. 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. EPA will not consider any applications that are exclusively designed to conduct scientific research.

4. Applications which request EPA assistance funds in excess of $300,000 as specified in

Section II.A of this RFA, are not eligible and will not be reviewed.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures

Applicants, except as noted below, must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the Grants.gov instructions in this announcement and Appendix A.

If an applicant does not have the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of limited or no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials to Grants.gov, the applicant must contact OGDWaivers@epa.gov or the address listed below in writing (e.g., by hard copy, email) at least 15 calendar days prior to the submission deadline under this announcement to request approval to submit their application materials through an alternate method.

Mailing Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Jessica Durand

USEPA Headquarters

William Jefferson Clinton Building

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Mail Code: 3903R

Washington, DC 20460

Courier Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Jessica Durand https://grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ https://grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:OGDWaivers@epa.gov

Ronald Reagan Building

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Rm # 51278

Washington, DC 20004

In the request, the applicant must include the following information:

• Funding Opportunity Number (FON)

• Organization Name and Unique Entity Identifier (e.g., DUNS)

• Organization’s Contact Information (email address and phone number)

• Explanation of how they lack the technical capability to apply electronically through

Grants.gov because of 1) limited internet access, or 2) no internet access, which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials through Grants.gov.

EPA will only consider alternate submission exception requests based on the two reasons stated above and will timely respond to the request – all other requests will be denied. If an alternate submission method is approved, the applicant will receive documentation of this approval and further instructions on how to apply under this announcement. Applicants will be required to submit the documentation of approval with any initial application submitted under the alternative method. In addition, any submittal through an alternative method must comply with all applicable requirements and deadlines in the announcement including the submission deadline and requirements regarding application content and page limits (although the documentation of approval of an alternate submission method will not count against any page limits).

If an exception is granted, it is valid for submissions to EPA for the remainder of the entire calendar year in which the exception was approved and can be used to justify alternative submission methods for application submissions made through December 31 of the calendar year in which the exception was approved (e.g., if the exception was approved on March 1, 2019, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive application submission to EPA through December

31, 2019). Applicants need only request an exception once in a calendar year and all exceptions will expire on December 31 of that calendar year. Applicants must request a new exception from required electronic submission through Grants.gov for submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity issued on December 1, 2019 with a submission deadline of January 15, 2020, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning January 1, 2020.

Please note that the process described in this section is only for requesting alternate submission methods. All other inquiries about this announcement must be directed to the Agency Contact listed in Section VII of the announcement. Queries or requests submitted to the email address identified above for any reason other than to request an alternate submission method will not be acknowledged or answered.

B. Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions (see Appendix A)

Your organization’s authorized official representative (AOR) must submit your complete application electronically to EPA through Grants.gov no later than August 6, 2019, 11:59 PM

Eastern Time.

C. Content of Application Submission

The application package must include all the following materials:

1. Grant Application Forms. Please complete the forms as appropriate.

a. Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance. Please note that the organizational Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be included on the SF-424. Organizations may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711.

b. Standard Form 424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs

c. Standard Form 424B, Non-Construction Programs

d. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre-Award Compliance Review Report for All Applicants

Requesting Federal Financial Assistance

e. Key Contacts Form

2. Project Narrative. The project narrative must explicitly describe how the proposed project meets the guidelines established in Sections I-III of this announcement (including the threshold eligibility criteria in Section III.C) and must address each of the evaluation criteria set forth in Section V. The Project Narrative cannot exceed a maximum of 10 single-spaced typewritten pages, including the Summary Page — excess pages will not be reviewed. Supporting materials, such as resumes and letters of support, can be submitted as attachments and are not included in the 10-page limit.

a. Summary Information Page (recommended not to exceed one page)

i. Project Title

ii. Applicant Information. Include applicant (organization) name, address, contact person, phone number, fax and e-mail address.

iii. Funding Requested. Specify the amount you are requesting from EPA.

iv. Total Project Cost. Specify total cost of the project. Identify funding from other sources, including cost share or in-kind resources.

v. Project period. Provide beginning and ending dates. (Projects are anticipated to begin December 6, 2019 and end no more than three years later.)

vi. DUNS number

b. Project Summary/Approach. The summary shall contain the following components:

i. Detailed project summary, description of specific actions and methods to be undertaken and the responsible institutions, including estimated time line for each task.

ii. Description of the associated work products to be developed.

iii. Explanation of project benefits to the public, and specifically the potential audience(s) served.

iv. Explanation of applicant’s strategy for successfully completing their project, consistent with Section I.B.

v. Description of the roles of the applicant and partners, if any.

vi. Description of the applicant’s organization and experience related to the proposed project.

vii. Description of staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

c. Environmental Results—Outcomes, Outputs and Performance Measures.

Identify the expected quantitative and qualitative outcomes and outputs of the project

(See Section I.C.), including what performance measurements, timeline of milestones, or other means will be used to track and measure your progress towards achieving the expected outcomes and outputs and how the results of the project will be evaluated.

d. 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) similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project that your organization performed within the last three years (no more than 5 agreements, and preferably EPA 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. In evaluating applicants under these factors in Section V, EPA will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources, including information from EPA 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 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.

e. Voluntary cost share/match and leveraged funds (See Section III.B also).

Demonstrate how you will leverage additional funds/resources beyond the grant funds awarded to support the proposed project activities and how these funds/resources will be used to contribute to the performance and success of the proposed project. This includes but is not limited to funds and other resources leveraged from businesses, labor organizations, non-profit organizations, education and training providers, and/or

Federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate. Describe the amount and type of leveraged resources to be provided, how you will obtain the leveraged resources, the likelihood the leveraging will materialize during grant performance, the strength of the leveraging commitment, and the role the leveraged resources will play to support the proposed project activities. Selected applicants are expected to abide by their proposed leveraging commitments during grant performance and the failure to do so may affect the legitimacy of the award.

f. Detailed Budget Narrative (See Appendix B, Budget Detail Sample). This section provides an opportunity for a narrative description of the budget found in the SF-

424A. Clearly explain how EPA funds will be used. Selected applicant(s) will need to submit a copy of their current indirect cost rate that has been negotiated with a federal cognizant agency prior to award.

i. Description of the budget and estimated funding amounts for each work component/task.

ii. Description of the applicant’s approach, procedures, and controls for ensuring that awarded grant funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner.

iii. Applicants must itemize costs related to personnel, fringe benefits, contractual costs, travel, equipment, supplies, other direct costs, indirect costs, and total costs.

iv. For applicants that provide a voluntary cost share/match, the budget narrative must clearly specify the amount of federal funding and the cost share amount for each category of total project costs for each category. Include an explanation of how the voluntary match will be met. All matching funds are subject to the regulations governing matching fund requirements at 2 CFR

Part 200.

3. Attachments. These are optional and are not included in the 10-page limit.

a. Cost Share Commitment Letters (Other Attachments Form)

b. Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (Other Attachments Form)

c. Biographical Sketch. Provide resumes or curriculum vitae for all key personnel

(Other Attachments Form)

d. Quality Assurance Narrative Statement (Other Attachments Form)

e. Support Letters – These should indicate how the supporting organization will assist in the project (Other Attachments Form)

f. If applicable, approval letter to use alternate means to submit initial application.

(Other Attachments Form)

D. Submission Date and Times

The closing date and time for submission of applications is August 6, 2019, 11:59 p.m., Eastern

Time (ET). Applications submitted after the closing date and time will not be considered for funding.

E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, including but not limited to those related to confidential business information, contracts and subawards under grants, and application assistance and communications, can be found at www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses. These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Only eligible entities whose applications meet the threshold criteria in Section III of this RFA will be evaluated according to the criteria set forth below. Applicants should explicitly address these criteria as part of their application package submittal in the project narrative, following the content requirements set forth in Appendix B. Each application will be rated using a point system. Applications will be evaluated based on a total of 100 points possible.

A. Evaluation Criteria

Criteria Points

Total Possible Points 100

1. Project Summary and Approach: Under this criterion, EPA will evaluate applications based on the extent and quality of the applicant’s project summary and overall approach to performing the project. Specifically, EPA will evaluate the extent and quality to which the project narrative:

A. (20 points) Includes a well-conceived strategy for addressing the requirements in Section I, Parts B (Scope of Work) and C (EPA

Strategic Plan Linkage and Anticipated Outcomes/Outputs); and

B. (10 points) Sets forth a reasonable time schedule for the execution of the tasks associated with the project and for achieving the project goals and objectives by project end.

2. Environmental Results – Outputs, Outcomes and Performance

Measures: Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate:

A. (7 points) The effectiveness of the applicant’s plan for tracking and measuring their progress toward achieving the expected project outputs and outcomes, including those identified in Section I.C. of this announcement.

B. (8 points) The performance measures proposed by the applicant and how they will be used to help track and measure their progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses

3. Programmatic Capability and Past Performance: Under this criterion, EPA will evaluate applicants based on their ability to successfully complete and manage the proposed project taking into account their:

A. (7 points) Past performance in successfully completing and managing the federal assistance agreements identified in the Project Narrative as described in Section IV.C of the announcement.

B. (5 points) History of meeting the reporting requirements under the assistance agreements identified in the Project Narrative as described in

Section IV.C of the announcement, including whether they submitted acceptable final technical reports under those agreements and the extent to which they 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 they adequately reported why not;

C. (7 points) Staff expertise and qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

D. (11 points) Organizational experience conducting capacity building and technical assistance efforts that have achieved positive outcomes in the international household energy and health sector.

Note: In evaluating applicants under items A and B of this criterion, the Agency 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 reporting information, please indicate this in the application and you will receive a neutral score for these sub-factors (items A and B 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 sub-factors.

4. Budget: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on:

A. (5 points) Whether costs are reasonable to accomplish the proposed goals, objectives, and measurable environmental outcomes; and

B. (5 points) Whether the proposed budget provides a detailed breakout of the approximate funding used for each major activity.

An applicant’s budget and Budget Narrative must account for both federal funds and any non-federal funds (e.g., any voluntary cost share/match if applicable).

Applicants must precisely describe in their Budget Narrative how they will account for any required or voluntary cost share/match, if applicable, and what role EPA funding will play in the overall project.

5. Expenditure of Awarded Grant Funds: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their approach, procedures, and controls for ensuring that awarded grant funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner.

6. Leveraging: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on the extent they demonstrate that they will leverage additional funds/ resources, beyond the grant funds awarded, to support the proposed project activities and how these funds/resources will be used to contribute to the performance and success of the proposed project. This includes but is not limited to funds and other resources leveraged from businesses, labor organizations, non-profit organizations, education and training providers, and/or Federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate. Applicants will also be evaluated based on the amount and type of leveraged resources to be provided, how they will obtain the leveraged resources, the likelihood the leveraging will materialize during grant performance, the strength of the leveraging commitment, and the role the leveraged funds/resources will play to support the proposed project activities.

7. Project Sustainability: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on the extent to which they demonstrate their ability to effectively promote and continue or replicate efforts after EPA funding for this project has ended, as described in Section I of the RFA.

B. Review and Selection Process

Applications will first be evaluated against the threshold factors listed in Section III.C of this

RFA. Only those applications which meet all the threshold factors will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria listed above by an EPA evaluation team. Each application will be given a numerical score and will be rank-ordered by the review panel. Preliminary funding recommendations will be provided to the EPA Approving or Selection Official based on these reviews and rankings.

C. Other Factors

Final funding decisions will be made by the Approving or Selection Official based on the rankings and preliminary recommendations of the EPA evaluation team. In making the final funding decisions, the Approving or Selection Official may also consider programmatic priorities, budget availability, and geographic diversity of funds. Once final decisions have been made, a funding recommendation will be developed and forwarded to the EPA Award Official.

D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation including the clause on Reporting and Use of Information Concerning Recipient Integrity and

Performance can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses. These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices

Following evaluation of applications, all applicants will be notified regarding their status.

1. Successful Applicants: EPA anticipates notification to successful applicants will be made via electronic or postal mail within 60 days of the closing date of this RFA. The notification will be sent to the original signer of the application or the project contact listed in the application. This notification, which informs the applicant that their application has been selected and is being recommended for award is not an authorization to begin work. The official notification of an award will be made by EPA’s Office of Grants and

Debarment/Grants and Interagency Management Division.

Applicants are cautioned that only a grants officer is authorized to bind the Government to the expenditure of funds; selection does not guarantee an award will be made.