INL25CA0017 NOFO - AME Travel Logistics (FINAL).pdf

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.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Announcement Type: Request for Federal Assistance Award Applications

Funding Opportunity Title: Travel, Logistics, and Training Support for INL Africa and Middle East Programs

Funding Opportunity Number: INL25CA0017-AME-TravLog-013125 Program: Africa and Middle East Training and Logistics Support

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 19.703 - Criminal Justice Systems

Total Funding Available: $6,000,000

Funding Source: Post-Funds

Application Ceiling: Up to $350,000 U.S. Dollars Application Floor: At least $100,000 U.S. Dollars

Anticipated Number of Awards: 30 awards

Initial Project Implementation Length: 12 to 24 months

Estimated Project Start Date: April 2025

NOFO Issuance Date: December 4, 2024

Deadline for Submission of Questions: January 8, 2025 by 11:59 PM EST via email

Deadline for Submission of Applications: January 31, 2025 by 11:59 PM EST via www.grants.gov

Assistance Type: Cooperative Agreement

Applicant Types and Eligibility Categories:

Organizations only.

Refer to Section C: Eligibility Information for more information.

http://www.grants.gov/

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INL Points of Contact: SiMonique Stallworth (StallworthS@state.gov) - GO Charsaree Slomka (SlomkaCS@state.gov) - PO

BUREAU MISSION

The mission of the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is to keep Americans safe by countering crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is at the forefront of responding to these challenges, uniting these overarching themes through our foreign assistance programs, diplomatic engagement, and policy coordination.

INL’s foreign assistance programs are essential to advancing U.S. policy objectives. INL programs advance the following strategic goals:

1. Disrupt and reduce illicit drug markets and transnational crime to protect American lives and U.S. national security.

2. Combat corruption and illicit financing to strengthen democratic institutions, advance rule of law, and reduce transnational crime and its enablers.

3. Strengthen criminal justice systems to support stable, rights-respecting partners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

F. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

APPENDIX A: PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN

APPENDIX B: PROJECT RISK ANALYSIS

APPENDIX C: BUDGET AND BUDGET NARRATIVE

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A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the U.S. Department of State seeks applications from qualified organizations to carry out a project to provide programmatic, logistical, travel, and administrative support to INL programming in Africa and the Middle East. The capacity-building program provides training and other relevant activities to appropriate participants with the overall goal of supporting the goals of the INL Functional Bureau Strategy. INL is especially interested in proposals that provide a plan for addressing the participation of persons with disabilities, including specific means, measures and corresponding targets. INL is dedicated to strengthening the rule of law and supporting civil society in building strong and resilient communities. INL plays a vital role in the development and synchronization of U.S. international anti-crime assistance.

Priority Countries:

Countries covered by INL’s Africa and the Middle East Office. Countries participating may include (but not limited to): Jordan, Lebanon, The Gambia, Ethiopia, CAR, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Cabo Verde, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mozambique, Comoros/Madagascar, Tanzania, Nigeria, Liberia.

Problem Statement:

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) works to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.

Project Vision: Successfully provide logistical, travel and training support for beneficiaries of foreign assistance programming in the Africa and Middle East region.

Project Goal(s) and Objectives:

The goal of this project is to deliver prompt and efficient programmatic, logistical, travel, and administrative services (including translation and interpretation) to support INL capacity building programs in Africa and the Middle East. The selected organization will work closely with designated project managers to determine implementation needs, arrange travel and coordinate training events in a timely and efficient manner.

Objective 1: Provide travel and logistical support for the Africa and Middle East capacity building trainings

The award recipient will provide programmatic, logistical, and administrative support to the Africa and Middle East office. The U.S. government estimates that a minimum of 3000 and a maximum of 12000 people will attend INL capacity-building events in a 12-month period. The number of participants per event can range from just a few to over one hundred or more. The events usually

4 | P a g e last anywhere from one (1) day, one (1) week to six (6) months, but the average event is approximately five (5) to ten (10) days.

Proposals should include a cost estimate based on the administrative costs of organizational processing of plane tickets, lodging reservations, facilities rental, refreshments during the events, bedding supplies, translation, electronic funds transfer, managing conferences and meetings, and other associated costs. Federal funds cost is limited to per person for refreshments: coffee, tea, water, etc.

INL understands that costs are estimates and the applicant will not know what fluctuations may exist in pricing over the course of the project period. Therefore, estimates should not be based on individual plane tickets and meeting locations, for example, but rather on the administrative costs of processing participation in capacity-building events for approximately 3000 participants. Please see Budget Guidelines for more detail.

The award recipient should be able to provide support seven days a week and for urgent needs respond to travel requests within 2 hours that the request is made. If requested, the award recipient should be able to provide lodging, airline tickets, and meals within 24 hours of a request. The award recipient should have in place all the mechanism to service unanticipated situations/issues.

The applicant shall be responsible for working with INL regularly in planning and scheduling all events in less than five (5) working days.

The U.S. government, INL, and the organization will work together to determine the appropriate assistance needed for each capacity-building event. Furthermore, INL and the recipient organization will meet after the award is made to develop a mutually agreeable work plan for conducting the assistance program. Applicants should provide a suggested work plan in the grant proposal.

Additionally, applicant organizations should identify their own specific objectives and measurable outcomes based on these goals and the specifications provided in this solicitation. Indicators could include timeliness of services, quality of interaction between the award recipient and program participants, etc.

Additional items not listed above may be included detailing INL’s involvement in the Cooperative Agreement.

Project activities and deliverables: Proposals should include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Activity 1 - Travel Documents: The award recipient is responsible for collecting from INL, or from the participants if requested by INL, before travel, their bank account information, passports, and A-2, and for collecting the Annex 3 forms from INL. Additionally, if required by INL, the recipient will assist participants with obtaining appropriate travel documents such as visas, work permits (if required), immunization, costs for birth, health, PCR or Antigen test, and identity certificates, and other documents needed to attend the capacity-building event. The grantee should review the necessary travel requirements published on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website needed to enter the country to which the participants are traveling to. Only costs

5 | P a g e authorized by the Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (2 CFR 230) will be allowed. The award recipient will be responsible for printing and deliver them to INL or as requested. The surveys will follow the INL provided format in most cases. Awardee should maintain express mail delivery services for delivery of materials or travel documents.

As an exception, local government employees traveling for official purposes funded by the INL should apply for A-2 visas. INL will submit applications to the Visa Unit.

The award recipient will work closely with INL to set reasonable deadlines for obtaining participant information to secure travel documents. Grantee acknowledges that the process for vetting participants by INL may take longer than expected and may create situations in which participants are approved with short notice before programs are set to begin. No funds will be distributed to participants until vetting (see activity 17) has taken place. To the extent possible, awardee will work with the Grants Officer Representative (GOR) and the INL Program Officers to identify travel events well in advance of travel dates to secure the best prices. As part of regular reporting, grantee will provide INL with data on the advance times for requests received, to determine where travel processes may improve.

Activity 2 - Travel Advances and Reimbursement: When required, the award recipient shall provide the participants, instructors, subject matter experts (SME), and speakers with a travel advance up to the maximum per diem amount authorized by the U.S. Department of State or lesser amount as determined by the award recipient and INL. The applicant shall ensure the participant receives the travel advance with sufficient time, no later than two working days prior to departure, to reduce the financial burden associated with the event.

The awardee will provide participants with a monetary travel advance before travel to cover meals, baggage fees, incidentals, etc. whenever possible. The advance can be in form of cash, wire transfer, direct deposit or any other means not prohibited by U.S. or local laws. It is recommended that the recipient organization has a bank account that does not generate income. Awardee will provide reimbursement for costs associated with travel, to include per diem, baggage fees, incidentals, taxis, weapons fees when required (WEAP), etc.

Activity 3 - Airline Tickets/Air Transportation: When required, the organization shall provide round-trip economy restricted-refundable airline tickets for travel of students, participants, speakers, instructors, SME, or police canines, as needed. All flight arrangements must comply with the Fly America Act, the award recipient shall verify participant information such names as in passports, vetting and visas before purchasing e-tickets. Awardee will be responsible for oversight of all arrivals and departures.

Awardee can work with reputable travel agencies in the Middle East or Africa and the U.S. to make airline reservations for the referred travels. Grantee will exercise due diligence to ensure the purchase price of airline tickets is within 15% of the lowest published price. Grantees is only authorized to purchase e-tickets for official routes and dates. In case any participant, student, instructor, subject matter expert, speaker wants to make changes for personal convenience, outside of INL operations, it will be the responsibility of each individual, and INL will be exempt from paying

6 | P a g e any additional fees related to those changes. No cost construct or extended trip are authorized, unless authorize by INL.

Activity 4 - Health, Travel, and Personal Property Insurance: When required, the award recipient shall provide each participant, when traveling, with up to the maximum amount of insurance authorized by the FTR or 2 CFR 200. The applicant must ensure that all participants have the appropriate level of insurance before the travel begins.

Travel insurance for pilots, and dog handlers will be required in some trainings. International travel insurance coverage should include pre-existent conditions reimbursement for over $5,000.00. The insurance contracted by the grantee must include expenses related to COVID-19 and all variants.

Activity 5 - Ground Transportation: When required, the award recipient shall arrange the use of rented vehicles for individuals or groups to support INL capacity-building events. Ground transportation includes taxis, rented vehicles (sedans), pickup trucks, vans, or buses. For some activities, the participants are likely to travel by bus/ train/ ferry or a combination depending on their departure location. When traveling by bus or taxi these costs should be handled by reimbursement. If required by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Office, the recipient organization shall take appropriate security measures to protect the safety of participants during the ground transportation process. The protection could include the use of armored vehicles. Ground transportation could include transportation to and from hotels to meeting facilities, to and from the airport and hotel, between sites of interest, etc. The award recipient shall ensure participants arrive at the sponsored event location at least 15 minutes before the event begins and shall take the necessary measures to ensure the vehicles meet local Government and U.S. Government safety standards.

When necessary, drivers hired by the recipient may need to obtain clearances for accessing government facilities. In cases of operational travel, recipient must provide boat, airplane, bus and vehicle fuel on an ad-hoc basis. Procurement will be structured for a specific location, specific type of vehicle. When required, the award recipient shall arrange the use of rented vehicles for individuals or groups to support of targeted operations. Ground transportation includes taxis, rented vehicles (sedans), pickup trucks, vans, or buses.

Activity 6 - Lodging: When required, the award recipient is responsible for providing participants with pre-paid lodging such as hotels or apartments using the U.S. Department of State approved per diem rates. In some cases, the U.S. government may be able to obtain lodging at academy dormitories or other facilities. In these cases, the award recipient shall coordinate lodging arrangements directly with USG representative responsible for the capacity-building event. The award recipient could be required to provide bedding supplies such as pillows, blankets, and other associated supplies. The award recipient shall ensure that rented rooms are of adequate size to sleep one or two adults and take the necessary measures to ensure the rented lodging facilities meet USG or international sanitary and safety standards. The award recipient shall lease with lodging companies with flexible cancellation policies, to include agreement avoiding cancellation fees and those offering courtesy rooms and/or meeting rooms or parking. Recipient should negotiate prepaid lodging, when possible, to avoid participant payment and reimbursement. Per

7 | P a g e guidance of INL, the award recipient on a case-by-case basis could be required to competitively bid longer term lodging stays.

Activity 7 – Event Support: The award recipient shall also support, when required, the administrative requirements for the attendance of INL sponsored travelers to conferences and other events that support INL capacity building goals.

When required, the award recipient shall rent conference facilities appropriate for the capacity-building events located the United States, or other countries. The facilities should include small conference rooms with space for five to ten people or large conference centers with capacity for hundreds of people, and/or outdoor facilities that support specific training objectives, training centers, or training academies. In some cases, the U.S. government will coordinate with the local Government to obtain conference or training facilities such as training academies.

The award recipient could be required to provide audio-visual, computer equipment, communications (such as Internet, radios, cell phones, or other communications services), reception, cleaning, interpreter/translation services, administrative support, coffee breaks, and supplies to support an event’s stated objective. The award recipient shall take the necessary measures to ensure the rented conference/training facilities meet USG or host government sanitary and safety standards.

When required, the award recipient shall pay for event fees as training expenses for participants.

Event fees may be authorized and paid to the organization providing the conference or training. This can range from a conference entrance fee to paying specific fees for licenses associated with training courses deemed to be in the interest of the U.S. government.

When necessary, the award recipient will provide one or more event assistants for coordination of the on-site event. When necessary, recipient will provide an in-country logistics coordinator for conferences and trainings to coordinate events in conjunction with INL Team. Awardee should share logistics schedule with subcontractors and INL point of contacts at least one (1) week in advance of events and provide INL with contact information for subcontracted POCs for coordination onsite.

Activity 8 - Refreshments and Meals: When required, the award recipient is responsible for providing participants with government approved per diem or meals such as hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner at locations where the participant cannot obtain meals at public facilities. Catered meals should be offset against the government approved per diem. When needed, the award recipient shall also provide snacks, coffee, tea, and non-alcoholic refreshments during capacity-building events. Federal funds cost is limited to per person for refreshments: coffee, tea, water, etc. Snacks and beverages shall be provided in the early morning, a few hours before lunch, and a few hours after lunch. The award recipient shall ensure that coffee, tea, and drinking water are available throughout the duration of the event. The award recipient shall maintain a regular inventory, storage and delivering plan for refreshments and coffee break services.

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The award recipient shall take the necessary measures to ensure food and beverages meet USG sanitary standards. The award recipient may be needed to provide meals “to-go” so disposable packages may be needed.

The award recipient shall provide the maximum per diem rates for travel authorized by the U.S.

Department of State or lesser amount as determined by the award recipient and INL. GSA rates should be used for overseas per diem rates. The award recipient must pay catering services whenever required by INL, and/or if the host of the event is the only one who can provide this service.

Activity 9 – Event Close Out: The award recipient is responsible for gathering proof of participant attendance, closeout memos, or emails, and receipts to be reimbursed no later than 20 working days after the last day of the capacity-building event. Awardee will ensure that the record of attendance, sign-in sheets when possible, and closeout memoranda are filed with other event’s information for audit purposes. The surveys are generated in TTS. The award recipient will be responsible for printing and delivering them to INL, as requested. The surveys will follow the INL provided format in most cases.

Activity 10 – Unused Funds Settlement: When required, the award recipient shall take required actions to recover unused funds resulting from cancellations by participants, vendors, facilities, etc.

Voucher settlement includes obtaining receipts from hotels and other documentation. In the event the award recipient owes money to a participant, settlement shall be made no later than twenty

(20) working days after the last day of the capacity-building event.

Activity 11 – Unused E-ticket Funding Reporting: When required, the award recipient shall track unused e-tickets resulting from cancellations by participants, get reimbursement whenever possible, and/or reuse the tickets for other travelers. The recipients shall maintain a database of unused tickets and provide a monthly report to the GOR with this information.

Activity 12 – Database Management: The award recipient shall maintain accurate digital records of each participant, including name, parent organization, country of origin, event attended, dates, costs per participant, and final costs per activity INL project(s) that funded the event, and other information in a format mutually agreed to by the U.S. government and the recipient organization.

The recipient will use their final attendance lists to verify that these lists match with those uploaded into the INL AME approved database l. The recipient will use any other potential systems implemented by INL during the duration of the award. The recipient organization shall provide this information to the GOR no later than thirty (30) days after the completion of each capacity-building event.

The award recipient must track and account for any cost increase or decrease on the budget because of fluctuations in exchange rates, per regulations outline in 2 CFR 200.440 -Exchange Rate.

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Activity 13 – Prepare Event Materials and Presentations: The award recipient is responsible for preparing and printing event materials, including, but not limited to, travel and event agenda per participant, course packets, event guidebooks, attendance lists, event evaluation forms, name tags, and other materials, as required by INL. (The award recipient shall follow the Department of State Branding and Marketing requirements.) The recipient may be responsible for the design of certain training manuals, banners, or other materials related to the event. The recipient should purchase the materials through vendors, following the recipient procurement policy. Awardee should maintain express mail delivery services for delivery of materials or travel documents. Event materials and presentations are property of the US Government.

The award recipient should maintain a storage room/area for all materials received from vendors to clear, track and delivery them to all necessary locations within the regions, as requested by INL.

Activity 14 – Interpretation and Translation Service: The award recipient may be responsible for providing translation of academic materials and interpretation services for national and international events. They also, will retain contacts with more than one translation and interpretation company to attain the best available prices for any event, and to ensure the availability of quality interpreters who may be recruited with short notice.

Activity 15 – Leahy and Local Vetting: The award recipient shall assist INL with the tracking status of personnel nominated to attend INL sponsored events. The tracking includes coordinating with U.S. government agencies responsible for the vetting process and includes maintaining a list of vetted individuals. Recipient must receive vetting clearances for each participant before travel. A copy of the INL Leahy and Local Vetting policy is included in this NOFO for reference (see pages 12- 13).

Activity 16 – Operational Travel: The award recipient may be responsible for providing ad-hoc administrative and logistical support for travel with less of 24 hours in advance of operational travel.

Activity 17 – Exceptional Circumstances: The award recipient may be responsible for providing ad-hoc administrative and logistical support for travel with 24 or 48 hours in advance on rare occasions.

The award recipient will accommodate late travel and/or training requests whenever possible at least five working days in advance for activities for no more than five to eight people with complete documentation such as vetting, bank account information, and Annex 3.

Activity 18 – Customer Service and Corrective Action Reports: Recipient will ensure their staff maintain professional and customer-service oriented environment. Recipient should provide logistic support during official Embassy working hours, 7:30 through 17:30. For operational and regular travel, the staff must be available at any time including weekends. Recipient will provide monthly incidents reports (e.g., issues with travel arrangements or insurance coverage, funds lost on last minute participant cancellation, etc.). The surveys are generated in TTS. The award recipient will be responsible for printing and deliver them to INL, as requested.

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Activity 19- Admin and Support Team: The award recipient should have the sufficient administrative staff to perform the following duties: provide administrative support, office administrative and clerical services, maintain project documentation and correspondence, assists INL to analyze and anticipate requirements, articulate talking points and coordinate with host national counterparts, organize hard copy and electronic files for all program correspondence for improved retrieval, access, and audit, edit English and foreign language internal documents, prepare a variety of correspondence, reports, and presentations in both English and foreign language from drafts as requested by INL.

Activity 20- Virtual Pre/Post-Travel Briefings: The award recipient should be able to organize virtual pre/post-travel briefings. These virtual briefings could be in form of Webinars, and/or internal/ external hybrid events. The award recipient should review that the following elements can be provided when required in each virtual event: event website, event registration, live presentation content, live one- way audio/video, question and answer, live polling, note taking/ favorite slides, recorded content, interactive video conferencing and feedback survey, and provide the corresponding platform for the event. If INL requires it, the award recipient may buy headphones with standard input.

Participants and Audiences INL will identify target audiences, specific demographics, and the region(s) in which the project will be implemented, including the approximate number of beneficiaries to be directly and indirectly impacted by project activities. The U.S. government estimates that a minimum of 3,000 and a maximum of 12,000 people will attend INL capacity-building events in a 12-month period. The number of participants per event can range from just a few to over one hundred or more.

Project Expansion: If the project is successful, INL will consider the option of an award modification to expand the project to other areas or countries in the Africa and Middle East region, subject to availability of future funding. Applicants may include in their proposal a brief section outlining how additional funds could potentially be used to expand work into additional activities or countries in future years. Applicants are strongly encouraged to demonstrate how their project might leverage funding through other organizations.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Applicants are encouraged to reference the table on the first page(s) of this NOFO to determine the basic federal award information (e.g., project length, amount of funding available, anticipated number of awards, assistance type, etc.). Additional award information is included in this section, although specific aspects of the award(s) issued from this NOFO may differ from program to program.

1. Project Implementation Period

The initial project implementation length is the amount of time (e.g., months) applicants should plan to implement the project. If a range of months is listed, applicants should propose a

11 | P a g e realistic project length within that range. INL reserves the right to reduce or increase the initial project implementation period in accordance with the needs of the INL project/program.

INL may extend the project implementation period, contingent on INL priorities, good performance of the recipient, Department of State management approvals, and funding availability. INL projects shall not exceed five (5) total years of project implementation.

2. Assistance Type The type of assistance is determined by scope of INL’s involvement in the implementation of the project. Refer to the table on the first page(s) of the NOFO to determine whether this particular project will be a grant or cooperative agreement.

For cooperative agreements, INL may be substantially involved in the following ways:

• Approval of the recipient’s annual work plans, including: planned activities for the following year, travel plans, planned expenditures, virtual pre/post briefings event planning, and changes to any activity to be carried out under the Cooperative Agreement;

• Approval of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, and

• Other country- or project-specific approvals will be included in the award documents.

3. Funding Notices

This award will be supported with International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. This notice is subject to availability of funding.

Length of performance period: 12-24 months

Anticipated program start date: April 1, 2025

Number of awards anticipated: 30 awards

Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $100,000 to a maximum of $1,500,000

Total available funding: $6,000,000

Type of Funding: INCLE, various fiscal years

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicant Types The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

• U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code or section 26 US 115 of the U.S. tax code;

• Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

• Foreign-based educational institutions

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2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost share is the portion of project costs not borne by the U.S. government. Cost share is recommended but not required for this project. Applicants must be able to ensure cost share is accounted for/tracked through accounting systems and/or supporting documentation (such as Personnel Activity Records, proof of voluntary hours, proof of any purchases for materials being included as cost share, etc.)

Any cost share proposed must be appropriately captured within the SF-424A, budget, and budget narrative.

3. Other Eligibility Requirements

• In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued via SAM.gov as well as a valid registration in SAM.gov Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov. Refer to Section D for additional guidance.

• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal, however one organization should be designated as the lead applicant and other organization(s) listed as sub-recipient partner(s).

• To be eligible to receive a federal assistance award, organizations must have a commitment to non-discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. INL is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities. INL welcomes applications irrespective of an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.

• All applicants must provide a workplace free from harassment and bullying for all individuals, including but not limited to cooperative agreement/grant personnel and INL personnel.

• Applicants are reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in any sub-awards issued under this grant award.

Note: Public International Organizations (PIOs) and For-Profit Organizations are excluded from applying to INL grant/cooperative agreement announcements.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Applicants should carefully follow all instructions in this section to ensure their application is formatted properly and includes all required documents. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be deemed ineligible for review.

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1. How to Apply and Submit Questions

This opportunity is posted on www.grants.gov, along with all required application forms and, where applicable, templates for application documents. Applications and all supporting documents must be submitted via www.grants.gov. INL reserves the right to reject any applications submitted through improper channels.

Applicants are encouraged to closely review the NOFO and email questions to the INL points of contact by the deadline listed on the first page(s) of this document. After the question deadline has passed, INL will respond to all questions publicly through a Questions & Answers document uploaded to the Related Documents tab of this opportunity.

2. Required Application Documents All documents in the following list must be included in your application, unless explicitly listed as optional. If a document includes a page limit, please adhere to that limit in your application.

Applicants that do not submit all required documents will be notified via email of their ineligibility after the application deadline.

Standard Application Forms

SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – Organizations)

Must be signed by an authorized signatory of the applicant’s organization.

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

SF-424B (Assurances for Non-Construction Programs) – Optional The SF-424B is only required for applicants who are not registered in SAM.gov.

Project Proposal The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant is proposing to do. The following documents may be submitted separately or combined into one document. If combined, please be sure to adhere to the page limits for each section.

Proposal Narrative – Maximum 20 pages

Applicants may use their own proposal template, but it must include all the sections below. Refer to Appendix A for additional guidance on drafting a proposal narrative.

Cover Page: include organization name, project title, requested number of months, target country(ies), point(s) of contact, and requested funding amount.

Table of Contents: list all documents and attachments with page numbers.

Executive Summary: Provide a synopsis of the project.

Project Context: Include an analysis of the issue to be addressed, including why it is important to address, what the main causes of the issue are, and who has power to effect change on the issue; suggested approaches and solutions (with

14 | P a g e evidence to support suggestions); and suggestions for revision to NOFO goals and objectives if needed.

Theory of Change & Implementation Plan: Describe the implementation plan (specific activities to implement suggested solutions); explain how or why they should result in accomplishment of the project goals and objectives (i.e., the theory of change). Projects should be designed such that activities, if implemented according to plan, should result in achievement of program objectives; and objectives, if achieved, should result in achievement of program goals. The Theory of Change should clearly demonstrate this causal logic. Finally, discuss likely challenges to implementation, including any risks of harm to project implementers or participants, along with mitigation strategies.

Gender, Equity, and Inclusion Analysis: Include in your proposal an analysis that addresses the ways in which women, gender diverse persons, and members of other marginalized and underrepresented groups (as specified in the “Participants and Audiences” section above) might affect and be affected differently by your work, including a consideration of their safe and meaningful participation. Strengthen your proposal by incorporating the results of this gender, equity and inclusion analysis into your project design. Include a description of how you will minimize any inequities and identified potential risks.

Description of Prior Work: Provide brief descriptions, including outcomes and deliverables, of any similar projects the organization has implemented.

Future Funding Plan/Sustainability: Briefly discuss the plan for ensuring the sustainability of the project (i.e., that the project continues to have impact beyond the grant period) or note if sustainability is unlikely without continued support. Applicants may also include a brief section outlining how additional funds could potentially be used to expand work into additional activities or countries beyond the initial project period.

Performance Monitoring Plan

See Appendix A for more details and instructions. Applicants MUST submit the following:

• Change Map (see template) or equivalent

• Illustrative Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (see template)

Note 1: If full performance monitoring information is not available at the time of the proposal, applicant should indicate that the indicators and associated information are notional. If selected, a final version of the documents will be required as an early deliverable.

Note 2: INL may require the grantee to report quarterly performance report information in INL’s DevResults database.

Project Risk Analysis

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A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov. Refer to Appendix B for additional guidance on drafting a Project Risk Analysis.

Timeline Outline key milestones in the project, project start-up, and closeout, programmatic activities, and monitoring and evaluation activities (e.g., monitoring trips or semi-annual reviews). May be a written schedule and/or a GANTT chart.

Organization, Staff, and Partners The following documents may be submitted separately or combined into one document. If combined, please be sure to adhere to the page limits for each section.

Biographical Information of Applicant Organization – Maximum 4 pages

Introduce the applicant organization, including biographical information such as mission statement, organization size, relevant office location(s), etc.

Provide a summary description of past and present operations, demonstrating the applicant’s ability to carry out the project

Describe any experience the organization has in the target country or region Confirm whether the organization is a registered business entity within the target country or region

List of Key Personnel – Maximum 3 pages Names, titles, responsibilities, and relevant experience or qualifications of key personnel involved in the management of the project

Partner Information (if subrecipient) is being proposed) – Maximum 3 pages

Introduce and provide relevant information about key partner organizations and sub-recipients

Briefly describe the division of labor and/or distinct roles and responsibilities among the applicant organization and its partners

If proposing a sub-recipient, please briefly describe the applicant organization’s experience related to managing sub-recipients

Letters of Support – Optional

If desired, applicants may submit letters of support from project partners, host government entities, or other relevant stakeholders

Project Budget and Cost Documents

Summary and Detailed Budgets

A proposal budget must be submitted in spreadsheet format (e.g., Microsoft Excel). A template is located under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov for applicants as a reference. Refer to Appendix C for additional guidance on drafting a proposal budget.

• One tab of the spreadsheet shall contain the Summary Budget, which lists the

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OMB-approved budget categories and total estimated cost per category

• One tab of the spreadsheet shall contain the Detailed Budget, which breaks down the OMB-approved budget categories into individual line items and provides detailed cost estimates per line item

• If applicable, federal costs and recipient cost share must be reported in separate columns

Budget Narrative

The Budget Narrative is a companion document to the summary and detailed budgets, and must be submitted in word document format. A template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov for applicants as a reference. Refer to Appendix C for additional guidance on drafting a Budget Narrative.

o The Budget Narrative should communicate to INL any budgetary information that is not readily apparent in the detailed budget. Rather than simply repeating with words what is stated numerically in the budget, the Budget Narrative should explain the logic behind the amount budgeted for each line item o If applicable, proposed recipient cost share must be included in the Budget Narrative, including reference to the source of the cost share

Indirect Costs

Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA):

• If the applicant has an approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

(NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, a copy of the organization’s most-recent NICRA must be included in the application

• If the applicant is proposing a sub-recipient that has an approved NICRA, and includes NICRA charges in the sub-award budget, a copy of the sub-recipient organization’s most-recent NICRA must be included in the application

15% de minimis Rate:

• The applicant can elect to charge a de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs (MTDC), which is allowable if the organization does not have a current agreement. (Please see Appendix C: Budget and budget narrative for more information regarding the 15% de minimis rate.)

• If the applicant elects to utilize the 15% de minimis rate, that rate is then applicable for the entire period of performance of that award. Should the applicant negotiate and obtain a NICRA, it may not be applied to an award already using the 15% de minimis rate.

Applicant Management Capabilities INL must assess each potential applicant for organizational risks related to the financial and programmatic management of a federal assistance project.

History of U.S. Government Federal Assistance Awards https://www.grants.gov/

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This document outlines the applicant organization’s experience with implementing U.S.

government-funded federal assistance awards, including current and completed projects.

The list should include the awarding agency, point of contact, name of the project, start and end dates, and amount of the award.

If the applicant has never received a U.S. federal assistance award, please list other projects the organization has implemented, including the information requested in the bullet above.

FY2025 INL Applicant Pre-Award Risk Survey This risk survey reviews the applicant organization’s financial capacity, policies, and infrastructure. The FY2025 template is included under the Related Documents section of this NOFO announcement on www.grants.gov.

• Please take note of the questions within the survey that request additional documentation. These documents must be included in the application.

• Submission of an outdated INL Applicant Pre-Award Risk Survey does not satisfy this requirement.

Organizational Audit

• If the applicant organization is required to undergo an audit (per regulations outlined in 2 CFR 200.500 – Subpart F), a complete copy of the organization’s most-recent audit must be submitted. (The financial statement is not a substitute for a single audit report. The Single audit report is an additional requirement for domestic and foreign organizations that spend $1,000,000 or more in federal funds in the fiscal year.)

• If the applicant organization is not required to undergo an audit (per the regulation cited above), a brief explanation must be submitted with the application. This explanation shall include confirmation that the organization is under the threshold for which an audit is required and/or plans for the organization to undergo an audit in the future.

3. Document Formatting

Applicants must ensure that their application documents conform to the following requirements:

The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity All documents are in English All budgets are in U.S. dollars All pages are numbered All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, and All Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Calibri font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins

4. Required Entity and Account Registrations for Applicants

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All prospective applicant organizations must register and/or maintain active registration in the systems outlined below in order to submit an application to this NOFO.

Organizations that are first-time applicants may need to register and/or create accounts in these systems. INL encourages prospective applicants to initiate these registrations as soon as possible. Applicants that have previously applied to other opportunities may already have registrations and/or accounts in the necessary systems, though applicants should ensure their registrations are active.

Registration in these systems is free of charge; Applicants will never be asked to pay a fee to register or submit an application in these systems.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

All organizations, whether based in the United States or in another country, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). A UEI is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal awards. An assigned UEI does not expire.

The 2 CFR 200 requires subrecipients to obtain a UEI. Please note the UEI for subrecipients is not required at the time of application but will be required before an award is processed and/or directed to a subrecipient.

System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and NCAGE Code

Prior to submitting an application in Grants.gov, organizations must register in SAM.gov and/or ensure that their SAM.gov registration is active. Organizations are required to renew their SAM.gov registration annually.

• Initiate the registration or renewal process at https://www.SAM.gov. Select “Entity

Registration” to begin the registration or renewal request.

• First-time applicants should initiate the SAM.gov registration after receiving their UEI and, if applicable, NCAGE Code (for foreign organizations). CAGE codes will be automatically assigned to US-based organizations.

An applicant must maintain an active SAM.gov registration while it has a proposal under review by INL and must continue to keep the registration active for the entire duration of the period of performance of any Federal award that results from this NOFO.

Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) in SAM.gov is not eligible to apply for an assistance award. Additionally, no entity listed on the EPLS can participate in any activities under an award. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the EPLS in SAM.gov to ensure that no ineligible entity is included in their proposal.

https://www.sam.gov/

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Note: The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible.

Organizations based in the United States or that pay employees within the United States will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.

Organizations based outside of the United States and that do not pay employees within the United States do not need an EIN from the IRS but do need a UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.

• Organizations based outside of the United States that do not intend to apply for U.S.

Department of Defense (DoD) awards are no longer required to have a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code to apply for non-DoD foreign assistance funding opportunities. If an applicant organization is mid-registration and wishes to remove an NCAGE code from their SAM.gov registration, the applicant should submit a help desk ticket (“incident”) with the Federal Service Desk (FSD) online at www.fsd.gov using the following language: “I do not intend to seek financial assistance from the Department of Defense. I do not wish to obtain an NCAGE code. I understand that I will need to submit my registration after this incident is resolved in order to have my registration activated.”

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO NOT plan to do business with the DoD should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Proceed to SAM.gov to obtain a UEI and complete the SAM.gov registration process.

SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually.

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO plan to do business with the DoD in addition to Department of State should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Apply for a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code by following the instructions on the NSPA NATO website linked below:

NCAGE Homepage:

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/sc/CageList.aspx

NCAGE Code Request Tool (NCRT):

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/Codification/CageTool/home

Help with NCAGE Code registration issues:

• Email: ncage@nspa.nato.int

Exemption

An exemption from the UEI and…