nofa-afe13.pdf

OMB No. 1018-0123

Expiration: 09/30/2014

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Division of International Conservation

Wildlife Without Borders Programs

Notice of Funding Availability & Application Instructions

Fiscal Year 2013

Funding Opportunity Title: WWB African Elephant Conservation Fund FY13

Announcement Type: New Applications

Funding Opportunity Number: F12AS00424

Submission Deadline: December 1

African Elephant Conservation Fund

Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance (CFDA):15.620

Failure to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and provide complete information, as outlined below, may cause delays, postponement, or rejection of a grant application.

Agency Contact

Dr. Michelle Gadd

Branch of Near East, South Asia, and Africa

Division of International Conservation

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

4401 North Fairfax Drive, MS 100

Arlington, VA 22203-1622

Tel: 703-358-2149 Fax: 703-358-2115

E-mail: michelle_gadd@fws.gov mailto:michelle_gadd@fws.gov

I. DESCRIPTION OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

The African Elephant Conservation Fund is soliciting project proposals for the conservation of the African elephant

(Loxodonta africana) throughout its range. In 1988 Congress passed the African Elephant Conservation Act in response to the alarming decline of African elephant populations. The Act provides for the establishment of an African Elephant

Conservation Fund to provide financial assistance to support projects that will enhance sustainable conservation programs to ensure effective, long-term conservation of African elephants.

The African Elephant Conservation Fund supports projects that promote conservation through:

• Enhanced protection of at-risk elephant populations;

• Efforts to decrease human-elephant conflict;

• Habitat conservation and management;

• Protected area/reserve management in important elephant range;

• Strengthening local capacity to implement conservation programs;

• Transfrontier elephant conservation;

• Wildlife inspection, law enforcement, and forensics skills;

• Conservation education and community outreach;

• Applied research on elephant populations and their habitat, including surveys and monitoring;

• Development and execution of elephant conservation management plans;

• Compliance with applicable treaties and laws that prohibit or regulate the taking or trade of elephants or regulate the use and management of elephant habitat.

Proposed project work should occur within the range of the African elephant, or, if work is to be conducted outside of the range, the proposal should show a clear relevance to African elephant conservation.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

This program uses grant and cooperative agreements as financial assistance instruments. The type of assistance instrument to be used is the decision of USFWS.

Grant Awards

Due to the limited funds available, proposals requesting less than $100,000 USD and demonstrating in-kind or financial matching support have a higher likelihood of being selected. Higher amounts may be requested with appropriate justification. Although the period of performance for projects funded under this program is typically one year, there are no restrictions on funding proposals for activities exceeding one year. If the applicant wishes to request a period greater than one year, it should be noted on the Cover Page and the proposal and timetable should describe activities for the entire proposed period of performance. The period of performance for all funded projects begins on the date the award is signed by the USFWS. Past and present recipients of awards under this Fund are eligible but must submit new proposals to compete for funding each year.

Cooperative Agreements

Cooperative agreements can be used in projects where substantive involvement by USFWS personnel is anticipated.

Before submitting a proposal for a cooperative agreement rather than a grant, please contact the Program Officer to verify that this is the appropriate mechanism. The criteria for funding levels, matching in-kind or financial support, period of performance, and the requirement for new proposal for past and present recipients of awards are the same as under Grant

Awards. For cooperative agreements, substantive involvement by the USFWS should be expected and may include collaborating jointly with the recipient partner in carrying out the scope of work, drafting the proposal and offering technical assistance. To submit a proposal for consideration as a cooperative agreement, provide a justification statement in the project proposal as to the type and duration of assistance requested of the USFWS and a rationale for why involvement of USFWS is needed to fulfill project objectives. For more information, please contact the USFWS Program

Officer.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Eligible Applicants: Any government agency responsible for the conservation and protection of African elephant or any other organization, multi-national secretariat, or individual with demonstrated experience in African elephant conservation may submit proposals to this Fund. U.S. non-profit, non-governmental organizations must submit documentary evidence of their Section 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

Ineligible Activities: The Division of International Conservation will not fund:

the purchase of firearms or ammunitions;

buying intelligence information or paying informants;

gathering information by persons who conceal their true identity;

law enforcement operations that, to arrest suspects, prompt them to carry out illegal activities (entrapment);

any activity that would circumvent sanctions, laws or regulations of either the U.S. or the country of proposed activity;

material support or resources to individuals, entities, or organizations of countries that the U.S. Department of

State has identified as state sponsors of terrorism. These countries are: Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. (Exceptions may be allowed with clearance from U.S. Department of State)

Applicant and Partner Contributions: Applicants and/or other project partners must contribute funds to the project, which may include cash or in-kind contributions. Applicant and partner contributions cannot be included as contributions for any other federally assisted project or program. Funds provided by another U.S. Federal Government agency or another USFWS award cannot be reported as matching contributions but should be noted and explained in detail. Only verifiable contributions should be included as match. A match shown during one year may not be repeated as a match in a subsequent proposal.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Failure to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and provide complete information, as outlined below, may cause delays, postponement, or rejection of a grant application.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 1 is the deadline for applications for funding for 2013. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to applicants once their submission has been received. Preference will be given to proposals received by the deadline but USFWS reserves the right to consider proposals outside of the application period in the case of emergency situations.

1. APPLICATION FORMAT AND CONTENT

You must submit your proposal in English. The text portion of the proposal should be 10 pages or less. Figures, tables, maps, and required forms are not counted in the 10-page limit.

Your proposal should include these elements:

A. Application Cover Page

Complete the Application Cover Page located at http://www.fws.gov/international/dic/pdf/Cover_Page.pdf according to the instructions on page 3 of the form.

B. Project Summary

BRIEFLY summarize your project in one page or less. This section should be a stand-alone summary of your project.

It may or may not be shared with the public. Include the title of the project, geographic location, and a brief overview of the need for the project. Goal(s), objectives, specific project activities, anticipated outputs and conservation outcomes can also be included in this section.

http://www.fws.gov/international/dic/pdf/Cover_Page.pdf

C. Project Narrative

Please bear in mind that every proposal must be a stand-alone document. Not all proposal reviewers may be familiar with past grants, so the proposal itself should include all the major points that a reader needs to know. Do not expect reviewers to refer to past proposals or reports or outside references but instead summarize them as necessary.

1. Statement of Need: This section should answer the question, “Why is this project necessary?” The statement of need should clearly identify the targeted species or habitat, a description of the direct threats that adversely affect the targeted species/habitat at the project site, a justification for which threat(s) is the most important to address, and the specific activities and threats that the project will implement and address.

Describe why this project is necessary and include supporting information. Summarize previous or ongoing efforts (of your organization as well as other international, national, regional, and/or local organizations or individuals) that are relevant to the proposed work. Explain how your proposal differs from past work or builds upon it. Explain the successes or failures of past efforts and how your proposal builds upon those.

If you have received grants previously (from USFWS or any other donor) for this work or this specific site, provide a summary of those activities and accomplishments so that reviewers can better understand the proposal in context. A table may be the most efficient way to convey this information: including columns for donor, reference number, amount funded, year of activity, and bullet points of major activities, outcomes, or products.

2. Project Goals and Objectives: This section should answer the question, “What do you want to achieve?”

State the long-term, overarching goal(s) of your program. Objectives are the specific outcomes that you will accomplish in order to reach your stated goal(s). Your objectives must be attainable within the project period and should be specific, measurable, and realistic.

3. Project Activities, Methods and Timetable: This section should answer the questions “What are you going to do?” and “How exactly are you going to do it?” List the proposed project activities and how they relate to your objectives. Activities are the specific actions that you undertake to fulfill your objectives and reach your goal. Provide a detailed description of the method(s) for each activity. The project activities, equipment used/requested, and personnel conducting the work should be clearly articulated in this section, and should correspond with the budget request.

Provide a timetable indicating roughly when (over a 12-month timeframe) activities or project milestones will be accomplished. If there are multiple agencies, organizations, or individuals involved, it may be helpful to include a column showing which party will be responsible for each activity. Include any tables, spreadsheets, or flowcharts within the body of the narrative (DO NOT include separate attachments). The timetable should not propose specific dates, but should show what will be done monthly throughout the activity period. Go to http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/Sample_timetable.pdf to view a sample project timetable.

4. Stakeholder Coordination/Involvement: This section should answer the question, “Who are you going to be working with?” Describe how you have coordinated with and involved local resource managers and other relevant organizations or individuals in planning your project, and how they will be involved in conducting project activities and disseminating project results or incorporating your results/products into their activities.

Where multiple groups are working in the same site, or are listed as stakeholders in the proposal, letters of endorsement specifically referring to this proposal and to the proposed collaboration from each partner organization involved will strengthen your proposal.

5. Project Monitoring and Evaluation: This section should answer the questions, “What conservation outcomes will your project achieve” and “How will we know that the project is working successfully?”

Project monitoring and evaluation involves two components: (1) creating tangible outputs (also known as products), and (2) measuring the conservation outcomes (also known as impacts) of project activities.

http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/Sample_timetable.pdf

(1) Anticipated Outputs: Identify all expected project outputs, also known as products (e.g., management plans, brochures, posters, training manuals, number of people trained, workshops held, hours of training provided, patrols conducted). Where appropriate, describe how outputs will be distributed to the relevant stakeholders, such as host country government agencies, resource managers, local communities, media, and civil society.

(2) Conservation Outcomes: Conservation outcomes are the desired impacts of a project, such as a change in capacity, threat, or condition of a species or habitat, and should relate directly to your objectives. To track your progress toward achievement of each project objective, identify what you will measure (i.e., indicators), and how you will measure it (i.e., methods, sample sizes, survey tools). For example:

Whenever possible, include direct measures of abundance or spatial extent for the focal species, population, or habitat to demonstrate the impact of project activities.

For education and outreach, include examples of questionnaires or behavioral surveys that you will employ to measure how knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors were affected by your project.

For training, curricula should be described or attached and assessment tools like exams or tests should be described and benchmarks for passing the training program should be stated.

For wildlife protection activities, you may wish to measure patrol days, person-hours, or prosecutions secured.

For reintroduction or veterinary programs, measures of success may focus on the number of animals moved or treated, survivorship, or overall population numbers.

The USFWS values projects that report both the strengths and weaknesses of efforts as a means by which an applicant can improve their performance and provide lessons learned to improve our efforts to conserve wildlife.

6. Sustainability: This section should answer the question, “What is your long-term plan for this project beyond the FWS funding period?” Describe which project activities will continue beyond the time period described in your proposal, who will continue the work or act on the results you have achieved, and any ideas you have for future funding.

7. Description of Organization(s) Undertaking the Project: This section should answer the question, “Who is on the team and how are they qualified to complete the work proposed?” Provide a brief description of the applicant organization and all cooperating organizations and agencies. State the activities for which each group or individual is responsible. Provide brief (1-2 pages) curricula vitae for key personnel, identifying their qualifications to meet the project objectives. DO NOT include Social Security numbers, the names of family members, or any other personal or sensitive information including marital status, religion or physical characteristics. Please refer to people by the same title/role consistently (in the proposal, on the curricula vitae, and in the budget table or budget justification).

8. Project Budget Table

Things to consider when developing your Budget Table:

Federally Funded Equipment: If the U.S. Federal Government has paid for equipment for another award, applicants cannot claim it to be a matching or in-kind contribution and SHOULD NOT include it in the budget table. Instead, provide a separate list of any equipment paid for by the U.S. Federal

Government that will be used for the project, including the name of the Federal agency that paid for the equipment.

Indirect Costs: We encourage applicants to keep indirect costs to a minimum. Applicants with

Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreements (NICRA) must include a copy with their proposal. If they so choose, applicants with NICRA rates may request less than their negotiated rate and/or contribute indirect costs as a match.

Program Income: Your project may include activities that will generate program income. Program income earned as a result of activities supported with Federal funding includes, but is not limited to the following: income from fees for services, the use or rental of property, the sale of commodities or fabricated items, license fees and royalties on patents and copyrights, and interest on loans. Program income does not include interest earned on advances of Federal funds. Under this Fund, income earned during the project period of an approved award shall be retained by the recipient and used in at least one of the following ways:

1. added to the funds requested from the FWS for the project in addition to those committed by the recipient/other partners, and later used to conduct additional activities that will further the project objectives; OR

2. used to finance the non-Federal share of the project.

If your project will generate program income, provide: (1) a description of how the income will be generated, (2) an estimate of how much income will be made during the project duration, and (3) a description of how the funds will be used. If the income is to be used to conduct additional activities, you must include a Program Income column in your budget table and include all cost categories/items and associated amounts that the program income will cover.

Instructions for Budget Table:

Begin your project budget table on a new page. The budget table should include a column for all cost categories/items for the project, one column to show the cost calculation, a column for the total costs, one column for the requested USFWS funding, one or more columns for applicant and partner contributions, and, if applicable, a column for any program income that will be used to conduct project activities, as demonstrated here:

Category/

Budget Item**

Cost

Calculation*

TOTAL

COST

USFWS “Applicant” “Partner X” “Partner

Y”

Program

Income

(if applicable)

Totals

*Present all amounts in U.S. dollars

**We cannot accept the term “contingencies” in the budget as a line item

Go to http://www.fws.gov/international/dicprograms/Sample%20Budget.pdf to view to view a sample project budget table.

The budget table should provide enough information for reviewers to be able to understand the cost basis and calculation at a glance. For example, a $3,300 line item for lodging costs should include the formula for how the cost was calculated: Lodging for 20 nights x 11 people x $15/night = $3,300. Wherever possible, cost calculations should be included in the Project Budget Table but where necessary, additional description should be provided in the Budget Justifications. If the budget table requires more than one page, verify that column headings and row titles for the items appear on all pages.

9. Budget Justifications: Justify or explain all requested budget items/costs. Demonstrate a clear connection to project activities, and show how line item amounts were determined. For expensive items or large single purchases, provide detailed technical specifications or a pro-forma invoice. Requests for personnel salary should be well documented, including the base-line salary figure and the estimate of time (percent) to be directly charged to the project. Assistance to cover personnel salaries is generally given a lower priority.

10. Governmental Endorsement: Non-governmental applicants must include a RECENT letter of support

(no older than two years) from the appropriate local, regional, or national government wildlife or conservation authority. Endorsement letters should make specific reference to the project by its title, as submitted on the applicant’s proposal.

11. Map: This page should answer the question, “Where is this project located?” Provide a map showing the location of your project site at the regional or national level. Ensure that the sites that you have referred to in the proposal are labeled on the map and that the map is large enough to be legible.

http://www.fws.gov/international/dicprograms/Sample%20Budget.pdf

Provide the latitude and longitude coordinates of a representative geographic location for your project in decimal degrees format (NOT degree-minute-seconds format). For example, USFWS in Arlington, Virginia, USA, would be provided as 38.8825, -77.1145 (latitude, longitude). Please correctly enter north and east coordinates as positive values, and south and west coordinates as negative values.

2. PROPOSAL APPLICATION CHECKLIST

ALL PROPOSALS MUST INCLUDE:

□ Signed Grant Application Cover Page (MUST be signed by authorized representative)

□ DUNS Number

□ System for Award Management (SAM) registration

□ Project Summary (1 page)

□ Project Narrative

□ Timetable

□ Budget Table

□ Budget Justification

□ Curricula vitae (1-2 pages) for key personnel

□ Recent Letter of Governmental Endorsement

□ Map

□ Audit Report (Only necessary if your organization has expended more than $500,000 of Federal assistance per year. For more information go to: http://harvester.census.gov/sac/)

□ Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (India only)

PROPOSALS FROM U.S. APPLICANTS MUST ALSO INCLUDE:

□ A complete, signed Standard Form 424-Application for Federal Assistance http://www.fws.gov/international/DICprograms/sf%20424.pdf

□ A complete Standard Form 424b-Assurances http://www.fws.gov/international/DICprograms/sf%20424b.pdf

□ Grants.gov registration

□ Documentary evidence of Section 501(c)(3) non-profit status, if applicable

□ A copy of your organization’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable

3. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

A. REGISTRATION: Before submitting a proposal, you must be registered in the following databases

(registration may take several weeks for each):

Dun & Bradstreet Universal Number System (DUNS): U.S. Government-wide policy requires that all applicants, organizations and individuals, both domestic and non-domestic, apply for, and include, a nine-digit Dun & Bradstreet

Data Universal Number System (DUNS) on their proposal. Applicants without a DUNS number should go to http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Applicants who already have a DUNS number are responsible for updating changes to their address or business name with Dun and Bradstreet directly. The organizational address (Grant

Administrator) must match the address in Dun & Bradstreet’s system.

System for Award Management (SAM): All foreign and domestic applicants MUST be registered in the SAM database to apply for funding. SAM is used by the U.S. Government as the repository for standard information about applicants and recipients of federal funds. SAM interfaces with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife grants management database and financial systems, therefore all applicants must be registered with in SAM to receive an award.

Recipients must maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during the project period.

http://harvester.census.gov/sac/) http://www.fws.gov/international/DICprograms/sf%20424.pdf http://www.fws.gov/international/DICprograms/sf%20424b.pdf http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

For information on registration and exemptions go to: https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

Grants.gov: Domestic Applicants MUST apply through Grants.gov. If you do not have an account, you must register. Go to: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp.

B. SUBMISSION

Domestic Applicants: You must apply through Grants.gov. Your entire proposal including the cover page MUST be uploaded as a SINGLE .pdf file. Attach your file on the Attachment Form. For further instructions, see above.

Non-Domestic Applicants: May submit through Grants.gov or e-mail

Grants.gov: See above

E-mail: All documents must be printable on letter paper (8 ½” x 11”). Format all pages to display and print page numbers. We prefer to receive the entire proposal as a SINGLE file attachment. If you need to submit separate attachments please try to send them all together in a single e-mail message. If your files are too big for a single e-mail, please number your e-mails and attachments so that we know the order of your submissions. E-mail your proposal to the USFWS at MSCF_africanelephant@fws.gov

V. APPLICATION REVIEW

The USFWS may solicit advice from qualified experts to conduct a technical review of your proposed project. The

USFWS may also discuss your proposal with known past and present partners to reduce the potential for waste, fraud and abuse and to encourage coordination and collaboration among projects on the ground.

Review Criteria: To be considered for funding, proposals must address one or more of this program’s priority areas, listed above in the Description of Funding Opportunity. The Division of International Conservation ranks proposals by scoring how well each proposal addresses the program priority areas and the requested elements listed in the

Application and Format section above. High priority, well-justified projects that address all of the requested proposal elements will receive higher scores. These scores are not the sole determining factor for final funding decisions. Other review criteria include considering the degree to which a project will:

• Make a significant contribution to the protection, maintenance and/or enhancement of important populations of the target species and/or their habitats;

• Act as a catalyst for activities in a previously neglected area with potential significant conservation value;

• Address an emerging issue with potential significant conservation value;

• Utilize requested funds in an efficient, cost-effective manner to accomplish project objectives;

• Complement activities of other organizations/individuals in a manner which will lead to efficient, effective conservation of the resource;

• Conduct activities that do not duplicate other ongoing activities;

• Address a conservation need identified by a specialist group, or by a regional, national or global strategy;

• Conduct activities that will be harmonious with international, national and/or regional conservation priorities, action plans and/or strategies;

• Implement an important element of a larger scale/scope project that would provide synergetic value;

• Apply the best scientific and technical information available in support of project activities;

• Provide training essential to the development of local capacity to implement conservation activities;

• Provide project management experience to local personnel, strengthening the local capacity to manage conservation programs;

• Include the participation of local people in the project activities, or otherwise contribute to local empowerment;

• Promote networking, partnerships and/or coalitions;

• Develop a demonstration activity that can be replicated for widespread use;

• Implement activities or provide benefits that have the potential to be sustained beyond the life of the grant;

• Maintains a positive track record with USFWS based on previous grant support, if applicable, including timely submission of financial and performance reports and a summary of major activities and accomplishments of previous

USFWS support in the Statement of Need section.

https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp

The above considerations are not listed in any order of importance. All considerations listed do not necessarily apply to every proposal. The Division of International Conservation occasionally receives and funds proposals outside of the announced submission deadlines that are of such a critical nature that they warrant immediate consideration (examples include projects resulting from a natural disaster, disease outbreak, or other imminent and threats among others.)

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION

Award Notices: Successful applicants will be e-mailed written notice in the form of an Assistance Award document, along with an enrollment form for the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) for their banking information. Applicants whose projects are not selected for funding will receive an e-mail notice within 180 days of their proposal submission.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements: Go to http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/aag.pdf to review the Division of International Conservation’s Assistance Award Guidelines, which details the policies, terms and conditions applicable to awards made under this program.

Domestic registrants: Payments will be issued through U.S. Department of Treasury via the self-initiated electronic drawdown system, Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP). To view instructions and initiate ASAP enrollment, go to: http://www.fws.gov/fbms/

Non-Domestic registrants: Payments to non-domestic grantees are transferred electronically through the U.S. Treasury’s

International Treasury Services (ITS) system. To receive funding, you must submit a signed Standard Form-270, Request for Advance or Reimbursement (SF-270.) This form is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/sf270.pdf

You must also complete an ITS Payment Cover Sheet which will be included in your award notification email. Be sure your account numbers and banking information is accurate. Email both your completed ITS Payment Cover Sheet and your signed SF-270 to the appropriate FWS program located in Section 4 of the ITS Payment Cover Sheet.

Reporting: Grantees are required to submit a mid-term and a final report that conform to USFWS reporting requirements as described in detail in the Assistance Award Guidelines http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/aag.pdf

Branding: All materials (presentations, reports, large equipment purchases, infrastructure, awards, and other items as deemed relevant) produced under any award intended for distribution must acknowledge the support of USFWS by showing the USFWS logo. Photo-ready and vector format logos are available upon request from the USFWS Program

Officer.

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

Dr. Michelle Gadd

Branch of Near East, South Asia, and Africa

Division of International Conservation

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

4401 North Fairfax Drive, MS 100

Arlington, VA 22203-1622

Tel: 703-358-2149 Fax: 703-358-2115

E-mail: michelle_gadd@fws.gov

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act requires us to tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether or not you have to respond. Your response is required to receive funding. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. We estimate that it will take an average of 22 hours to complete the application and 40 hours to complete a report. These burden estimates include time for reviewing instructions and gathering data. OMB has approved this collection and assigned OMB Control No. 1018-0123, which expires 05/31/2011. The burden estimates do not include the time needed to complete Standard Forms associated with the application and financial reports. You may send comments concerning the burden estimates or any aspect of this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mailstop 222, Arlington, VA 22203.

http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/aag.pdf http://www.fws.gov/fbms/ http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/sf270.pdf http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/aag.pdf http://www.fws.gov/international/DIC/pdf/aag.pdf mailto:michelle_gadd@fws.gov