NOFO_OFOP0003897_-_QandA.pdf

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

NOFO OFOP0003897 - Improved quality of life of persons with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange: Ca Mau, Quang Ngai

1. Sub-award mechanism: Section A.1 of the NOFO specifies a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument for the prime award. Must sub-awards between the prime recipient and sub-recipients also take the form of cost-reimbursement agreements, or may the prime recipient propose other sub-award mechanisms, such as fixed amount awards (FAAs)?

Answer: No. Applicants may propose appropriate instruments for the subawards.

2. Does the Embassy provide, or prefer, a specific template for the technical proposal, budget, logframe, and supporting documents? If so, where can applicants access them?

Answer: See the budget guidelines and templates provided in Appendix 1 – Budget Guidance for New Awards. Applicants may use their own formats for other documents.

3. Section D.3 sets a 25-page limit for the technical proposal, and Section D.5 lists the permitted attachments. May applicants submit the following as separate annexes outside the 25-page limit?

a) A detailed MEL plan

b) A detailed implementation workplan with a Gantt chart

c) A risk assessment and mitigation matrix If these annexes are permitted, will they be considered during the technical evaluation?

Answer: Applicants may submit additional annexes. Only information provided within the 25-page limit technical proposal and attachments specified in Section D.5 will be reviewed and evaluated.

4. Are the indicators and targets in Section C and Attachment 1 (Tables 4–7) considered sufficient, or are applicants expected to propose additional indicators?

Answer: Indicators and targets set forth in Section C. Program Description and Tables 4-7 in the Attachment 1 are the core indicators and targets to be achieved. Applicants can propose additional indicators.

5. Is there a defined or expected timeframe for transition plans of provinces outside of Ca Mau and Quang Nai?

Answer: The Applicants may propose the transition plans (including timeframe) for provinces.

6. Page 8 – Geographical coverage: The NOFO references transition-plan implementation in current U.S.-funded disability project provinces, including former Quang Nam, Hue, Quang Tri, former Kon Tum, former Binh Dinh, former Dong Nai, and former Binh Phuoc. Could you clarify whether applicants are expected to implement transition activities in all such provinces or may prioritize a subset? Please clarify the intended geographic scope, expected level of effort, targets, and resource assumptions for transition-plan implementation under Objective 4, particularly in light of recent provincial mergers and the use of former province names in the NOFO.

Answer: The Applicants may propose the provinces where they are going to conduct the transition plans. The Applicants may prioritize the provinces and may propose the best plan, including level of effort, targets, and resource allocation under Objective 4.

7. Page 11 - Key personnel: For 3 key personnel, could you clarify whether there are any expectations on minimum or recommended LoE for these positions?

Answer: The Applicants may propose the appropriate level of effort (LoE) for each key personnel position.

8. Page 12 – Proposed Subawards: Section D.3 states that “The proposal should include the sections and content below” including the Proposed Subawards sub-section. Could you clarify whether the required subrecipient information should be included within the 25-page Technical Proposal, or whether it may be submitted “at the time of award”?

Answer: Per 2 CFR § 200.308, recipient must request prior written approval from Department of State for subaward(s) not proposed in the application and approved in the award. As such, for subaward(s) that the applicant wishes to have approved at the time of award if the applicant is selected for the award, the applicant must submit the required information of the entity proposed for subaward. This specific section “Proposed Subawards” may be provided together with the attachments listed in Section D.5 and will not count toward 25-page limit.

9. Page 13 – Attachments: Can you clarify if applicants can submit supplementary annexes beyond Section D.5 documents to support the Technical proposal? May the tables, figures, and captions use a different font size from the specified formatting requirements?

Answer: Applicants may submit supplementary annexes. However, annexes other than those listed in the Section D.5 count toward the 25-page limit. Text in charts, tables, diagrams, figures and captions may use a different font size, provided it remains clearly readable. These items count toward the 25-page limit.

10. Page 25 & 40 - Project Beneficiaries: Section 3.2.c. Project Beneficiaries (p. 25) identifies the primary beneficiaries as persons with severe physical, mobility, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. However, Objective 3, Section d.2.3 (p. 40) includes activities to improve access to information through sign language interpretation, captioning, Braille books, audiobooks, and hearing aids, which are typically designed to support persons with hearing or visual impairments. Could you clarify whether persons with hearing and visual impairments are intended to be included among the primary beneficiaries of this funding https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/section-200.308 opportunity, and whether interventions specifically targeting these populations are eligible under Objective 3?

Answers: Section C.2. Target Groups identifies the Primary and the secondary beneficiaries that shall be prioritized for the project as a whole. Objective 3 focuses on “Improve policy, public attitudes, and accessibility for persons with disabilities.” which will benefit the whole community of people with disabilities, including people with other disabilities. As noted in the Section C. Program Description, Attachment 1 includes illustrative outputs and activities.

11. Page 26 – Key Targets to Be Achieved Under the Goal: Please clarify how applicants should calculate compliance with the requirement that “at least 50% of project resources” directly support persons with disabilities and their families. Specifically, please define the numerator and denominator and identify the eligible cost categories, including personnel, travel, case management, caregiver training, service-provider fees, equipment, assistive products, home modifications, livelihood assistance, and subaward costs.

We would also appreciate clarification whether all costs incurred by a sub-awardee in implementing activities that directly benefit or support persons with disabilities and their families including personnel, travel, program activities, other related costs, and overhead would count toward the direct-support requirement.

Answer: Applicants should divide the total federal funds budgeted for direct support costs (numerator) by the total federal funds, including all direct and indirect costs (denominator). The result must be at least 50%.

Direct support costs are expenses for goods, services, and activities delivered to or directly benefiting persons with disabilities and their families. These may include assistive products, home modifications, fees paid to service providers (who provide services to project beneficiaries), case assessment and management, caregiver training (for caregivers of project beneficiaries), livelihood assistance, independent living trainings, other proposed activities for beneficiaries and their families, and other directly associated costs for providing such goods, services, and activities. Management, administration, monitoring and evaluation, audits, and other indirect costs are not considered direct support. Subaward costs follow the same rules.

Applicants may demonstrate how they propose to achieve this result.

12. Technical Proposal Format: Could you advise whether applicants may include hyperlinks in the Technical narrative to supporting resources (e.g., publications, project reports, or organizational websites).

Answer: Only information provided in the 25-page limit technical proposal and attachments specified in Section D.5 will be reviewed and evaluated.