NOFO QA Week of 03.6.23_Final (002).pdf

McGovern-Dole FY2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity Q&A

Week of 03/06/2023

1. Q: Are non-profit organizations eligible to apply under “Other organizations”?

A: The following information is listed in the NOFO under Section C, Eligibility Information: “In accordance with the McGovern-Dole authorizing legislation, 7 U.S.C. 1736o-1, the following entities are eligible Applicants:

• Private Voluntary Organizations (see 7 CFR section 1599.2 for the definition of a

• private voluntary organization);

• Cooperatives;

• Intergovernmental Organizations;

• Governments of developing countries and their agencies; and

• Other organizations.

Please note Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are eligible to apply under “other organizations.”

2. Q: In the past year, there are several examples of UEI registrations (and generation of UEI numbers) that take far longer than the allotted 9.5 weeks of the solicitation period to finalize, especially if the entities are national governments, or relevant line ministries. Because Governments are a key element to sustainability of programs, their inclusion, when necessary, is essential to program design. However, their inclusion in the proposal without a UEI could jeopardize a submission. In view of evidence that UEI registrations take a long time, often exceeding 3 months, will USDA consider accepting applications that reference sub-recipients that do not have a finalized UEI number, however, have proof of a UEI in pending status?

A: As mentioned in the NOFO under Section C, Eligibility Information, please note that SAM.gov registration is different than obtaining a UEI only. Please review the Frequently Asked Questions at the Federal Service Desk for additional information about the difference between registering in SAM.gov and obtaining a UEI only.

As noted in the FAQ, some entities who do business with the government may choose not to register in SAM.gov, for example, sub-awardees. In this case, those entities cannot bid directly on federal contracts as a prime contractor or seek federal assistance as a prime awardee. If this is the goal of the entity, they can go to SAM.gov and get a Unique Entity ID only (no entity registration required). The information required for getting a Unique Entity ID without registration is minimal. It only validates your organization's legal business name and address.

The Federal Service Desk Knowledge Base also has information on the average time to complete SAM.gov entity validation/registration: How long does entity validation take? According to GSA, “Less complex cases where documents matching the requirements have been provided may be https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0051214&sys_kb_id=dd40f4ef1b9641d0937fa64ce54bcb7a&spa=1 https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0051214&sys_kb_id=dd40f4ef1b9641d0937fa64ce54bcb7a&spa=1 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fsd.gov%2Fgsafsd_sp%3Fid%3Dgsafsd_kb_articles%26sys_id%3Dd2a5a933dbd121d094439f95f39619fc&data=05%7C01%7C%7C1887006b4b88495c9c9b08db1f4f7140%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C638138198276565648%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YtqdYH%2BLyK51FPQU1e%2FDB88wHUrxhQesPOkjpYHQK%2FQ%3D&reserved=0 resolved in as few as five days, where other cases may take several weeks. As of 03/07/23, the average time to complete a manual review is six (6) business days.”

3. Q: Are there any updates about the planned Public Meeting on FY 2023 funding opportunities for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program and Food for Progress Program? Can you please confirm the location, virtual link, and time/date?

A: The public meeting has been rescheduled to 9:30am to12:30 pm on Tuesday, March 21. More information when available will be posted on McGovern-Dole's webpage.

4. Q: What is the likelihood of a “non-priority country” receiving funding under the McGovern- Dole program?

A: Please refer to NOFO Q&A document posted on Grants.gov for the week of February 27, 2023.

5. Q: Is there a separate application for "non-priority countries”?

A: No

6. Q: Should applicants use the current commodity prices available, or can USDA provide alternate that takes fluctuations and transport cost increases into account?

A: Please refer to page 67 of the NOFO: “Any cost escalations expected during this project, and the manner pricing in which they are accounted for throughout budget (for example, an annual X% increase in expenses. These must be included for both applications and final award/amendment narratives per year). All line items should include the cost escalation over the life of the project, as applicable.”

7. Q: USDA specifies a period of performance of 60 months but lists the projected start date as 10/01/2023 and end date as 9/30/2027, which is only 48 months. Can USDA please confirm if the project end date should be 9/30/2028?

A: Project end date should be 9/30/2028

8. Q: On page 69, footnote 10, MGD indicates “For all salary tables in the budget narrative, please note that the table should reflect multiplication across any given row such that Months * LOE * Base Monthly Salary = Total Salary.” If using a “base monthly salary,” the multiplication will not be correct once inflation is applied for Months 13-60. Please confirm that an average monthly salary should be calculated across all 60 months for the multiplication to be correct.

A. Please use the Salaries/Personnel table on page 69 but you may add columns or footnotes as needed to explain your calculations.

https://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/mcgovern-dole-food-education-program