P21AS00378 QA.docx

P21AS00378 Q&A

1. Are you expecting a budget narrative as part of the proposal? Or is the 424a adequate?

A budget narrative is not a required element of the application, but can be incorporated as a way to demonstrate how your organization would run this program.

2. Would the SF-424 and 424A require $400k as the federal share? $2M?

I recommend that the 424s demonstrate the total five-year cost that you would expect this program to run. The actual proposed cost is up to you as this is your application.

3. This is flown under a different CFDA than the most common utilized (15.931). This is 15.954 -- NPS Conservation, Protection, Outreach, and Education. To our knowledge this poses no concerns, but wanted to see if you had any comments as to the use of 15.954.

This internship program runs under 15.954 rather than 15.931 because it is not explicitly a youth program. This simply means that no cost-share is required and there are no age limitations for the Business Plan Interns. There are no other substantial differences between this program and one run under CFDA 15.931

4. We wanted to clarify the past ways in which housing procurement was handled and if the approaches used in the past are likely to be available to meet the RPF requirements. From our experience we know that this can be a significant expense. Approximately what percentage of past internship projects were supported by housing at the park? And generally, was this cost absorbed by the park unit?

This varies year to year; the past two years have seen a higher percentage of external (not park-based) housing due to covid-19 housing protocols and restrictions in parks. On average, I would expect there to be about 3 cases of external housing needed out of 9 total projects, so 67% of the time teams are housed at parks. This cost is absorbed by the park unit.

5. In some cases did the awardee have to work with park housing officers to rent houses?

If the project site cannot provide park-based housing, we ask them to identify suitable accommodations in the nearby community since they have the best knowledge of commutes, neighborhoods, etc. We forward these options to the recipient (awardee) to finalize arrangements and book accommodations. While the recipient will not need to independently identify options, the responsibility to confirm and secure the housing, including signing short-term leases or long-term hotel contracts is on the recipient. In these cases, the project site will transfer additional funds to the cooperative agreement to cover the cost of that housing out of their budget.

6. Generally what percentage of the time were commercial hotels or other short term rentals used?

Approximately 33% of the time. In the past interns have stayed in summer rental houses, short-term rentals (i.e. AirBnB), or extended stay suites at commercial hotels.

7. Please confirm that the travel policies and expense follows the awardee’s travel requirements; not the NPS requirements?

Correct; the recipient sets travel policies and per diem policy for the interns as they are employed by the recipient.

8. Does the NPS sometimes provide automobiles for interns? Can they drive NPS vehicles?

Interns can drive a government vehicle while at their worksite, for official business purposes. They are not permitted to use a government vehicle for daily commuting to the worksite, per NPS policy.

· As some of the parks and worksites are remote, we strongly encourage interns consider bringing a personal vehicle for the summer for commuting, grocery shopping, and weekend excursions.

9. I would assume that training activities have in the past relied on shared rides and possibly NPS vehicles (e.g. vans) for efficient travel.

Yes; i.e. if training is held at Grand Canyon National Park and we need to get the interns from the Phoenix airport, NPS staff would generally rent vans, coordinate airport pick-ups, and carpool from the airport to the training site and back.

10. Does the awardee have input in, or decision making authority on where training occurs and what parks are engaged in the internship program?

No; training locations are determined according to operational requirements and according to NPS staff needs. Project sites are selected internally after a competitive request for proposal and vetting process.

11. The NPS stipend and housing arrangements are unclear to us. Does the NPS pay the stipends? It appears that the awardee arranges for and pays for housing but we need to clarify stipend payment process and responsibility?

a. The stipends (including any necessary payroll expenses, taxes, etc.) are paid by the awardee/recipient.

b. External (not park-based) housing is facilitated and procured by the recipient, but the cost for this housing is transferred to the cooperative agreement from the project site’s budget.

c. Park-based housing is covered by the host park or program.

12. We assume the limit of the number of interns is approximately 15; please confirm?

We select 9 projects, with 18 interns (teams of two per project) each year.

13. How does the awardee develop and arrange for training and mentoring with the program coordinator? Is there an already set business practice or is this unique to the year’s projects and awardee’s expertise

Much of the training/orientation content is handled by NPS staff since it is specific to their projects and NPS policy. Mentoring and professional development throughout the summer is handled by the awardee. NPS would work with the awardee to determine expertise, developmental areas of focus, etc. and is typically more general and less focused on the projects. We would plan and coordinate training and professional development plans with the awardee each spring.