PKG00247863-instructions..pdf

OMB Number - 1122-0020 Expiration Date: 12/31/2018 i

U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

OVW Fiscal Year 2019 Research and Evaluation

Solicitation

Release date: on or about January 28, 2019

Eligibility Eligible applicants are limited to: states, units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education.

(See Eligibility Information)

Deadlines

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on March 25, 2019.

(See Submission Dates and Times)

Registration Information: All applicants must obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and register online with the System for Award Management (SAM) and with Grants.gov.

To ensure sufficient time to complete the registration process, applicants must obtain a DUNS number and register online with SAM and with Grants.gov immediately, and no later than February 28, 2019. (See Registration)

Letter of Intent: Applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of intent to apply to Virginia.Baran@usdoj.gov by February 28, 2019. This letter confirms that the applicant has registered with SAM and Grants.gov. Submitting a letter of intent will not obligate a potential applicant to submit an application. Applicants who do not submit a letter of intent can still apply.

(See Letter of Intent)

Contact Information For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, email Virginia.Baran@usdoj.gov or call

(202) 305-2093.

Submission and Notification Information Submission: Applications for this program will be submitted through Grants.gov. For technical assistance with Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Line at 1-800-518-4726.

The Grants.gov number assigned to this announcement is OVW-2019-16029.

Notification: OVW anticipates notifying applicants of funding decisions by October 1, 2019.

mailto:Virginia.Baran@usdoj.gov ii

Contents A. Program Description

Overview About the OVW Research and Evaluation Initiative Program Scope

Areas of Study Priority Areas for Research and Evaluation Activities that Compromise Victim Safety Out-of-scope Activities

B. Federal Award Information Availability of Funds Award Period and Amounts Mandatory Program Requirements

Methodological Principles Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protection Expected Products

C. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants

Nonprofit Organization Requirement – Offshore Accounts Cost Sharing or Matching Number of Applications

D. Application and Submission Information Address to Request Application Package Content and Form of Application Submission Letter of Intent Formatting and Technical Requirements Application Contents

Project Abstract Project Narrative Appendices Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative

Additional Required Information Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Standard Assurances and Certifications Applicant Financial Capability Questionnaire Confidentiality Notice Form Disclosure of Process Related to Executive Compensation Pre-Award Risk Assessment Indirect Cost Rate Agreement Letter of Nonsupplanting

DUNS, SAM, and Grants.gov Registration Submission Dates and Times OVW Policy on Late Submissions iii

Intergovernmental Review - Single Point of Contact Review Funding Restrictions

Unallowable Costs Food and Beverage/Costs for Refreshments and Meals Conference Planning and Expenditure Limitations Pre-Agreement Cost Approval

Other Submission Requirements Submitting a Grant Application

E. Application Review Information Technical Merit Criteria Review and Selection Process

Peer Review Programmatic Review High-Risk Grantees

Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates F. Federal Award Administration Information

Federal Award Notices Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Information for All Federal Award Grantees Violence Against Women Act Non-Discrimination Provision Accessibility

Reporting G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) H. Other Information

Application Checklist Public Reporting Burden - Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

OVW Research and Evaluation Initiative

(CFDA 16.026)

A. Program Description Overview The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a component of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Created in 1995, OVW administers grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership on issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. OVW grants support coordinated community responses to hold offenders accountable and serve victims.

About the OVW Research and Evaluation Initiative The statutory provisions of VAWA addressing definitions and grant provisions— 34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(7)—authorize OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from OVW programs to conduct evaluations of promising practices or problems emerging in the field or related research, to inform OVW as to which programs or projects are likely to be effective or responsive to needs in the field.

The purpose of the Research and Evaluation (R&E) Initiative is to research and evaluate approaches to combatting domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. By generating more knowledge about strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable, communities that benefit from VAWA funding will be better equipped to align their work with practices that are known to be effective, and they will be more capable of generating empirical knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of doing things. R&E is designed to support researcher-practitioner partnerships and a broad range of research and evaluation methods, including qualitative, mixed-method, and quasi-experimental, and experimental designs. Because OVW has very limited funds to support research and evaluation, this initiative prioritizes topics for which a stronger evidence base would help OVW grantees use federal funds most effectively.

For a list of R&E awards made in Fiscal Years 2016, 2017, and 2018, see:

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/awards.

Program Scope Activities supported by this program are determined by statute, federal regulations, and OVW policies and priorities. If an applicant receives an award, the project is bound by the provisions of this solicitation, the DOJ Financial Guide (including updates to the guide after an award is made), the section of the Solicitation Companion Guide on post-award requirements for all federal award recipients, the conditions of the award, and federal regulations related to human subjects research.

Areas of Study OVW is interested in funding research and evaluation to generate knowledge in the six areas of study listed on the next page.

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/awards https://www.justice.gov/ovw/file/1030311/download https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1108301/download

1. Justice. Ways the justice system can effectively pursue and achieve justice in cases involving domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; with justice broadly understood to include retributive justice, autonomy for victims, accountability for offenders, procedural fairness for all, and restorative justice

2. Victims’ needs. How victimization and its aftermath affect people’s lives, and what victims need to cope, heal, and achieve safety and justice

3. Cultures, disparities, and access. Ways that cultural differences and social inequalities matter in terms of where and to whom people go for help, and whether people are able to access justice and get services that are useful to them

4. Impact. Short- and long-term impact of the justice system’s response, victim services, and other VAWA-funded interventions on victim safety and offender accountability

5. Indicators of success. What success looks like and how to measure it—for victims pursing safety and justice, for offenders being held accountable for their violence, and for people who work with victims and offenders

6. Reducing recidivism. How to prevent violence from recurring

Priority Areas for Research and Evaluation In FY 2019, OVW is interested in supporting research and evaluation under the three areas identified below.

1. Evaluations of VAWA-funded interventions, particularly criminal justice interventions. “VAWA-funded intervention” refers to any activity that is funded, or could potentially be funded, through OVW grant programs to address domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. OVW is especially interested in studying the effectiveness of interventions that: a) cut across multiple grant programs; and/or b) are used by law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts to combat domestic and sexual violence and/or stalking. Evaluations focused on measuring outcomes/effectiveness and impact are preferred, as are evaluations that include measurements of program fidelity and implementation.

2. Research on co-occurring domestic violence or sexual assault and substance use disorders, including descriptive research and evaluations of interventions that address the overlap of victimization and substance use disorders and increase victim access to substance abuse services.

3. Research on stalking and cyberstalking, including descriptive research and evaluations of interventions designed to combat stalking.

Applications proposing research that does not correspond to one of the priority areas described above will not be considered for FY 2019 R&E funding.

Activities that Compromise Victim Safety and Recovery and Undermine Offender Accountability OVW does not fund activities that jeopardize victim safety, deter or prevent physical or emotional healing for victims, or allow offenders to escape responsibility for their actions.

Information on activities that compromise victim safety and recovery and undermine offender accountability can be found in the Solicitation Companion Guide. Applications that propose any activities that compromise victim safety and recovery or undermine offender accountability may be eliminated from consideration.

Out-of-scope Activities The activities listed below are out of the program scope, and they will not be supported by R&E:

• Proposals to conduct needs assessment activities exclusively for the purpose of program improvement. (Use the research decision tree, at http://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/ResearchDecisionTree.pdf, to determine that the proposed project qualifies as research, and is thus within the scope of R&E.)

• Proposals primarily to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies. (A budget may include these items if they are necessary to conduct research, development, demonstration, evaluation, or analysis.)

• Proposals that are not responsive to this specific solicitation.

• Programs or services unrelated to the scope of the research project or the intervention being evaluated.

• Training in support of programs or direct services unrelated to or, unassociated with, the proposed research project.

Applications that propose activities that are deemed to be substantially out-of-scope may receive a deduction in points during the review process or may be eliminated from consideration.

B. Federal Award Information Availability of Funds All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law. There is no guarantee that funds will be available in the future. OVW may elect to make awards in a future fiscal year for applications submitted under this solicitation but not selected for FY 2019 funding, depending on the merits of the applications and the availability of funding.

OVW may share R&E application information and peer review outcomes with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Both OVW and NIJ have FY 2019 funding for violence against women research, but each office must consider program scope, current priorities, and availability of funds in making funding decisions. In the event that an application fares well in peer review but cannot be funded this year by OVW, and in the event that the application aligns closely with NIJ’s priorities, OVW may give NIJ the option of funding it. If NIJ elects to fund an application initially submitted under the OVW FY 2019 R&E solicitation, the applicant will be contacted before an award is made, to give the applicant the option of accepting or declining funding from a source other than the one to which the applicant applied.

Award Period and Amounts Applicants can request award periods ranging from 12 months to 36 months, and maximum total project funding of $450,000. The budget cap of $450,000 includes direct and indirect costs.

Budgets, including the total estimated funding requested on the SF-424, must reflect the requested project duration. Generally, the award period will begin on November 1, 2019.

R&E awards typically are in the range of $300,000 to $450,000. OVW estimates that it will make up to six awards for an estimated total of $2,500,000.

http://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/ResearchDecisionTree.pdf

OVW has the discretion to make awards for greater or lesser amounts than requested and to negotiate the scope of work and budget with applicants before making an award. Awards will be made as grants.

Mandatory Program Requirements This section describes the requirements of R&E, including methodological principles to which grantees must adhere, regulations regarding confidentiality and human subjects protection, and expected products.

Methodological Principles Any project funded under this solicitation must adhere to the methodological principles listed below. OVW will only support research methods that:

• Are well-matched to the purpose of the research and build on existing evidence

• Uphold victim safety as the paramount objective, with the understanding that scientific progress is always subordinate to that objective

• Are likely to yield findings that have practical utility for victim services providers and the justice system

• Are developed collaboratively between researchers and practitioners1

• Place as minimal a burden as possible on crime victims, offenders, and systems

• Operate from a cogent theoretical framework

• Have been approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) if they involve human subjects research

OVW will not support research that:

• Prioritizes scientific rigor over practical value or ethics, ethics being broadly defined and not limited to published standards

• Is minimally useful to practitioners

• Offers minimal cost benefit

• Lacks a clear theoretical foundation

• Is designed to generate descriptive findings that emphasize vulnerabilities and neglect strengths of specific populations. (For instance, a study that examines risk-taking behavior among members of a certain population, without testing any strategies for serving the target population, is not of value to OVW.)

Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protection Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be required to comply with Department of Justice regulations on confidentiality and human subjects’ protection. See Evidence, Research, and Evaluation Guidance and Requirements, at:

http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/SolicitationRequirements/EvidenceResearchEvaluationRequireme nts.htm.

1 Researcher-practitioner partnerships should be a learning experience for both researchers and practitioners, with researchers and practitioners holding equal status on the project and both standing to benefit comparably from the work.

http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/SolicitationRequirements/EvidenceResearchEvaluationRequirements.htm http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/SolicitationRequirements/EvidenceResearchEvaluationRequirements.htm

Expected Products OVW expects products to result from each award under this solicitation, taking the form of all of the following:

• One or more scholarly products, meaning published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (if appropriate) law review journal articles, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press;

• One or more products written in layperson’s terms and intended for practitioners and/or the general public; and

• One or more presentations made via webinar or conferences.

C. Eligibility Information

Applications that are submitted by ineligible entities or that do not meet all program eligibility requirements will not be considered for funding. In addition, an application that is deemed deficient in one or more of the following categories may not be considered for funding: 1) activities that compromise victim safety, 2) out-of-scope activities, 3) unallowable costs, 4) Pre-award Risk Assessment, 5) completeness, and 6) timeliness. Further, an applicant with past performance issues, long-standing open audits, or an open criminal investigation also may not be considered for funding.

Eligible Applicants The following entities are eligible to apply for R&E funding:

• States (including territories);

• Units of local government;

• Federally recognized Indian tribal governments;

• Nonprofit organizations; and

• Institutions of higher education.

Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign institutions of higher education are not eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible to apply.

OVW welcomes applications that involve two or more entities; however, one eligible entity must be the applicant and the other(s) must be proposed as the subrecipient(s). The applicant must be the entity with primary responsibility for conducting and leading the research. If successful, the applicant will be responsible for monitoring and appropriately managing any subrecipients or, as applicable, for administering any procurement subcontracts that would receive federal program funds from the applicant under the award.

Nonprofit Organization Requirement – Offshore Accounts Any nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code is not eligible for a grant from this program. See 34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(16)(B)(ii).

Cost Sharing or Matching This program has no match or cost sharing requirement.

Number of Applications An eligible applicant may submit more than one application, as long as each application proposes a different project in response to the solicitation. (If an applicant submits multiple versions of the same application, OVW will review only the most recent system-validated version submitted.) Subrecipients may be part of multiple proposals.

Applicants should be aware that FY 2019 R&E applications will most likely be reviewed through the same peer review mechanism as NIJ’s Violence Against Women Research applications.

OVW’s and NIJ’s FY 2019 solicitations stipulate different research priorities and funding caps;

however, if an applicant submits the same application under both OVW’s and NIJ’s solicitations, the application will be reviewed and scored only once, and against the scoring criteria of the solicitation with which the application appears on its face to be most aligned in terms of scope.

D. Application and Submission Information Address to Request Application Package The complete application package (this solicitation, including links to required forms) is available on Grants.gov or the OVW website. Applicants wishing to request a paper copy of these materials should—before February 18—contact Ginger Baran at (202) 305-2093 or Virginia.Baran@usdoj.gov.

Content and Form of Application Submission The information below (Letter of Intent through Additional Required Information) describes the full content and form of application submission. For a complete checklist of required contents, see the Other Information section in this solicitation.

Letter of Intent Applicants intending to apply are encouraged to submit a letter of intent. The letter should state that the applicant is registered and current with SAM and Grants.gov, and should be sent to Virginia.Baran@usdoj.gov by February 28, 2019. A letter does not obligate the applicant to submit an application. See https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants for a sample letter.

Formatting and Technical Requirements Applications must follow the requirements below. Points may be deducted for applications that do not adhere to the following requirements:

• Double spaced (Project Abstract, Summary Data Sheet and charts may be single spaced)

• 8½ x 11 inch paper

• One-inch margins

• Type no smaller than 12 point, Times New Roman or Arial

• Correctly numbered pages

• No more than 30 pages for the Project Narrative (excludes the title page and table of contents and figures)

• Documents in these formats: Microsoft Word (.doc), PDF files (.pdf), or text files (.txt) http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.justice.gov/ovw/open-solicitations mailto:Virginia.Baran@usdoj.gov http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants

• Headings and subheadings that correspond to the sections identified in this section of the solicitation

Application Contents Applications must be responsive to the scope and criteria of this solicitation, and must include the documents listed below.2 Applications that do not include items 1 through 4 may be considered substantially incomplete and not be considered for funding:

1. Project Abstract

2. Project Narrative

3. Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative

4. Appendices (While an application missing any of the required appendices will not automatically be removed from consideration, OVW has the discretion to deem an application unresponsive if it is missing significant required items.)

Project Abstract Project abstracts must follow the detailed template available at:

www.nij.gov/funding/documents/nij-project-abstract-template.pdf.

The abstract is an important part of the application, and serves as an introduction to the proposed project. OVW uses the project abstract for a number of purposes, including assignment of the application to an appropriate review panel. If the application is funded, the abstract typically will become public information and be used to describe the project.

The abstract should summarize the proposed project in 250-400 words. It should be:

• Written for a general public audience;

• Submitted as a separate attachment with “Abstract” as part of its file name; and

• Single-spaced, using a standard 12-point font with one-inch margins.

The abstract will not count against the page limit for the project narrative.

Project Narrative The project narrative must not exceed 30 double-spaced pages in 12-point font with one-inch margins. It should have a title page (listing the project title, submission date, and name and contact information for the applicant’s authorizing official and principal investigator), as well as a table of contents and figures. If included in the main body of the Project Narrative rather than in the appendices, the tables, charts, figures, and other illustrations will count toward the 30-page limit for the narrative section. The title page, abstract, appendices (including appended tables, charts, and figures), and government forms do not count toward the 30-page limit.

Following the title page and table of contents and figures, the project narrative must include these five sections:

1. Statement of the problem, weighted at 10%, must include:

2 Note: Some of the forms that OVW requires R&E applicants to submit are standard forms used by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Links are provided as appropriate.

http://nij.gov/funding/documents/nij-project-abstract-template.pdf

• The Priority Area the proposed project will address (see page 2);

• Purpose, goals, and objectives of the proposed project;

• A review of relevant literature; and

• Statement as to how the study is expected to contribute to the one or more of the six Areas of Study listed on page 1.

2. Project design and implementation, weighted at 50%, must include:

• An explanation of the theoretical foundation on which the proposed study is based;

• A description of a sound research design and appropriate analytic methods, including research questions, hypotheses, description of sample,3 and analysis plan, all of which should align with the Methodological Principles on page 4; and

• A discussion of potential pitfalls of the proposed project design and how the applicant will minimize and/or mitigate them.

3. Potential impact, weighted at 15%, must include:

• Implications for practice and policy in victim services and the justice system response to domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking.

4. Capabilities and competencies, weighted at 20%, must include:

• Description of the applicant’s qualifications and the qualifications of key staff and partners; and

• An approach and a management plan that reflect a strong researcher-practitioner partnership.4

5. Dissemination plan, weighted at 5%, must include:

• A brief description of a plan to produce at least one scholarly product (see page 5 for Expected Products) and make findings available to broader audiences, including practitioners, through written material and interactive formats, such as conferences or webinars.

Appendices The following required appendices are not counted against the page limit for the Project Narrative.

1. Summary data sheet, which must include:

a. Statement as to whether the applicant (the organization whose DUNS number is being used for the application) will serve as a fiscal agent/sponsor for an entity or

3 If the applicant is proposing an experimental or quasi-experimental design, a power analysis should be included.

4 As previously stated, researcher-practitioner partnerships should be a learning experience for both researchers and practitioners, with researchers and practitioners holding equal status on the project and both standing to benefit comparably from the work.

entities that will implement the project, and the applicant itself will not be involved with implementation of the project beyond issuing subaward(s) to these entities.

If this is the case, the applicant also must list these subrecipients and include a statement acknowledging that, should an award be made, the applicant will be responsible for all applicable statutory, fiscal, and programmatic requirements, including those of 2 C.F.R. Part 200, as well as all project deliverables. In such situations, the fiscal agent/sponsor must be an eligible applicant for the program.

b. Statement as to whether the applicant has expended $750,000 in federal funds in the applicant’s past fiscal year. If so, specify the end date of the applicant’s fiscal year.

c. Statement as to whether the applicant is a nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

d. Statement as to whether the applicant is a nonprofit organization that uses the Internal Revenue Service's three-step safe-harbor procedure to establish a rebuttable presumption that its executives' compensation is reasonable. If the applicant is not a nonprofit organization or is a nonprofit that does not use the safe-harbor procedure, provide a statement to that effect. For additional information about the safe-harbor procedure, see Disclosure of Process Related to Executive Compensation in the Additional Required Information section.

2. Bibliography/references.

3. Any tools/instruments, questionnaires, tables/charts/graphs, or maps pertaining to the proposed project that are supplemental to such items included in the main body of the narrative.

4. Curriculum vitae or resumes of the principal investigator and any and all co-principal investigators and key project partners.

5. Proposed Project Staff, Affiliation, and Roles Form, for the purposes of avoiding any conflicts of interest during the peer review process. Provide a list (to the extent known) of all proposed project staff members, including those affiliated with the applicant organization or any proposed subrecipient organization(s), any proposed consultant(s) and contractors (whether individuals or organizations), and any proposed members of an advisory board for the project (if applicable). The list should include, for each individual and organization: name, title (if applicable), employer or other organizational affiliation, and roles and responsibilities proposed for the project. Applicants should use the Proposed Project Staff, Affiliation, and Roles form available at www.nij.gov/funding/documents/nij-project-staff-template.xlsx to provide this listing.

6. Proposed project timeline and expected milestones.

7. Human Subjects Protection paperwork. This is documentation and forms related to Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. See nij.gov/funding/humansubjects/Pages/welcome.aspx, and note that final IRB approval is not required at the time an application is submitted.

8. Privacy Certificate. For further information and a model privacy certificate, see nij.gov/funding/humansubjects/pages/confidentiality.aspx.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl http://www.nij.gov/funding/documents/nij-project-staff-template.xlsx http://nij.gov/funding/humansubjects/Pages/welcome.aspx http://nij.gov/funding/humansubjects/pages/confidentiality.aspx

9. Letters of commitment from organizations or agencies serving as partner entities and/or collaborating on the project, such as victim services organizations, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, etc. Letters of commitment should be dated and signed by the partnering entity’s Authorized Representative.

Budget note regarding partner entities: In general, partners that will be receiving funds to carry out a portion of the award should be treated as subrecipients in the proposed budget, not contractors. For more information see 2 C.F.R. § 200.330 and the Solicitation Companion Guide.

10. Data archiving plan. OVW will require—through special award conditions, including a partial withholding of award funds—that data sets, resulting in whole or in part from projects funded under this solicitation, be submitted for archiving with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) (see www.nij.gov/funding/data-resources-program/applying/Pages/data-archiving-strategies.aspx). Applications must include as an appendix a brief plan – labeled “Data Archiving Plan” – to comply with data archiving requirements. The plan should provide brief details about proposed data management and archiving, including submission to OVW (through NACJD) of all files and documentation necessary to allow for future efforts by others to reproduce the project’s findings and/or to extend the scientific value of the data set through secondary analysis.

Pertinent files and documentation include, among other things, qualitative and quantitative data produced, instrumentation and data collection forms, codebook(s), any specialized programming code necessary to reproduce all constructed measures and the original data analysis, description of necessary de-identification procedures, and (when required) a copy of the privacy certificate and informed consent protocols.

The plan should be one or two pages in length and include the level of effort associated with meeting archiving requirements. Note that required data sets are to be submitted 90 days before the end of the project period.

11. Applicant disclosure of pending applications.5 Applicants must disclose whether they have pending applications for federally funded grants or subgrants that include requests for funding to support the same project being proposed under this solicitation and will cover identical cost items outlined in the budget narrative and worksheet in the application submitted under this solicitation. The disclosure should include both direct applications for federal funding (e.g., applications to federal agencies) and indirect applications for such funding (e.g., applications to state agencies that will subaward federal funds).

OVW seeks this information to help avoid any inappropriate duplication of funding.

Leveraging multiple funding sources in a complementary manner to implement comprehensive programs or projects is encouraged and is not seen as inappropriate duplication.

Applicants that have pending applications as described above are to provide the following information about pending applications submitted within the last 12 months: the federal or state funding agency, the solicitation name/project name, and the point of contact information at the applicable funding agency.

Applicants must include this information as a separate attachment, in a table format, with the file name “Disclosure of Pending Applications,” to their application. Applicants that do

5 The applicant is not the principal investigator; rather, the applicant is usually the institution or organization at which the principal investigator is employed.

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1108301/download http://www.nij.gov/funding/data-resources-program/applying/Pages/data-archiving-strategies.aspx http://www.nij.gov/funding/data-resources-program/applying/Pages/data-archiving-strategies.aspx not have pending applications as described above are to include a statement to this effect in the separate attachment page (e.g., “[Applicant Name on SF-424] does not have pending applications submitted within the last 12 months for federally funded grants or subgrants that include requests for funding to support the same project being proposed under this solicitation and will cover the identical cost items outlined in the budget narrative and worksheet in the application submitted under this solicitation.”).

12. Documentation of Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity. In order to receive funds, the applicant must demonstrate research/evaluation independence, including appropriate safeguards to ensure research/evaluation objectivity and integrity, both in this proposal and as it may relate to the applicant’s other current or prior related projects. This documentation may be included as an attachment to the application that addresses both i. and ii. below.

i. For purposes of this solicitation, applicants must document research and evaluation independence and integrity by including, at a minimum, one of the following two items:

a. A specific assurance that the applicant has reviewed its proposal to identify any research integrity issues (including all principal investigators and sub-recipients) and it has concluded that the design, conduct, or reporting of research and evaluation funded by OVW grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts will not be biased by any personal or financial conflict of interest on the part of part of its staff, consultants, and/or subrecipients responsible for the research and evaluation or on the part of the applicant organization;

OR

b. A specific listing of actual or perceived conflicts of interest that the applicant has identified in relation to this proposal. These conflicts could be either personal (related to specific staff, consultants, and/or sub-recipients) or organizational (related to the applicant or any subgrantee organization).

Examples of potential investigator (or other personal) conflict situations may include, but are not limited to, those in which an investigator would be in a position to evaluate a spouse’s work product (actual conflict), or an investigator would be in a position to evaluate the work of a former or current colleague (potential apparent conflict). With regard to potential organizational conflicts of interest, as one example, generally an organization could not be given a grant to evaluate a project if that organization had itself provided substantial prior technical assistance to that specific project or a location implementing the project (whether funded by OVW or other sources), as the organization in such an instance would appear to be evaluating the effectiveness of its own prior work. The key is whether a reasonable person understanding all of the facts would be able to have confidence that the results of any research or evaluation project are objective and reliable. Any outside personal or financial interest that casts doubt on that objectivity and reliability of an evaluation or research product is a problem and must be disclosed.

ii. In addition, for purposes of this solicitation applicants must address the issue of possible mitigation of research integrity concerns by including, at a minimum, one of the following two items:

a. If an applicant reasonably believes that no potential personal or organizational conflicts of interest exist, then the applicant should provide a brief narrative explanation of how and why it reached that conclusion.

Applicants must also include an explanation of the specific processes and procedures that the applicant will put in place to identify and eliminate (or, at the very least, mitigate) potential personal or financial conflicts of interest on the part of its staff, consultants, and/or sub-recipients for this particular project, should that be necessary during the grant period. Documentation that may be helpful in this regard could include organizational codes of ethics/conduct or policies regarding organizational, personal, and financial conflicts of interest.

OR

b. If the applicant has identified specific personal or organizational conflicts of interest in its proposal during this review, the applicant must propose a specific and robust mitigation plan to address conflicts noted above. At a minimum, the plan must include specific processes and procedures that the applicant will put in place to eliminate (or, at the very least, mitigate) potential personal or financial conflicts of interest on the part of its staff, consultants, and/or sub-recipients for this particular project, should that be necessary during the grant period. Documentation that may be helpful in this regard could include organizational codes of ethics/conduct or policies regarding organizational, personal, and financial conflicts of interest. There is no guarantee that the plan will be accepted as proposed.

Considerations in assessing research and evaluation independence and integrity include, but are not limited to: the adequacy of the applicant’s efforts to identify factors that could affect the objectivity or integrity of the proposed staff and/or the organization in carrying out the research; and the adequacy of the applicant’s existing or proposed remedies to control any such factors.

13. Summary of Current and Recent OVW Projects, and Pending Applications for

OVW Funding (if applicable). If the applicant has another application pending with OVW as of the closing date of this solicitation, or is a direct recipient (not a subrecipient) of a current grant or cooperative agreement under any OVW program, or of an award that has been closed within the last 12 months from the date this solicitation closes, information about those awards and pending applications must be provided in a table using the format found in the Appendix. The table must:

• Identify all grants by OVW program, award number and project period (if current or recent).

• Specify the total funding amount for each current grant (initial and supplemental amounts, if applicable).

• Specify the total funds remaining in each current grant as of the date of application.

• State whether an extension will be needed to complete a current project.

• Briefly explain the nexus, if any, between any current or pending OVW project and the proposed research project.

Note that R&E applications are reviewed separately from applications to any other OVW grant program. A nexus between the proposed research project and a pending application with another OVW grant program may factor into OVW’s funding decisions under this solicitation. Applicants should consider that project feasibility is a criterion considered by peer reviewers in assessing the Project Narrative.

Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative Applications must include a detailed budget and budget narrative. A sample Budget Detail Worksheet is available on the OVW website at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants. Budgets must be reasonable and based on the resources needed to implement the project.

Applicants can request a maximum of $450,000 for projects of 12 to 36 months in duration. The $450,000 cap includes direct and indirect costs.

The budget and budget narrative will be reviewed separately from the proposed project narrative. The budget narrative must describe each line item requested in the budget and explain all costs included in the budget, including how the costs of goods and services are determined and how they will fulfill the objectives of the project.

The budget must:

• Include funds or describe other resources available to the applicant to support activities to ensure access for individuals with disabilities, Deaf/hard of hearing individuals, and persons with limited English proficiency. See Accessibility under Federal Award Administration Information for more information.

• Compensate all project partners appropriately.

• Follow NIJ’s guidance for determining and justifying research participant costs and incentives. Applicants’ budgets can request OVW approval to provide research participant stipends to cover the cost of participants’ time, transportation, gas, and other incidentals (excluding food and beverages). A stipend, which can be in the form of cash, is not a salary, honorarium, incentive, or fee.

• Distinguish clearly between subawards and contracts in allocating any grant funds to other entities. Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.330, a subaward is for the purpose of carrying out a portion of the federal award, such as compensating a project partner, and a contract is for the purpose of obtaining goods and services for the grantee’s own use.

The substance of the relationship is more important than the form of the agreement in determining whether the recipient of the pass-through funds is a subrecipient or a contractor. The awarding and monitoring of contracts must follow the recipient’s documented procurement procedures, including full and open competition, pursuant to the procurement standards in 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.317-200.329. The issuance and monitoring of subawards must meet the requirements of 2 C.F.R. § 200.331, which includes oversight of subrecipient/partner spending and monitoring performance measures and outcomes attributable to grant funds. For more information, see the sample Budget Detail Worksheet and the Solicitation Companion Guide on the OVW website at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants.

OVW awards are governed by the provisions of 2 C.F.R. Part 200 and the DOJ Financial Guide, which include information on allowable costs, methods of payment, audit requirements, accounting systems, and financial records. For additional information on allowable and https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants http://nij.gov/funding/Pages/research-participant-costs-and-incentives.aspx http://nij.gov/funding/Pages/research-participant-costs-and-incentives.aspx https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1108301/download unallowable costs, go to the Funding Restrictions section of this solicitation and the sample Budget Detail Worksheet on the OVW website at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants.

Additional Required Information The following documents will not be scored but must be included with the application. Failure to supply this information may result in the application being removed from consideration. Some documents will be generated during the submission process while others must be uploaded and attached to the application.

The following documents are generated and completed during the submission process:

Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Applicants must complete the SF-424 on Grants.gov. For “Type of Applicant,” do not select “other.” The amount of federal funding requested in the “Estimated Funding” section of this form must match the amount of federal funding requested in the budget section of the application package. This initiative does not require a match; therefore, the values for the Applicant line should be zero. The individual who is listed as “Authorized Representative” must be an individual who has the authority to apply for and accept grant awards on behalf of the organization or jurisdiction.

Standard Assurances and Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (Form 4061/6) Review the assurances and certification forms online. Applicants will be prompted to compile these forms online during the submission process. All applicants must complete the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) form. Applicants that expend any funds for lobbying activities must provide the detailed information requested on the form. Applicants that do not expend any funds for lobbying activities should enter “N/A” in the required highlighted fields.

The following documents must be uploaded and attached separately to the application:

Applicant Financial Capability Questionnaire (if applicable) All nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that apply for funding from OVW and have not previously (or within the last three years) received funding from OVW must complete an Applicant Financial Capability Questionnaire. In addition, applicants may be required to submit their current year’s audit report at a later time. The questionnaire can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/file/866126/download.

Confidentiality Notice Form All applicants are required to acknowledge that they have received notice that grantees and subgrantees must comply with the confidentiality and privacy requirements of VAWA, as amended. Applicants must submit the acknowledgement form available on the OVW website at http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ovw/pages/attachments/2015/01/20/confidentiality_ackn owledgement_form_42015.pdf. This form must be signed by the Authorized Representative.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.justice.gov/ovw/file/866126/download http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ovw/pages/attachments/2015/01/20/confidentiality_acknowledgement_form_42015.pdf http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ovw/pages/attachments/2015/01/20/confidentiality_acknowledgement_form_42015.pdf

Disclosure of Process Related to Executive Compensation (if applicable) An applicant that is a nonprofit organization may be required to make certain disclosures relating to the processes it uses to determine the compensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees.

Under certain circumstances, a nonprofit organization that provides unreasonably high compensation to certain persons may subject both the organization’s managers and those who receive the compensation to additional federal taxes. A rebuttable presumption of the reasonableness of a nonprofit organization’s compensation arrangements, however, may be available if the nonprofit organization satisfies certain rules set out in Internal Revenue Service regulations with regard to its compensation decisions.

Each applicant must state at the time of its application (in the Summary Data Sheet mentioned earlier) whether the applicant is a nonprofit organization that uses the Internal Revenue Service's three-step safe-harbor procedure to establish a rebuttable presumption that its executives' compensation is reasonable. If the applicant states that it uses the safe-harbor procedure, then it must disclose, in an attachment to its application (to be titled "Disclosure of Process Related to Executive Compensation"), the process it uses to determine the compensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees (together, "covered persons"). See 34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(16)(B)(iii).

At a minimum, the disclosure must describe in pertinent detail: 1) the composition of the body that reviews and approves compensation arrangements for covered persons; 2) the methods and practices used by the applicant nonprofit organization to ensure that no individual with a conflict of interest participates as a member of the body that reviews and approves a compensation arrangement for a covered person; 3) the appropriate data as to comparability of compensation that is obtained in advance and relied upon by the body that reviews and approves compensation arrangements for covered persons; and 4) the written or electronic records that the applicant maintains as concurrent documentation of the decisions with respect to compensation of covered persons made by the body that reviews and approves such compensation arrangements, including records of deliberations and of the basis for decisions. For a sample letter, see the OVW website at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-applicants.

For purposes of the required disclosure, the following terms and phrases have the meanings set out by the Internal Revenue Service for use in connection with 26 C.F.R. § 53.4958-6:

officers, directors, trustees, key employees, compensation, conflict of interest, appropriate data as to comparability, adequate documentation, and concurrent documentation.

Following receipt of an appropriate request, OVW may be authorized or required by law to make information submitted to satisfy this requirement available for public inspection. Also, a recipient may be required to make a prompt supplemental disclosure after the award in certain circumstances (e.g., changes in the way the organization determines compensation).

Pre-Award Risk Assessment Applicants must respond to the questions below. This information will be used for a mandatory pre-award risk assessment. Failure to provide this information or to respond to questions from OVW regarding this information in a timely manner could result in the applicant being removed from consideration or delayed access to funds. Provide complete responses to all questions.

This section of the application should not exceed four pages.

1. Will all funds awarded under this program be maintained in a manner that they will be accounted…