Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI).pdf

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Technically eligible submissions are those that: 1) Arrive via Grants.gov (www.grants.gov)* by the designated due date and time, 2) contain a complete application package as outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) or other solicitation document; and 3) heed all instructions outlined in the solicitation document and this proposal submission instruction (PSI).

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure proposals have been submitted and received in advance of the deadline indicated in the solicitation.

U.S. Department of State requires that all DOS awards be issued via State Award Management System (SAMS). Successful applicants must secure the ability to manage the award through SAMS, including acceptance/electronic counter-signature within the system.

For assistance with the system, applicants must contact SAMS/ILMS Help Desk at + 888 313 4567 or SAMSSupport@state.gov

*Applicants should follow application submission requirements in this NOFO or other solicitation document.

TECHNICAL FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

Application must have the following format:

• The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity

• All documents are in English

• All budgets are in U.S. dollars

• All pages are numbered

• All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper, and http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:SAMSSupport@state.gov

• All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Calibri font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

Complete applications must include the following required documents:

1. Completed and signed SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B and SF-LLL forms.

These forms are available electronically via SAMS Domestic and Grants.gov.

The SF-LLL is required only for applicants that may engage in lobbying activities.

2. Executive Summary Page: Not to exceed two [2] pages in Microsoft Word including: the applicant name and organization, proposal date, program title, program period start and end date, and brief purpose of the program, including a concise breakdown of the project’s objectives, activities, and expected results, a brief statement on how the project is innovative, sustainable, and will have a demonstrated impact, the total amount of funding requested and project length, name and contact information for the project’s main point of contact.

3. Table of Contents that lists application contents and attachments.

4. Proposal Narrative (not to exceed 20 pages), should be organized using the following section headings: Executive Summary, Organizational Capacity and Past Performance, Program Strategy, Performance Monitoring and

Evaluation, and Management Plan. Please see the “Narrative Components” section below for details on the information to include in the proposal.

(The 20-page limit does not include the Summary Page, Table of Contents, Budget, Budget Narrative, Letter of Disclosure, Letter of Institutional

Support, NICRA (if applicable), Audit, CVs, or SF-424s).

Proposal Narrative should be clear and concise and include sufficient detail about the program activities. The applicant should explain the particular experience and qualifications the organization brings to the project.

5. Summary and Detailed Line-Item Budgets for the entire period of performance (in Microsoft Excel following the template): The federal share requested must not exceed the amount of funds available under Section B of this NOFO. The summary and detailed budgets must follow OMB approved budget categories (see SF-424A for budget categories). Costs must be in U.S. dollars. Applicants should follow the attached budget guidelines and budget template. Please note: If an applicant’s budget does not follow OMB-approved budget categories, their application will not be considered for funding.

6. Budget Narrative (in Microsoft Word) that includes substantive explanations and justifications for each line item in the detailed budget spreadsheet, as well as the source and a description of all cost-share offered. For ease of review, (bureau) recommends applicants order the budget narrative as presented in the detailed budget. Personnel costs must include a clarification of the roles and responsibilities of all staff, base salary, and percentage of time devoted to the project. The budget narrative should support the activities described in the proposal and provide additional information that might not be readily apparent in the detailed line-item budget, not simply repeat what is represented numerically in the budget, i.e. salaries are for salaries or travel is for travel.

If the budget includes sub-awards, please include a separate budget narrative for each sub-award budget. Please follow the attached Budget

Guidelines document.

7. Letter of Disclosure for proposed consultants/personnel (if applicable) of potential conflicts of interest, employment with a local/state/federal government.

8. NICRA: If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

(NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your most recent NICRA should be included as a PDF file. This document will not be reviewed by the panelists, but rather reviewed by the Grants Officer if the application is recommended for funding; therefore, it does not count against the submission page limitations. Organizations that have previously established indirect cost rates must submit timely indirect cost proposals to their cognizant agency as required by Appendix III & IV of 2 CFR 200. If indirect cost proposals have not been submitted for re-negotiation as required, out-of-date NICRAs will not be considered. If your proposal involves sub-awards to organizations charging indirect costs, please submit their NICRA, if applicable.

Per 2 CFR 200.414, applicants that do not have a NICRA may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC), which may be used indefinitely. If your organization has a current NICRA rate, you are not allowed to apply the 10% de minimis, i.e.to alternate between the NICRA and the 10% de minimis. However, organizations that previously had a NICRA that has expired, are allowed to apply the 10 % de minimis.

Whichever methodology is elected, it must be applied consistently to all federal awards. As described in 2 CFR 200.403, costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs and may not be double charged.

9. Audit: Include a copy of your organization’s most recent audit (single or program audit), if applicable, or the annual financial statement audit, please refer to the 2 CRF 200 for requirements). This document will not be reviewed by the independent review panel and will not be counted against the page limitations.

The applicant’s proposal may include the cost of an audit that:

1. Complies with the requirements of 2 CFR 200 Subpart F “Audit

Requirements”

2. Complies with the requirements of American Institute of Certified

Public Accountants (AICPA) Statement of Position (SOP) No. 92-9, “Audits of Not-for-Profit Organizations Receiving Federal Awards”

3. Complies with AICPA Codification of Statements on Auditing

Standards AU Section 551, “Reporting on Information Accompanying the Basic Financial Statements in Auditor-Submitted Documents,” where applicable.

A non-federal entity that expends $750,000 or more in all USG federal assistance awards during the non-federal entity's fiscal year is required to conduct a single or program-specific audit for that year in accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200 subpart F. For more information, see Audit Services, 2 CFR 200.425.

10. Attachments: (5-10 pages, in Microsoft Word) Three mandatory attachments include the following in order (see Tab A below for more information on this section). These attachments will not be counted against the page limit:

a. Roles and Responsibilities with the names of key personnel under subject award

b. Timeline/Schedule of Activities

c. Project Monitoring Plan

DOS retains the right to ask for additional documents not included in this NOFO.

Additionally, to ensure all eligible applications receive a balanced evaluation, the Review Panel will review the first page of the requested section up to the page limit and no further. DOS encourages organizations to use the given space effectively.

INFORMATION ON STANDARD FORMS

Please see Tab B below for instructions for completion of Standard Forms 424, 424A, and 424B.

UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

Organizations should also be aware that if recommended for an award, the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards set forth in 2 CFR Chapter 200 (Sub-Chapters A through F) and 2 CFR 600 (Department of State specifications) shall apply to all non-federal entities, except for assistance awards to Individuals and Foreign Public Entities.

Please note that as of December 26, 2014, 2 CFR 200 (Sub-Chapters A through E) and Sub-Chapters A through D shall apply to all for-profit entities, including overseas for-profit organizations. The applicant/recipient of the award and any sub-recipient under the subject award must comply with all applicable terms and conditions, in addition to the assurance and certifications made part of the Notice of Award. The Department’s Standard Terms and Conditions can be viewed at https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/Documents/2021DeptTermsAndConditions_F A.pdf

TAB A: MANDATORY ATTACHMENT GUIDELINES

a)Roles and Responsibilities:

Indicate the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel with short biographies that highlight professional experience as it relates to the organization’s capacity to implement the award, please add the names of those individuals.

b)Timeline/Schedule of Activities:

Provide a timeline or schedule of activities for the overall project.

Components should include activities, monitoring and evaluation efforts, and project closeout. You may use a table, or another format, that is suitable for indicating the timing of the planned activities and the relationship between or sequencing of the activities. Choose the best tool to demonstrate the timeline for your program plan.

c)Project Monitoring Plan (PMP): Bureau will work with recipient organization to implement the appropriate performance monitoring plan that meets both the needs of the Bureau and the implementing partner. Incorporating a well-designed monitoring and evaluation component into a project is one of the most efficient methods of documenting the progress and potential success of a project.

d) Detailed Budget & Budget Narrative: Complete applications must include a detailed line-item budget following attached budget format and budget narrative to clarify and justify individual line-items.

Applicants are required to use the attached detailed budget template. Please follow instructions in the Budget Guidelines document.

https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/Documents/2021DeptTermsAndConditions_FA.pdf https://www.statebuy.state.gov/fa/Documents/2021DeptTermsAndConditions_FA.pdf

• Cost-Effectiveness - Applicants should demonstrate cost-effectiveness of USG funds by presenting reasonable budgets based on real estimates.

Budgets that either significantly over-estimate or under-estimate line-item amounts will not be viewed as cost-effective.

• Cost- Share –Refers to a portion of project or program cost that is not borne by USG. Cost-sharing, if not mandated in the NOFO, is not required and will not be used as a factor in proposal review. If offered voluntarily, cost-share must be itemized, explained, and justified. Cost-share follows the same principle as USG funds.

For any cost- share included, applicants are required to provide an explanation of the contributions, whether cash or in-kind. Assign a monetary value in U.S.

dollars to each in-kind contribution. If the proposed project is a component of a larger program, identify other funding sources for the proposal and indicate the specific funding amount to be provided by those sources. Recipients must follow cost- sharing or matching policy as stipulated in 2 CFR 200.306. Funds from other USG awards, including other USG agencies, may not be used as cost-share.

TAB B: GUIDELINES FOR STANDARD FORMS

SF-424 – Complete all fields except fields noted as “Leave Blank” below.

1. Type of Submission: Application

2. Type of Application: New

3. Date Received: Leave blank. This will automatically be assigned

4. Applicant Identifier: Leave blank

5. (5a) Federal Entity Identifier: Leave blank

(5b) Federal Award Identifier: Leave blank

6. Date Received by State: Leave blank. This will automatically be assigned

7. State Application Identified: Leave blank. This will automatically be assigned

8. (8a) Enter the legal name of the applicant organization.

(8b) Employer/Taxpayer ID Number: Enter applicant-specific number.

(8c) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) (8d) Enter the full legal address of the applicant organization

(8e) Enter the name of the primary organizational unit that will undertake the assistance activity, if applicable (8f) Enter the name, title, organization, and contact information of person to be contacted on matters involving this application

9. Select an applicant type (organizational status)

10. Enter: Bureau (GTM)

11. Enter Program’s DOS CFDA -- 19.322

12. Enter the Funding Opportunity Number and title as it appears Grants.gov.

This number will already be entered on electronic applications

13. Areas Affected by Project: List the country or countries where project activities will take place in alphabetical order

14. Enter the title of the proposed project (if necessary, delete pre-printed wording)

15. (16a) Enter Congressional district of Applicant (if foreign applicant, enter

90) (16b) Enter: 00

16. Enter tentative projected start date and end date (month and year)

17. (18a) Enter the amount requested for the project under “Federal”

(18b) Enter any cost-share under “Applicant” otherwise use zeros

18. Enter “c”

19. Select the appropriate box. If you answer “yes” to this question you will be required to provide an explanation

20. Enter the name, title, and contact information of the individual authorized to sign for the application

SF-424A – Please review the detailed instructions below before completing this form online.

Section A - Budget Summary - Complete Row 1 1a. Enter: Bureau (GTM) Grants 1b. Enter Assistance Listing number 1c. Leave this field blank 1d. Leave this field blank 1e. Enter the amount of federal funds you are requesting for this project 1f. Enter the amount of any other funds you will receive towards this project 1g. Enter the total cost of this project Rows 2, 3, and 4 may be left blank.

Section B - Budget Categories – Enter total project costs in each category in Column 1 as described below. In Column 5, the form should automatically show the sum. Columns 2, 3, and 4 should be left blank.

6a-h. Enter the amount for each object class category (Include cost share).

6i. Enter the sum of 6a-6h 6j. Enter any indirect charges 6k. Enter the sum of 6i and 6j

7. Enter any program income that will be earned as a result of the project. If there is none leave this section blank. Interest earned is not program income.

Section C - Non-Federal Resources (Only complete this section if your project includes an applicant cost share or funds from other sources) 8a. Under Grant Program enter: Bureau (specify) 8b. Enter your cost share amount 8c. Enter the amount of any other funding sources for this project 8d. Leave blank 8e. Enter the total amount for all non-federal resources (the form should automatically show this sum) Rows 9, 10, and 11 should be left blank.

Section D - Forecasted Cash Needs

13. In the first column enter the amount of federal funds you expect to expend in the project’s first year. Forecasted cash ‘needs by quarter’ are not required.

14. In the first column enter the amount of non-federal funds you expect to expend in the project’s first year. Forecasted cash needs by quarter are not required.

15. In the first column enter the sum of 13 and 14 (the form should automatically show this sum). Forecasted cash needs by quarter are not required.

Section E - Budget Estimates of Federal Funds Needed for Balance of the Project 16a. Under Grant Program enter: Bureau (GTM) 16b-e. Enter the amount of federal funds you expect to expend in each subsequent year of the project.

Rows 17, 18, 19 should be left blank.

20. Enter the total amount for each year (The form should automatically show this sum.)

Section F - Other Budget Information

21. Enter: Direct Charges – Leave Blank

22. Enter: Indirect Charges – If Indirect Charges are shown in Section B 6, enter the type of Indirect Rate used (NICRA - Provisional, Predetermined, Final, or Fixed or 10% de minimis)

23. Enter any other explanations or comments deemed necessary.

SF-424B

Fill in the appropriate fields. Complete applicant organization and title of authorized official sections. The Authorized Official is generally the signatory at the applicant organization or institution.