PSIs, Pickering 2019 Final.docx

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

2019 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program

1. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Technically eligible submissions are those that: 1) Arrive via Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) by the designated due date and time and 2) heed all instructions contained in the NOFO and this Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI). It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure proposals have been submitted and received in advance of the deadline.

U.S. Department of State requires that all DOS awards be issued via State Award Management System (SAMS). The applicant must secure the ability to manage the award through SAMS. Please be advised that grant solicitations are not considered formally issued by the U.S. Department of State until released via SAMS.

2. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

For all application documents, please ensure:

1) All pages are numbered, including budgets and attachments,

2) All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper

3) All Microsoft Word/pdf documents are single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

Complete applications must include the following for proposal submissions:

1. Forms: Completed and signed SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B

2. Table of Contents: Not to exceed one [1] page in Microsoft Word for the full proposal, including attachments, with page numbers.

3. Executive Summary: Not to exceed two [2] pages in Microsoft Word) including:

a) The target country(ies), if applicable

b) Name and contact information for the project’s main point of contact

c) A statement of work or synopsis of the project, including a concise breakdown of the project’s objectives, activities, and expected results

d) The total amount of funding requested and project length

e) A brief statement on how the project is innovative, sustainable, and will have a demonstrated impact

4. Proposal Narrative: 10-20 pages in Microsoft Word/pdf. Please note the page limit does not include the Table of Contents, Executive Summary and Attachments, such as Budget/and Budget Narrative, Audit Report, and NICRA, if applicable. Applicants are encouraged to submit multiple sections in a single Microsoft Word document (e.g., Table of Contents, Executive Summary, and Proposal Narrative in one file). Budget, in Excel, using the attached budget template, and budget narrative, in Word, should be separated from the proposal narrative.

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.

The proposal must provide a detailed description of the project addressing the areas listed below:

· Program Planning/Objectives:

· Provide a vision statement that includes needs, objectives, goals and benefits.

· Institutional Capacity:

· Details on organization’s previous experience successfully administering fellowship programs/similar programs of a similar magnitude and complexity.

· Describe staff who will be working on the program including designation of a fully dedicated (100%) senior level program manager with decision making authority and fully dedicated (100%) program coordinator/assistant. Recruitment staff should be full or part-time and possess diversity recruitment experience and/or knowledge of the Department of State’s Foreign Service. Include staff’s relevant qualifications, including experience and knowledge of the Department of State’s Foreign Service.

· Program Management and Evaluation

· Provide a detailed plan for implementation of the program and how the program goals will be achieved.

· Include description of plans for interacting and communicating with HR/REE, potential candidates, current Fellows, educational institutions, Diplomats in Residence, and other relevant entities during all phases.

· Recruitment: Describe plans for the development of a recruitment strategy and for scheduling the various stages of recruitment. Provide sample of Fellowship’s application. Provide proposed detailed recruitment schedule indicating places targeted for recruitment, length of stays and targeted audiences and proposed recruitment activities.

· Selection Process

· Detailed description of how various stages of the selection process will be carried out.

· Evaluation Plan: Provide evaluation strategies/plan to measure the impact and outcome of the program including a plan to monitor and evaluate the program’s success, both as the activities unfold and at the end of the program and a draft survey questionnaire plus a description of the proposed methodology to link project outcomes to the original project objectives. Include indicators that measure gains in the Department’s Foreign Service diversity recruitment efforts as well as effectiveness of the implementation of the program plan.

· Financial Capacity/Cost Effectiveness:

· Applicants should demonstrate cost-effectiveness of the use of federal funds by presenting reasonable budgets based on real figures.

· Cost-share is voluntary and is not used as a factor to during the merit review of applications.

· Sustainability/Multiplier Effect:

· Describe how the applicant organization will develop and maintain a dedicated database on candidates (recruited, selected, and not-selected).

· Include a plan outlining alumni outreach/follow-on and engagement.

· Describe the methods that will be used to ensure sustainability of the program and competitive program participants.

5. Detailed Line-Item Budget (in Microsoft Excel): Please follow the attached template. A summary budget must be included using the OMB approved budget categories (as in SF-424A) for the entire period of performance (May 2018 - September 30, 2021). Costs must be presented in whole U.S. dollars. Funding requested should total the exact amount of $3,610,000.

6. Detailed Line-Item Budget (in Microsoft Excel) using OMB approved budget categories (see SF-424 A) for the first installment/initial six months of the program. Costs must be in whole U.S. dollars. Funding requested should total the exact amount of $245,000.

7. Budget Narrative (in Microsoft Word/pdf): Includes an explanation and justification for each line item in the detailed budget spreadsheet, as well as a description of all cost-share offered, if applicable. For ease of review, we ask applicants to order the budget narrative to correspond to the Detailed Line-Item Budget. Personnel costs should indicate the percentage of time devoted to the project/level of effort (e.g. 25% as applicable). The budget narrative should clearly and concisely describe the responsibilities of each staff member under this project. The budget narrative should communicate any additional information that might not be readily apparent in the budget, not simply repeat with words what is stated numerically in the budget.

· Separate budget narratives must be submitted for the entire period of performance (May 2018- September 30, 2021) and for the first installment/initial six months of the program.

8. Financial Management Survey: Applicants should fill out the attached Financial Management Survey template (optional)

9. Attachments: (5-15 pages, in Microsoft Word/pdf) Mandatory attachments include the following in order (see MANDATORY ATTACHMENTS GUIDELINES below for more information on this section):

a. Roles and Responsibilities with the names of key personnel

b. Timeline/Schedule of Activities

c. Evaluation/Monitoring Plan

10. NICRA/Indirect Cost Rate: If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), your latest approved NICRA must be included as a .pdf file. Applicants should indicate in the proposal budget how the rate is applied and if any of the rate will be cost-shared (cost-share not required). This document will not be reviewed by the panelists, but rather by the Grants Officer if the proposal is recommended for funding. Therefore, NICRA inclusion does not count against the page limitations as described above. If your proposal involves sub-grants to organizations charging indirect costs, please submit the applicable NICRA also as a .pdf file.

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 NICRA rate, you are not allowed to apply the 10% de minimis or to alternate between the NICRA and the 10% de minimis. For organizations that apply the 10% de minimis, this methodology must be applied consistently for all federal awards until a non-federal entity chooses to negotiate for a NICRA rate. As described in 2 CFR 200.403, costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs, but may not be double- charged or inconsistently charged as both.

11. Audit: Include a copy of your organization’s most recent audit (A-133/single or program-specific audit), if applicable, or the annual in-house audit. Please refer to the 2 CRF 200 requirements). Like the NICRA documentation, this document will not be reviewed by the 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. When the U.S. Department of State is the largest direct source of federal financial assistance (i.e., the cognizant federal Agency) and indirect costs are charged to federal grants, a supplemental schedule of indirect cost computation is required.

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

Note: Bureau retains the right to request additional documentation for items not specified in this PSI.

UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

Organizations should also be aware that if selected 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) now applies to foreign organizations, and Sub-Chapters A through D shall apply to all for-profit entities. The applicant/recipient of the award and any sub-recipient under the 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/2016DeptTermsAndConditions_FA.pdf

MANDATORY ATTACHMENT GUIDELINES

a) Roles and Responsibilities:

Indicate the roles and responsibilities of project personnel with biographies that highlight professional experience as it relates to the organization’s capacity to implement the award.

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 showing 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) Evaluation/Monitoring Plan: Provide evaluation strategies/plan to measure the impact and outcome of the program including a plan to monitor and evaluate the program’s success and a description of the proposed methodology to link project outcomes to the original project objectives. Recipients will be required to provide reports with an analysis and summary of findings, both quantitative and qualitative, in regular project reports.

BUDGET GUIDELINES

Complete applications will include a detailed line-item budget and budget narrative to clarify and justify individual line-items (i.e. calculations of how the costs were derived per month or year, their necessity, and overall contribution to the project’s cost-effectiveness). We recommend that you use the attached detailed budget template.

· LINE-ITEM BUDGET, for additional informational please reference the attached Budget Guidelines document.

1. Personnel – Identify staffing requirements by each position, title, and brief description of duties for this project. For clarity, list the annual/or monthly salary of each position, percentage of time and number of months devoted to the project (e.g., Administrative Director: $30,000/year x 25% x 8.5 months. A non-federal entity must follow its written entity-wide policies and practices including compensation.

2. Fringe Benefits – State the costs of fringe benefits separately from salary costs and explain how benefits are computed for each category of employee - specify type and rate.

3. Travel – Staff and/or Participant travel, if applicable:

a. International airfare

b. Domestic travel, including airfare (within the United States)

c. Per diem/maintenance, which includes lodging and meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) for both participant and staff travel. Per diem rates may not exceed the published U.S. government allowance rates, however institutions may use per diem rates lower than official government rates. Rates of maximum allowances for U.S. travel are available at http://www.gsa.gov and foreign per diem rates are available at https://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp.

d. Staff refers to Recipient organization’s staff only, and not sub-grantee staff or contractors

4. Equipment – Provide justification for any equipment purchase, defined as tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a unit cost of $5,000 or more.

5. Supplies (program supplies) – List items separately using unit costs to the maximum extent practicable (and the percentage of each unit cost being charged to the grant). Organizations that have supplies as part of their indirect cost pool may not charge them to the grant.

6. Contractual –

a. Sub-Award - For each sub-grant, if applicable, please provide a detailed line-item budget breakdown, using the provided budget template, and explaining specific services.

b. Consultant/Outside Expert Fees - Costs may include lecture fees, honoraria, consultant travel, and per diem for outside speakers or independent outside experts for each outside expert separately. List the number of people and consultant rates per day (e.g., 2 consultants x $150/day x 2 days).

c. Other Direct Costs – These will vary depending on the nature of the project. The inclusion of each line item should be justified in the budget narrative. Line items, such as equipment or venue rental, photocopying, postage, telephone/fax, or printing, etc. may be included here. All costs must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable subject to Grants Officer’s review and approval. Line items, such as “Miscellaneous,” “Contingency Fund,” and “Reserve Fund”, or “Various’ and “Other” are NOT permitted.

7. Indirect Charges – See 2 CFR 200.414 “Indirect Costs”

a. If your organization has a NICRA with the U.S. Government, please include a copy of this agreement.

b. If your organization applies the 10% de minimis, please indicate how the rate is applied, provide a calculation of the MTDC.

Cost-Effectiveness: Applicants should demonstrate cost-effectiveness of USG funds by presenting reasonable budgets based on real figures. Budgets that either significantly over-estimate or underestimate line item amounts will not be viewed as cost-effective.

Cost-Share: Cost -sharing, or matching, refers to a portion of project or program cost that is not borne by the federal government. Cost -sharing is not required and will not be used as a factor in proposal review. Cost-share must be itemized, explained and justified; costs must be allocable, reasonable and necessary. For any cost- share included, please 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. Cost- sharing amounts proposed will be incorporated as part of the allowable budget items. Funds from other USG awards may not be used as cost-share.

BUDGET CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

DOS does not pay for the following (this list is NOT exhaustive):

· Administration of a project that will make a profit;

· Expenses incurred before or after the specified dates of award period of performance (unless prior written approval is received);

· Projects designed to advocate policy views or positions of foreign governments or views of a particular political faction;

· Alcoholic beverages;

· Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any associated costs are unallowable, except where specific costs that might otherwise be considered entertainment have a programmatic purpose and are authorized either in the approved budget for the federal award or with prior written approval of the federal awarding agency;

· Land;

· Construction.

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 (DUNS): Organizations can request a DUNS number at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform (8d) Enter the full address of the applicant (8e) Enter the name of the primary organizational unit (and department or division) 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 (type of organization)

10. Enter: Bureau of Human Resource

11. Enter: 19.013

12. Enter the Funding Opportunity Number and title. This number will already be entered on electronic applications

13. Enter the Competition Identification Number and title. This number will already be entered on electronic applications

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

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

16. (16a) Enter Congressional district of Applicant (if foreign applicant, enter 90) (16b) Enter: US-ALL

17. Enter the projected start date and end date

18. (18a) Enter the amount requested for the project under “Federal” (18b) Enter any cost-share under “Applicant” otherwise use zeros

19. Enter “c”

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

21. 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 (specify) Grants 1b. Enter: 19.013 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.

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 ( specify) 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 (Provisional, Predetermined, Final, or Fixed)

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 grant signatory at the organization or institution.