Q A Responses_5.22-6.4 v2.1 (Final).pdf

McGovern-Dole FY2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity

Questions and Answers

5/22/25-6/4/25

1. Q: Under a McGovern-Dole project, can a host Government employee be seconded to the project, if done following all applicable compliance regulations? Can a McGovern- Dole awardee contract services from host Governments to support project objectives, if done following all applicable compliance regulations?

A: Yes, in some cases, it may be appropriate to have a host government employee seconded to the project and/or for the recipient to engage the host government as a sub awardee, especially if it can be demonstrated that this will improve the sustainability outcome of the project. A key objective of the McGovern-Dole Program is to ensure that the communities served by the program can ultimately continue the sponsored activities on their own or with support from other sources such as the host government or local community. For that reason, close engagement and coordination with the host government is often vital to program success.

Applicants considering seconding a host government employee to the project and/or engaging the host government as a sub awardee are reminded to ensure that any amounts paid are reasonable; to verify that any proposed individuals and/or agencies are not found on the Excluded Parties list on SAM.gov, nor subject to any sanction, prior to undertaking such an arrangement; and that sub awardees have obtained a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in SAM.gov before a subaward is made.

2. Q: NOFO Section 2.5 Funding Restrictions, states: Employees, consultants, or other personnel, including those of subrecipients, and regardless of the method of engagement, may not exceed the pro-rata equivalent of GS-15 on the General Schedule (for 2025, $162,672 per year, $623.26 per day, or $77.91 per hour). As stated elsewhere in the NOFO, Federal grant and cooperative agreement recipients must comply with the 2 CFR 200.2 CFR 200.430 states: Costs of compensation are allowable to the extent that they satisfy the specific requirements of this part and that the total compensation for individual employees is reasonable for the services rendered and conforms to the established written policy of the recipient or subrecipient consistently applied to both Federal and non-Federal activities. Please confirm that organizations should continue to work within the applicable regulations and their own policies and procedures, rather than a cap based on the GS, to ensure consistency of salaries across both Federal and non-Federal activities.

A: Organizations should work within applicable regulations and funding restrictions as identified in the NOFO, including the salary cap based on the General Schedule equivalent. USDA will not reimburse for salaries in excess of the pro-rata equivalent of GS-15 on the General Schedule (for 2025, $162,672 per year, $623.26 per day, or $77.91 per hour).

3. Can USDA please provide a link to the Financial Assistance General Certifications and Representations Report that is referenced under "Applicant Requirements" on p. 51 of the NOFO?

A: Please find the link to SAM.gov. This is a requirement for SAM.gov registration. The Financial Assistance General Certifications and Representations are a common set of certifications and representations required by Federal statues or regulations in accordance with the grant's guidance under Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If an applicant needs more information on how to certify please contact SAM.gov

2 CFR §200.209 - Certifications and Representations: Unless prohibited by the U.S.

Constitution, Federal statutes, or regulations, a Federal agency or pass-through entity is authorized to require a recipient to submit annual certifications and representations. Submission may be required more frequently if a recipient or subrecipient fails to meet a requirement of a Federal award. When a recipient is provided an exception to the requirements of 2 CFR 25.110, the recipient must submit the appropriate assurance form (for example, SF-424B).

4. For the Theory of Change and Results Framework, does USDA wish for LRP to fall under SO1 and SO2, with associated indicators under those SOs, or does USDA wish to see LRP as a separate Strategic Objective?

A: A: Either approach is allowed. USDA expects the Applicant to determine how best to represent their proposed project’s objectives and desired results.

5. To ensure an accurate understanding of the intent, can USDA provide any illustrative examples of the types of activities that might fall under the Increased Economic and Cultural Incentives / Decreased Disincentives outcome that is included in Results Framework #1 under Strategic Objective 1 on page 79 of the NOFO?

A: USDA will not provide examples of activities aligned with results, as different activities may align to a result and should be proposed by the Applicant and reflective of the specific context the proposed project will operate in.

6. On page 13 of the NOFO under “Required Content and Forms” under Organizational

Capacity and Staffing it’s stated that 6 pages should be dedicated to the Staffing Plan.

Can USDA please confirm that those 6 pages should be allocated to both Organizational Capacity and the Staffing Plan?

https://sam.gov/

A: The Organization Capacity and Staffing section should be eight pages in total (excluding any attachments). This includes six pages dedicated to the Staffing Plan and Organizational Capacity, and one page each for the Organizational Chart and In-Country Registration.