Q & A Week of 6.28.2021 Limited Merit NOFO.docx

McGovern-Dole FY2021 Limited Merit-Based Notice of Funding Opportunity for Guatemala and Honduras Questions and Answers Questions received June 28 to July 2nd, 2021

1. Q: Does USDA have a preference for how applicants should format revisions to the revised plan of operation (e.g., tracked changes, indicate additions with bolded or highlighted text or changes with strikethrough text)?

A: USDA’s formatting preference is to receive the revised plan of operations with revisions shown in track-changes. However, USDA did not specify formatting requirements in the NOFO instructions and will accept applications that use either formatting approach for the revised plan of operation.

2. Q: Should applicants make direct edits to the active cooperative agreement’s plan of operation (current attachment to the cooperative agreement) to describe components that would be expanded and strengthened with additional funding, or should applicants identify and describe components in a separate document?

A: Under Section D. 3a. Required Content and Form of Application Submission, USDA asks for both a Concept Note (maximum 10 pages) and a revised Plan of Operations as applicable to the application. Further information on what should be within each of these documents is described under Section D. 3b., including that “the Applicant should clearly identify and describe the components of the active cooperative agreement which would be expanded and strengthened with additional funding,” under the Revised Plan of Operation document.