QandA - Cleared - 3-22-2019.pdf

S/GWI Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Question and Answer Document

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues

Title: tbd Women in CVE (countering violent extremism)

CFDA Number: 19.801 Funding Opportunity Title: Women in CVE Announcement Type: New; Open Competition; Cooperative Agreement Number of Awards: One or Multiple, depending on funds Funding: ESF $2,000,000 (not to exceed) Deadline for proposal submission: 11:59 PM EST April 15, 2019

**The deadline for proposal submission has been extended to 11:59 PM EST April 15, 2019**

1. Q: Is there a limit on the number of proposal submissions a single organization can present? That is, if we have two sufficiently different concepts, can we submit them both for independent review?

A: Page 12 of the NOFO states: “Applicants may submit only one proposal in response to this NOFO. If multiple proposals are received from the same applicant, all submissions will be declared ineligible and receive no further consideration in the review process.”

2. Q: Is S/GWI placing a strong emphasis on multi-country versus single country approaches?

A: S/GWI is equally open to multiple or single country approaches.

3. Q: On page 2, under the “Focus” header, the second point references women from Syria and in host communities in the region. Is S/GWI exclusively requesting programs for Syrian women in host communities around the region, or are Syrian women one of multiple eligible beneficiary categories?

If the latter, will programs targeting Syrian women be received more favorably than those that do not?

A: The NOFO states: “A proposal with potentially scalable programs for women in CVE, including from Syria, in host communities in the MENA region, not refugee or IDP camps. Priority will be given to proposals that support women and girls who are rebuilding lives, families, and communities following violent extremist actions committed by non-state actors such as ISIS.”

Proposals that support women and girls from any country in the MENA region who are rebuilding following violent extremist actions will be given priority.

4. Q: The NOFO explicitly calls out an independent evaluation as a requirement for this bid. If ___ proposes a rigorous internal evaluation, would we still be required to include an independent and/or external evaluation in our program design?

A: “Independent evaluation” does not have to mean third-party evaluation, but must be independent of the program implementation team. The independent evaluation can cover one component, objective, or process within the entire proposal. Independent evaluation should follow the best practices and standards of the prospective partner organization and must be specified in the grant agreement, with U.S. government funds allocated for that purpose.

5. Q: Regarding key personnel: are there guidelines for what positions you consider to be key, or is this left to the implementer to determine and present?

A: The definition of key personnel should come from applicant policies and procedures.

Documentation on key personnel may be a CV or a written biography.

6. Q: On page 11 of the NOFO under Eligibility Information, the solicitation states that all consortium partners "must also meet the eligibility criteria." Would S/GWI be willing to make an exception for a U.S. based for-profit to be a sub-grantee on the project for a specific scope of work if they forgo profit / their fee? The prime implementing partner would be a U.S. based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

A: Regarding eligible consortium partners, S/GWI would be open to innovative partnerships including with for-profit entities, provided profit is not made, the entity meets all other eligibility criteria, and with adequate justification and prior approval from the awarding Grants Officer.

7. Q: From the documentation we understand that “Eligibility for this NOFO is limited to educational and research institutions and U.S. not-for-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) subject to section 501 (c) (3) of the U.S. tax code, and foreign not-for-profits/NGOs/social enterprises”. We are a UK Registered Charity. We will greatly appreciate if you could confirm we, the UK based NGO, are eligible.

A: Please see Section C of the NOFO for information on eligible applicants. Foreign not-for profits/NGOs/social enterprises are eligible to apply.

8. Q: Is this a grant a nonprofit can apply for regarding domestic violence awareness services?

A: Related to what types of services may be eligible: Under footnote 7, on page 5, states: Activities should align with funding described by section 7059(e)(1) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2017 (Division J, P.L. 115-17) (Fiscal Year [FY] 2017 SFOAA). Congress appropriated funds to support:

(e) WOMEN AND GIRLS AT RISK FROM EXTREMISM.

(1)… (A) empower women and girls to counter extremism;

(B) address the needs of women and girls adversely impacted by extremism and conflict;

(C) document crimes committed by extremists against women and girls, and support investigations and prosecutions of such crimes, as appropriate;

(D) increase the participation and influence of women in formal and informal political processes and institutions at the local level and within traditional governing structures;

(E) support reconciliation programs between impacted minority, religious, and ethnic groups and the broader community;

(F) develop and implement legal reforms and protections for women and girls at the national and local government levels; and

(G) create and sustain networks for women and girls to collectively safeguard their rights on a regional basis.

9. Q: Would Afghanistan fall under your parameters?

A: This NOFO is for countries that fall within the MENA region, please see the Department of State map of NEA Bureau coverage for a list of countries that fall within that region. This does NOT include SCA Bureau countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.

10. Q: Page 2 requires that applicants present a “model addressing the complexity of gender in countering violent extremism,” while page 7 states that applicants present an “evidence-based model that applies a gender analysis…” Can S/GWI please clarify if it is looking for a model to be tested to inspire and provide best practices to the Department or a model that has already been tested?

A: S/GWI utilizes lessons learned from programs to inspire and provide best practices to the Department. S/GWI looks for evidence based proposals to analyze and then utilize to further the inclusion of women and girls across the Department of State’s work. The evidence base for a proposal can be for large portions of the design, the entire design, or triangulating from evidence-based successes to create a new design.

11. Q: On Page 10, the NOFO states: “please submit a notional logic model/results framework and performance monitoring plan.” Will S/GWI please confirm that the notional logic model/results framework and performance monitoring plan may be included as annexes, and not as part of the 10 page narrative?

A: The Notional Logic Model/Results Framework and Performance Monitoring Plan may be included as annexes to proposals under this NOFO.

12. Q: Page 15: Can the performance monitoring plan requested on page 10 be included in the

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan?

A: The performance monitoring plan (PMP) should be a part of the overall monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan.

13. Q: Can S/GWI please provide applicants with a copy of or a link to the Strategy to Support Women and Girls at Risk from Violent Extremism and Conflict (SERVER)?

A: The public version of the Strategy to Support Women and Girls at Risk from Violent Extremism and Conflict can be found on the S/GWI state.gov website:

www.state.gov/s/gwi/priorities/wps/289431.htm

14. Q: Page 15 of the solicitation lists key personnel CVs as an optional attachment, while the proposal submission checklist included as part of the solicitation package through SAMS Domestic lists them as required. Could S/GWI please confirm if all applications are required to specify key personnel, and if so what the required documentation for each KP is?

A: The definition of key personnel should come from applicant policies and procedures.

Documentation on key personnel may be a CV or a written biography.

15. Q: Could S/GWI please confirm that the deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM on April 1st? This deadline is specified on grants.gov and page 1 of the solicitation, but absent from page 16 of the solicitation under “Submission Date and Times.”

A: The original deadline for submissions was 11:59 pm EST April 1st, 2019. However, S/GWI is extending the deadline by two weeks. The new deadline for proposal submissions is 11:59 pm EST April 15, 2019. The extended deadline will be reflected on grants.gov and SAMS Domestic.

16. Q: The proposal submission checklist included as part of the solicitation package through SAMS

Domestic includes a list of previous awards as a required attachment. However, this attachment is referred to merely as “project experience” and listed as an optional attachment on page 15 of the solicitation document under Section D, Part iii: Content and Form of Application Submission.

a. Could S/GWI please confirm whether a list of all previous awards is a required attachment for all applications?

http://www.state.gov/s/gwi/priorities/wps/289431.htm

A(a): If you have previously received U.S. Government funding, please submit a list of previous U.S. Government awards (grants or contracts) showing the name of the awarding agency, the award number, and a point of contact within the agency for the last five years. Organizations who have not been previous recipients of U.S. Government funds should provide their Articles of Incorporation and current bylaws.

b. Could S/GWI please confirm if the “project experience” mentioned on page 15 of the solicitation is a separate document than the list of previous awards, and if so what the specific requirements for such a document would be (if any)?

A(b): “Project experience” from page 15 is separate from the list of previous awards, as project experience captures the any relevant work implemented by the organization. Please see Section 5 of the SGWI Proposal Narrative Instructions.

17. Q: The “Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning” section on page 9 of the solicitation states as a requirement: “Some form of independent evaluation must be included in proposal responding to this NOFO. It may be an activity, process, location, or any other type of evaluation.”

a. Does “independent” here mean “third-party”? If yes, could the third-party evaluation focus on merely one component/objective of the program, or would it have to cover all program objectives?

A(a): “Independent evaluation” does not have to mean third-party evaluation, but must be independent of the program implementation team. The independent evaluation can cover one component, objective, or process within the entire proposal. Independent evaluation should follow the best practices and standards of the prospective partner organization, and must be specified in the grant agreement, with U.S. government funds allocated for that purpose.

b. Similarly, page 10 of the solicitation under “Resources” reads: “Additionally, please elaborate on the type of evaluation (quasi-experimental, developmental, outcome harvesting, process tracing, etc.). While the type of evaluation is flexible within DOS guidance, it must be independent.” Does “independent” here also mean “third-party”?

A(b): “Independent evaluation” does not have to mean third-party evaluation, but must be independent of the program implementation team. The independent evaluation can cover one component, objective, or process within the entire proposal. Independent evaluation should follow the best practices and standards of the prospective partner organization.