Questions and Answers - Final - P22AS00024.pdf

Final Questions and Answers - 9/24/2021 - P22AS00024 - Scientists in Parks Internship Program

Q: In preparing a proposal for the above referenced NOFOs it appears from the "Contents and Form of Application Submission" guidance on page 19 of both NOFOs that a detailed budget narrative is not required and that the only financial document required for submission is the 424A. Can you please confirm that a detailed budget narrative is not required for submission?

A: A budget narrative is not a required document, but is encouraged in order to help the review panel gain a better overall understanding of the proposal, cost and program elements.

Q: Can you provide clarification around the expected number of interns to be fielded under this project.

Is the expectation that the recipient will field 200 interns per year (150 in the summer and an additional 50 throughout the year) for 2 years for a total of 400 interns over a 2- year period for a maximum allowable cost of $3,000,000.00?

A: In the announcement, we try to give a sense of the current scale of the SIP program, which is around 200 interns/year, more of them in summer than in winter. Our expectation is that the SIP program will be very scalable to respond to park needs, and likely to grow larger than 200 interns/year. The actual number of interns and timing of their work will be determined in the task agreements that fall under a Master Cooperative Agreement. The $3,000,000 maximum allowable cost relates only to the limits of the Master Cooperative Agreement (CA) and does not reference any particular budget scenario or estimate of interns.

If this question is related to how to develop the budget narrative, please note that the NOFO instructs applicants to provide a hypothetical budget scenario according to the specifications provided in the announcement. Although not a required document, this allows the evaluation panel to consider the proposal's administrative cost, indirect rate, and other major program elements in a discrete, hypothetical budget. A real budget will not be drawn until after a Master CA is awarded to recipients and task agreements are proposed under that Master CA.

Q: If considering a subrecipient or subcontractor in the future, do we need to name the organization in the proposal?

A: You are not required to provide the name of any subrecipients or subcontractors you may be considering in your proposal. Be advised, however, that one advantage of identifying the name of subrecipients or subcontractors in the proposal is that the evaluation panel will be able to evaluate the ability and demonstrated experience of those organizations in addition to the primary applicant.

Q: How do we develop a budget narrative that considers the timeline and scale of the transition from SIP’s current agreement recipients to the new Master Cooperative Agreements?

A: You do not need to provide a budget that considers the real-time transition from SIP’s current agreement Recipients to the new Master Cooperative Agreements (CA). Please provide a hypothetical budget scenario according to the specifications provided in the NOFO announcement. This will allow the evaluation panel to consider the proposal’s administrative cost, indirect rate, and other major program elements in a discrete, hypothetical budget. A real budget will not be drawn until after a Master CA is awarded to recipients and task agreements are proposed under that Master CA.

Q: What guidance do you have for responding to the criterion regarding Secretary’s Priority 10:1.a?

A: Please provide a brief statement confirming that the applicant’s organization meets the goals of Secretary’s Priority 10:1.a.