questions and answers i aps-oaa-12-00002-answers2-1-23final.pdf

Questions and Answers

1. Submission method: What is the preferred method of submission - Grants.gov or via email? Or must both methods be used? If so, please clarify. If not, please advise:

a) Grants.gov submission: Where or how do we attach the Cover Page, Metadata Page, Technical Narrative, Cost Application and Supplemental Information if going through

Grants.gov? Do we use the attachment button found at bottom of page 2 of the

Grants.gov SF424 Application for Federal Assistance form to attach ALL documents?

b) Email submission:

i. Instructions state that SF424, SF424A and SF424B forms "should be signed by the applicant and submitted as an electronic file". How are the forms signed without scanning the documents? Does each form require a signature or only SF424B? The signatures are automatic through Grants.gov.

ii. If submitting electronically via email, it's assumed that separate files for the various application components may be attached to the email message, is that correct? Attachments would consist of Cover Page (attach# 1), Metadat Page (attach#2), Technical Narrative

(attach#3), Cost Application and assurances/certifications (attach#4) and Supplemental

Information of schedules, org chart, references and c.v.s (attach#5)?

iii. Or must the application be included as one huge pdf attached to email message [sent to cthornton@usaid.gov]?

Answer: The only submission method will be through grants.gov. Applicants should follow the instructions provided through the grants.gov web page to properly attach all application documents.

2. Project period/timeframe: First year funding information is stated on FOA, however, none is given for future years. Are 2 yr, 3 yr or 5 yr projects acceptable?

Answer: Applicants should specify cost estimates for each year of proposed projects. The total funding available for this Technical Leadership APS ($700,000) will be allocated for all years of proposed projects.

3. Start Date: FOA states it may take up to 6 months to notify institutions of award. What is a reasonable start date for planning and budgeting purposes - October 1, 2012? November 1, 2012? January 1, 2013?

Answer: Six months from April 1, 2012 is October 1, 2012.

mailto:cthornton@usaid.gov

4. Is there a limitation on the number of proposals that one organization can submit? For example, could one organization submit two proposals that address two different workstreams/focus areas?

Answer: There is no limit on the number of proposals that one organization can submit.

5. If one application covers two or more focus areas/workstreams do they necessarily have to be related or strongly linked? Or can the applicant propose to work on two distinct areas, with only some overlap in substance?

Answer: Please refer to 3.2.1 Technical Evaluation Criteria.

6. On pg. 7 of the APS, you note that the special focus areas in Section 1.2.3 are nested within the broader workstreams described in Section 1.2.2. For the 8th workstream, development support for peace processes, does USAID have a view on which of the focus areas fall under this workstream? Could social and institutional resilience be a component, given the importance the resilience of these groups plays on the sustainability of the peace accord?

Answer: USAID has no rigid view on this topic, but please refer to the Technical Evaluation

Criteria under section 3.2.1 under relevance. When applying for projects in the three focus areas, it is not required for applicants to identify under which workstream they fall.

7. Relating to Focus Area on Social and Institutional Resilience (pg.8): To what extent is

CMM looking for the incorporation of quantitative analysis in proposals under this focus area? Should the analysis requested be driven by quantitative data or can it be more qualitative?

Answer: Please refer to 3.2.1 Technical Evaluation Criteria: “Proposed projects should conform to accepted standards of research for the social sciences, whether qualitative or quantitative methods.” See also “Research Hypothesis and Methodology,” under section

3.1.1.

8. Are the corresponding letters of intent described on pg. 16 counted against the 15-page limit?

Answer: No.

9. What is the expected duration of project activities awarded under this APS?

Answer: Given the expected award range of $50,000 to $200,000 and based on DCHA/CMM’s past experience, it is expected that the period of performance for most projects will be 2-3 years.

10. Would USAID consider funding activities to produce new data, or does USAID expect applicants to have all or most relevant data in-hand?

Answer: Please refer to 3.2.1 Technical Evaluation Criteria. “Proposed projects [may] provide new primary source data for the public domain to facilitate future research relevant to development policy and practice.”

11. The APS states that “All applications must be submitted using the application forms posted with this APS” (page 17). Please clarify if this means we should use the grants.gov grant application package.

Answer: Use the grants.gov application package.

12. Is there a required percentage of cost share?

Answer: No.

13. The ‘Organizational and Team Capabilities’ section of the Technical Narrative refers to letters of intent (page 19). Please confirm that these may be included as ‘Supplemental

Information’, and will not count against the page limit.

Answer: The letters of intent will not count against the page limit.

14. The APS states that “Signed Assurances, Certifications, and Other Statements, provided as Attachment 4 to this APS, must be provided within the Cost Application electronic file” (page

22), but they are not included. Please indicate where the latest version of these certifications may be obtained

Answer: The latest version is available in the grants.gov application package, along with all other forms needed to apply.

15. We are considering a proposal in response to the APS on Technical Leadership, but wanted to be sure that our geographical scope would be appropriate for the program.

Our project explores the relationship between groundwater sustainability and conflict along the

Turkey-Syria border. Based on the model we are developing, we will extrapolate our findings to other transboundary aquifers worldwide, using water management practices to predict intergroup and interstate conflict occurrence.

In light of the fact that Turkey is not a USAID priority country, and access to Syria is currently restricted, we wanted to see if our project would still be eligible for the APS. We realize that

USAID cannot support field visits to Syria, but all necessary data can be obtained through site visits in Turkey and satellite images of Syria

Answer: USAID activities are governed by applicable laws and regulations. If the findings of a proposed project are likely to be relevant to USAID’s policy, programs, and activities, and they are pertinent to the Technical Leadership agenda (see 3.2.1 Technical Evaluation

Criteria), then we would consider funding a project with data collection in Turkey.

16. Will this grant allow salary support for Principal Investigators (course buyouts, or summer salary)? If so, can you tell me the maximum time allowed?

Answer: The Cost Application can include personnel costs and fringe benefits (section 3.2.3).

The Cost Application Narrative must explain all costs (and the basis of these costs) and clearly show how these costs support the activities in the application’s Technical Narrative. There is no maximum set on personnel time. Applicants must use their best judgment to allocate personnel costs in the most cost-effective manner possible to support activities in the application’s Technical Narrative.

17. Are research assistants and travel to conferences allowable costs per the program solicitation?

Answer: While the APS does not explicitly prohibit travel to conferences or research assistants, the applicant must fully justify these costs (in the Cost Application Narrative) in terms of how they support the proposed activities in the Technical Narrative.

18. Must all publications be published through USAID, or are other academic outlets acceptable as well?

Answer: In addition to publishing all project report deliverables through USAID, grantees may publish project findings in other academic outlets.