Questions and Answers - NOFO OFOP0001267.pdf

Questions and Answers for NOFO P0001267 “Employability Skills for at risk youth to prevent crime and violence”

Date: January 30, 2024

Question 1:

Would this funding opportunity consider funding a proposal directed to cover the investment necessary to update, adapt and scale up a model designed to operate under a public-private partnership including local governments and the business sector , and directed to youth in context of vulnerability and social conflict, developed and evaluated by the applicant organization through a US_DOL grant (2017-2022), and only requiring to fine tune its components and strategies to fully meet the requirements of the National Employment System as set by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and approved by the National Council of Employment of Costa Rica in 2023?

INL Response:

No, it wouldn’t. This project’s goal is to train youth in employability skills that allows them to get a job. The project its for at risk youth in specific communities identified by INL and the Ministry of Public Security.

Question 2:

Would the e-commerce aspect of an application make the project ineligible?

No, it wouldn’t, as long as it’s responsive to the NOFO’s objectives, target audience and locations.

Question 3:

In the narrative budget document, a reference is made in the indirect costs section to an MTDC basis, we would like to know what this refers to.

Modified Total Direct Costs. Please refer to the Indirect Cost section, page 13 of the NOFO.

Question 4:

The document, in the list of communities, refers to the provinces of Limón and Puntarenas, we would like to know if it refers to the entire province or if only its central cantons.

INL Response: Yes, the NOFO specifies cantonments and not provinces. So, is Limon and Puntarenas central cantonments.

Question 5: In some of the communities, due to the experience, it would be difficult to reach 100 participants, could the missing ones be transferred to other communities with greater demand?

INL Response: Yes, as long as this is pre-approved by INL and the GO.

Question 6: Is natural desertion contemplated in these processes?

INL Response: Yes, its known that sometimes participants retire earlier in the process. In this case, the grantee has to have available the slots required in the NOFO, receive all applications, start the process and if along the way participants retire from the training, it should be notified to INL and in the quarterly progress report.

Question 7:

The document talks about two circulars that we would like to know about:

Circular A-122 Cost principles for non-profit organizations OMB Circular A-21 Educational Institutions

I’m not sure what document you are referring to. However, 2 CFR part 200 have replaced these circulars.

Question 8: Is it possible to access the Notice of Funding Opportunity document?

INL Response: The NOFO is the one posted in grants.gov.

Question 9: About the territorial scope and in the specific case of the provinces of Limón and Puntarenas, should all its cantonments of each province be contemplated in the proposal or will the cantonments be defined once the first working sessions are held

INL Response: NOFO specifies cantonments and not provinces. So, is Limon and Puntarenas central cantonments ONLY. The other cantonments are specified in the NOFO and there are some that will be selected by INL.

Question 10: What is the entry profile of the participants, and is it similar to INA's entry profile?

INL Response: The NOFO provides sample opportunities to people that not necessarily meet the INA entry criteria. The employability skills are basic, so the entry levels should be defined by the grantee.

Question 11: How do you define and what do you consider as "trades"?

INL Response: trades are employability skills such as customer service, warehouse employee, etc. In the NOFO there are some examples of these.

Question 12: When you state "successful employability rate of at least 30%", do you refer to the entry into professional practices and internships or to the job placement of the participants?

INL Response: Both

Question 13: Is it mandatory for the grantee to provide technical training or can the grantee establish partnerships with other institutions and educational centers to specifically provide technical training?

INL Response: Is not mandatory and grantee can establish partnerships to provide the technical training.