Questions and Answers Opportunity No. SFOP0008106.pdf

Opportunity Number: SFOP0008106 Questions and Answers

Tunisia Supporting the Inclusion of Vulnerable Communities (IDMEJ) U.S. Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Office of Assistance Coordination

1. How do I know if my organization meets the eligibility requirement?

Please refer to the NOFO attachment in SAMS Domestic when applying or see below:

Eligible applicants include:

- U.S. or foreign o Non-profit organizations;

o For-profit organizations;

o Private institutions of higher education;

o Public or state institutions of higher education;

o Public international organizations;

o Small businesses with function and regional experience in the areas of: good governance, human rights, or organization strengthening in the MENA and Africa regions.

A.1. Prime Applicant

To be considered for funding under this opportunity, applicants SHALL:

• Have demonstrable previous experience working in the MENA region;

• Have demonstrable previous experience working with on good governance and human rights issues;

• Have demonstrable previous experience working with government ministries and partners on electronic solutions;

• Meet ALL of the registration requirements listed below;

• Meet the requirements of the government of Tunisia to conduct programmatic activities within the country,

2. Is a UN organization or agency admissible to apply? Is our UN agency (possibly in partnership with other UN agency and local NGOs) eligible for this proposal ?

a. Yes, UN agencies fall under Public international organizations and are eligible to apply, with the condition that the prime applicant meets the requirement mentioned in the NOFO announcement.

3. Can you provide more details about the application qualifications and how to apply?

a. Please refer to the answer to question 1 for the application qualifications. Please refer to section VI. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION and appendices 1, 2, and 3 in the NOFO announcement for more detailed information.

4. Budget: For option year(s): on page 10 it is mentioned $3,000,000 for the option years

(max 2 option years) But on page 14: it says: “a notional budget and brief budget narrative for option year funding up to two (2) additional years for up to an additional one million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,000,000).” Could you confirm what is the correct amount for the option years? Would it be $1,500,000 per option year to a maximum of $3,000,000?

a. Option years are a maximum of 2 option years with an additional budget of $3,000,000 total.

5. With the Eid holidays causing significant delays in proposal design, would NEA/AC please consider an extension till June 15 to account for the date open from April 27th and later changed to May 5th?

a. Due to the fiscal year calendar, we are, unfortunately, not able to extend the deadline.

6. Please confirm if the cost of mid-term and final evaluations should be included in the

Budget application or will be tendered separately outside of the stated project budget on page 9. II. Measurement of Results section.

a. The cost of mid-term and final evaluations should be included in the Budget application.

7. There appears to be a missing word between “with” and “on” in the bullet point on page 11 V.A.A.1 Prime Applicant section. Kindly provide the missing entity that the prime applicant must have previous experience working with.

a. NOFO is updated accordingly.

8. Please confirm whether the Project Timeline should cover the first three years of the project only as described in the Project Narrative, or whether it must also include project activities that are proposed in the Option Years Narrative indicated on Page 15.

Section VI. A.A.1 Required Documents.

a. The Project Timeline should cover the first three years of the project only as described in the Project Narrative. The Option Years Narrative is a separate document that should clearly describe the efforts the applicant would propose to undertake during the option year period(s) of up to two years (for up to a total five -year project period) in order to meet the objectives, priorities, and goals outlined in the funding description section of this NOFO. This section may not exceed two (2) pages.

9. Please confirm the font size limitation does not apply to listed application figures.

a. We confirm.

10. Please confirm the Project Timeline may be developed in either Excel or Word and in any legible font consistent with the applicant’s style guide.

a. The Project timeline should be developed as either a PDF or a Word File.

11. Would NEA/AC please confirm that applicants who do not possess a USG issued NICRA are permitted to propose indirect rates in accordance with audited financial statements in accordance with 2 CFR PART 200, (i.e. audited multiplier)? We find the

10% limit on indirect rates limiting for small organizations where a USG issued NICRA is not yet appropriate based on size.

a. Applicants who do not possess a USG issued NICRA are NOT permitted to propose indirect rates in accordance with audited financial statements in accordance with

2 CFR PART 200

12. Kindly confirm the Key Personnel titles and positions (if any) that are required to be included.

a. Key personnel are defined as individuals who contribute to the programmatic development or execution of the project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they receive salaries or other compensation under the grant. Key personnel must include a Program Director and or Program Coordinator.

13. Kindly confirm if applicants may tailor titles – specifically Program Coordinator and/or Financial or Business Official – so long as the responsibilities listed on page 13 of Appendix 3 are included within the job function of proposed Key Personnel.

a. Applicants MAY tailor titles – specifically Program Coordinator and/or Financial or Business Official – so long as the responsibilities listed on page 13 of Appendix 3 are included within the job function of proposed Key Personnel.

14. Please provide the Pre-Submission Checklist. It is not posted together with this announcement on Grants.gov as indicated on page 15 in Application Guidance optional documents.

a. We will not be providing a checklist, all required documents are listed in NOFO. We updated the application guidance document to reflect this new change.