Questions and Answers SFOP0009922.pdf

Questions and Answers

Promoting Accountability in Iraq and Syria For Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and War Crimes

Opportunity Number: SFOP0009922

1) The NOFO lists 9 objectives but does not specify NEA/AC goals required to complete the Results Monitoring Plan. The Plan requires to distinguish between NEA/AC goals and objectives and says that both are listed in the NOFO – however, the goals are missing. Could you please specify the goals so we can complete the Results Monitoring Plan accordingly?

a) The overarching objective of the project is the advancement of victim and survivor centered investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators of atrocities in Iraq or Syria. It is acceptable for the applicant to define the specific objectives of their proposed project based on the programming activities outlined in Section I.B. Achievable Objectives.

2) In Annex 2 Logic model template, there appear to be two templates in the document (one on page 1 and another one on page 2 of the Annex).

Can we use one or the other and not both?

a) Page one of the Logic Model Template should be used. The second page is an attempt to define the columns Needs, Inputs, Activities, Outputs, Short-Term Outcomes, Medium-Term Outcomes, and Impact on page one of the template.

3) Regarding the “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities” form, the Head of our organization meets with up to twice per year with US federal employees to discuss the work and progress. of the entity as well as possible judicial cooperation. Additionally, our Donor Relations Officer has regular contact with US Federal employees on funding opportunities. However, our application will not include a request to fund the activities for either of these staff members. Is our understanding correct that we do not need to complete the form?

a) Form SF-LLL—Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, is only required for organizations that engage in lobbying activities pursuant to 31 USC §1352.

4) In the BUDGET INFORMATION - Non-Construction Programs form, please provide guidance on the selection of “Federal” vs “non-federal” costs?

a) The Federal Amount is the amount you are requesting from

Department of State. The Non-Federal costs would be any cost-share that you would want to include. Cost-share is not required.

5) Reporting, “The Department of State will require reporting on the first and 15th of the month regarding project activities”. What is the format of such reports? Are these reports on top of the quarterly narrative reports?

a) The bi-weekly reports do not have a specific format. This is in addition to the quarterly performance report and an email update is sufficient.

6) RMP indicators: DR 6.1-3: Number of individuals from low income or marginalized communities who received legal aid or victim’s assistance with USG support. This indicator may not be feasible for our application.

a) Not all indicators below will be applicable to the proposed project, though the applicant is encouraged to use them where relevant in the development of the Logic Model and associated RMP. NEA/AC’s MEL team will work with the successful applicant on finalizing indicators as part of a RMP that will be utilized for the negotiated award.

7) Can the implementation period of 1 January-31 December 2024 be accepted?

a) An implementation period of 1 January – 31 December 2024 is acceptable.

8) Applicants are REQUIRED to include partnerships with Syrian or Iraq organizations as part of their project design, though they need not be physically based in-country. Applicants should propose partners that would work together on specific programmatic objectives or priorities and that utilize local expertise, even if follow up activities may be implemented outside Syria or Iraq. We may not be able to disclose our specific partnerships with these organizations but we can refer to their nature in the application.

a) We understand the sensitivity of your partners. Please be sure to include an explanation of why they are not disclosed in your application proposal.

9) Budget narrative should include designations of who is considered Key personnel for this project. Key personnel means “… key professional and supervisory personnel i.e. members of the professional staff in a program supervisory position engaged for or assigned to duties under the award.”

+ “Experience working in the country/territory/region proposed”. Do key personnel have to be funded from the award or can it be key personnel of the entity funded from other funding sources but assigned to duties under the award?

a) The key personnel identified in your application should be those who will be funded if an award is issued.

10) The NOFO states that 'applicants may submit only one application specific to either Iraq or Syria, not both or a combination of both.' We expect to submit an application as a prime applicant. If another consortium includes us as a sub-grantee, is that permissible? Prime applicants may only submit one application.

a) It is permissible to be prime applicant and be a proposed subrecipient on an application submitted by another prime recipient.

11) The application provides an estimate start date of October 1, 2023. Is this start date fixed or can it be flexible and to which extent?

a) The period of performance start date may be later than October 1, 2023. The extent of the start date depends on what is proposed.

12) We note the costs that are not allowed under the announcement include paying to complete activities begun with other funds. Would the ongoing activities that are a part of an agreed action plan with the Government or civil society and are to be scaled up with this funding opportunity be eligible? Similarly, can we propose activities that may have been launched under different funding streams, but need to continue because the issues that they seek to address are not yet resolved?

a) It is permissible to build on activities that have been previously implemented, however, it is not permissible to continue existing activities.

13) If an organization has programs in both Syria and Iraq, can two separate applications be submitted for consideration, with the understanding that both would not be accepted?

a) Only one application may be submitted. The applicant must choose either activities in Iraq or Syria, but not both.

14) The NOFO requires applicants to include partnerships with Iraqi or Syrian organizations as part of the project design. Are the partners required to be named during the proposal stage, with the understanding that these may change over the course of the implementation?

a) Local partners do not need to be identified in the application, but it would be advantageous to have them named.

15) Does NEA expect partners to allocate a portion of the program funds for independent evaluations?

a) All projects funded through this NOFO will be required to complete a final evaluation of the project at the end of the period of performance with support from the NEA/AC MEL team. Successful applicants will dedicate between 3% and 5% of their total budget to monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Selected applicants are required to have project information available for up to three years after the project closeout for the NEA/AC team to evaluate long-term outcomes.