RFA FY23 CN Equitable Access FY2023.pdf

Equitable Access in Child Nutrition Programs - Cooperative Agreement

Fiscal Year 2023 Request for Applications (RFA)

Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA): 10.579

Release Date: July 7, 2022 Application Due Date: 11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time (EST), DATE Anticipated Award Date: November 2022

This Application Checklist provides applicants with a list of the required documents. However, FNS expects that applicants will read the entire RFA prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation. The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and should not be submitted as part of the Application Package.

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:

1. Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

2. Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and,

3. Register in Grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure:

• Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section IV “Application and Submission Information.” This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section IV, and all necessary attachments.

When preparing your budget, ensure the following information is included:

• All key staff proposed to be paid by this grant.

• The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents

(FTEs).

• Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

• The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.

• Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justifications and basis for lodging estimates.

• Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.

• Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts.

• Justification, description and itemized list of all consultant services.

• Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists and the applicant has never been approved for a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis). If applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not requested, please indicate this in the budget narrative.

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:

• SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

• FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire

(Appendix IV)

• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15)

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

Table of Contents Application Checklist 2

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES 5

Program Description

Key Objectives

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 10

Allowable Costs

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 12

Eligible Applicants

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations

Other Eligibility Criteria

Pre-Award Screening Requirements

Acknowledgement of USDA Support

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 13

Content and Form of Application Submission

Submission Date

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 19

Evaluation of Grant Application Criteria

1. REVIEW CRITERIA

2. EVALUATION FACTORS AND CRITERIA

3. Review and Selection Process

VI. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 20

1. FEDERAL AWARD NOTICE

2. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

Confidentiality of an Application

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process

Administrative Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements

3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Financial Reports

Performance Progress Report (PPR)

VII. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS 24

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION 24

Debriefing Requests

APPENDIX 28

RFA Budget Narrative Checklist

FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR) – For Reference Only

Introduction The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provides nutritious meals at no or low cost to children through the Child Nutrition (CN) programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)/Seamless Summer Option (SSO). FNS is committed to ensuring equitable access to all CN programs by identifying and addressing barriers to participation and service delivery in these programs.

This Request for Applications (RFA) announces the availability of funds for a cooperative agreement.

Funding will be provided to the selected Grantee for fiscal year (FY) 2023 through FY 2026 to a public or private academic or research institution. The USDA anticipates awarding up to $2,000,000 in funding. The majority of these funds shall be awarded by the Grantee as sub-grants through a competitive process to public or private academic, not-for-profit, or State or Local government organizations for the purpose of conducting research activities that support identification of barriers to equitable access in CN programs as well as strategies to help overcome these barriers.

In order to identify the most pressing and promising areas for research, prior to awarding subgrants, the Grantee will design and carry out listening sessions with a variety of CN program stakeholders and experts (i.e., school food service professionals, State agency staff, students, parents, academics, community organizations). The Grantee will also develop and complete a summary report at the conclusion of the project that provides an overview of use of funds, the outcomes of all sub- grantee projects, and any overarching findings. The Grantee will document findings from the listening sessions in this or another publicly available report as well as maintain public access to data generated by the sub-grantee projects.

Program Description The legislative authority for this funding opportunity is contained at Section 23 of the Richard B.

Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 USC 1769d, which gives authority to the Secretary to enter into competitively awarded cooperative agreements to research childhood hunger, including “gaps in program coverage; the inability of potential participants to access programs; or the insufficiency of program benefits or services.” This is a one-time funding opportunity.

Background Through its CN programs, USDA FNS collaborates with State and local governments and Indian Tribal Organizations to foster nutrition security for children by providing consistent access to healthful meals and nutrition education. These programs include:

• National School Lunch Program (NSLP): The NSLP is a federally assisted meal program operating in nearly 100,000 public and not-for‐profit private schools and residential childcare institutions. FNS administers the program at the Federal level. At the State level, the NSLP is usually administered by State education agencies, which operate the program through agreements with school food authorities (SFAs). School districts that participate in the NSLP receive cash subsidies and donated commodities from USDA for each meal they serve. In 2019, almost 30 million children received lunch at school each day, and about 74% of those lunches were provided for free or at a reduced price.

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES

• School Breakfast Program (SBP): The SBP is a federally-assisted meal program that operates in over 90,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions. In 2019, nearly 15 million children received a school breakfast each day, and about 85 percent of these meals were served to children certified for free or reduced-price meals.

• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP): The FFVP provides free fresh fruits and vegetables to students in participating elementary schools during the school day. The fresh fruits and vegetables are provided separately from the lunch or breakfast meal, in one or more areas of the school. The goal of FFVP is to improve children’s overall diet and create healthier eating habits to impact their present and future health.

• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)/Seamless Summer Option (SSO): The SFSP was established to ensure that children from low-income families continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. Free meals that meet Federal nutrition guidelines are offered to all children 18 years old and under at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of children from low-income households. SFAs participating in the NSLP or SBP are eligible to operate the SSO, through which they can serve summer meals free of charge to children, including teenagers through age 18, under the school meal program rules.

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): The CACFP subsidizes nutritious meals and snacks served to children and adults in participating day care facilities as well as to children in emergency shelters and eligible after school programs. Providers are reimbursed for each qualifying meal or snack they serve to program participants.

USDA FNS is committed to ensuring that all children can access CN programs for which they are eligible and that services are equitably delivered to all program participants, especially those belonging to underserved communities. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, “equity” and “underserved communities” are defined as follows:1

(a) The term “equity” means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

(b) The term “underserved communities” refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the preceding definition of “equity.”

In order to evaluate equitable access to and service delivery within CN programs, this funding opportunity will support research projects to do one or several of the below activities:

a) identify barriers that participants, potential participants and/or program operators, especially in underserved communities, may face when accessing or attempting to access any CN program;

1 Exec Order 13985, Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, Jan 20, 2021: Sec. 2. Definitions.

b) identify strategies that can address barriers to participation;

c) identify situations or circumstances that may result in inequitable delivery of services within CN programs, especially for children and families from underserved communities;

d) identify strategies that can address barriers to equitable service delivery in CN programs;

e) generate evidence of efficacy of interventions to improve access to CN programs and/or equitable service delivery within programs; and/or

f) identify measures of equitable access to program benefits, including indicators that could be collected by FNS in national and State surveys.

Examples of potential priority areas of interest for sub-grantee research include, but are not limited to:

• Investigating differential access to farm to school programs (i.e., nutrition, agricultural, and food education, provision of fresh and local foods in the cafeteria) across schools and SFAs

• Investigating and testing use of the FNS online meal benefits application prototype to improve access to meal benefits (e.g., exploring user experiences of different types of applications, documenting State and SFA successes and barriers when implementing an online application)

• Examining equity in labor and workforce practices among CN program operators (e.g., in school cafeterias, in childcare centers)

• Determining strategies to ensure equitable access to CN programs during emergency situations

• Exploring differential access to CACFP (e.g., based on geographic location, other demographic characteristics, licensing requirements)

• Investigating family day care home participation in CACFP to learn more about their barriers to participation and strategies to overcome these barriers

• Investigating barriers to adult participation in CACFP and strategies to enhance adult participation

• Investigating and developing strategies to address perceived barriers to use of the Community

Eligibility Provision and Provisions 1 and 2 by SFAs

• Collecting, developing and/or testing strategies for best practices to collect racial/ethnic data in

CACFP and SFSP

• Collecting, developing and/or testing strategies to improve SFSP awareness among participants and caregivers

• Exploring school-level barriers to access for students from their perspective (e.g., stigma, meal period length and timing)

• Documenting the role of meal standards in ensuring equitable access to healthy meals

• Exploring preparation and crediting of foods typically eaten in underserved communities that have not generally been included in school meals

• Exploring mechanisms for stakeholders to regularly provide feedback into administration of

FNS programs at the school/site, SFA/sponsor and/or State level

Activities Using this RFA, FNS will award funding to one academic or not-for-profit research institution to select and support research projects related to equitable access in CN programs. The Grantee shall work cooperatively with FNS to:

1) Design and conduct listening sessions with CN stakeholders to determine priority areas of research and any other relevant considerations for sub-grant awards. These listening sessions should include CN stakeholders such as school food service professionals, State agency staff, students, parents, academics, and community organizations. FNS anticipates 3-5 listening sessions;

however, applicants shall propose their target number. The Grantee shall prepare for public dissemination, including on the FNS website, a summary of the process to conduct these listening sessions, their content, and important takeaways for public dissemination.

2) Develop and manage a competitive sub-grant award process to fund public or private not-for-profit, academic, or government organizations to conduct research on equitable access in CN programs. The Grantee shall propose and justify a list of priority research areas for the sub-grants based on FNS priorities and the stakeholder listening sessions. The Grantee will select, award, and monitor the sub-grantee’s research projects.

a) The Grantee will develop a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process. The

Grantee’s process shall include developing a written RFP; establishing and following clear evaluation criteria; and widely publicizing the opportunity among a diverse group of potential applicants. The written RFP will describe the opportunity, explain eligibility for the sub-grants, and outline evaluation criteria for the award. FNS will review and discuss the RFP with the Grantee.

Priority should be given to sub-grantees representing underserved communities, especially those which have experienced barriers to accessing CN programs. The sub-grant award process shall also consider the sub-grantee’s use of methods to facilitate an equitable research process, (e.g., collaboration with participating communities) and minimize potential costs to individuals and communities participating in the research.2 The RFP shall require that, at a minimum, proposals include the following:

A description of the research project and how it fits the funding opportunity and any priority areas of interest;

Past experience working with CN programs or other nutrition assistance efforts;

Documentation of support from any program operators and/or other partners with whom the sub-grantee plans to work;

A description of the elements of the research design and/or processes that facilitate an equitable approach to research and minimization of costs to participants; and Documentation of procedures used to maintain the quality and integrity of all data and analyses.

b) Prior to selection of sub-grantees, the Grantee will submit to FNS the proposals and summaries of all proposals submitted by those applying for sub-grants and discuss the proposals with FNS. At a minimum, the summaries shall include the name of the applicant, requested and suggested award amount, and a brief description of the proposed project. FNS will approve final selection decisions for the subgrants.

c) After sub-grantees are selected, the Grantee will submit updated summaries of selected sub-grantee projects for publication on FNS’s website.

d) After award of sub-grants, the Grantee will administer funding, monitor progress, and report on research projects to FNS. This may include sharing activities accomplished, 2 For more on equitable research methods and the distribution of costs in research with communities, see Why Am I Always Being Researched, especially page 66 (available at https://chicagobeyond.org/researchequity/) and “Racial Equity Trends and the Institutional Review Board” (available at https://www.childtrends.org/publications/racial‐equity‐ considerations‐and‐the‐institutional‐review‐board).

http://www.childtrends.org/publications/racial obstacles encountered, and preliminary findings. It shall also include completing all reports required by FNS.

3) Disseminate findings from the sub-grant projects broadly among CN stakeholders. The Grantee shall prepare a final report that describes the sub-grantee projects; findings from each project as well as any cross-cutting findings; and a discussion of strengths, limitations, and possible next steps in research and dissemination. This report may also include the summary of the CN stakeholder listening sessions. The Grantee shall share these findings among CN stakeholders including program operators and administrators, community organization partners, policymakers at all levels, and researchers. The Grantee shall also coordinate an opportunity for FNS staff to hear directly from grantees, and for grantees to hear from each other, about the findings of their projects. FNS also encourages the Grantee to present research findings at academic and professional conferences.

The Grantee must also compile and make publicly available all data collected and analyzed by sub-grantees, in a form accessible to other researchers (e.g., downloadable file on a Grantee website), unless otherwise approved by FNS.

Project Management Communication with FNS The Grantee shall schedule and plan a virtual kickoff meeting within one month from date of award to discuss the objectives of the cooperative agreement, address any Grantee questions, and discuss the sub-grant process. The Grantee shall also schedule and plan a virtual close out meeting near the conclusion of the project to present findings and exchange information on lessons learned. The Grantee shall provide a formal presentation to FNS at that time.

Over the course of the project, FNS and the Grantee shall meet regularly, on a schedule to be jointly determined (per the needs of the project, but no less frequently than quarterly). In these meetings, the Grantee shall provide an overview of the activities conducted since the last meeting, major accomplishments, deviations from the proposed plan and/or other challenges encountered, solutions developed and lessons learned, sub-grantee progress and preliminary findings, assistance needed from FNS on technical issues, and major planned activities for the next quarter. Sub-grantees may attend these meetings, and FNS may request sub-grantee attendance. The Grantee shall provide FNS with an agenda 3 business days prior to each call. Should a major issue arise between meetings, the Grantee shall contact the FNS Grant and Program Officers immediately.

Reports and Products All documents intended for public dissemination (e.g., reports, peer-reviewed articles) generated by efforts funded through this cooperative agreement must be reviewed by FNS before general distribution or submission to peer review for publication in scientific journals. Project timelines should factor in FNS review of reports and products, with 3 weeks for items 30 pages or less and 6 weeks for items greater than 30 pages in length. The Grantee shall provide FNS with an electronic copy of all reports, articles and/or other dissemination materials (e.g., outreach materials and documents, PowerPoint slides) resulting from this grant and sub-grant activity at the time of submission for publication (if applicable) and in final form when published.

Reports to be published by FNS on the USDA webpage require FNS review and clearance. All materials that will be published on FNS’s website must be Section 508-compliant. Please see http://www.section508.gov/ for more information. The Grantee is responsible for delivering compliant documents to FNS for website publication.

Unless otherwise advised by the Agency, the Recipient will acknowledge the support of USDA FNS whenever publicizing the work under this grant. To this end, the Grantee must include in any publication resulting from work performed under this grant an acknowledgment in substantially the form set below.

“This material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.”

Data and Materials Property All data, documents, communications, and other materials developed and used by the Grantee in the performance of this cooperative agreement shall be maintained by the Grantee for a period of three years from the date of final payment under this agreement, or for such further period as may be necessary to resolve any matters which may be pending. The Grantee must also compile and make publicly available all data collected and analyzed by sub-grantees, in a form accessible to other researchers (e.g., downloadable file on a Grantee website), unless otherwise approved by FNS. The Grantee shall also provide to FNS data files including raw data, analytic code, output files, codebooks and other applicable documentation sufficient for FNS to replicate the analyses used in any Grantee or sub-grantee reports, publications, or presentations.

The Grantee should have in place appropriate controls to ensure compliance with relevant privacy and confidentiality standards (see, e.g., section below on personally identifiable information) and to ensure sub-grantee compliance with the same. The Grantee should also have in place appropriate controls and procedures to maintain the quality and security of any data collected and ensure the sub-grantees do the same.

FNS reserves the right to utilize, disseminate, or share any deliverables produced with funding under this grant project in accordance with 2 CFR part 200 (including, but not limited to, tools developed by sub-grantees using grant funds).

Key Objectives Below is a list of the Program Objectives. As noted in the section below, within “Activities/Indicators Tracker”, proposed activities should be clearly aligned to these Objectives and their associated Activities and Indicators.

# Objectives 1 Design and conduct listening sessions with CN stakeholders to determine priority areas of research and any other relevant considerations for sub-grant awards.

2 Develop and manage a competitive sub-grant award process to fund public or private not-for-profit or academic organizations to conduct research on equitable access in CN programs.

3 Disseminate findings from the sub-grant projects broadly among CN stakeholders.

ΙΙ. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

http://www.section508.gov/

The following information is intended to provide applicants with information to help applicants make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $2,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 1

• Anticipated award announcement date: November 15, 2022

• Expected amounts of individual Federal awards: $2,000,000

• Anticipated start dates and period of performance: November 30, 2022 through September 30,

• Anticipated amounts and/or numbers of individual awards: 1

• Estimated funding per award: $2,000,000

• Application due date: September 12, 2022

Please note:

1. Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

2. FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to award additional grants this year or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

Allowable Costs This cooperative agreement is a one-time funding opportunity that will be awarded on a competitive basis, subject to the availability of federal funds. Approximately $2,000,000 is available for funding this opportunity, the majority of which shall be awarded through a competitive, sub-grant process to academic, not-for-profit, or government organizations for research projects examining equitable access within CN programs. FNS will accept one application package per applicant. This award is contingent upon the availability of Federal funding.

Cooperative Agreement Roles and Responsibilities This grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement. This agreement is a legal instrument reflecting a relationship between the Federal government and the Grantee.

FNS. To the extent practicable, FNS is available to provide technical consultation to the Grantee as needed. FNS will comment on major aspects for the projects in advance of their implementation in a manner and timeframe agreed upon between the Grantee and FNS.

At FNS discretion, FNS involvement with the Grantee may include, but is not limited to:

• Communicating regularly with the Grantee regarding their plans to meet this RFA’s requirement

• Reviewing and approving the final RFP for the sub-grantee competition

• Providing comments on a Grantee-provided summary of all applications for the sub-grants

• Approving the final list of sub-grant awards

• Reviewing near-final reports and articles generated by efforts funded through this cooperative agreement before general distribution or submission to peer review for publication in scientific journals.

Grantee. The Grantee has overall responsibility for planning, implementation, and operations of the project. The Grantee shall:

• Carry out all activities necessary to fulfill the items as described in the Activities section above

• Keep FNS informed on project progress and major issues or concerns

• Submit timely progress reports and financial reports throughout the award period and submit a final progress report and a final financial report

• Coordinate and attend an initial kickoff meeting, progress meetings, and a close-out meeting via teleconference

Allowable Costs Among other costs, budgets may include expenses related to personnel, contractors, equipment and supplies, food, meeting expenses, travel, and trainings.

Eligible Applicants

This Request for Applications (RFA) is open to all accredited institutions of higher education (colleges/universities), nonprofit research entities and other nonprofit organizations with documented experience in public health research and communications. These are requirements for the selected recipient of the cooperative agreement, not any potential sub-grantees.

FNS is committed to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility of our programs and encourages individuals, institutions, and organizations from underserved communities to apply for funding opportunities as grant or subgrant recipients.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations

There are no cost sharing or matching requirements for this program.

Other Eligibility Criteria

FNS will accept only one application from each applicant. Suspended or debarred organizations are ineligible to submit applications in response to this grant solicitation.

Pre-Award Screening Requirements

In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.205, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information. Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards.

The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following:

o SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS.

o FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance.

o Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a number that is used by the Federal government to better identify related organizations that are receiving funding under grants and cooperative agreements; and o FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial

Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgement of USDA Support

As outlined in 2 CFR 415.2, grant recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any publications written or published with grant support and, if feasible, on any publication reporting the results of, or describing, a grant-supported activity. Recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any audiovisual which is produced with grant support and which has a direct production cost of over $5,000.

1. When acknowledging USDA support, use the following language: “This material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.” Grantees should follow the USDA Visual Standards Guide when using the USDA logo.

2. Grant recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

Content and Form of Application Submission

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced, in 12-point font. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 25 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of contents, resumes, letter of commitment(s), endorsement letter(s), budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages, excluding the form pages, must be numbered.

Special Instructions:

• Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline.

No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, or certification will not be considered.

• Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered.

• FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

• Applications not submitted via Grants.gov will not be considered.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

Cover Sheet The cover page should include, at a minimum:

• Applicant’s name and mailing address

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

• Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address

• Grant program title and subprogram title (if applicable)

Table of Contents The Table of Contents should include relevant sections, subsections and associated page numbers.

Application Project Summary The application should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded.

Project Narrative The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address a solution, the expected results and/or benefits once the solution is achieved, and how it will meet the RFA program scope and objectives. The proposed project methodology should describe the project design, address program specific methodology needs, procedures, timetables, monitoring/oversight, and the organization’s project staffing.

The project narrative should include (but is not limited to) the below sections and information. Please use these section headings in the project narrative and number accordingly:

1. Introduction/Background: Provide an overview of the plan for the project and major qualifications. Demonstrate understanding of the project requirements and considerations.

2. Listening Session: Describe a plan to design and conduct stakeholder listening sessions, including major considerations. Include evidence of any prior experience conducting similar sessions or relevant expertise (e.g., experience working with CN programs, participants, or stakeholders) to inform this activity. Include a proposed target number of stakeholder listening sessions and type and number of participants in each.

3. RFP Administration: Describe a plan to administer a competitive RFP process, including development of the solicitation, promotion of the solicitation among eligible applicants, and evaluation criteria for received proposals. Include the target number and scale of grants and describe plans to work with sub-grantees to fulfill the requirements of this project.

Describe a plan to monitor and report on sub-grantee progress. Include evidence of any experience or expertise working with researchers or others representing underserved communities.

4. Dissemination: Describe plans for disseminating findings from this grant, including plans to make project findings accessible to various stakeholders. Include plans for compiling and maintaining data and other project materials to ensure public accessibility.

5. Management: Provide a clear description of the activities to be undertaken to manage the project to ensure that project activities are completed on time, within budget, and with quality results. Provide a clear description of how funds will be administered and distributed to sub-awardees. Describe how quality assurance, data security and privacy controls, recordkeeping, and accounting activities will be executed.

6. Staffing: Describe the organizational structure and identify the key personnel who will manage the project. Describe roles and responsibilities of these individuals, as well as their relevant qualifications, expertise, and experience, and a level of effort specified for specific staff proposed. Explain contingency plans for staff turnover.

7. Timeline: Include a timeline with specific activities that will contribute to accomplishing the project objectives.

8. Resumes/CVs: To assist reviewers in assessing the competence and experience of the proposed project staff, include a resume or curriculum vitae of the key personnel expected to work on the project.

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section I – PROGRAM DESCRIPTION) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed). Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include Number of People Attended, Number of People Impacted, Number of Conferences Delivered, Number of Materials Created, Number of Trainings, Number of People Trained.

(Example)

Objective # 1 Activity Listening sessions Indicator(s) Number of sessions held Activity Listening sessions Indicator(s) Number of attendees at each session

Objective #

Activity

Indicator(s)

Objective #

Activity

Indicator(s)

Application Budget Narrative The budget narrative should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget.

Budget narrative project totals must match SF-424A, sections A and B. The narrative must justify and support the bona fide needs of the budget’s direct cost. If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. All non-profit organizations must include their 501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

Indirect Cost Rate A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a Federal negotiating agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have, and has never been approved for, a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis.

In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate. An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and, instead, use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase "none requested" should be stated in the budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Grant Officer as noted in Section VII of this RFA.

Required Grant Application Forms

Please refer to the Application Checklist for a list of required grant forms.

Submission Date Complete grant applications must be uploaded to www.grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page.

• Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov. Mailed, e-mailed or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, go here.

• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

• FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via

Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully.

submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to Grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues, should they arise. Please note that upon submission, Grants.gov may send multiple confirmation notices; applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications to Grants.gov should contact the Grant Officer noted in the Agency Contacts (Section VII) of this RFA. FNS will evaluate submission issues on a case-by-case basis.

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov Applicants must register with Grants.gov, Dun and Bradstreet and Sam.gov in order to submit an application to FNS via Grants.gov, as required. FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a UEI number

• Existing entities can find their UEI by following the steps here:

https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0041254. New entities can get their UEI at SAM.gov and, if required, complete an entity registration.

NOTE: On and after April 4, 2022, entities can register in in SAM.gov and will be assigned their Unique Entity ID (SAM) within SAM.gov. They will not longer obtain or use a UEI (DUNS) for entity registration or reporting. For additional information on the UEI process, please visit: SAM.gov | Duns - Sam UEI.

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov)

• SAM.gov combines Federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. For additional information regarding SAM.gov, see the following link: https://www.sam.gov/SAM

• Must have your organization’s DUNS, entity’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on last tax return). It may take 3-5 business days to register in SAM.gov;

however, in some instances the SAM process to complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of the entity record will require 5-7 days or more.

• All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with two CFR Part 25.

https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0041254 http://www.sam.gov/SAM

• We strongly encourage applicants to begin the process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account:

The next step in the registration process is to create an account with Grants.gov. Applicants must know their organization's UEI to complete this process. For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html

4. Authorize Grants.gov Roles:

After creating an account on Grants.gov, the E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POS) receives an email notifying them of the registration and request for roles. The E-Biz POC will need to go to Grants.gov and authorize the appropriate roles. An approved Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must complete and submit the application online at Grants.gov. To learn more about the E-Biz POC role and other profile roles, please visit:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html.

5. Track Role Status

To track your role request, please visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html

Electronic Signature: When applications are submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the organization's AOR that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as the electronic signature. The EBiz POC must authorize individuals who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as an AOR; this step is often missed and it is crucial for valid and timely submissions.

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov Grants.gov applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement (FOA) or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support via the toll-free number 1-800-518- 4726 and email at support@grants.gov. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to call the Grants.gov Support Center and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue and understanding background information on the issue.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html mailto:support@grants.gov

For questions related to the specific grant opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in the Agency Contacts (Section VII) of this RFA.

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page, as detailed here. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by Grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by Grants.gov. The applicant AOR will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) from Grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application.

Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and Grants.gov Tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

When FNS successfully retrieves the application from Grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, Grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgment of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that Grants.gov receives your application. Applications received by Grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNS funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before Grants.gov receives your application. Again, Grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role. The Grants.gov Support Center reports that some applicants end the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to process the application.

Additional Information on Grants.gov and the Registration Process:

NOTICE: Special Characters and Naming Conventions All applicants MUST follow Grants.gov guidance on file naming conventions. To avoid submission issues, please follow the guidance provided by Grants.gov (per the Grants.gov Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Are there restrictions on file names for any attachment I include with my application package?

File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages. Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters (examples: & – * % / # ’ -). This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file. To separate words in naming a file, use underscore, as in the following example: Attached_File.pdf.

Please note that if these guidelines are not followed, your application will be rejected. FNS will not accept any application rejected from www.grants.gov portal due to incorrect naming conventions.

Additional information and applicant resources are available at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

Evaluation of Grant Application Criteria

1. REVIEW CRITERIA

FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations. FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation. FNS will also pre-screen all applications to ensure that they contain the required documents and information, including but not limited to the project and budget narratives and all supporting documentation. Complete applications will need to be submitted by eligible applicants, meet all other eligibility requirements stated in this RFA, submitted on or before the required deadlines, and be in the required format. If an application does not include all appropriate information, FNS will consider the application to be non-responsive and will eliminate it from further evaluation.

3. EVALUATION FACTORS AND CRITERIA

The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate applications for this RFA.

Approach (40 points)

• Demonstrates understanding of FNS requirements and goals

• Demonstrates capacity and commitment to meet objectives in a high-quality manner

• Articulates a clear and feasible plan to design and conduct listening sessions that will provide useful and actionable information

• Incorporates appropriate considerations into plan for designing and conducting listening sessions

• Articulates a clear and feasible plan to recruit and monitor sub-grantees with relevant and high-value research projects and representing with underserved communities

• Demonstrates expertise and experience to produce a high-quality final report summarizing project findings

• Articulates a clear and feasible plan to broadly disseminate findings among a variety of stakeholders and maintain publicly accessible data and…