RFA Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center - edited after posting - 9-29-14.pdf

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE

USDA Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center

Cooperative Agreement

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

CFDA#: 10.549

DATES:

Letter of Intent Date: October 20, 2014 (Optional)

Application Submission Date: December 1, 2014

Award Date: January 30, 2015

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Keywords:

CN, FNS, USDA

CN – Child Nutrition

FNS – Food and Nutrition Service

USDA – United States Department of Agriculture

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION 4

BACKGROUND 7

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS FOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT 11

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS 11

APPLICATION FORMAT 17

APPLICATION ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION 21

EVALUATION OF GRANT APPLICATION CRITERIA 24

CONFIDENTIALITY OF AN APPLICATION 27

CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND CONFIDENTIALITY

OF THE REVIEW PROCESS 27

AWARD NOTICE 27

FINANCIAL REPORTING 27

PROGRESS REPORTING 27

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS 28

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND OTHER

GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS 30

RFA APPLICATION CHECKLIST 31

RFA BUDGET NARRATIVE CHECKLIST 32

APPENDIX A 34

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INTRODUCTION

The United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (hereafter USDA FNS) is responsible for providing nutritious meals to children through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), among others, and for monitoring compliance with 2010’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA). The legislative authority for this grant announcement is Section 6 [42 U.S.C. 1755 ] (a)(3) of the National School Lunch Act.

This RFA announces the availability of funds for one new cooperative agreement for FY 2015- 2019 with a public or private Academic or Research Institution. In this funding cycle, the USDA anticipates awarding up to $2,500,000 in grant funding to support singular or modular (collaboration among multiple entities) efforts to improve nutrition program coordination in States with the highest number of persistently poor rural counties.

USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs

Through its 15 nutrition assistance programs, USDA FNS collaborates with State and local governments and Indian Tribal Organizations to improve food security and diet quality among children and low-income people throughout the nation. These programs either target children explicitly or include them among their beneficiaries. USDA’s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs improve children’s food security by providing low-income households with access to a healthful diet and nutrition education. The largest programs include:

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) SNAP is the largest nutrition assistance program in the U.S. and provides low-income individuals and families with additional resources to purchase food each month. In fiscal year (FY) 2013, SNAP served an average of 47.6 million low-income people each month at total costs of over $76 billion in benefits. In FY 2012, 45 percent of all SNAP households contained children and 17 percent contained elderly individuals.

National School Lunch Program (NSLP) The NSLP provides funds to States for lunches served to students at school and for snacks served to children participating in after school care programs. Children with families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines qualify for free meals and up to 185 percent qualify for reduced price meals. In FY 2013, average daily participation was 30.6 million in about 100,000 schools and residential child-care facilities. Approximately 70 percent of all lunches served were provided to children free or at reduced price.1

School Breakfast Program (SBP) SBP provides funds to States to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions across the U.S. In FY 2013, the SBP served over 13.1 million school children each day, in about 90,000 schools and residential child-care facilities. In School Year 2012-2013, SBP reached 27.3% of school children, with over 80% of participating schools serving low-income areas; almost 85% of meals served free or at reduced price. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines are eligible for

1 NSLP National Level Annual Summary Tables: 2013. Available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/slsummar.htm

5 | P a g e free meals; those from families with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of poverty are eligible for reduced-price meals.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) The WIC program provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, breastfeeding support, health care referrals, and nutrition education. The target population for WIC benefits is low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and infants and children up to age five who are determined to be at nutritional risk. Low-income is defined in terms of a household income at or below 185 percent of poverty. States and Indian Tribal Organizations receive Federal grants which in turn are used to cover the cost of foods purchased with WIC benefits, along with specified nutrition services and administrative costs. In FY 2013, WIC served an average of 8.7 million participants each month.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) CACFP provides aid to approximately 180,000 child and adult care institutions and family or group day care homes for the provision of nutritious foods that contribute to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children, and the health and wellness of older adults and chronically impaired disabled persons. In FY 2013, CACFP served more than 3.3 million children and 120,00 adults through child care institutions, family day care homes, adult day care centers, and after-school care programs.

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) The SFSP provides meals and snacks to children in low-income areas when school is not in session. Free meals, that meet Federal nutrition guidelines, are provided to all children 18 years old and under at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of low-income children. SFSP served over 2.4 million children during an average day in July 2013.

Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) The FDPIR is a Federal program that provides USDA foods to low-income households, including the elderly, living on Indian reservations, and to Native American families residing in designated areas near reservations and in the State of Oklahoma. In FY 2013, FDPIR served an average of about 75,600 low-income Native Americans each month. Five States and 100 ITOs operated FDPIR on 276 Indian reservations.

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Exhibit 1

Purpose

The purposes of this Request For Applications (RFA) are to:

• Provide background information and context related to this RFA,

• Describe the type of cooperative agreement available,

• Describe which entities are eligible to apply for grant funds,

• Solicit funding applications from eligible entities,

• Describe the requirements for submitting a successful application,

• Describe how applications will be reviewed and selected, and

• Describe the terms and conditions to which grantees must adhere.

This RFA intends to select one institution/organization (i.e. Accredited University or Research Center) to establish the USDA Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center. The role of this Center will be to develop and administer a series of sub-grants pertinent to the purposes of this grant, coordinate relevant grant-related activities among sub-grantees and researchers, conduct an evaluation of sub-grantees’ programs, and widely disseminate information on communities’ implementation strategies and evaluation findings.

The goal of the Center will be to reduce child food insecurity in persistently poor rural counties.

Funding

Grant funds will be made available on a competitive basis, subject to availability of federal funds.

Approximately $2.5 million is available for funding this new Cooperative Agreement. Multiple applications per institution will be accepted, however only one award will be made to one applicant.

The grantee will be responsible for awarding at least 51% of their awarded amount as sub-grants to persistently poor rural counties for the purposes of reducing child food insecurity by

Of the programs listed above, the following are FNS Child Nutrition Programs:

National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

School Breakfast Program (SBP)

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

7 | P a g e improving cross-program coordination among Child Nutrition and other food assistance programs.

BACKGROUND

The USDA-FNS programs work together to help low-income families meet their nutrition needs.

Counties with persistently high levels of child poverty are likely to experience significant food insecurity among children. While this grant announcement is focused on Child Nutrition programs (see Exhibit 1), it is not limited to the coordination among these Child Nutrition program services. In order to minimize food insecurity among rural children, it is important to improve collaboration with private/public partnerships to both research and implement best practices. The results of projects funded through this grant announcement will be shared broadly with policy makers, service providers, other partners, and the public to promote wide use of successful program collaboration strategies.

Persistently Poor Counties

ERS defines counties with 20 percent or more of their populations living in poverty over the last 30 years (measured by the 1980, 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and 2007-11 American Community Survey 5-year estimates) as persistently poor.2 Based on this definition, there are currently 353 persistently poor counties in the United States (comprising 11.2 percent of all U.S.

counties). The large majority (85.3 percent) of the persistently poor counties are non-metro counties and the majority of persistently poor counties are concentrated in the South.2 A list of the persistently poor counties in the 15 States with the highest number of persistently poor counties is provided in Appendix A.

Rural American Children and Communities and Poverty

The demographics of rural children and their families closely parallel the profile of households in poverty across the country. As with poor households in general, rural households are likely to be headed by a single, non-white female with less than a high school education.3 On the other hand, rural children are more likely to be cared for in relatives’ homes than in the centers and family child care homes where the Child and Adult Care Food Program is available, potentially contributing to the lower participation rates in this program.4

2 ERS. Geography of Poverty. Retrieved 6/17/14 from http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/geography-of-poverty.aspx#.U6B1jLH12O4 3 Wauchope, B., and Shattuck, A. (2010). Federal Child Nutrition Programs are important to rural households.

Issue Brief No. 11. University of New Hampshire: Carsey Institute. Retrieved from http://carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/IB_Wauchop_Nutrition.pdf 4 Swenson, K. (2008). Child Care arrangements in rural and urban areas. Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/cc-urban-rural http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/cc-urban-rural

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Trends show that both the overall rural poverty rate and the rural child poverty rate have been higher than their urban poverty rate counterparts over the past thirty plus years.5 In 2012, the child poverty rate increased to record levels (26.7% in non-metro areas vs. 20.9% in metro areas). Moreover, in 2012, non-metro deep poverty rates were higher than metro poverty rates (12.2% vs. 9.2%).5 Tai-Seale and Chandler conducted a review of several studies that found worse outcomes in terms of nutrition, activity, and obesity for children living in rural areas compared to children living in non-rural areas.6

According to the Economic Research Service (ERS), households living outside metro areas have slightly higher food insecurity levels than those living in metro areas.7 Thirty-one percent of rural grade-school students receive reduced-price or free lunches, as compared to 25 percent of urban grade-schoolers.8 Wauchope and Shattuck (2010) analyzed U.S. Census Bureau, December 2007 Current Population Survey data to find that out of 2.8 million income-eligible rural households with children, about 43 percent do not participate in any of the four major Child Nutrition programs. They also found that nonparticipation rates in program eligible rural households range from approximately 1.5 million for the National School Lunch Program (55 percent) to 2.6 million (92 percent) for the CACFP.

More information on rural America can be found on the ERS website at www.ers.usda.gov/ topics/rural-economy-population. The 2003 and 2013 definitions of metro and nonmetro areas as well as related concepts such as urbanized areas and central counties can be found at http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural.aspx.

Barriers to Program Participation Faced by Children in Rural Communities

Children who grow up in rural poverty face obstacles that may contribute to lack of cross-program participation in Child Nutrition programs. Various structural conditions, such as geographic isolation, fewer services, fewer jobs, and fewer opportunities are commonly thought to make it difficult for individuals in rural communities to break out of the poverty cycle. The role of environmental factors within rural communities is another important potential contributing factor to consider when examining methods of increasing program participation.

To begin, program accessibility in rural areas is particularly critical. Both distance and lack of transportation are primary barriers to accessing resources for rural families. While children may

5 Farrigan, T. (2014). Rural Poverty & Well-being. Available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/poverty-overview.aspx#.U6Hvw7H12O4 6 Tai-Seale, T., & Chandler, C. (2003). Nutrition and Overweight Concerns in Rural Areas: A Literature Review.

Rural Healthy People 2010: A companion document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 2.” College Station, TX: The Texas A & M University System Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center. Retrieved from http://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/09Volume1nutrition%20.htm 7 Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., and Singh, A. (2013). Household Food Security in the United States in 2012.

Economic Research Report No. (ERR-155). Available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err155.aspx#.U4y0sChvB6A 8 Smith, K. & Savage, S. (2007). Fact Sheet on Food Stamp and School Lunch Programs Alleviate Food Insecurity in Rural America. University of New Hampshire: Carsey Institute. Retrieved from http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/FS_foodinsecurity.pdf http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural.aspx http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural.aspx

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Findings from a survey completed by 2,210 rural residents indicated a significant relationship between the distance from recreational facilities and obesity.9 Traveling to WIC agencies, more affordable stores, food pantries, and soup kitchens is constrained by limited transportation options. Research indicates that poor rural households are three times more likely than non-poor rural households to be without a vehicle.10

Both the quantity and quality of food available to rural families can also be limited by living in low-income communities with limited access to grocery stores or healthy, affordable food retail outlets, also known as food deserts11 Also, as Wauchope and Shattuck (2010) note, among rural families experiencing poverty for the first time, lack of program awareness and stigma associated with program participation may make expanding Child Nutrition program participation rates particularly challenging.3 For these reasons, innovative outreach strategies that utilize community involvement frameworks to build awareness of Child Nutrition programs are particularly important.

PURPOSE OF COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

Grantee (Recipient) shall work cooperatively with FNS to:

1) Manage a sub-grants process to support rural communities with persistent poverty. The Grantee will monitor completion of the sub-grantees' progress. The purpose of the sub-grants is to provide resources to enable communities to increase program participation by improving the coordination of the federal and local, public and private nutrition assistance programs. The goal is to target awards in up to 30 of the communities identified in Appendix A as resources allow. Grantees shall plan to keep States and local agencies informed of implementation and evaluation-related activities.

a. The grantee will develop a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP will describe the opportunity, explain eligibility for the sub-awards, and establish evaluation criteria for award. At a minimum, each sub-grantee must use the funds to 1) conduct a needs assessment within their community, 2) develop an implementation strategy based on the needs assessment, 3) implement the strategy, and 4) share the results at a conference at FNS.

One of the criteria for the sub-grant awards must be that the community’s proposed strategy uses a community-involvement model.

State and regional diversity should be considered when selecting sub-grantees.

9 Tegan, K., Boehmer, S. L., Lovegreen, Haire-Joshu, D., and R. C. Brownson. (2006). What Constitutes an Obesogenic Environment in Rural Communities? American Journal of Health Promotion, 20, 6, 411-421.

10 Brown, D., & Stommes, E. (2004). Rural Governments Face Public Transportation Challenges and Opportunities. U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Retrieved from http://econpapers.repec.org/article/agsuersaw/131802.htm 11 How are food deserts identified? Available at http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/foodDeserts.aspx

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Eligible sub-grant applicants are government or non-profit organizations at the State or local (city or county) level. If possible, at least one of the sub-grants shall be awarded to a community with a large Native American population;

Grantees shall plan to require letters of commitment from sub-grantees to demonstrate project collaboration.

b. Prior to selecting any sub-grantees, the Grantee will submit to FNS 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

Principal Investigator and community, award amount, and a brief description of the sub-grantees’ timeline and proposed approach.

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

2) Sponsor and coordinate two workshops/conferences at FNS headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The cooperative agreement application shall provide a preliminary list of the types of people that will be invited to participate in these workshops/conferences, which shall include sub-grantees. To the extent possible, FNS prefers for all proposed attendees to attend the two workshops/conferences in person. The Grantee shall prepare and submit to FNS for publishing on the OPS web page a summary of each workshop/conference within two months of the event. The Grantee shall record and post to web a video of the proceedings from the two workshops/conferences.

a. The first workshop/conference shall be held shortly after announcing the sub-grantees’ awards. Its purpose will be to facilitate exchange of information and ideas among the sub-grantees, share project descriptions with FNS and allow FNS to provide input on potential ways to refine the sub-grantees’ projects.

b. The second workshop/conference shall be held at the end of the grant period and will be focused on sharing project findings.

3) Conduct an evaluation of the sub-grantees’ activities. At a minimum, the study shall a) provide a detailed summary of the approaches taken by each sub-grantee, b) evaluate the sub-grantees’ impact on nutrition assistance program participation and coordination, with a special emphasis on FNS’s nutrition programs, and based on measures of participation in the Food and Nutrition Service’s nutrition programs using participation rates.

4) Disseminate findings broadly among the academic and anti-hunger communities.

At a minimum, FNS requires at least one submission to a peer-reviewed journal, annual reports, and one final report publishable on the FNS web page to be completed. For internal use and informational purposes, the Grantee shall provide FNS with an electronic copy of all manuscripts and other dissemination materials (e.g., PowerPoint slides) resulting from this grant and its sub-grants at the time of submission for publication and in final form when published.

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Priority Areas

Based on this cooperative agreement, FNS does not anticipate any expansion of CN program authorities or new funds to adopt, implement, and monitor interventions to increase program participation and coordination efforts.

Thus, FNS has a particular interest in funding creative approaches to improving nutrition program coordination efforts that are sustainable without the need for new, ongoing funding.

Examples of issues that may be explored include but are not limited to:

o Identification and application of effective models of sustained nutrition program coordination efforts using community involvement, o More effective uses of technology and digital media to improve outreach, and o Advances in communication and coordination among nutrition program staff, program participants, other local or non-local partners, and FNS.

o FNS is also interested in funding projects that engage program participants in leading cross-program coordination efforts.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS FOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

Eligible Entities include governmental or non-governmental entities:

This Request for Application (RFA) is open to all Accredited Colleges/Universities, and Private or Public Research Institutions. These are requirements for the selected recipient of the Cooperative Agreement, not any potential sub-grantees.

Other Eligibility Requirements and Restrictions

• The competitive sub-grantees, collectively, shall receive no less than 51 percent of the total amount awarded to the Grantee.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• All applications must provide details on the theoretical models underpinning the applicant’s program evaluation plans. At a minimum, evaluation plans must specify what data will be collected from all sub-grantees, when it will be collected and how, and how the data will be analyzed, including but not limited to how external factors potentially affecting program coordination and program participation will be accounted for in the data analyses plans.

• All applications must plan to improve program coordination among a community’s anti-hunger efforts, with a special emphasis on FNS’s Child Nutrition Programs.

• Applications must contain specific details of sub-grant review and award plans, including evaluation criteria and a timeline. (see APPLICATION FORMAT for more information).

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• The project description shall address what types of final deliverables will be submitted and/or published for each project by the Grantee during and at the end of the Cooperative Agreement.

• All applications must address how the findings will be disseminated to stakeholders and the academic community, and dissemination plans must meet the requirements as specified on page 16.

• Applications are encouraged to include a plan for assembling a panel of anti-hunger experts, preferably from the sub-grantees’ communities, as available, to review evaluation plans and provide recommendations throughout the award period. The plan should specify the number of experts and their qualifications that would be invited to provide input, their degree of involvement and participation, and any compensation to be offered to them.

• All applications must demonstrate evidence of planning to meet other Grant requirements as specified elsewhere in this RFA.

Cooperative Agreement

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. The principal purpose of this relationship is to transfer something of value to the Grantee to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by law. Cooperative agreements are subject to the same administrative requirements as grants; however, they are different from either a grant or a contract. Cooperative agreements will allow more involvement and collaboration by FNS in the project compared to a grant, and they provide less direction of project activities than a contract. The roles and responsibilities of both the Grantee and FNS will be stated in the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement.

FNS’ involvement in this cooperative agreement will largely entail reviewing and providing feedback on proposed deliverables and other sources of dissemination of best practices learned from these implementation and research efforts, such as proposed publications and proposed presentation materials.

Project Roles and Responsibilities

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:

1. Reviewing and approving the final RFP for the sub-grantee competition issued by the cooperative agreement recipient.

2. Providing comments on and having ongoing conversations with the Grantee regarding their plans to meet this RFA’s requirements.

3. Providing comments on a Grantee-provided summary of all applications for the competitive sub-grants.

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4. Reviewing a recipient-provided list of all awardees of the competition (including sub-grant title, dollar amount of the sub-grant, contact information for the principal investigators, brief narrative description, project time frame and expected products).

5. Approving the date and time of the two workshops/conferences.

6. Approving the agendas for the two workshops/conferences.

7. Approving Grantee-provided dissemination plans.

Grantee. The Grantee is the Public or Private Research or Academic Institution that will be selected competitively based on the merits of its application to operate the project. The Grantee has overall responsibility for planning, implementation, and operations of the project.

The Grantee shall:

• Select or hire appropriately credentialed personnel to manage and operate the project.

• Delegate responsibilities to their staff or other partners as appropriate.

• Conduct appropriate training and provide necessary support for staff and other partners to successfully handle project responsibilities. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

o providing data on participating communities to FNS;

o coordinating site visits to participating communities for FNS if requested;

o fulfilling obligations to sub-grantees and FNS.

• Keep FNS informed on critical junctures and checkpoints after award of cooperative agreement, including management plan, budget plan, training plans, and design and implementation plans that are submitted in preliminary form in the application.

• Meet specific obligations and approval points as specified in this cooperative agreement.

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

• Attend progress meetings via teleconference as needed.

• Account for project funds separately from federal food nutrition assistance administrative funds and establish financial and management reporting and controls to assure that project funds are not commingled or used inappropriately. A separate and distinct audit trail must be established and maintained for the expenditure of project funds that clearly demonstrates that they are used solely for project purposes.

• Provide FNS with any data files created and used to generate reports, presentations, and publications resulting from this grant. Such data shall be accompanied with analytic code, output files, and codebooks and other applicable documentation sufficient for FNS to replicate the analyses.

• Carry out all activities necessary to fulfill the items as described in the “Purpose of Agreement” section.

• Coordinate sub-grantees’ attendance and participation in the two workshops/conferences at FNS headquarters to share project descriptions and findings.

• Coordinate other grant-related activities among the sub-grantees and researchers.

• Monitor sub-grants to ensure that sub-grantees’ activities align with their proposals.

• Produce a summary and synthesis of these and related efforts (such as a meta-analysis on the results) and widely disseminate this information.

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• For internal use and informational purposes, ensure Grantee and sub-grantees provide FNS with an electronic copy of all manuscripts resulting from their sub-grants at the time of submission for publication and in final form when published.

The Grantee will also verify the Excluded Parties List (EPLS) at, www.sam.gov to determine the federal debarment and suspension status of applicants before awarding a sub-grant.

In addition, the applicant must submit the following Departmental Forms:

• AD-1047 Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension

• AD-1048 Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion-Lower Tier Covered Transactions

• AD-1049 Certificate Regarding Drug Free Workplace Requirements Alternative 1 (Note that there is a version of this form for Individuals: AD-1050 and a version for State Agencies: AD-1052)

Project Administration

Orientation and Close Out Meetings. At least the Cooperative Agreement Principal Investigator shall attend an orientation meeting at FNS headquarters to meet FNS, and to discuss the sub-grant process and evaluation design within one month from date of award. The Grantee shall also attend a web-based 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.

Quarterly Conference Calls. Quarterly conference calls shall provide an overview of the activities conducted during the previous quarter, major accomplishments with completion dates and budget, deviations from the proposed plan, difficulties encountered, solutions developed to overcome difficulties, assistance needed from FNS on technical issues, and major planned activities for the next quarter. Should a major issue arise between calls, the Grantee should contact the FNS Grants and Program Officer immediately. The Grantee shall provide FNS with an agenda 3 business days prior to each call. The Grantee shall also prepare minutes for each call and distribute to FNS no later than 5 business days after the call.

Project Reporting Requirements.

Quarterly Progress Reports. Quarterly progress reports and quarterly financial reports must be submitted to FNS. As outlined in 7 CFR 3016, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements, quarterly progress reports must provide a description of the activities conducted during the reporting period, major accomplishments with completion dates and budget, deviations from the proposed plan, difficulties encountered, solutions developed to overcome difficulties, and major planned activities for the next quarter. The Grantee is responsible for obtaining the necessary information from the other partners to complete this report. These reports are due within 30 days after the end of each Federal quarter.

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Final Progress Reports. A final written progress report (no more than 20 pages in length) will be due 90 days after the close of the project (unless otherwise noted and justified in the application).

The final progress report will be composed of a short Executive Summary and the following:

• description of the project sites and project including a rationale for project design, how it was implemented, challenges encountered and solutions;

• major accomplishments;

• difficulties encountered and solutions developed to resolve the difficulties;

• costs of implementing and operating project; discussion of lessons learned;

• recommendations for future policy consideration;

Financial Reporting Requirements. Form SF-425, Federal Financial Report, will be used to report status 30 days after the end of each quarter. (For example January 30, April 30, July 30, and October 30.) The Grantee will be required to enter the SF-425, Financial Status Report data into the FNS Food Program Reporting System (FPRS) on a quarterly basis. In order to access FPRS, the Grantee must obtain USDA e-Authentication certification and access to FPRS. More detailed instructions for reporting will be included in the FNS Federal financial assistance award package.

Final Financial Report. Use Form SF-425, Federal Financial Report to report final expenditures. Report matching contributions for the this grant on the SF 425. The final Federal Financial Report is due 90 days after the end of project period of performance.

More detailed specifications for progress and financial reporting, assistance with preparation of FNS yearly reports to Congress, and the final project and financial reports will be included in the cooperative agreement established with the Grantee.

Workshops/Conferences. The Grantee shall participate in two workshops/conferences at FNS

HQ.

Use of Grant Funds. All costs must be allowable, allocable, necessary and reasonable in accordance with OMB Circular A-87; and A-21, and A-122 where appropriate. Allowable use of funds includes, but is not limited to, personnel costs; training; translation of forms; other supplies; printing, duplication, and dissemination of materials; and technology (both hardware and software) necessary for operating projects and/or participating in the evaluation of the projects. An audit trail and strict accounting system to guard against commingling or improper expenditure of funds is necessary.

Award Period and Project Timeline

FNS plans to enter into a cooperative agreement with the selected Grantee by January 30, 2015.

The Grantee will be allowed to use the funds until expended consistent with its application plans.

Assuming an award date on or before January 30, 2015, the expectation is that the projects will be completed by January 30, 2019. FNS may at its discretion extend the grant award period. All

16 | P a g e applicants should base their timelines on an anticipated start date of February 1, 2015.

Applicants can apply for funds for four years with an end date no later than January 30, 2019.

Overview

The guidelines below are provided to assist you in preparing a proposal. Please read these guidelines carefully before preparing your submission.

A Checklist is provided at the end of this document (see Table of Contents) to help you in submitting the necessary information for completing a proposal.

Applications shall be submitted electronically to www.grants.gov. FNS will not accept mailed or hand-delivered applications.

DEADLINE: Applications are DUE on or before December 1, 2014

Assume this grant will be awarded by January 30, 2015 for a start date of February 1, 2015.

Interim Deliverables – Once awarded the Grantee will provide quarterly progress reports and financial reports to identified FNS contact persons. The Grantee will also produce a 4-10 page annual report for FNS and submit to FNS study plans for their grant and any sub-grants for publishing on the FNS website.

Final Deliverable(s) – The project description shall address what types of deliverables will be submitted and/or published for each funded project. The project description shall address what types of deliverables will be submitted and/or published by each sub-grantee before the end of the sub-grant. It shall also describe what types of deliverables will be submitted and/or published by the Grantee during and at the end of the Cooperative Agreement. For internal use informational purposes, FNS shall be provided an electronic copy of all manuscripts resulting from this grant and sub-grants at the time of submission for publication and in final form when published.

Dissemination of Findings - The project description shall address how the findings will be disseminated to program stakeholders and the academic community. At a minimum, the Grantee shall prepare and deliver to FNS one short four to 10 page annual report, one final report integrating all the information learned from the project in an acceptable format for FNS to publish on their website, and submit at least one peer-reviewed journal article for publication based on research using grant funds. FNS recognizes that the journal article may not be fully published by the end of the grant period, but a submitted draft is required. The Grantee shall also plan, convene and actively participate in two workshops/conferences after receipt of the grant award, as a component of the development and dissemination processes. Grant funding may be used to cover travel expenses and other expenses associated with this workshop/conference. The workshops/conferences shall be held at FNS headquarters or another location in the Washington, DC metropolitan area agreeable to FNS. All sub-grantees shall plan to attend in person and actively participate in these workshops/conferences. The Recipient shall prepare and publish a summary of this workshop/conference within 2 months of each event.

http://www.grants.gov/

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Instructions for Application Submission

APPLICATION FORMAT

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be typed on 8 ½” X 11” white paper with at least 1 inch margins on the top, sides, 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 30 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of contents, resumes, letter(s) of commitment, endorsement letter(s), budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages must be numbered. Application package should be submitted in Microsoft Word and PDF forms.

Special Instructions:

• Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications once they are received.

• Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, and certifications will not be considered.

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

• FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to award additional grants in the next fiscal year should additional funds be made available through future appropriations.

• Grant awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.

• Cost sharing or matching for this RFA is not required, but encouraged. Applicants that commit matching resources, including in-kind resources, to the project will receive extra points in the scoring of proposals (see Evaluation of Grant Application Criteria).

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

• Applicant’s name and mailing address

• 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 Include a relevant table of contents with page numbers.

Application Project Summary The one-page application summary should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal is funded. The project summary is not intended for the general reader. It may contain technical language comprehensible by persons in disciplines relating to researcher-initiated projects for the topic of the application. The project summary shall be a self-contained, specific description of the activity to be undertaken and shall focus on the overall project goal(s), supporting objective(s), and plans to accomplish project goal(s).

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

In preparing your proposal narrative, provide the information requested below, in the order presented below.

• Background Information: Provide background information on the proposed evaluation team’s experience administering similar grants and plans for requiring awarded projects to maintain a community involvement focus. Please note any successes, lessons learned, or challenges.

• Objectives, Activities and Timeline: Clearly state project objectives; use descriptive statements that specifically describe what you hope to accomplish, include specific activities you will perform to accomplish the project objectives as stated in the PURPOSE OF COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT section, and include deadlines. All objectives should lead to a clearly stated goal relevant to this RFA. Your project timeline should start on February 1, 2015.

1. A description of how the institution will announce the availability and objectives of the competition for sub-grants (RFP development).

2. A description of how the applicant will structure the competitive process for awarding sub-grants.

3. Provide a table with anticipated timeframes for sub-grantee RFP posting, sub-grantee proposal due date, sub-grantee start dates, workshop/conference timeframe with FNS approval, etc.

For example:

Sub-grantee Timeframes, Number and Dollar Range

Date Months from Grant Award

Additional Information

Sub-grantee RFP posting Sub-grants proposals due Total dollar amount for sub-grants

Dollar range for individual sub-grants (minimum and maximum, if these will be specified in the RFP)

$ ______ minimum $ ______ maximum Or __ Not applicable

Anticipated number (count) of sub-grants

_____ sub-grants

Sub-grant start dates 1st Workshop/conference proposed date

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2nd Workshop/conference proposed date

• Evaluation: Evaluating the impact of sub-grantees’ Child Nutrition program coordination efforts in rural counties, both from a quantitative and a qualitative perspective, and assessing your project’s overall impact, will be critical. Please describe your evaluation and analysis plans in detail. Please include the following: the rationale behind the idea being proposed, how it meets this RFA’s requirements; a clear description of how progress will be measured, including how baseline, change over time, and comparison to other work will be established. Additionally, discuss any previous experience, if any, performing multi-faceted evaluations and analyses.

• Dissemination: Describe your plans for disseminating findings from this grant. At a minimum, FNS requires at least one submission to a peer-reviewed journal, annual reports, and one final report publishable on the FNS web page to be completed. Describe specific plans to make project findings accessible to others at various levels: program participants, communities, practitioners, and policy officials. FNS also requires participation in two workshops/conferences at FNS HQ as specified in this RFA.

• Project Management, Staffing, & Quality Assurance: 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. Identify the staff and/or contractors who will manage the project. Describe roles and responsibilities of these employees or contractors, as well as relevant qualifications and experience, and a level of effort specified for specific staff proposed. Note any relevant experience in managing similar activities. Provide a clear description of how funds will be administered and distributed.

Appendices: The following types of information must be included in the Appendices.

Additionally, appendices may include supporting documentation that addresses the applicant’s capacity to carry out the proposed project such as Letter(s) of Commitment from partnering institutions/subcontractors.

Resumes or Curriculum Vitae To assist reviewers in assessing the competence and experience of the proposed project staff, the proposal shall also include a resume or curriculum vitae with a publication list of the Principal Investigator and key personnel who expect to work on the project.

Citations to Project Description All references cited shall be complete, including titles and all co-authors, and shall conform to an accepted journal format.

Budget and Staffing Narrative Applicants shall provide a detailed explanation for all funds requested on the Budget Form (SF 424A) and describe how those requests for funds relate to the project objectives and proposed activities. The budget narrative should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. 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

20 | P a g e most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. The budget narrative should also describe how any matching or additional funds the Grantee might receive will be used.

To assist reviewers in determining whether the budget and staffing are adequate and appropriate, the narrative shall be brief but include sufficient detail so that reviewers can determine the role and level of involvement of assigned staff. The budget narrative shall briefly describe how funds will be spent, including specifics on travel, equipment, and personnel, with specification of whether the funds beings spent are requested as part of this Grant or will be provided by external sources. For example – Travel of $15,000 will be based on 3 employees X 5 trips X avg. $1,000 per trip or Equipment of $50,000 will be based on purchase of 5 computers at $900 each, 2 printers at $100 each, etc. Budget shall include costs of travel to the two workshop/conferences required.

Indirect Cost Rate Schedule Applicants shall indicate whether or not a discount on indirect costs is included. Institutions with an Indirect Cost Rate higher than 49% shall not be considered. The applicant is encouraged to consider dedicating less of budget needs to indirect costs, while allowing a larger percentage of the applicant's budget to support the identified expenditures associated with the proposed budget’s direct costs. Applications will receive extra points for discounts on indirect costs (See Evaluation Criteria and Scoring).

Current and Pending Support In order to document the time availability of the key personnel proposed to work on a Grant, the proposal must list any other current public or private research support (including in-house support) to the Principal Investigator or co-investigators. Explain how support for the proposed staff salary is allocated across this and other projects.

Analogous information must be provided for any pending proposals, including this proposal, that are now being considered by, or that will be submitted in the near future to, other possible sponsors, including other USDA programs or agencies. Note that this proposal must be listed as Pending.

Recipients shall also include a brief statement of research objectives or project summaries for all projects listed in Current and Pending Support. Concurrent submission of identical or similar proposals to other possible sponsors will not prejudice proposal review or evaluation.

However, a proposal that duplicates or overlaps substantially with a proposal already reviewed and funded (or that will be funded) by FNS will not be funded under this program.

For each of the key personnel, the following information shall be included under the heading “Current and Pending Support,” and record information for active and pending projects in separate sections showing:

• person's name,

• title of project,

• supporting agency,

• total funding amount,

• effective and expiration dates, and

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• percentage of time committed for each year over the duration of this project.

All current research to which the Principal Investigator, co-investigators, and other senior personnel have committed a portion of their time must be listed, whether or not salary for the person involved is included in the budgets of the various projects.