SFOP0009898 - QA - 27 JUL 2023.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

BUREAU OF CYBERSPACE AND DIGITAL POLICY (CDP)

Global Cyber and Digital Policy Training

SFOP0009898

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1-33

27 JUL 2023

QUESTION 1: How many states/countries is US State envisioning to engage for this project?

ANSWER 1: Please review Section A.1 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which states in part, “Capacity building activities are intended to take place globally, convening 8 events per objective throughout the project period. Activities should offer a mix of in-person and virtual attendance. CDP will coordinate with award recipient to identify specific participating countries.”

QUESTION 2: How many governments is CDP expecting to train through this program?

ANSWER 2: Please review Section A1 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) instructions which state in part, “While the training is primarily for developing country participants from every region of the globe, a portion of these funds are specifically designated for trainings benefiting the African region.”

QUESTION 3: Page 14 of the NOFO states “Travel and related costs assume the design and delivery of 16 courses throughout the project period, 4 of which to be held in the African region. Similarly, the budget should assume 16 industry and alumni network roundtables, 4 of which to be held in the African region.” Are the 4 courses and roundtables for the Africa region a minimum; i.e., can more than 4 courses and/or roundtables take place in the African region?

Additionally, is it CDP’s expectation that the four courses/roundtables be conducted across four countries?

ANSWER 3: Please review the stated objectives in Section A3.

QUESTION 4: Page 2 of the NOFO states that training activities are intended to take place in the United States and in other countries. Is conducting trainings in the US a requirement or a recommendation?

ANSWER 4: Please review Section A.1 of the NOFO which states, “Training activities are intended to take place in the United States and in other countries.”

QUESTION 5: Are there specific topics that should be included in the curriculum, or specific skills that should be taught, that aren't mentioned in the NOFO?

ANSWER 5: Please review Section A1 of the NOFO which states, “CDP seeks to partner with a capable organization to develop curriculum and provide training to international entities and personnel for the development of responsible cybersecurity and digital policy as further detailed in this announcement.”

QUESTION 6: Is there a preferred or expected ratio of in-person to virtual trainings?

ANSWER 6: Please review Section D2.1-8 of the NOFO which states, “Courses should be in-person (and hybrid, as appropriate) and round tables should offer a mix of in-person and virtual attendance.”

QUESTION 7: Is there a specific number of beneficiaries that trainings are required to serve?

ANSWER 7: Please review Section D2.1-6 of the NOFO which states, “Applicants should specify objectives, identify what resources (inputs) are needed, outline proposed activities (outputs) and beneficiaries, and illustrate how activities lead to desired results in the theory of change.”

QUESTION 8: Is there additional guidance on the regions or countries where trainings will take place (either virtually or in-person)?

ANSWER 8: No

QUESTION 9: Does the $600k DA funds limit country selection to African countries for this project? Or can ESF funding be used for African country engagements too?

ANSWER 9: Please review Section A.1 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which states in part, “Capacity building activities are intended to take place globally, convening 8 events per objective throughout the project period. Activities should offer a mix of in-person and virtual attendance. CDP will coordinate with award recipient to identify specific participating countries.”

QUESTION 10: Is the program covered by Executive Order Number 12372?

ANSWER 10: E.O. 12372 is clear with respect to its own scope.

QUESTION 11: The NOFO seeks to support coordination, collaboration and awareness around cybersecurity and digital policy. Cybersecurity and digital policy encompass a wide range of potential areas for training. Does the U.S. Government have a view of how to break these out in terms of focus around cybersecurity specifically versus related digital policies (e.g. 70% on cybersecurity specifically and 30% on related digital policies like privacy, digitalization, etc)?

ANSWER 11: Please see Section A1 of the NOFO which states in part, “CDP seeks to partner with a capable organization to develop curriculum and provide training.”

QUESTION 12: Related to this, capacity building programs for cybersecurity and digital policy tend to require substantive focus on either technical or policy dimensions. Does the U.S.

Government have preference for what type of training or modalities would be most useful, based on stakeholder profiles for engagement?

ANSWER 12: Please see the ‘project activities’ heading within Section A3 of the NOFO.

QUESTION 13: The NOFO requires submission of an audit as a part of the final package. The corporate entity that we are applying from does not have regular audits but is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is regularly audited. Does an audit of our parent company suffice, or does the applying entity itself require an audit?

ANSWER 13: Please refer to 2 CFR 200.

QUESTION 14: Is a NICRA required? In the absence of an existing NICRA, does the Department have a standard rate for overhead costs? If so, what is that rate?

ANSWER 14: Please see Section D2.1-13 “NICRA If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA letter should be included as a PDF file. This document will not be reviewed by the Merit Review Panel but will be used by project and grant team if the submission is recommended for funding.

Organizations that have previously established indirect cost rates must submit timely indirect cost proposals to their cognizant agency as required by Appendix III & IV of 2 CFR 200. If indirect cost proposals have not been submitted for re-negotiation, as required, out-of-date NICRAs may not be considered. If your proposal involves subawards to organizations charging indirect costs, please submit their NICRA, if applicable.”

QUESTION 15: Is an applying entity able to negotiate and submit a NICRA following the submission of NOFO response if it does not have a NICRA at the time of submission?

ANSWER 15: An applicant must inform the Grants Officer during the application period that they plan to negotiate a NICRA, or are in the process of doing so. Please refer to 2 CFR 200.

QUESTION 16: Is the SF-328 form required as a part of the submission?

ANSWER 16: Please refer to NOFO Section D2.1 ‘Application Requirements’.

QUESTION 17: Are U.S. Government officials expected to be the lead presenters? Relatedly, are applying organizations expected and/or permitted to provide the majority of course instructors and policy professionals?

ANSWER 17: Please review Section A1 of the NOFO which states, “CDP seeks to partner with a capable organization to develop curriculum and provide training to international entities and https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200?toc=1 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200?toc=1 personnel for the development of responsible cybersecurity and digital policy as further detailed in this announcement,” as well as the NOFO’s ‘Project Activities” sub-section.

QUESTION 18: To what extent should applicants identify all specific trainers and presenters in the application, and/or to what extent will the Department work with the winning entity to identify trainers and presenters after the award has been made?

ANSWER 18: Please see Section D2.1-11 Key Personnel and Subject Matter Experts and the NOFO’s ‘Project Activities” in Section A3.

QUESTION 19: Are program trainers and presenters required to be U.S. citizens? Are there any other restrictions on execution of the project by non-U.S. citizens, including personnel in administrative or supporting roles?

ANSWER 19: Please see the NOFO’s ‘Project Activities” Section A3.

QUESTION 20: Should the resumes of key personnel focus on (A) specific subject matter expertise, (B) experience in developing and presenting educational content, or (C) experience in managing program and administrative logistics? Or should the resumes collectively address all of these different skills and qualifications?

ANSWER 20: Please refer to the NOFO’s Section D2.1-11, Key Personnel and Subject Matter Experts.

QUESTION 21: The NOFO mentions that programs should be implemented in 16 countries, 4 of which should be in Africa. Is it left to the discretion of the applicant which countries to propose, and if so, will the choice of countries be part of the evaluation criteria?

ANSWER 21: Please see the response to question 4, above, as well as the NOFO’s Section E1, ‘Proposal Review Criteria’.

QUESTION 22: Are there any factors that applicants should consider in selecting countries? For example, potential factors could include (A) particular countries’ receptiveness to these programs; (B) particular countries’ importance to U.S. strategic interests; and (C) the applicant’s experience and capabilities with regard to a particular country. Are some or all of these factors, or others, relevant considerations?

ANSWER 22: Please see the NOFO’s Sections A1 and E1.

QUESTION 23: Alternatively, will the Department work with the winning entity to select the countries -- and if so, should applications be prepared more generically without identifying specific countries upfront?

ANSWER 23: Please see the NOFO’s Sections A3 and D2.1-3.

QUESTION 24: To what extent must the budget be country-specific, or can aggregate costs be described for programs across multiple countries? For example, would specific travel and lodging costs in each different country need to be spelled out in the application budget?

ANSWER 24: Please see sub-sections D2.1-8 and D2.1-9 of the NOFO.

QUESTION 25: To what extent is the applicant responsible for arranging and/or paying for physical venues in different countries where the training programs will be executed, along with providing relevant technology for presentations and hybrid sessions? Will the Department provide any assistance -- logistical, financial, and/or complete responsibility -- to the winning applicant in this regard?

ANSWER 25: Please see Section B and sub section D2.1-8 of the NOFO.

QUESTION 26: The NOFO requires a contingency plan, but this legal requirement seems mainly targeted toward grant programs that involve facility or physical infrastructure building. For this NOFO, would switching to an all-virtual model be an acceptable contingency mechanism?

Would substitution of countries be acceptable? Are there any other aspects of program delivery that should be addressed in the contingency plan?

ANSWER 26: Please see sub-section D2.1-12 of the NOFO.

QUESTION 27: Can you please attach the SF-424, SF424A, and SF-424B forms that are to be completed and added to the proposal? We are unable to open the links to these forms on grants.gov.

ANSWER 27: You may wish to review the version of Adobe Acrobat that your company is using to open the forms. If that version is outdated, it may be unable to open pdfs. Grants.gov is the official repository for all SF forms, and links are provided as follows:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html and https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

QUESTION 28: Can tables within the Project Performance Monitoring Evaluation Plan have less than one-inch margins, or should we ensure the tables from the template meet 1 inch margin standards?

ANSWER 28: Please see the NOFO’s Section D2, ‘Content and Form of Application Submission’.

QUESTION 29: Can tables within the Project Design and Logic Model Templates have less than one-inch margins, or should we ensure the tables from the template meet 1 inch margin standards?

ANSWER 29: Please see the NOFO’s Section D2, ‘Content and Form of Application Submission’.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grants.gov%2Fweb%2Fgrants%2Fforms.html&data=05%7C01%7CAndrewsTD%40state.gov%7C86e6de0efc48478c2fb308db8df0070e%7C66cf50745afe48d1a691a12b2121f44b%7C0%7C0%7C638259834289049685%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=MHvygKfQn03nKINdV57TRd8k%2FUD8Jnmm98F0MLWaXbw%3D&reserved=0 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

QUESTION 30: Is it acceptable to include all information except for the detailed budget template (Excel spreadsheet) in one document, titled "Proposal Narrative?”

ANSWER 30: Please see the NOFO’s Section D2, ‘Content and Form of Application Submission’ and, in particular, D2.1.

QUESTION 31: Is it acceptable to add a one-page table of contents that does not count against the page limit?

ANSWER 31: Please see the NOFO’s sub-section D2.1-4.

QUESTION 32: Do you anticipate extending the submission deadline to allow contractors sufficient time to incorporate changes from the Q&A and any possible following amendments?

ANSWER 32: Please see “Deadline for Applications’ on the first page of the NOFO.

QUESTION 33: The new initiative with the Department of State seems to include a cyber officer at each mission. Could this person be involved with the program?

ANSWER 33: Please see ‘Project Activities’ under Section A2 of the NOFO.