SGWI NOFO 2-14-19.pdf

S/GWI Notice of Funding Opportunity 1 2/14/2019

S/GWI Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues

Title: tbd Women in CVE (countering violent extremism)

CFDA Number: 19.801 Funding Opportunity Title: Women in CVE Announcement Type: New; Open Competition; Cooperative Agreement Number of Awards: One or Multiple, depending on funds Funding: ESF $2,000,000 (not to exceed) Deadline for proposal submission: 11:59 PM EST April 1, 2019 Deadline for question submission: 11:59 PM EST March 1, 2019 Federal Agency Contact: Alicia Carra, SGWIProjectProposals@state.gov

Executive Summary The Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) announces this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a new agreement to advance U.S. national security priorities with work that will support women and girls who are at risk from violent extremism and conflict. Under this NOFO, S/GWI seeks proposals that will address the needs of women and girls adversely impacted by violent extremism and conflict and support women’s leadership in countering violent extremism. This NOFO aims to support women and girls currently in host communities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

S/GWI seeks to ensure the integration of gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in the formulation and conduct of U.S. foreign policy. In doing so, S/GWI follows the National Security Strategy (NSS) mandate to champion the American value of empowering women and youth. Partners selected under this NOFO will be the cornerstone of S/GWI’s implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 20171 (WPS Act) and Strategy to Support Women and Girls at Risk from Violent Extremism and Conflict2 (SWGRVEC). Proposals may work in one or more countries in MENA.

S/GWI Goal To enhance and expand women and girls’ participation and leadership in preventing, countering, and recovering from violent extremism and conflict.

S/GWI Objectives

1) Individuals: Support women and girls in building resilience to and recovering from violent extremism.

1 WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY ACT OF 2017, Public Law 115-68, 115th Congress, 2017, which requires an interagency strategy that will be a part of S/GWI implementation.

2 Mandated by section 7059(e)(2) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2017 (Division J, P.L. 115-17) (Fiscal Year [FY] 2017 SFOAA).

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2) Community: Foster community resilience to violent extremist influence by increasing women and girls’ engagement in their families, communities, and governments.

3) Coalitions: Empower women and girls to advocate for and safeguard their rights by countering violent extremism.

Focus Applicants will need to present:

1) A model addressing the complexity of gender in countering violent extremism

(CVE).3

2) A proposal with potentially scalable programs for women in CVE, including from Syria, in host communities in the MENA region4, not refugee or IDP camps.5

Priority will be given to proposals that support women and girls who are rebuilding lives, families, and communities following violent extremist actions committed by non-state actors such as ISIS.

3) An inclusive and localized approach that incorporates families and communities, and engages men and boys as champions for gender equality and women’s agency.

Eligibility for this NOFO is limited to educational and research institutions and U.S. not-for-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) subject to section 501 (c) (3) of the U.S. tax code, and foreign not-for-profits/NGOs/social enterprises.

One or more grants may be issued as a cooperative agreement under this NOFO. The Recipient may work closely with S/GWI to design and implement targeted sub-grants to third-party organizations charged with programming along the agreed-upon interventions.

Funding authority rests in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. Applicants must be familiar with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular 2 CFR Part 200.

Please read the entire NOFO package before submitting an application, and follow the steps to submit before the deadline. Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria and do not contain all of the required information will not be considered for review.

Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. The Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received. It also reserves the right to fund more than one proposal.

3 S/GWI has provided a Sample SAMPLE Gender Analysis template at the end of this NOFO, which provides one example of how to analyze gender gaps to design a program that can address those gaps.

4 Due to the determination made under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) for FY 2019, certain assistance that benefits the following countries may be subject to a restriction under the TVPA: Syria, Iran.

Because the TVPA restriction applies only to assistance to governments, activities proposed for these countries should not include government beneficiaries 5 S/GWI funds are different from, but are intended to compliment, other USG funds that working specifically with refugee camp populations.

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Table of Contents Executive Summary A. Funding Opportunity Description

i. Background

ii. Strategic Policy Framework

iii. NOFO Activity Framework

iv. Conceptual Program Context:

v. S/GWI Proposal Principles

vi. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

vii. Demonstrating Organization Capacity

B. Federal Award Information

i. Available Funding and Legislative Authority

ii. Summary of Award Information

iii. Deadline

iv. Substantial Involvement

C. Eligibility Information

i. Eligible Applicant

ii. Cost Sharing or Matching

iii. Other

iv. Organization criteria

D. Application and Submission Information

i. Address to Request Application Package

ii. Key Registrations

iii. Content and Form of Application Submission

iv. Additional Information Requested

v. Submission Dates and Times

E. Funding Restrictions F. Application Review Information

i. Proposal Evaluation Process

ii. Evaluation Criteria

G. Federal Award Administration Information

i. Award Notices:

ii. Administrative and National Policy:

iii. Reporting Requirements:

a. Financial Reports:

b. Progress Reporting:

c. Final Report:

iv. Agency Contact SAMPLE Gender Analysis

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A. Funding Opportunity Description

i. Background

Global insecurity and violent extremism threaten U.S. and global security. The U.S.

WPS Act of 2017, further expanded upon by the Strategy to Support Women and Girls at Risk from Violent Extremism and Conflict (SWGRVEC), have identified women’s leadership and participation as crucial for the U.S. approach to peace and security:

conflict response, peacebuilding, and countering violent extremism. Women are underrepresented in the security sector and in efforts to counter violent extremism, which limits the scope and effectiveness of current peace and security efforts.

S/GWI programs are global in reach, but with a limited amount of funding. S/GWI uses program funds to invest in catalytic work, inspiring and providing best practices to the Department to advance women’s empowerment as a keystone of U.S. foreign policy.

S/GWI is not implementing long-term development work, but is instead informing and engaging in the short-term practical realization of U.S. foreign policy.

S/GWI seeks applicants whose work fosters women’s leadership in security and CVE and builds the capacity of women and local organizations to sustainably counter violent extremism and build communities resilient to extremist violence.

S/GWI will analyze this program to inform other USG partnerships and to better integrate gender equality and empowering women and girls across the Department: enhancing effectiveness and maximizing taxpayer investments in U.S. foreign policy.

ii. Strategic Policy Framework The U.S. National Security Strategy states: “Societies that empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life are more prosperous and peaceful. We will support efforts to advance women’s equality, protect the rights of women and girls, and promote women and youth empowerment programs.” Additionally, under the WPS Act of 2017, the U.S. government demonstrated its commitment to “promoting the physical safety, economic security, and dignity of women and girls.”

S/GWI, through the S/GWI Functional Bureau Strategy (FBS) implements the U.S.

National Security Strategy and the Department of State and USAID Joint Strategic Plan by promoting 1) Security, 2) Prosperity, and 3) Influence, Institutionalization, and Integration. S/GWI’s Security strategic goal is to support women’s participation and leadership in promoting peace, responding to conflict, and building a more secure future.

Work under this NOFO will support this strategic framework by supporting women and girls in countering and recovering from violent extremism, as described in the WPS Act of 2017 and the interagency SWGRVEC:6

6 SWGRVEC guiding principles: Increase women and girls’ leadership, participation, and agency in addressing the lifecycle of violent extremism in fragile and conflict-affected environments; Anchor work in research and best practices; and Enhance long-term effectiveness through localized approaches that incorporate gender analysis across CVE policies and activities.

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Policy Statement The efforts of the U.S. government and our partners to address the adverse effects of violent extremism, terrorism, and conflict are more effective and sustainable when influential actors such as women and girls are leaders in preventing and responding to violent extremism, and when they have the opportunities and resources to mitigate it.

Guided by the National Security Strategy, Joint Strategic Plan, the WPS Act of 2017, S/GWI FBS, and the SWGRVEC, S/GWI seeks proposals that will enhance and expand women’s participation and leadership in countering violent extremism.

Applicants should demonstrate how proposed interventions would support or complement U.S. government strategies and programs, those of the proposed host country or countries, and ongoing women’s empowerment efforts in the proposed country or countries and communities of implementation.

iii. NOFO Activity Framework

Theory of Change:

When women and girls are supported and their leadership is respected in responding to, preventing, and recovering from violent extremism and conflict, that inclusivity will lead to lasting and comprehensive advances in countering violent extremism.

Objectives and Sample Supporting Activities S/GWI recognizes that change happens at different levels and through a combination of different activities. It also recognizes existing women-led work around the world countering violent extremism. Strong proposals will use tested, scalable activities to advance these goals and objectives in this context. S/GWI does not expect proposals to include all sample activities, welcomes activities other than the following, and suggests reviewing the Women and Girls at Risk from Extremism (WGARE) appropriations language for guidance.7 Proposals should address each of the three objectives.

7 Activities should align with funding described by section 7059(e)(1) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2017 (Division J, P.L. 115-17) (Fiscal Year [FY] 2017 SFOAA)., Congress appropriated funds to support:

(e) WOMEN AND GIRLS AT RISK FROM EXTREMISM.

(1)… (A) empower women and girls to counter extremism;

(B) address the needs of women and girls adversely impacted by extremism and conflict;

(C) document crimes committed by extremists against women and girls, and support investigations and prosecutions of such crimes, as appropriate;

(D) increase the participation and influence of women in formal and informal political processes and institutions at the local level and within traditional governing structures;

(E) support reconciliation programs between impacted minority, religious, and ethnic groups and the broader community;

(F) develop and implement legal reforms and protections for women and girls at the national and local government levels; and

(G) create and sustain networks for women and girls to collectively safeguard their rights on a regional basis.

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1) Individuals: Support women and girls in building resilience to and recovering from violent extremism with evidence-based interventions, examples may include:

a. Psychosocial support for those affected by violent extremism and conflict, including women and children integrating or reintegrating into communities.

b. Support services for survivors of gender-based violence, which may include family engagement and support services.8

c. Training programs for women to support their agency, leadership, and advocacy skills related to peace, security, and CVE.

d. Increasing access to legal support, such as:

Obtaining citizenship for children, or Connecting victims to available domestic and international accountability mechanisms, or Documenting crimes against women, girls, or their children, if done with respect for victims’ rights and plans to coordinate with or refer to transitional justice processes.

e. Building upon current women’s initiatives to train leaders and activists who counter violent extremism, which may include religious or community leaders, educators, law enforcement, or legislative/government actors.

2) Community: Foster community resilience to violent extremist influence by increasing women and girls’ engagement in their communities and families, some examples could include:

a. Supporting women and girls’ leadership in community organizations, local governance, and cultural activities,

b. Building communities resilient to violent extremism that respect the rule of law, including legal protections and remedies,

c. Increasing women’s participation in reconciliation processes (formal, informal, or both),

d. Examining the intersection of religiously motivated practices and women’s empowerment to build positive women’s leadership in traditional realms,

e. Documenting violent extremist crimes against women and girls,9 or

f. Documenting gender-based violence committed against women and girls in conflict/violent extremist environments.10

3) Coalitions: Empower women and girls to advocate for and safeguard their rights by countering violent extremism, examples may, but are not required to, include:

a. Supporting women’s political and security leadership (informal or formal), 8 Please see section E. of this NOFO for funding restrictions.

9 Proposals must include how they will ensure fully informed consent by survivors if they include documentation activities, please see WHO Ethical Guidelines:

https://www.who.int/gender/documents/OMS_Ethics&Safety10Aug07.pdf 10 Ibid.

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b. Working with community and religious leaders to create an environment that empowers women to counter violent extremism,

c. Engaging with governments, civil society, and the private sector to cultivate sustainable partnerships for women and girls in CVE,

d. Engaging media partnerships through print, radio, television and social media campaigns to support women and girls in CVE,

e. Drafting or reforming laws, policies, and regulations that enables CVE, or

f. Spreading community activism and/or education on security and countering violent extremism.

iv. Conceptual Program Context:

In societies affected by insecurity or conflict, women’s participation in resolving conflict and rebuilding post-conflict increases the success of peace agreements and enables democratic systems of governance. Supporting women’s participation in peacebuilding and governance reinforces stability and resilience to conflict; societies with high levels of gender-based violence are also more likely to experience violent conflict.

Enhancing women’s access to and leadership opportunities in civil society, local government, and security sector organizations/institutions ensures their perspectives can inform decisions about the future of their communities and countries. Supporting women’s civil society groups, as advocates around issues that often transcend those perceived as “women’s issues,” is essential to achieving this objective. Furthermore, women’s access to economic opportunities contributes to stabilization, reintegration efforts, and overall stability in countries recovering from violence and insecurity.

S/GWI seeks proposals that support women and girls as they build resilience to, recover from, and counter violent extremism. Proposals must take into consideration current research and progress and share lessons learned and successful approaches with the global community of practice. Women and girls do not exist in isolation from their families, communities, governments, nations, cultures, or religions. Proposals must include how they will mobilize support and/or build on existing community engagement supporting women countering violent extremism. They must also address how activities will incorporate psychosocial support, local ownership, and sustainability.

Applicants will need to present:

1) An evidence-based model that applies a gender analysis as it intersects with countering violent extremism in the chosen location(s),

2) An evidence-based design to provide potentially globally scalable best practices for effective solutions; and

3) An inclusive and localized approach that incorporates families and communities, as champions for women and girls’ equality and agency.

v. S/GWI Proposal Principles S/GWI’s aims to support women and girls in recovering from violent extremism and in countering violent extremism. S/GWI seeks proposals from qualified organizations with

S/GWI Notice of Funding Opportunity 8 demonstrated in-country experience in developing partnerships with relevant stakeholders including the public and/or private sector as well as grassroots organizations. Applicants must demonstrate an ability to design, implement, monitor, evaluate, adapt, and learn in programming that coordinates with existing efforts currently by U.S. government, host country, and local actors.

Applicants under this NOFO must support S/GWI’s catalytic and evidence-based analysis and learning role within the Department. Proposed locations should be based on:

1) Department regional priorities- a priority under this NOFO is for work with women and girls in communities, not camps, in the MENA region,

2) Locations able to incubate effective solutions that can be shared and/or replicated elsewhere, and

3) Project-sites with strong local participation in, and ownership over, this program’s CVE activities (this can be demonstrated with previous experience, letters of intent/support, or other evidence of local participation and leadership).

All proposals must include an evidence-based description of:

1) The problem the applicant seeks to address,

2) Implementation context, including any relevant details on the socio-political environment and the target beneficiaries of the project,

3) How the proposal relates to WGARE appropriation language,

4) Gender analysis of the operating environment,

5) Implementation plan, including assumptions, key steps, and timeline, and a results framework/logic model.11

Inclusion In identifying the specific target populations, proposals must demonstrate a commitment towards the support and inclusion of marginalized communities. Many women and girls are particularly vulnerable by the intersection of gender with other social characteristics including disability, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, geography, indigenous status, etc.

Inputs Activities Outputs Short-Term Outcomes

Long-Term Outcomes

What we achieve

Changes to the knowledge and attitudes of the program’s beneficiaries or customers, such as a change in attitude as a result of an awareness campaign or a change in behavior due to a training program

What we get

Direct, tangible results of program activities such as number of people trained or number of awareness campaigns conducted

What we do

Actions or events undertaken by the program or partners to ultimately produce desired outcomes, such as conducting outreach, providing training, or developing a communication campaign

What we invest

Resources invested to start and maintain a program, such as money, time, personnel, materials, equipment, and in-kind contributions

What we achieve

System- or societal-level results such as behavioral, normative, or policy changes that a program seeks to achieve

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S/GWI welcomes submissions irrespective of race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.

S/GWI requires that all activities fully address gender, ensuring that both men and women benefit from support and that gender awareness is a built-in component of project activities. Proposals must include a gender analysis that identifies relevant gender gaps and ways the work will address those gaps.

Do No Harm List any significant risks of harm, which must include gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and assault, to implementers, participants, beneficiaries or their communities. It must also include analysis of risk of exacerbating or creating new conflicts. Consider how resources or skills provided might be misused; create grievances among non-recipients, or cause key actors to react in harmful ways. Applicants should include how they will monitor and minimize these risks and comply with Do No Harm.

Local Engagement and Sustainability This section must demonstrate a clear understanding of the role that local organizations and institutions are playing or can play in countering violent extremism. Proposal design should reflect local perspectives, and explain how the project will engage with local partners throughout its lifecycle. Strong proposals will also describe strategies to sustain the activities beyond S/GWI funding and contribute to building the capacity of communities to address their own concerns in the future.

The proposal should describe how the applicant would work with local entities to build their organizational and technical capacities. Applicants may submit signed Letters of Intent from organizations that will participate in the program. Letters of Intent should address the willingness of partner organizations to participate in the effort, and the understanding all parties have as to their unique roles and responsibilities in terms of the proposed program. In cases where an applicant (i.e., non-local) was not able to partner with a local organization or institution, does not consider it feasible to do so, or does not consider it in the program’s best interest, the applicant must clearly explain the rationale.

vi. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

All proposed models under this NOFO must include a rigorous plan for monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

A portion of the program should include compiling, analyzing, and disseminating project results and lessons learned.

Applicants should outline a learning plan that demonstrates how the program will be monitored and how monitoring will be analyzed to adapt implementation to support effectiveness and avoid unintended consequences.

Some form of independent evaluation must be included in proposals responding to this NOFO. It may be an activity, process, location, or any other type of evaluation.

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Framework For the purposes of the application, please submit a notional logic model/results framework and performance monitoring plan (PMP). This must include notional indicators at each of the following levels: objective, intermediate outcome, and output.

Also, describe how any risks of harm, as considered under do no harm principles, will be monitored. In addition, use this section to describe the applicant’s approach to monitoring, evaluation, and learning and why this approach is appropriate for this project and context. This may include the type of data you may collect (qualitative and/or quantitative). It must include a timeline for data collection and analysis. It must also include how data collection and analysis will inform midstream program management.

Resources Please describe the resources needed to implement your monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plan and address these in your budget. If you want to propose including specific monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities in the program budget (outside of monitoring, which is required), please specify what and how. Additionally, please elaborate on the type of evaluation (quasi-experimental, developmental, outcome harvesting, process tracing, etc.). While the type of evaluation is flexible within Department of State guidance, it must be independent.

MEL Inclusivity S/GWI strongly encourages applicants to consider whether their MEL utilizes human rights-based approaches, applies a gender and equity lens, and includes the participation of sub-grantees and project participants. Within the MEL narrative, applicants should demonstrate their commitment to inclusive strategies and consider whether evaluation design, data collection, analysis, reporting and learning are conducted in an ethical and responsible way with all project participants (e.g. direct beneficiaries, sub-grantees).12 Applicants should still make adequate provisions to protect the privacy of human subjects when collecting data from individuals. For instance, when collecting data from project participants, consider whether your organization will have the necessary informed consent forms, confidentiality agreements, and data security protocols.

vii. Demonstrating Organization Capacity Applications will be evaluated on their ability to present a compelling proposal that demonstrates:

● Organizational capacity to manage approximately $2 million and displays a history of being a strong financial steward of U.S. government resources, OR first time USG grantees may need additional verifications of capacity.

● Experience coordinating and collaborating with local stakeholders in the countries of implementation.

● Experience sub-granting to implementers including strong established relationships with local partners in the targeted countries of various sizes, and building organizational capacity.

12 For best practices, see the WHO Ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies.

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● Successful implementation of activities that have achieved goals relevant to this NOFO including empowering women and girls, countering violent extremism, advancing women and girls’ leadership in building peace and security, and working towards gender equality.

B. Federal Award Information

i. Available Funding and Legislative Authority The source of this funding is Economic Support Funds.

ii. Summary of Award Information

iii. Deadline

iv. Substantial Involvement

S/GWI anticipates awarding one or more cooperative agreement(s) based on the needs and risk factors of the program. The Grants Officer will make the final determination on mechanism. If a cooperative agreement is awarded, S/GWI expects to be substantially involved during its implementation. Examples of substantial involvement can include:

i. Approval of the Recipient’s annual work plans, including: planned activities for the following year and changes to any activity to be carried out under the agreement;

ii. Approval of sub-award recipients, concurrence on the substantive provisions of the sub-awards, and coordination with other cooperating agencies;

iii. Review of any notice of funding opportunities and selection of recipients;

iv. Approval of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning plan for the Recipient and sub-award recipients; and

v. Other approvals that will be included in the award agreement.

C. Eligibility Information

i. Eligible Applicant S/GWI welcomes applications from educational and research institutions; U.S. not-for-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) subject to section 501 (c) (3) of the U.S.

tax code, and foreign not-for-profits/NGOs/social enterprises. If applicants determine that a consortium of expert organizations should implement the work, they must submit a list of their proposed partners, each of whom must also meet the eligibility criteria.

Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement Appropriated Fiscal Year of Funds: FY2018 Approximate Total Funding Available: Approximately $2,000,000 Approximate Number of Awards: 1 or 2 Location of Project Activities MENA Region Approximate Project Duration: Approximately 2-3 years Anticipated Award Date: On or before September 30, 2019

Deadline for Applications: XXX, 2019

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Applications that do not meet the eligibility by the time of an application deadline will not be reviewed. Applicants may submit only one proposal in response to this NOFO. If multiple proposals are received from the same applicant, all submissions will be declared ineligible and receive no further consideration in the review process.

The Department of State is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities and welcomes proposals irrespective of applicants’ race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

Project activities must take place outside the United States.

ii. Cost Sharing or Matching Providing cost sharing, matching, or cost participation is not an eligibility requirement for this NOFO. However, the possibility of matching funds by other donors or partners is encouraged, though not weighed as a factor. Please outline in the budget and proposal, how the additional funds, if committed, could be used to further the program objectives.

iii. Other

S/GWI is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its projects and activities.

S/GWI welcomes applications irrespective of an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.

S/GWI encourages applications that include work with the most at risk and vulnerable communities, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, members of ethnic or religious minority groups, and LGBTI persons.

Only organizations with an active DUNS number, CAGE/NCAGE code, SAM.gov individual user account, and grants.gov account will be able to submit proposals for this competition, unless a waiver has been provided. For specific instructions, please see Section D, Part ii “Key Registrations and Submission Method and Dates.”

Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System in the System for Award Management (SAM)(www.sam.gov) is not eligible to apply for an assistance award in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR,1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR,1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.” Additionally no entity listed on the Excluded Parties List System in SAM can participate in any activities under an award. All organizations are strongly encouraged to review the Excluded Parties List System in SAM to ensure that no ineligible entity is included.

iv. Organization criteria

● Organizations should have existing, or demonstrate the capacity to develop, active partnerships with in-country entities and relevant stakeholders including the public sector, private sector, and civil society, as relevant to the proposed program objectives.

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● Organizations may form consortia and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.

● S/GWI reserves the right to request additional background information on applicants that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards, and these applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.

● The Department of State generally prohibits profit under its assistance awards to for-profit or commercial organizations. No funds will be paid as profit to any recipient. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. The permissibility of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR Part 30, Cost Accounting Standards, and Part 31 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures. Program income earned by the recipient must be deducted from the total project or program allowable cost in determining the net allowable costs on which the federal share of costs is based.

D. Application and Submission Information

i. Address to Request Application Package Please contact the S/GWI point of contact listed in section G if requesting reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities or for security reasons. Please note:

reasonable accommodations do not include deadline extensions.

The applicant can find application forms, kits, or other materials needed to apply on SAMS Domestic under the Funding Opportunity entitled “Women in CVE.”

ii. Key Registrations The U.S. Department of State requires that all applicants complete the following registrations:

● Register for a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

● Obtain necessary codes: for non-U.S. organizations, an NCAGE code at https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx; if based in the U.S or pay employees within the U.S., an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code.

● Register for an individual account for your organization with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov): https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

● Register for an individual account for your organization on SAMS Domestic:

https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants. Please be advised that applicants will need to validate their email address once a request for an account has been submitted to SAMS Domestic. Additionally, applicants will be required to log into SAMS Domestic using multi-factor authentication.

Once the above steps are complete, you will be able to submit your application per the instructions in this proposal request and systems websites.

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It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that it has an active registration in SAMS Domestic. Applicants are required to document that the application has been received in its entirety by SAMS Domestic. S/GWI bears no responsibility for disqualification that result from applicants not being registered before the due date, for system errors in SAMS Domestic, or other errors in the application process.

Organizations must continue to maintain active SAM registration with current information at all times during which they have an active Federal award or application under consideration by a Federal award agency. SAM requires all entities to renew their registration once a year in order to maintain an active registration status in SAM. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure it has an active registration in SAM and to maintain that active registration. If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time S/GWI is ready to make an award, the applicant may be deemed unqualified to receive an award and use that determination as a basis for making an award to another applicant.

A complete proposal with attachments must be submitted via SAMS Domestic and emailed to SGWIProjectProposals@state.gov with “[Applicant Name] Women in CVE” in the subject of the email.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the proposal has been submitted in its entirety to SAMS Domestic and sent via email. S/GWI bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

iii. Content and Form of Application Submission

Please read the entire NOFO and follow the guidelines for proposal preparation below.

Applicants must include the following in the proposal submission. Please see the enclosed proposal checklist and instructions to ensure a complete submission. All submissions must be in English.

1. Completed and signed SF-424, SF-424A and SF424B and SF-LLL forms.

Applicants under consideration for an award that may engage in lobbying activities will be required to submit a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF- LLL) form. The SF-424 documents collect basic information on the applicant, the proposed project, the funding amount requested, and information about the announcement to which it is applying.

2. Proposal Narrative (not to exceed 10 pages, single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font in Microsoft Word, at least one-inch margins), directions on completing a proposal narrative are included. Use of the S/GWI proposal narrative is recommended but not required;

3. Summary and detailed Budget in USD, in Excel, using the format shown in the included budget template;

4. Detailed Budget Narrative (not to exceed 6 pages and preferably as a Word Document) that includes an explanation for each line item in the spreadsheet, as well as the source and description of any cost share offered. Directions on

S/GWI Notice of Funding Opportunity 15 completing a budget narrative are included. Use of the S/GWI budget narrative template is recommended but not required;

5. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan detailing project’s short-term and long-term project goal(s), objective(s), activities, outputs and intended results; provide matching indicators and explain how impact and effectiveness will be monitored, evaluated, and used for learning and adaptation throughout the project. Directions on completing a MEL plan are included. Use of the S/GWI MEL plan template is recommended but not required;

6. Implementation timeline (not to exceed one [1] page), indicating which month(s) your project activities are to be implemented. The timeline of the overall proposal should include activities, evaluation efforts, and program closeout. Use of the S/GWI timeline template is recommended but not required;

7. Risk Assessment. Risks are unavoidable – all programs inherently contain both internal and external risks. However, with proper identification and management, risks can be prepared for, minimized or mitigated. The purpose of a risk analysis is to identify the internal and external risks associated with the proposed program in the application, rate the likelihood of the risks, rate the potential impact of the risks on the program, and identify actions that could help mitigate the risks. A risk analysis should not be considered a one-time exercise or a static document and is required to be updated at least annually. S/GWI defers to organizations to conduct adequate risk analysis and remediation for all of its operations and advises that risk analysis and remediation occur throughout the life of a program and should result in revisions to risk analysis documents and processes as necessary. Applicants should include all assumptions and external factors in the risk analysis, including and especially safety and security, as well as, technology.

Applicants should rate the likelihood of a risk and potential impact of the risk as “High,” “Medium,” or “Low.” S/GWI’s SAMPLE Risk Assessment template is provided, but S/GWI also welcomes more detailed models;

8. Gender Analysis, identifying relevant gender gaps and opportunities and ways the work will address those gaps and opportunities. Proposals should demonstrate how addressing relevant gender gaps would enhance the program’s goals and objectives. Use of the S/GWI SAMPLE Gender Analysis template (provided at the end of this NOFO) is recommended, but not required;

9. Attachments may be included, (letters of commitment from the applicant institution and sub-award partners, CVs of key personnel, project experience, etc.) but should not be unreasonably lengthy;

10. If your organization has a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, include your latest NICRA as a PDF file;

11. A PDF file copy of your organization’s most recent financial audit; and

12. Number all pages, including budget and addenda.

iv. Additional Information Requested

If successful, the applicant must submit after notification of intent to make a Federal award, but prior to issuance of a Federal award:

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● Written responses and revised application documents addressing conditions and recommendations from the S/GWI Review Panel;

● Completion of the Department’s Financial Management Survey, if receiving S/GWI funding for the first time;

● Submission of required documents to register in the Payment Management System managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, if receiving S/GWI funding for the first time (unless an exemption is provided); and

● Other requested information or documents included in the notification of intent to make a Federal award or subsequent communications prior to issuance of a Federal award.

Designated Performance and Integrity System (currently FAPIIS) The Department of State, prior to making a Federal award with a total amount of Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (currently FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313).

The applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM and comment on any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM.

The Department of State will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in §200.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.

v. Submission Dates and Times The application is due no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), on XXX, 2019 on SAMS Domestic under the Funding Opportunity title “Women Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism through Networking and Technical Expertise (Women in CVE)” (Funding Opportunity number: XXXXX) and submitted in full by email to SGWIProposals@state.gov with “[Applicant Name] Proposal for Women in CVE” in the Subject of the email.

Applicants will receive a validation email from SAMS Domestic upon successful submission of an application. Additionally you must save a screenshot of the checklist showing all documents submitted in case any document fails to upload successfully.

Late applications are neither reviewed nor considered unless the S/GWI point of contact listed in Section G of the proposal request is contacted prior to the deadline and is provided with evidence of system errors caused by SAMS Domestic that is outside of the applicants’ control and is the sole reason for late submission.

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The applicant should not expect a notification upon S/GWI receiving their application.

Applications submitted in grants.gov will not be accepted.

E. Funding Restrictions This cooperative agreement will be funded from money appropriated under the “Economic Support Fund” (ESF) heading in the Department of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, 2012 (Div. I, P.L. 112-74) (SFOAA). ESF is available for foreign assistance supporting economic or political stability. Under Section 531(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act, as amended (FAA), ESF may not be used for military or paramilitary purposes. Given restrictions under Section 660 of the FAA, assistance may be provided to police and law enforcement forces only under certain circumstances. Note that activities focused on security sector training will be subject to vetting to ensure compliance with Section 620M of the FAA (“Leahy Vetting“).

The recipient is reminded that funds provided under this agreement must be used in a manner fully consistent with U.S. law. The recipient agrees that none of the funds provided by this award shall be used to lobby for or against abortion. The recipient agrees that none of the funds provided by this award shall be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.

Per 22 CFR 200.307 ((e) (1), (2) and (3) of this section please note the following guidance concerning use of Program Income:

● Program income earned during the project period shall be retained by the recipient and, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, shall be used in one or more of the ways listed in the following:

o Added to funds committed to the project by the Department and recipient and used to further eligible project or program objectives.

o Used to finance the non-Federal share of the project or program.

o Deducted from the total project or program allowable cost in determining the net allowable costs on which the Federal share of costs is based.

● It is emphasized, however, that the above three alternatives are applicable only when the grantee is a non-profit entity. Any grant to a commercial firm must state that the first of the alternatives is not available for program income earned by the grantee. As explained by (GAO noted in its Principles of Federal Appropriations Law at 10-57, “This approach [option (1)] increases program size. Both OMB and GAO have expressed preference for the deduction method [option (3)] since it results in savings to the federal government and to grantees.”)

The following activities and costs are not covered under this announcement:

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● Construction is not an allowable activity under this award.

● Activities that appear partisan or that support individual or party electoral campaigns.

● Direct support or the appearance of direct support for any religious organization, to include repair or building of structures used for religious purposes.

● Military assistance of any kind, including weapons buy back or rewards programs.

● Purchase of firearms, ammunition, or removal of unexploded ordnances.

● Para-police (i.e., militias, neighborhood watch, security guards) and prison-related projects. This restriction includes no funding of any secondary need in a law-enforcement organization.

● Payments for any partner government, military or civilian government employee salary or pension.

● Duplication of services immediately available through municipal, provincial, or national government.

● Funds for market research, advertising (unless public service related to grant program) or other promotional expenses.

● Expenses made prior to the approval of a proposal or unreasonable expenditures will not be reimbursed.

F. Application Review Information

i. Proposal Evaluation Process Proposal submissions in response to this announcement should include information addressing each of the evaluation criteria below. Each proposal will be evaluated and rated based on the criteria (see below), which are designed to assess the organizational capacity of the applicant and the merits of the proposed project. The criteria are closely related and evaluators will consider the criteria as a whole in judging the application.

Panelists review each application individually against the evaluation criteria, not against competing proposals.

In most cases, the Department of State (DOS) Review Panel includes inter-agency representatives from S/GWI, the appropriate DOS regional bureau, relevant functional bureaus, and USAID Washington. S/GWI requests feedback on applications from the appropriate U.S. embassies and USAID missions for the panelists’ consideration. In some cases, additional panelists may participate, including from other DOS bureaus or offices, U.S. government departments, agencies, or boards, representatives from partner governments, or representatives from entities that are in a public-private partnership with S/GWI. At the end of discussion on an application, the panel votes on recommending the application for approval.

DOS Review Panels may provide conditions and recommendations on applications to enhance the proposed program, which must be addressed by the applicant before further consideration of the award. To ensure effective use of S/GWI funds, conditions or

S/GWI Notice of Funding Opportunity 19 recommendations may include requests to increase, decrease, clarify, and/or justify costs and program activities.

With the exception of technical submission questions, during the solicitation period U.S.

DOS staff in Washington and overseas shall not discuss competing applications with applicants until the review process has been completed and rejection and approval letters have been transmitted.

ii. Evaluation Criteria

1. Organizational Capacity and Past Performance: The organization has sufficient depth of experience, capacity, and talent to implement the proposed program as described in this NOFO. Crucial here is the ability to analyze and program effectively related to gender and countering violent extremism. The organization will collaborate with other local entities to the maximum extent possible. For every collaboration proposed, the applicant describes (a) the rationale for the collaboration; (b) each partner's respective role; and (c) how the partnership will enhance the accomplishment of the project goals.

2. Program Strategy: The applicant must demonstrate that the project strategy and design are likely to achieve the proposed results and that proposed activities and…