USAID-ASHA Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Program Statement ref Amendment 1 trans note & FAQ.pdf

Date: April 14, 2017

Subject: Amendment No. 1 to APS-ASHA-17-000001 for the Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) Fiscal Year 2017 Program

A. Background and Purpose to This Amendment

The Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) issued an Annual Program

Statement on November 29, 2016. Since then, we have received a number of inquiries and comments about the solicitation. In addition, this amendment incorporates revisions that address

ASHA’s latest strategic thinking and Agency best practices. We are pleased to release today a revision of that solicitation which we hope will clarify some of the issues which have been raised.

B. Description of Amendment to Full Announcement

The Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) issued an Annual Program

The revisions generally fall into two categories:

1. Corrections/clarifications about specific items in the solicitation. Some of these address incorrect or ambiguous items while others update the solicitation to reflect the latest policy changes or reference materials.

2. Revisions to the text that address ASHA’s latest thinking and Agency best practices.

In addition, we have created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document in which we attempt to answer or clarify specific questions.

We call your attention to changes to the following sections:

Section V: Application Review Criteria (page 16): We have adopted an adjectival rating scale, based upon the best-practices recommendation of USAID’s Office of

Acquisition and Assistance (OAA), and consolidated the number of criteria which will be evaluated. These criteria still apply to the seven (7) elements of the Project Technical

Approach.

Monitoring and Evaluation Sections: We have revised the description of Item 5.7

Monitoring and Evaluation Capability (page 10) of the Project Description Outline and we have revised Annex 3: USAID/SAHA Indicators (page 24).

ASHA is adopting a subset of standard indicators drawn from the USAID-U.S. Department of

State Joint Strategic Plan for FY 2014 – FY 2017 in an effort to satisfy agency-mandated reporting requirements and enable ASHA to provide information on how its implementing partners are assisting USAID in achieving its development goals. There are five broad categories https://www.state.gov/f/indicators/ https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/223997.pdf each related to the different functions of awardees. Applicants should identify which section(s) apply to the OSI they are partnering with, and incorporate a narrative describing how they will obtain and provide the requisite data to satisfy this requirement. ASHA recognizes that not all indicators will be relevant to awardees, and further guidance is provided on how to put together an application that incorporates these revisions in section 5.7 and Annex 3 of the APS.

The ability to satisfy the monitoring and evaluation reporting requirement and all indicators deemed applicable to the OSI will serve as a component of the criteria used to evaluate the quality of each application.

Successful applicants upon notification of winning an award will receive further documentation on how to satisfy the monitoring and evaluation reporting requirements, including a manual that provides in-depth explanations of each indicator, all questions associated with each indicator, as well as guidance on how to properly collect the requisite data and report on all indicators applicable to the OSI and where questions about satisfying this reporting requirement may be directed.

ASHA will no longer allow for “custom” indicators provided by awardees. All reporting required to satisfy the monitoring and evaluation requirement must conform to the standard indicators specified in the APS. Applicants must determine which indicators are applicable to the OSI, and provide an explanation for any indicators that may be perceived as applicable, but were deemed non-relevant to the OSI or that the OSI would be unable to report on.

We will be happy to try, as we are able, to answer specific questions that may arise as a result of these revisions via www.grants.gov in the coming weeks.

C. Questions and Answers

1. Q: The Budget Narrative (Section IV, Part B, item 7) is also required as part of the Project

Technical Application but it is not listed in Section V: Application Review Criteria Part A as something to be evaluated. Does this mean that the Budget Narrative should be part of the

Project Technical Application but that it will not be evaluated? Why would it be part of the application if it would not be evaluated?

A: As a result of a policy change at USAID, proposals for grants and cooperative agreements are only evaluated on the technical merits of the proposal. Once proposals are initially determined to be eligible and considered for funding, both (1) Organizational Capacity and

Past Performance, and (2) Budget Narrative, are evaluated as part of the final determination for funding.

2. Q: Under Annex 1: Eligibility Checklist, Item 6 states that both the USO and the OSI must be open to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, and veteran’s status. Does this apply only to the beneficiaries whom we serve, or does it also apply to employees and volunteers?

http://www.grants.gov/

A: The Agency’s nondiscrimination against beneficiaries requirement applies to U.S.

nongovernmental organizations and non-U.S. nongovernmental organizations, and specifically requires that the recipient not discriminate against any beneficiaries in implementation of the award. As to volunteers and employees of the USO or OSI, the

Agency’s nondiscrimination requirement states that no U.S. citizen or legal resident shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex under any program or activity funded by this award when work under the grant is performed in the U.S.

or when employees are recruited from the U.S. Additionally, the Agency strongly encourages its recipients and their subrecipients, and vendors (at all tiers), performing both in the U.S. and overseas, to develop and enforce comprehensive nondiscrimination policies for their workplaces that include protection for all their workplaces that include protection for all their employees on these expanded bases, subject to applicable law. Please review ADS

303maa Reference (Standard Provisions for U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations) and ADS

303mab Reference (Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations) for further details.

3. Q: I am not sure of the makeup of the Board of Directors of our OSI in terms of government employment, etc.

A: Per Section III, A,7 8, you must be able to certify that less than half of the board members are government employees or appointees.

4. Q. On page 10 of the APS it reads: “Resumes or CVs of Project Managers identified in

Organizational Capacity and History of Performance of the Project Description. This information should be submitted as separate attachments, named “M4 - USO Project

Manager” and “M5 - OSI Project Manager”. If the USO and OSI are the same entity, M5 can simply make note of that fact.” Also, can we include more than one resume?

A: Yes. Yes

5. Q: If renovation/construction is done as part of the project but is paid for entirely through cost-share (not part of the request) do the forms relating to construction need to be completed?

A: No.

6. Q: We plan to request funding for equipment ONLY and need to do renovation to accommodate the equipment. Do we need to reflect the cost of renovation in cost-share or can we just commit to completing that renovation in time for the equipment to be installed?

A: It is advisable to describe the entire project and the entire timeline for completion (and at various phases if possible). While cost share it not required, it demonstrates support for the project by other funders.

7. Q: I am having problems with the Grants.gov interface or the SF- 424 Forms. Can you help me?

A: For technical assistance on Grants.gov or the SF-424 Family of Forms, use the resources available on the “Support” tab of Grants.gov or contact Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.