WIC MIS Strategy - FINAL.docx

WIC MIS Strategy Cooperative Agreement

Fiscal Year 2024 Request for Applications (RFA) Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.557

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT:

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in selecting projects for grant funding. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to select projects for grant funding. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering, and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

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

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:

· Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

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

· Register in grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure:

· Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 – Application and Submission Information. This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 – Application Review Information, and all necessary attachments.

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

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

· The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTEs).

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

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

· Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justification, and basis for lodging estimate.

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

· Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts

· Justification, description, and an itemized list of all consultant services.

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

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

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

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

· Resumes of key staff

· Letters of support/commitment from key staff and partners

· Additional attachments, as required.

Table of Contents

1. Program Description and Objectives

Executive Summary The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) works to end hunger and promote nutrition security. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a Federal nutrition assistance program that serves pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding individuals, infants, and children up to five years old who are income eligible and at nutritional risk. WIC provides nutritious foods, nutrition education including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health and social services to participants in all 50 geographic states, the District of Columbia, 33 Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), and five U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (The Act) (P.L. 117-2) provided the USDA with an appropriation to carry out the WIC Program as authorized by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) (42 U.S.C. 1786). The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) provided the USDA with $390,000,000 to carry out outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts to increase participation and redemption of benefits in WIC and the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP).

This is an announcement of the availability of funds for a one-time initiative, competitive cooperative agreement for up to four years. Funds are available to a nonprofit organization (i.e., a civic technology nonprofit or other nonprofit type with similar staffing and experience/expertise; a research institute that is public, private, or nonprofit; or an accredited college or university) that meets the technical requirements outlined in this RFA. USDA anticipates awarding up to $15,000,000 to one selected applicant. The anticipated Period of Performance for this project is from September 2024, and will not extend beyond March 31, 2029. The recipient of this cooperative agreement is referred to in this document as “the Grantee”.

The Grantee will develop a WIC Management Information System (MIS) Strategy (“the Strategy) through the completion of the objectives described in this RFA, described below, using an agile process.

Program Description WIC is modernizing to better serve applicants and participants. As a part of this effort, USDA seeks a Grantee to develop a comprehensive WIC Management Information System (MIS) Strategy (“the Strategy”). WIC MIS, for the purpose of this RFA, means the various systems used by WIC State agencies as they administer and report on the Program. The WIC MIS used by each State agency serves as the system of record for program data and performs a variety of functions essential to program operations. Specifically, WIC MIS contain data collected on WIC families. This includes data related to enrollment and eligibility (including income, as well as nutrition assessment-related data such as nutrition risk codes and anthropometric data), nutrition education, appointments, and referrals, as well as data on food benefit issuance and redemptions. There are a variety of different WIC MIS and they vary in the data they contain and the use of interfaces and other data transfer mechanisms used to gather other program data, such as information supporting WIC vendor management, (food product) manufacturer rebates, and financial management and administration. All data are used by local agencies, State agencies, and FNS to administer the program and to track and understand program operations and performance.

WIC MIS touch almost all program activities, including the application and certification (i.e., WIC’s term for checking eligibility and enrolling applicants) processes, food package prescriptions, appointment scheduling, benefit issuance, and vendor (i.e., WIC authorized grocer) authorization and management. By shaping how applicants and participants experience the program, WIC MIS affect enrollment, retention, benefit redemption, and the impact of the program. MIS also affect the allocation of State and local staff time, and thereby, how efficiently and effectively the program operates and its potential to evolve and improve. More information on WIC MIS and related electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems can be found here (applicants should pay particular attention to the FReD, WIC EBT Technical Standards, Handbook 901).

The Strategy developed through this cooperative agreement will guide USDA as it takes appropriate next steps to ensure that all WIC State agencies use modern MIS that meet the needs of the WIC Program and users in the near- and long-term (i.e., both a transitional plan and a future state strategy will be developed and integrated into one WIC MIS Strategy). The Grantee will develop a comprehensive WIC MIS Strategy that provides a roadmap for USDA through the completion of the objectives described in this RFA.

The Objectives of this cooperative agreement are as follows:

· Assess the current landscape of WIC MIS.

· Develop a transitional plan for improvements to current WIC MIS.

· Develop a future state WIC MIS Strategy that includes both a product strategy and a market strategy.

· Assist USDA in implementation of the WIC MIS Strategy.

Key Objectives Below is a list of the Program Objectives with suggested maximum timeframes. Proposals may diverge from these timelines if: 1) staffing is sufficient to accelerate the timeline or 2) the proposal outlines a benefit to the government to re-ordering projects (i.e., more can be completed if a certain activity is completed earlier or later in the schedule). Timelines may not, however, exceed the period performance end date of March 31, 2029.

As noted in Section 4 within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker”, proposed activities must be clearly aligned to these objectives and their associated activities and indicators.

P R O G R A M Y E A R S 1 – 2

At a minimum, this objective must include the following activities:

a) Develop and deliver plans for:

a. conducting agile, human/user-centered discovery on all current WIC MIS, to include both desk review of existing USDA and external documents and discussions with affected parties and key partners (e.g., WIC system developers/contractors, WIC State agency staff, WIC local agency staff, FNS HQ and Regional Office staff) (Discovery Plan)

b. ensuring that all relevant Grantee staff (including contractors and new staff onboarded after introductory activities) are informed about the goals and activities of this project, WIC MIS, government program MIS, and other relevant favors (Staff Development Plan)

b) Develop and deliver to USDA reports and visualizations that 1) show which MIS is used by each State agency, 2) show key features, functionalities, and technical information on each MIS in a manner that allows for comparison across MIS, 3) outlines governance structure of each MIS, 4) shows the intersection between EBT (processors and technology used) and MIS in a way that allows for identification of system groupings by EBT processor/type and MIS, and 5) other relevant information that will be used in the WIC MIS Rating System and will assist as USDA implements the transitional plan.

c) Develop and deliver to USDA a State agency-level WIC MIS Capability Model to assess the capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses of existing systems; and to highlight priorities and timelines for critical system maintenance, upgrades, and/or replacements. The Model must use key features, functionalities, technical information, and other relevant factors identified during discovery to enable prioritization and decision-making about system maintenance, upgrades, and replacements. The WIC MIS Capacity Model must include information that will inform the transitional plan to be developed under Objective 2.

d) Develop and deliver to USDA an assessment of all WIC State agencies’ current state MIS according to the approved WIC MIS Capability Model.

Activities begin within 30 days of award.

Draft Discovery Plan submitted within 45 days of award.

Final Discovery and Staff Development Plans submitted within 60 days of award.

Complete the majority of discovery within 6 months of award, with tailored follow up throughout the rest Objectives 1 and 2, as needed.

Deliver the first draft of the WIC MIS Capacity Model within 4 months of award.

Deliver the final draft of the WIC MIS Capacity Model within 6 months of award.

Other final deliverables submitted on an ongoing basis, with all under this Objective submitted by 9/4/2025.

a) Using the approved WIC MIS Capability Model, develop and deliver two sets of recommendations to the government on next steps for all WIC MIS over the next 10 years, with particular focus on the next 5 years to ensure that near-term WIC MIS needs are met. The two sets of recommendations must be based on two different funding constraint scenarios that USDA will provide after award (e.g., one lower amount available annually or one higher amount available in a lump sum, one lower annual amount and one higher annual amount).

Each set of recommendations must include a timeline, estimated costs, and rationale for all recommended activities. And, they must consider and document relevant constraints and risks.

b) Develop and deliver documents, visualizations, and presentations to support the refinement, socialization/dissemination, and implementation of the transitional plan.

Deliverables of particular interest are technical assistance strategies, tactics, and/or materials USDA could offer State agencies to enable near-term, transitional MIS improvements, as well as dissemination and engagement strategies for these technical assistance resources.

Additional deliverables could include, but are not limited to summary/briefing documents; messaging materials for State agencies on what USDA will fund, when, and how; visual roadmaps; tracking documents; a plan to update WIC MIS landscape analysis data, Capacity Model Assessments, and/or the transitional plan in future years to reflect changes and progress; webinars explaining the transitional plan to various affected parties and key partners.

Final transitional plan submitted by 8/30/2025.

Other final deliverables submitted on an ongoing basis, as needed to implement recommendations, with all under this Objective submitted by 9/4/2026.

a) Develop and deliver a plan for conducting agile, human/user-centered discovery to gather information necessary to develop a future state WIC MIS Strategy. This discovery must build on the discovery done under Objective 1 and must include discovery on similar government programs and their MIS modernization activities (i.e., the plan must include research into how other public health and/or similar programs that are administered by State agencies are solving similar problems).

The Strategy must answer the following questions, at a minimum:

· What is a “modern WIC MIS”?

· What does USDA need to do to ensure all WIC State agencies use a modern WIC MIS?

· How should USDA approach these tasks?

· Approximately how much will this effort cost? And what types and frequency of costs should be expected?

b) Develop and deliver to USDA a WIC MIS Strategy to enable effective, efficient, and sustainable MIS management by USDA and State agencies beyond a 10-year time horizon. This strategy should be composed of a WIC MIS Product Strategy and a WIC MIS Market Strategy.

The WIC MIS Product Strategy must consider and include information and/or recommendations on all the following, at a minimum:

· Feature, functionality, and user experience expectations for a modern MIS.

· Features necessary for the delivery of WIC virtual services.

· Recommended and/or required non-functional capabilities, such as interfaces, performance expectations, security standards, data structures, and architectures.

· Architectures, approaches, or other methods to facilitate implementation of future policy or delivery changes and that enable adaptability and extensibility.

· Human centered design approaches to modernizing that ensure a positive user experience for WIC staff, applicants, and participants.

· Metrics and data to enable monitoring and continual improvement of program delivery.

· Updates to technical documentation (e.g., what needs to be updated, how/when should documents be updated).

The WIC MIS Market Strategy must consider and include information and/or recommendations on all the following, at a minimum:

· Models for procurement, with risks and benefits of each (e.g., who should procure, why, and how).

· Models for funding, with risks and benefits of each (e.g., USDA procures, USDA provides grants to State agencies to procure).

· Models for staffing at State and federal level to ensure management of relevant documents, systems, funding, and procurement.

· Actions that can encourage new entrants into the MIS market.

· Recommendations to encourage sharing or reuse of MIS among State agencies, including governance models for shared system functionality.

· A gap analysis between the current WIC MIS market and the future state MIS market, with actionable recommendations for achieving the future state.

Both Strategy components must also consider, at a minimum:

· Barriers to modernization.

· Risks, including mitigation strategies for recommended activities likely to be at high risk.

· Availability of products on the market and/or vendors available to develop new products.

· FNS research needs.

· Federal and State procurement processes.

· WIC State agency and federal technology management capacity.

Note: The final Strategy must integrate the landscape analysis developed in Objective 1 and the transitional plan developed in Objective 2. The Grantee must ensure both transitional and future state plans, goals, and strategies are integrated seamlessly into one roadmap that clearly articulates:

· The current state of WIC MIS (Objective 1).

· The target future state of WIC MIS (WIC MIS Product Strategy).

· How FNS will enable migration to the future state of WIC MIS (WIC MIS Market Strategy).

· A high-level roadmap of near-term, transitional improvements and longer-term, target future state system enhancements, upgrades and/or replacements to complete the transition of all WIC State agencies to a modern WIC MIS (to be defined during Objective 2).

c) Develop and deliver documents, visualizations, and presentations to support the implementation of the WIC MIS Strategy.

Deliverables could include, but are not limited to summary/briefing documents; topical one-pagers on aspects of the Strategy; messaging materials for various affected parties and key partners; roadmaps; tracking documents; a plan to update WIC MIS landscape analysis data, Capacity Model Assessments, and/or the transitional plan in future years to reflect changes and progress; webinars explaining the MIS Strategy to various affected parties and key partners.

d) Optional: Proposals may include additional activities that can be done within the funding and period of performance provided that the applicant determines would advance WIC MIS Strategy development and/or implementation or would answer key outstanding WIC MIS questions.

Such activities/deliverables could include, but are not limited to developing designs, prototypes, user research plans, proofs of concept, API standards, sample guidance, procurement requirements or specifications, procurement resources, other technical assistance resources, and/or code; conducting user research; and/or other activities proposed by the Grantee that address WIC MIS needs.

Final Discovery Plan submitted by 10/15/2025.

First draft of WIC MIS Strategy submitted by 5/1/2026.

Other final deliverables submitted on an ongoing basis, as needed to implement recommendations, with all under this Objective submitted by 9/4/2026.

P R O G R A M Y E A R S 3 – 4

(Note: These activities may begin earlier, if feasible considering the full proposal)

a) Develop and deliver a flexible and agile implementation/project management plan for the WIC MIS Strategy in MS Project or similar. For each task in the Strategy, the implementation/project management plan must identify who is responsible (by organization and name/title), affected parties, dependencies, costs, and timelines. The plan must allow for real time project tracking and identify the parties responsible for such tracking. The plan must include tasks that the Grantee will lead or assist with to complement USDA’s staff and resources and must make clear which party is responsible for which parts of the plan via work breakdown structure or similar breakdown that allows for assigning of resources.

b) For any tasks assigned to the Grantee in the implementation/project management plan, the Grantee must develop and deliver a project plan indicating how and when it will accomplish all assigned tasks. Year 3-4 Project Plans must include a table of deliverables.

c) Implement the plans approved in 4a-b.

d) Optional: Manage the implementation/project management plan. This includes bringing all items up to date at least weekly, providing updates to USDA at appropriate intervals for key audiences (e.g., weekly for the project team, quarterly for Agency leadership).

Final implementation/ project plan submitted by 11/16/2026.

Final Year 3-4 Project Plan submitted by 1/15/2027. This plan must be flexible and agile in nature, and updated on a regular schedule, to be proposed by the Grantee.

Other final deliverables submitted on an ongoing basis, as appropriate, with all under this RFA submitted by 9/8/2028.

Cooperative Agreement / Substantial Involvement 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. 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’s involvement in this cooperative agreement will largely entail serving as subject matter experts (SMEs) to provide key input, steering, and information to the team. FNS staff will also review and provide feedback on deliverables. FNS must approve all final deliverables before they may be publicly posted by the Grantee or FNS. FNS will comment on major project aspects and issues in advance of their implementation in a manner and timeframe agreed upon between the Grantee and FNS.

FNS involvement with the Grantee will include:

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

· Reviewing and/or co-authoring documents.

· Receiving files for all Grantee-produced documents (e.g., plans, resources, deliverables), as well as data collected (e.g., raw data from discovery, as well as summary documents/files) developed under this cooperative agreement.

· Meeting with the Grantee on a regular basis.

Program-Specific Requirements This section outlines requirements for this grant program. As noted in Section 4, proposals should clearly describe how applicants will comply with all of these program-specific requirements. The Grantee will be required to meet these requirements throughout the period of performance.

Required Program Experience/Expertise

· Demonstrated experience in civic technology, public benefits technology, and/or government service delivery technology research, strategy, and/or implementation; agile human centered design discovery processes; and providing high-quality consultation to government entities or similarly large organizations with a policy/oversight role.

· Demonstrated knowledge of and/or capacity, and a plan included in the proposal, to quickly learn about the WIC Program, WIC MIS nationwide (from both a policy and technical standpoint), and lessons learned from projects related to MIS in similar government programs.

· Knowledge of and/or experience in implementing technological innovations in public benefits, public health, or other large governmental programs, as evidenced by previous projects that include research on technical feasibility, policy options and implications, and development of and/or implementation of technical specifications and/or system requirements.

· Experience with and/or capacity for providing high-quality, evidence-based recommendations to the government, as well as providing technical assistance resources/documents to government entities, and/or other entities similar to WIC State agencies.

Deliverable Requirements

· For all deliverables, FNS requests 3 drafts for review and 1 final, clean version.

· Final deliverables must be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 749d) as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220).

· Final deliverables must follow any style guides/standards provided by USDA and must be checked for quality by the Grantee before each draft is submitted.

· For draft reviews, FNS requests 8 business days for documents under 10 pages, 10 business days for documents 10-20 pages, and 15 business days for documents 20+ business days. The Grantee must work around scheduling of USDA staff, where needed to ensure that documents can be reviewed (i.e., applicants should build in some buffer time in timelines for reviews, especially around major holidays).

· To the extent possible, all written documents will be written in Plain Language in accordance with principles outlined at PlainLanguage.gov. FNS recognizes that some items cannot be written in plain language (e.g., code). Some deliverables will require technical words and phrases but should still be written in Plain Language to the extent possible. For example, documents should explain technical jargon in a parenthetical, use short sentences, use common words where possible (like “use” instead of “utilize”).

· To the extent possible, applicants should propose timelines that allow for deliverables to be submitted throughout the project (e.g., several deliverables should be submitted each quarter (or similar) rather than all at the end of the project.

· FNS encourages review and discussion of interim topics, findings, and/or recommendations related to deliverables to validate alignment.

· Proposals must describe the expected set of final deliverables that will be submitted to USDA and/or published by the Grantee during and at the end of the Cooperative Agreement period of performance. Since the project is expected to be conducted in an agile manner using human centered design, some deliverables will not be known until after discovery processes. When exact deliverables are unknown, proposals should describe and/or quantify deliverables to the extent possible (e.g., 10-15 pages of resources, 5-10 visualizations with appropriate narrative descriptions, five topical one-pagers, two one-hour webinars).

· Proposals must include an engagement plan that describes on how they will disseminate information at key stages to impacted parties (e.g., federal WIC staff, USDA FNS leadership, State agencies, local agencies, the WIC technology community at large).

Process Requirements

· The Grantee must use human centered design processes to gather feedback from impacted groups at key points throughout the project. Discovery processes should begin with thorough desk reviews of available documentation (both USDA-provided and publicly available information) to build on previous research and knowledge, both to accelerate learning and make effective use of user/affected party/key partner time during research activities. Discovery with these parties should be tailored to obtain the necessary information a manner that minimizes burden.

· The Grantee must provide debriefs back to impacted groups and/or individuals who participate in discovery on at least a yearly basis.

· Proposals must provide a clear timeline for carrying out all proposed activities, including dependencies and unknowns that are inherent to an agile, human centered design project.

Program Management and Meeting Requirements The Grantee must:

· Provide program management for this project, including maintaining updated project plans, running meetings, etc. to ensure that the project runs smoothly, and that USDA is informed and can provide appropriate direction and input throughout the project.

· Select and hire appropriately credentialed/experienced personnel to manage and operate project components. This must include staff who are able to conduct human centered design research, manage a large project, manage a large budget, and staff who have appropriate WIC, MIS, and/or civic technology expertise to complete the objectives of the grant.

· Delegate responsibilities to staff or other partners, as appropriate.

· Conduct appropriate training and provide necessary support for staff and other partners to successfully handle project responsibilities. USDA subject matter experts should not be expected to train Grantee staff or partners.

The Grantee must conduct the following meetings:

· Bi-weekly (once every two weeks) virtual meetings to provide an overview of the activities conducted during the previous two weeks, 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 month. Should a major issue arise between calls, the Grantee must contact the FNS Grants and Program Officers immediately.

· Quarterly briefings for leadership (e.g., via one hour webinar with a PPT update on key activities completed in the quarter and next steps, with an opportunity for questions/feedback from leadership). At the beginning of each quarter, the Grantee must work with USDA to identify a date and audience for the next briefing. Briefing PPTs including robust talking points must be provided to FNS four weeks prior to each leadership briefing with an opportunity for reviews. Briefing slides should be largely visual.

· Additional calls/virtual meetings as recommended by the Grantee or requested by USDA.

· In these meetings, FNS encourages review and discussion of interim topics, findings, and/or recommendations related to work and deliverables, as appropriate, to validate alignment.

Proposals must include:

· Travel for 1-2 staff to attend one conference per year to learn about WIC, network, conduct listening sessions, and/or present. FNS will determine the conference(s) that should be attended each year and work with the Grantee if they are to present on progress, results, and/or resources developed as a part of this grant.

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

· Total amount of funding expected to award: up to $15,000,000

· Anticipated number of awards: 1

· Minimum award amount (award floor): $0

· Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $15,000,000

· Anticipated award announcement date: September 2024

· Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): September 2024 – September 2028

· Anticipated funding of individual awards: $15,000,000

· Application due date: July 25, 2024

Please note:

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

Allowable Costs Equipment and Supplies: Expenditures for equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $5,000 or more) are allowable expenses with prior approval by FNS. While equipment expenditures are allowable, FNS reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based upon the needs of the Agency and the proposed project. Equipment and supplies purchased using grant funds must be used during the grant period for the sole purpose of accomplishing the stated program objectives. If purchased equipment or supplies are not fully dedicated to grant project objectives, including beyond the grant period end date, the applicant must determine what percentage of the good’s time or space will be dedicated to project activities when developing a proposed budget.

Travel: Travel necessary for discovery may be included if virtual methods are insufficient (e.g., to visit a clinic to watch how staff use the MIS during a WIC appointment, to conduct usability/UX/CX testing in person). Travel for 1-2 staff to attend 1 conference per year to learn about WIC, network, conduct listening sessions, and/or present must be included in all proposals.

All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

Unallowable Costs Entertainment: Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any associated costs are unallowable (such as mascot costumes, promotional items, etc.) unless there is a programmatic purpose and prior approval is granted by FNS.

Food Purchases: In general grant funds may NOT be used to purchase meals or snacks for training or meeting attendees, unless approved in advance in accordance with 2 CFR 200.432.

3. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants Funds are available to a nonprofit organization (i.e., a civic technology nonprofit or other nonprofit type with similar staffing and experience/expertise; a research institute that is public, private, or nonprofit; or an accredited college or university) that meets the technical requirements outlined in this RFA.

A nonprofit entity is any organization or institution with IRS 501(c)(3) status or accredited institutions of higher education, where no part of the net earnings benefit any private shareholder or individual. All non-profit organizations must include their 501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

All applicant organizations must be domestic entities and shall be owned, operated, and located within the 50 States, 33 Indian Tribal Organizations that administer the WIC Program, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands.

Ineligible Applicants Entities not meeting the eligibility definitions will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration. This includes:

· WIC State and local agencies, other Federal agencies, and for-profit businesses are not eligible to apply.

· International (non-U.S. or non-U.S. territories) entities are not eligible to apply.

Note: If an applicant is deemed nonresponsive for failing to submit required elements or documents associated with this RFA, they will be considered ineligible and removed from consideration for grant funding.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations There are no cost sharing or matching requirements for this award.

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

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

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

· FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire

· Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports, and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains several questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

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

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

· When acknowledging USDA support, use the following language: "This material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.” Grantees should follow the USDA Visual Standards Guide when using the USDA logo.

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

4. Application and Submission Information Content and Form of Application Submission FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced in 12-point font. The project narrative with relevant information should be captured on no more than 15 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of content, resumes, letter(s) of commitment, endorsement letter(s), budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages, excluding form pages, must be numbered.

Special Instructions:

· Applicants are encouraged to submit an application that includes 4 years of work, but clearly delineates activities and budgets by years 1-2 and years 3-4.

· The SF-424A should include one total budget. The budget narrative should separate costs for planning (Objectives 1-3) and implementation (Objective 4).

· Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

· Letters of support are not required but if included, must be submitted with the application through Grants.gov. Letters submitted via email will not be considered.

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

· Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be considered.

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

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

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

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

· Applicant Organization’s name and mailing address

· Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number, and email address

· Grant program title

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

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

Project Narrative The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address the objectives of this RFA. It must include all information required in Section 1, organized into the following sections:

· Introduction: Provide background information on the proposed team’s experience and a general overview of the proposal. Please note any successes, lessons learned, or challenges from previous, related activities that inform the proposal.

· Objectives, Activities, and Timeline: Provide information on how the team will meet the objectives of this RFA. Provide a timeline that includes required and recommended deliverables.

· Management Plan: 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. Applicants should describe their organizational structure and identify the staff and/or contractors who will manage the project. Describe how quality assurance, recordkeeping, and accounting activities will be executed.

· Staffing: Describe roles and responsibilities of key employees and contractors, as well as relevant qualifications and experience, and a level of effort specified for specific staff proposed. Note any relevant experience. Explain contingency plans for staff turnover.

· Engagement Plan: Include information on how the team recommends disseminating information at key stages to impacted parties (e.g., Federal WIC staff, USDA FNS leadership, State agencies, local agencies, the WIC technology community at large).

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include Number of People Attended, Number of People Impacted, Number of Conferences Delivered, Number of Materials Created, Number of Trainings, Number of People Trained.

Examples:

Application Budget Narrative The budget narrative, formatted as a table, should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. Budgets must clearly identify activities and cost by project year. The narrative must justify and support the needs of the budget’s direct cost. If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. Budget categories in this table must match those listed on the SF-424A form. If the budget table is created in a spreadsheet, it must be formatted to fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page, with a font no smaller than 11-point Times New Roman. All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

Indirect Cost Rate A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have, and has never been approved for, a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis. In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate. An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and instead use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase “none requested” should be stated in the budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Grant Officer as noted in of this RFA. Section 7 of this RFA.

Required Grant Application Forms The required grants.gov forms are located at grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html.

· Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family

· Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

· Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A)

· Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

· SF-LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities)

· Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities. If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed.

· Additional Required Forms and Information

· Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information

· SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

Letter of Intent Eligible applicants that intend to apply should submit a Letter of Intent notice by June 24, 2024, if possible. This notice does not obligate the applicant to apply but provides USDA with useful information in preparing for the review and selection process. The notice should include the potential applicant’s name and address, the organization’s name, telephone number, and email address of the primary point of contact. The applicant can send the letter via email to the FNS Grant Officer identified in Section 7 of this RFA.

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

· Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, see the “Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov” below.

· Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

· FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

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

FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to Grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any…