Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
March 20, 2019
Funding Opportunity Number: SFOP0005670
Assistance Listings (CFDA) number: 19.517 – Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Africa
Announcement issuance date: Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. noon EDT.
We are unable to consider proposals submitted after this deadline.
**ADVISORY: All applicants must submit proposals through the website Grants.gov NOT through SAMS Domestic. Please note that if you apply on the SAMS Domestic site, your application will be disqualified. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to allow time to address any difficulties that may arise.**
If you are new to PRM funding, the Grants.gov registration process can be complicated. Refer to PRM’s General NGO Guidelines “New to PRM Funding” section for information and resources to help ensure that the application process runs smoothly. PRM also encourages organizations that have received funding from PRM in the past to read this section as a refresher.
Full Text of Notice of Funding Opportunity
A. Program Description
This announcement is designed to accompany PRM’s General NGO Guidelines which contain additional information on PRM’s priorities and NGO funding strategy with which selected organizations must comply. Please use both the General NGO Guidelines and this announcement to ensure that your submission is in full compliance with PRM requirements and that the proposed activities are in line with PRM’s priorities. We are unable to consider submissions that do not reflect the requirements outlined in these guidelines.
Current Funding Priorities:
- Current Funding Priorities:
(b) Proposals should focus on one or more of the following sectors (see PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for sector descriptions):
- Protection: Key components of protection programs may include: (1) legal assistance and counseling, (2) community-based prevention and response to xenophobia, (3) prevention and response to gender-based violence, (4) child protection, and/ or (5) dissemination of information to promote enhanced refugee access to protection mechanisms and programs. Proposals should be designed to support and strengthen existing protection mechanisms rather than develop parallel systems that may not be sustainable over time.
- Health, Education, and/or Shelter: Proposals should focus on (a) health care (including mental health care and sexual and reproductive health services), (b) education and vocational training, and/ or (c) housing and shelter. Proposed projects should increase refugee and asylum seeker access to existing government and community-based social services rather than developing parallel services. They should enhance local capacity to address refugee and asylum seeker needs.
- Livelihoods: Proposed projects may include (a) training in language, literacy and vocational skills, (b) job-placement, and/ or (c) legal support for businesses. Proposals should address needs based on market assessments and should be designed to foster self-reliance among refugees and asylum seekers in urban areas. They should include plans to measure the impact of proposed activities on achieving self-reliance, or in the case of continuation applications, describe the impacts of previous livelihoods activities and include indicators of self-reliance.
B. Federal Award Information
- Proposed program start dates: August 1, 2019- September 15, 2019
- Duration of Activity: Program plans for one, two, or three years will be considered. Applicants may submit multi-year proposals with activities and budgets that do not exceed three years (36 months) from the proposed start date. Actual awards will not exceed one year (12 months) in duration and activities and budgets submitted in year one can be revised/updated each year. Continued funding after the initial 12-month award requires the submission of a noncompeting single year proposal and will be contingent upon available funding, strong performance, and continuing need. In funding a project one year, PRM makes no representations that it will continue to fund the project in successive years and encourages applicants to seek a wide array of donors to ensure long-term funding possibilities. Please see Multi-Year Funding section below for additional information. Projects are encouraged to be multi-year.
- Funding Limits: Project proposals should be more than $200,000 and less than $500,000 per year.
C. Eligibility Information
- Eligible Applicants: (1) Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with IRS, other than institutions of higher education; and (2) Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
- Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing, matching, or cost participation is not a requirement of an application in response to this funding announcement.
- Other:
(b) Proposals must adhere to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards including guidance on proposals for projects in urban areas.
(c) PRM strongly encourages projects that target the needs of vulnerable and underserved groups among the beneficiary population (women; children; adolescents; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI) individuals; older persons; the sick; persons with disabilities; and other minorities) and can demonstrate what steps have been taken to meet the specific and unique protection and assistance needs of these vulnerable groups effectively. See gender analysis requirements below in D.2.(d).
(d) PRM will accept proposals from any NGO working in the above mentioned sectors although, given budgetary constraints, priority will be given to proposals from organizations that can demonstrate:
- a working relationship with UNHCR;
- a proven track record in providing proposed assistance both in the sector and specified location;
- evidence of coordination with international organizations (IOs) and other NGOs working in the same area or sector as well as – where possible – local authorities;
- a transition plan involving local capacity-building, where feasible;
- adherence to PRM’s Principles for Refugee Protection in Urban Areas; and
- an understanding of and sensitivity to community dynamics in the project location.
D. Application and Submission Instructions
- Address to Request Application Package:
- Application packages may be downloaded from the website https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants/.
- Content and Form of Application:
Page limits: Single-year proposals using PRM’s templates should be no more than 15 pages in length (Times New Roman 12 point font, one inch margins on all sides). If the applicant does not use PRM’s recommended templates, proposals must not exceed 10 pages in length. Organizations may choose to attach work plans, activity calendars, and/or logical frameworks as addendums/appendices to the proposal. These attachments do not count toward the page limit total; however, annexes cannot be relied upon as a key source of project information. The proposal narrative must be able to stand on its own in the application process. For multi-year funding application instructions, see section (e) below. Proposals exceeding the page limit cannot be considered.
(b) To be considered for PRM funding, organizations must submit a complete application package, including each of the following documents:
- Proposal narrative including objectives and indicators for each year of the project period, not exceeding the page limits above.
- Budget summary and budget detail for each year of the project period.
- Budget narrative for each year of the project period.
- Completed SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B forms. PRM requires that Box 21 of the SF-424 be checked. Please note that pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), the Department of State is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its federal assistance programs. The list of certifications and assurances is available upon request by emailing PRMNGOCoordinator@state.gov with the subject line, “PRM NGO Templates.”
- Information in support of any cost-sharing/cost-matching arrangements, if applicable.
- Information detailing the source of any in-kind contributions, if applicable.
- Details on any sub-agreements associated with the project (must be part of the budget submission as noted above), if applicable.
- Risk Analysis (separate from proposal narrative and from the security plan).
- Organizational Chart for award applicant and sub-recipient(s), if applicable.
- Key Personnel for award applicant and sub-recipient(s), if applicable.
- Copy of the organization’s Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Code of Conduct.
- Copy of the organization’s Security Plan.
- Copy of the organization’s Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) framework.
- A market analysis and a beneficiary competency/capacity assessment for all proposals that include at least one livelihoods sector objective. Please see the General NGO Guidelines for more details.
- Most recent Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), if applicable or a de minimis rate calculation if the applicant elects to use the de minimis rate.
- Most recent external audit report, if not submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
- Focus on outcome or impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one outcome or impact indicator. Baselines should be established before the start of the project.
- Include specific information on locations of projects and beneficiaries (GPS coordinates if possible) to increase PRM’s ability to track the impact of PRM funding.
- Outline how the NGO will acknowledge PRM funding. If an organization believes that publicly acknowledging the receipt of USG funding for a particular PRM-funded project could potentially endanger the lives of the beneficiaries and/or the organization staff, invite suspicion about the organization’s motives, or alienate the organization from the population it is trying to help, it should provide a brief explanation in its proposal as to why it should be exempted from this requirement.
- PRM partners should complete a gender analysis in the proposal narrative that briefly explains (1) Experiences of men, women, boys, and girls with a focus on the different familial roles, community privileges, and gender dynamics within the target population; (2) associated risks and threats experienced by women, girls, and other vulnerable populations based on their gender; (3) power imbalances and needs that arise based on gender inequalities that exist within the family or community; and (4) proposed responses that will address the above and mitigate any gender differences in access, participation, or decision-making that may be experienced by at-risk groups, particularly women and girls. The gender analysis should aim to specify and target specific at-risk sub-populations of women and girls, in particular women and girl heads of households, out-of-school girls, women and girls with disabilities, women and girl survivors of violence, married girls, adolescent mothers, as well as people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI), and those who are often unaware of and excluded from programs and services and who may be the hardest to reach based on their gender.
- The budget should include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization.
- Applicants whose proposals address gender-based violence (GBV) through their projects should estimate the total cost of these activities as a separate line item in their proposed budgets (see PRM’s budget template). Proposals and budgets should include details of any sub-agreements associated with the project.
Applicants may submit proposals that include multi-year strategies presented in one-year (12-month) cycles for a period not to exceed three years (36 months) from the proposed start date. Fully developed projects with detailed budgets, objectives and indicators are required for each year of activities. Annual budgets should meet funding limits established in section B.3 above. Applicants should use PRM’s recommended multi-year proposal template for the first year of a multi-year application. Multi-year funding applicants may use PRM’s standard budget template and should submit a separate budget sheet for each project year. Multi-year proposal narratives and budgets can be updated yearly upon submission of new noncompeting single year proposal narrative template with an updated budget, each year.
Page limits: Multi-year proposals using PRM’s multi-year template should be no more than 20 pages in length (Times New Roman 12 point font, one inch margins on all sides). If the applicant does not use PRM’s recommended templates, proposals should not exceed 15 pages in length. Organizations may choose to attach work plans, activity calendars, and/or logical frameworks as addendums/appendices to the proposal. These attachments do not count toward the page limit total; however, annexes cannot be relied upon as a key source of project information. The proposal narrative should be able to stand on its own in the application process. Proposals exceeding the page limit cannot be considered.
Multi-year applications selected for funding by PRM will be funded in one-year (12- month) increments based on the proposal submitted in the initial application as approved by PRM. Continued funding after the initial 12-month award requires the submission of a noncompeting single year proposal narrative and will be contingent upon available funding, strong performance, and continuing need. Follow-on funding applications must be submitted by the organization no later than 90 days before the proposed start date of the new award (e.g., if the next project period is to begin on September 1, submit your application by June 1). It is strongly recommended that NGOs submit as early as possible after the directed announcement for continuation funding has been issued. Late applications will jeopardize continued funding. Follow-on year applications are submitted in lieu of responding to PRM’s published call for proposals for those activities. Late submissions will jeopardize continued funding.
Organizations can request single-year and multi-year funding proposal narrative templates by emailing PRM’s NGO Coordinator with the phrase “PRM NGO Templates” in the subject line.
- Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and System for Award Management (SAM)
(b) Proposals must be submitted via SAMS Domestic. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your application. If you encounter technical difficulties with SAMS Domestic please contact the ILMS Helpdesk:
Hours: Open 24/7
Email: ilms@state.gov
Phone: +1.888.313.4567
ILMS Self Service Portal: https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants/grantee_kb.do#
(c) It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure the appropriate registrations are in place and active. Failure to have the appropriate organizational registrations in place is not considered a technical difficulty and is not justification for an alternate means of submission.
(d) Pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), the Department of State is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its federal assistance programs. The list of certifications and assurances is available upon request by emailing PRMNGOCoordinator@state.gov with the subject line, “PRM NGO Templates.” (Do not put the quotation marks in the subject line.)
(e) In accordance with 2 CFR 200.113, Mandatory disclosures, the non-Federal entity or applicant for a Federal award must disclose, in a timely manner, in writing to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity all violations of Federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the Federal award. Non-Federal entities that have received a Federal award including the term and condition outlined in Appendix XII-Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters are required to report certain civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings to SAM. Failure to make required disclosures can result in any of the remedies described in 2 CFR 200.338 Remedies for noncompliance, including suspension or debarment. (See also 2 CFR part 180, 31 U.S.C. 3321, and 41 U.S.C. 2313.)
- Submission Dates and Times
Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. noon EDT.
- Intergovernmental Review – Not Applicable.
- Funding Restrictions. Federal awards will not allow reimbursement of Federal Award costs without prior authorization by PRM.
- Other Submission Requirements
- PRM Standardized Indicators: In an effort to streamline the proposal writing/reviewing process and better measure the impact of the Bureau’s work, PRM requires the use of standardized indicators for projects in the protection, child protection, health, mental health and psychosocial support, WASH, nutrition and food security, education, livelihoods, and emergency shelter sectors, as well as projects that include local government capacity-building and core relief items (non-food items). Applicants must fill in numerical and/or percentage targets for each indicator. Sphere standards should be used as targets, unless otherwise noted. Proposals should include at least one standardized indicator per objective, as applicable. Please refer to PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of all standardized indicators that should be included.
The Recipient shall recognize the United States Government’s funding for activities specified under this award at the program site with a graphic of the U.S. flag accompanied by one of the following two phrases based on the level of funding for the award:
- Fully funded by the award: “Gift of the United States Government”
- Partially funded by the award: “Funding provided by the United States Government”
Updates of action taken to fulfill this requirement must be included in quarterly program reports to PRM.
All programs, programs, assistance, activities, and public communications to foreign audiences, partially or fully funded by the Department, should be marked appropriately overseas with the standard U.S. flag in a size and prominence equal to (or greater than) any other logo or identity. The requirement does not apply to the Recipient’s own corporate communications or in the United States.
The Recipient should ensure that all publicity and promotional materials underscore the sponsorship by or partnership with the U.S. Government or the U.S. Embassy. The Recipient may continue to use existing logos or program materials; however, a standard rectangular U.S. flag must be used in conjunction with such logos.
Do not use the Department of State seal without the express written approval from PRM.
Sub non-Federal entities (sub-awardees) and subsequent tier sub-award agreements are subject to the marking requirements and the non-Federal entity shall include a provision in the sub non-Federal entity agreement indicating that the standard, rectangular U.S. flag is a requirement.
Exemptions from this requirement may be allowable but must be agreed to in writing by the Grants Officer. Requests should be initiated with the Grants Officer or Grants Officer Representative
In the event the non-Federal entity does not comply with the marking requirements as established in the approved assistance agreement, the Grants Officer Representative and the Grants Officer must initiate corrective action with the non-Federal entity.
E. Application Review Information
- Criteria: Eligible submissions will be those that comply with the criteria and requirements included in this announcement. In addition, the review panel will evaluate the proposals based on the following criteria:
ii. Profile of the Target Population
iii. Project Description
iv. Gender Analysis
v. Objectives and Indicators
vi. Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
vii. Risk Management
viii. Accountability to Affected Populations
ix. Coordination
x. Sustainability and Capacity-Building
xi. Management and Past Performance
xii. Budget
2. PRM will conduct a formal competitive review of all proposals submitted in response to this funding announcement. A review panel of at least three people will evaluate submissions based on the above-referenced programmatic criteria and PRM priorities in the context of available funding.
3. Department of State Review Panels may provide conditions and recommendations on applications to enhance the proposed project, which must be addressed by the applicant before further consideration of the award. To ensure effective use of limited PRM funds, conditions or recommendations may include requests to increase, decrease, clarify, and/or justify costs and project activities.
F. Federal Award Administration Information
- Federal Award Administration. A successful applicant can expect to receive a separate notice from PRM stating that an application has been selected before PRM actually makes the federal award. That notice is not an authorization to begin performance. Only the notice of award signed by the grants officer is the authorizing document. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified following completion of the selection and award process.
- Administrative and National Policy Requirements. PRM awards are made consistent with the following provisions in the following order of precedence: (a) applicable laws and statutes of the United States, including any specific legislative provisions mandated in the statutory authority for the award; (b) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); (c) Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions of the award; (d) the award’s specific requirements; and (e) other documents and attachments to the award.
- Reporting
(a) Program Reports: PRM requires program reports describing and analyzing the results of activities undertaken during the validity period of the agreement. A program report is required within thirty (30) days following the end of each three-month period of performance during the validity period of the agreement. The final program report is due ninety (90) days following the end of the agreement. The submission dates for program reports will be written into the cooperative agreement. Partners receiving multi-year awards should follow this same reporting schedule and should still submit a final program report at the end of each year that summarizes the NGO’s performance during the previous year.
The Performance Progress Report (SF-PPR) is an optional cover sheet used by recipients for progress reporting on awards. Previously this form was mandatory, but has since been removed from OMB’s list of approved forms and currently is an optional form. The Bureau suggests that NGOs receiving PRM funding use the PRM recommended quarterly project report template and, if also choosing to use the SF-PPR, reference this template as being attached in block 10 at “Other.” The suggested PRM NGO reporting template is designed to ease the reporting requirements while ensuring that all required elements are addressed. The Quarterly Project Report Template, along with the optional SF-PPR, can be requested by sending an email with only the phrase “PRM NGO Templates” (without the quotation marks) in the subject line, to PRMNGOCoordinator@state.gov.
(b) Financial Reports: Financial reports are required within thirty (30) days following the end of each calendar year quarter during the validity period of the agreement (January 30th, April 30th, July 30th, October 30th). The final financial report covering the entire period of the agreement is required within ninety (90) days after the expiration date of the agreement. For agreements containing indirect costs, final financial reports are due within sixty (60) days of the finalization of the applicable negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA).
Reports reflecting expenditures for the recipient’s overseas and United States offices should be completed in accordance with the Federal Financial Report (FFR SF-425) and submitted electronically in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Payment Management System (HHS/PMS) and in accordance with other award specific requirements. Detailed information pertaining to the Federal Financial Report including due dates, instruction manuals and access forms, is provided on the HHS/PMS website.
For more details regarding reporting requirements please see PRM’s General NGO Guidelines.
(c) Audit Reports: When a recipient-contracted audit is not required because the annual Federal Assistance amount is less than the $750,000 threshold, the Department may determine that an audit must be performed and the audit report must be submitted to the responsible grants officer for review, dissemination, and resolution as appropriate. The cost of audits required under this policy may be charged either as an allowable direct cost to the award, or included in the organizations established indirect costs in the award’s detailed budget.
G. PRM Contacts
Applicants with technical questions related to this announcement should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to proposal submission. Please note that responses to technical questions from PRM do not indicate a commitment to fund the project discussed.
PRM Program Officer: Wendy Henning, Henningwl@state.gov, +1-202-453-9369, Washington, D.C.
PRM Program Analyst: Passy Pomeroy, PomeroyP@state.gov; +1-202-453-9378, Washington, D.C.
**Disclaimer: External websites linked above may not be supported or accessible by all web browsers. If you are unable to link to a referenced website, please try using a different browser or update to a more recent one. If you continue to experience difficulties to reach external resources, please contact PRM’s NGO Coordinator.
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