Democracy, Human Rights, Refugees: FY 2011 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO programs benefiting refugees and refugee returnees in Burundi, the DRC, Tanzania and Uganda

Funding Opportunity Number: PRM-AFR-11-CA-AF-031811-GREATLAKES

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number:
19.517 - Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Africa

Announcement issuance date: Friday, March 18, 2011

Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) EDT. Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

Advisory: Grants.gov is expected to experience continued high volume of activity in the near future. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal several days early to allow time to address difficulties that may arise due to system delays.

Proposed Program Start Dates: July 1, 2011—September 15, 2011

Duration of Activity: Program plans for Burundi and the DRC should be no more than 12 months. Applicants must re-compete for PRM funding each year. Furthermore, 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.

Program plans from 12 to 24 months will be considered for activities addressing protracted needs in Tanzania and Uganda. Applicants may submit multi-year proposals with activities and budgets that do not exceed 24 months from the proposed start date. Actual awards will not exceed 12 months in duration. Multi-year proposals selected for funding by PRM will be funded in 12-month increments and must include results-based indictors within the first 12 months. Continued funding after the initial 12-month award requires the submission of a noncompeting continuation application as detailed in the Noncompeting Application Requirements section below and will be contingent upon available funding, strong performance, and continuing need. NGOs receiving awards under these terms will be required to submit continuation applications at least three months in advance of the end of each 12-month period of activities. Please see the “Proposal Content, Formatting, and Templates” section for additional guidance.

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 and diverse funding sources.

Current Funding Priorities for refugees in Tanzania, Burundi, the DRC, and Uganda: PRM will prioritize currently available funding for Tanzania, Burundi, the DRC and Uganda as identified below:

Country Specific Instructions:

(1) Tanzania and Uganda

• Proposals for Tanzania should focus exclusively on life-saving basic preventative and curative healthcare assistance in the remaining refugee camps in western Tanzania (Nyaragusu and Mtabila).
• Proposals for Uganda should focus on life-saving basic preventative and curative healthcare assistance and/or gender based violence prevention and response in the refugee settlements in the southwest.
• While PRM does not discourage activities that also include the local host population along with refugees, proposals should concentrate on activities for refugees. At least 80% of beneficiaries must be refugees.

(2) Burundi and the DRC

• Proposed activities for Burundi should support the repatriation and reintegration of Burundi refugees in Primarily in Bururi, Rutana, and Makamba Provinces, however; other return areas will be considered if adequate need is demonstrated in the proposal.
• Proposed activities for the DRC should support the repatriation and reintegration of Congolese refugees in areas to which UNHCR is actively facilitating repatriation (currently Katanga and South Kivu).
• Proposals should focus on health/mental health, water, sanitation, shelter, sustainable livelihood promotion, primary education (please note: we are not in a position to fund secondary education), and gender based violence prevention and/or response.
• Proposals should focus on areas of high refugee return where new refugee returnees (those who have returned in 2010-2011) make up at least 50% of targeted beneficiaries. Proposals should specify refugee returnee population numbers and/or projections for 2011 in proposed locations.
• Proposals should target priority sectors specific to the geographic area and target population as identified in collaboration with UNHCR, local authorities, and returnees themselves.
   

General Instructions

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, current UNHCR funding, and/or a letter of support from UNHCR for the proposed activities and/or overall country program (this letter should highlight the gap in services the proposed program is designed to address);
• A proven track record providing proposed assistance both in the sector and specified location;
• Evidence of coordination with UNHCR and other international organizations (IOs) and NGOs working in the same area or sector as well as – where possible – local authorities;
• A concrete implementation plan with well-conceived objectives and indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and reliable, time-bound and trackable (SMART), have established baselines, and at least one outcome indicator per objective;
• A budget that is appropriate for meeting the objectives and demonstrates co-funding by non-US government sources;
• Appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations. Because of PRM's mandate to provide protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict, PRM only considers funding projects that include a target beneficiary base of at least 50% refugees and/or refugee returnees.
• Adherence to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards.

International Organizations (IOs) that are engaged in programs relevant to the assistance addressed by this PRM funding announcement should ensure that these programs are made known to PRM on or before the closing date of this funding announcement so that PRM can evaluate all IO and NGO programs for funding consideration.

Funding Limits:

PRM will consider projects submitted with budgets in the range of $500,000 to $1,000,000.

As stated in the PRM’s General NGO Guidelines, PRM looks favorably on cost-sharing efforts and seeks to support projects with a diverse donor base and/or resources from the submitting organization.

Proposal Submission Requirements:

See “How to Apply” (http://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp#applying) on Grants.gov for complete details on requirements, and note the following highlights:

• Proposals must be submitted via Grants.gov. Organizations not registered with Grants.gov should register well in advance of the April 19, 2011 deadline as it can take up to two weeks to finalize registration (sometimes longer for non-U.S. based NGOs to get the required registration numbers). To register with Grants.gov, organizations must first receive a DUNS number and register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR) which can take weeks and sometimes months. See “Applicant FAQs” section on Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/help/applicant_faqs.jsp#applying) for complete details on registering.
• Do not wait until the last minute to submit your application on Grants.gov. Applicants who have done so in the past and experienced technical difficulties were not able to meet the deadline and were not considered for funding. Please note: Grants.gov is expected to experience continued high volumes of activity in the near future. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal several days early to avoid submission delays. We recommend that organizations, particularly first-time applicants, submit applications via Grants.gov no later than one week before the deadline to avoid last-minute technical difficulties that could result in an application not being considered.
• If you encounter technical difficulties with Grants.gov please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at support@grants.gov or by calling 1-800-518-4726. Applicants who are unable to submit applications via Grants.gov due to Grants.gov technical difficulties and who have reported the problem(s) to the Grants.gov help desk and received a case number and had a service request opened to research the problem(s), should contact PRM Program Officer Wendy Henning at (202) 453-9380 or henningwl@state.gov to determine whether an alternative method of submission is appropriate.
• Applications must be submitted under the authority of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) at the applicant organization. PRM recommends submitting proposals from agency headquarters. Having proposals submitted by agency headquarters helps to avoid possible technical problems.
• NGOs that have not received PRM funding prior to the U.S. Government fiscal year ending September 30, 2004 must be prepared to demonstrate that they meet the financial and accounting requirements of the U.S. Government by submitting copies of 1) the most recent external financial audit, 2) non-profit tax status under IRS 501 (c)(3), 3) a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and 4) an Employer ID (EIN)/Federal Tax Identification number.
   

Proposal Content, Formatting and Template:

Please refer to the “Proposal Submission and Review Process” section in PRM’s General NGO Guidelines. PRM strongly encourages organizations applying for PRM funding to use the PRM recommended proposal and budget templates. Templates can be requested by sending an email to PRM's NGO Coordinator. You must type “PRM NGO Templates” in the subject line to receive an automated reply containing the template.

In addition to referencing the General NGO Guidelines, applicants proposing multi-year programs should adhere to the following guidance.

Applicants may submit proposals that include multi-year strategies presented in 12-month cycles for a period not to exceed 24 months from the proposed start date. Fully developed programs with detailed budgets, objectives and indicators are required for the first 12 months of activities. PRM expects all multi-year program plans to broadly outline out-year activities. Multi-year strategies should include notional budgets (budget summaries only) for out-year activities. Objectives and indicators for out-year 12-month program cycles are not required as part of the initial proposal and will be submitted with continuation applications.

PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED IN THE PRM’s FY2011 NGO GUIDELINES:

This announcement is designed to accompany the General NGO Guidelines, which contain additional administrative information and explain in detail PRM’s NGO funding strategy and priorities. Please use both the General NGO Guidelines and this announcement to ensure that the proposed activities are in line with PRM’s priorities and that your proposal submission is in full compliance with PRM requirements. Proposal submissions that do not meet all of the requirements outlined in these guidelines will not be considered. PRM recommends using the proposal and budget templates that are available upon email request from PRM's NGO Coordinator. Please send an email, with the phrase “PRM NGO templates” in the subject line, to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

• Proposals should 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 must provide a brief explanation in its proposal as to why it should be exempted from this requirement.
• Focus on outcome or impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one outcome or impact indicator. Wherever possible, baselines should be established before the start of the project.
• To increase PRM’s ability to track the impact of PRM funding, include specific information on locations of projects and beneficiaries. Any project involving the building or maintenance of physical infrastructure must include coordinates of site locations (place name, P-Code, latitude and longitude coordinates).
• Budget must include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization (where applicable). PRM strongly encourages multi-lateral support for humanitarian programs.
• Organizations that received PRM funding in FY 2010 for activities that are being proposed for funding under this announcement must include the most recent quarterly progress report against indicators outlined in the cooperative agreement. If an organization’s last quarterly report was submitted more than six weeks prior to the submission of a proposal in response to this funding announcement, the organization must include, with its most recent quarterly report, updates that show any significant progress made on objectives since the last report.

Reports and Reporting Requirements:

Program reporting: PRM requires quarterly and final program reports describing and analyzing the results of activities undertaken during the validity period of the agreement. It is highly suggested that NGOs receiving PRM funding use the PRM recommended program report template. To request this template, send an email with the phrase “PRM NGO templates” in the subject line to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

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; a final financial report covering the entire period of the agreement is required within ninety (90) days after the expiration date of the agreement.

For more details regarding PRM’s reporting requirements please see the General NGO Guidelines.

Noncompeting Application Requirements

Multi-year applications selected for funding by PRM will be funded in 12-month increments based on the proposals submitted in the competing application and as approved by PRM. Continued funding after the initial 12-month award requires the submission of a noncompeting continuation application as follows:

• Continuation applications must be submitted not later than 90 days than the proposed start date of the award ( e.g., if funding the next budget period is to begin on September 1, submit your application by June 1. Late applications will jeopardize continued funding.
• Applications must be signed by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) at the applicant organization on the submitted SF-424.
• Pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), 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 can be found at: http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=161&menu_id=68 )
• Proposal Content, Formatting and Templates: Please refer to the guidance contained within and in the PRM NGO Guidelines. The total budget should not exceed the amount which is listed on the current Federal Assistance Award. You must submit a complete application including:
  • Signed completed SF-424.
  • Proposal reflecting objectives and indicators for the continuation period.
  • Budget for the continuation period.
  • Budget narrative.
  • Most recent Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), if applicable.
  • Information on the amount of unexpended funds to include a statement of the estimated cumulative total dollar amount taking into consideration the actual expenditures shown on the Financial Status Report. Note that funds are available for expenditure only during the period in which they are awarded.

Proposal Review Process:

PRM will conduct a formal competitive review of all proposals submitted in response to this funding announcement. A review panel will evaluate submissions based on the above-referenced proposal evaluation criteria and PRM priorities in the context of available funding.

PRM may request revised proposals and/or budgets based on feedback from the panel. PRM will provide formal notifications to NGOs of final decisions taken by Bureau management.

PRM Points of Contact:

Should NGOs have technical questions related to this announcement, they should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to proposal submission. (Note: Responses to technical questions from PRM do not indicate a commitment to fund the program discussed.):

PRM Program Officer Wendy Henning (HenningWL@state.gov; 202-453-9380; Washington, D.C.

Great Lakes Regional Refugee Coordinator Greg Shaw (ShawGJ@state.gov); US Embassy Kampala.