Please be aware that a new version of the notice of funding opportunity document has been uploaded on March 9, 2023. This file contains minor revisions to correct the application deadline, and clarify one of the proposal guidelines.**

Funding Opportunity Number: SFOP0009383

Assistance Listing (CFDA) number: 19.519 – Overseas Refugee Assistance Program for Near East

Announcement issuance date: Monday, February 13, 2023

Announcement type: Cooperative Agreement

Proposal application submission deadline: Friday, March 17, 2023 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:59:59).  Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

Anticipated timeframe to award for selected proposals:  Pending the availability of funds, PRM anticipates, but makes no guarantee, that awards will be made less than 4 months from the proposal submission deadline.

ADVISORY:  All applicants must submit proposal application packages through the website Grants.gov.  PRM strongly recommends submitting your application packages early to allow time to address any technical difficulties that may arise on the Grants.gov website.

If you are new to PRM funding, the Grants.gov  registration process can be complicated.  We urge you to refer to PRM’s General NGO Guidelines “Application Process” section for information and resources to help ensure that the application process runs smoothly.  PRM also strongly encourages organizations that have received funding from PRM in the past to read this section as a refresher.

PRM strongly recommends application narratives be submitted in Adobe PDF, as Microsoft Word documents may sometimes produce different page lengths based on software versions and configurations when transmitted.  Tables and budget documents should be submitted as Excel documents. Exceeding page length limits, including through the inclusion of cover pages, will result in disqualification.  All documents must be in English and should avoid the use of jargon and should spell out all acronyms upon first use.

Organizations can retrieve PRM’s-recommended templates and NGO guidelines on PRM’s website and in this opportunity’s grants.gov page.

Program Description

Summary

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.  Submissions that do not reflect the requirements outlined in these guidelines will not be considered.

Geographic Regions / Populations

Proposed activities must primarily support displaced persons in al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria.  Al-Hol should be the primary location of the project, but PRM is willing to consider projects in Roj camp as well.  PRM will consider funding only those projects that target displaced persons residing in these camps.

Program area

Proposals must align with one or more of the following program areas.

• Humanitarian Protection and Assistance
• Interim and Durable Solutions

Program Sectors and Modalities

Proposals must focus on one or more of the following programmatic sectors (see PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for sector descriptions):

• Education
• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
• Protection
• Protection: Child Protection

Note: In order to ensure greater accountability for protection outcomes in all overseas assistance program proposals, three indicators are required for all programs regardless of design or sector.  If the proposed program will not contribute to one or several of these mandatory indicators, the indicator must still be included in the proposal indicator table but with a target of zero.

• Number of individuals directly reached through PRM funding
• Amount of humanitarian funding distributed to local, national, or displaced person-led organizations (in USD) – This amount should include any sub-awards or contracts with local, national, or refugee-led organizations.  If the prime applicant is a local, national, or displaced person-led organization, they should put the full proposal budget total as the target value.  The IASC working definition of “local” and “national” organizations is here.  Applicants can put a target of zero for this indicator if it does not apply to them; it will not affect their eligibility.
• Percentage of participants who report that humanitarian assistance is delivered in a safe, accessible, accountable, and participatory manner – This is a protection mainstreaming indicator developed by ECHO and adopted by the Grand Bargain.  Measurement instructions can be found here and here.

Cash and Voucher Assistance programs must include the relevant indicator(s) from the selection contained in the NGO Guidelines Appendix D.

Number of Proposal Applications

Organizations may submit a maximum of one application only.  Any subsequent submissions received will be disqualified.

Proposal Guidelines

General Guidance

• PRM will accept no more than one (1) proposal per organization. 
• PRM highly encourages projects that address education, MHPSS, and child protection. 
• Residents, specifically children, youth, and their caregivers, of al-Hol and Roj camps are the primary populations of concern for this notice of funding opportunity, and therefore must constitute the program participants of the project.  At least 75 percent of program participants should be under the age of 18.  
• PRM highly encourages projects to work with all nationalities in the camps and to maximize the number of program participants. Please clearly outline in the proposal the profile of target populations and percentage breakdown per population, including nationality, age, and sex. (note: PRM does not require further breakdown of nationality beyond “Syrian,” “Iraqi,” and “non-Iraqi Third-Country National,” as this is to inform PRM where inside the camp the program will operate). 
• PRM encourages NGO proposals seeking to assist al-Hol and Roj residents to be in line with the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and other appeals for humanitarian assistance in Syria, including the Al-Hol Medium Term Strategy.  PRM welcomes proposals that include partnerships with local organizations.  
• Projects should adhere to the relevant Cluster and sector Working Group’s guidance and Standard Operating Procedures. 
• In the education sector, PRM prioritizes programming that addresses key educational gaps to help children prepare for, enter, participate, and succeed in formal education, including early childhood education, and to assist youth who may be unlikely to participate in formal education to obtain the necessary life-skills to transition to adulthood.
• PRM looks favorably on blended, protection focused programming that incorporates recreational activities, life-skills, psychosocial support, vocational training, and other activities to foster youth development.

Duration of Activity

Program plans for one (1) or two (2) years will be considered.

Period of Performance

Programs period of performance of 12 or 24 months will be considered.

Funding limits

Program proposals must not be less than the funding floor and not more than the funding ceiling per year or they will be disqualified.

• Funding floor per year (lowest $ value): $750,000 per year
• Funding ceiling per year (highest $ value): $1,000,000 per year

Note:  Funding ceilings and floors pertain to the PRM cost per year.

Anticipated Number of Awards

PRM anticipates, but makes no guarantee, to fund as many as two (2) awards through this announcement.

Anticipated Amount to be Awarded Total

PRM anticipates, but makes no guarantee, to award up to approximately $1 million total through this NOFO.

Federal Award Information

• Proposed program start date:  July 1, 2023
• Duration of Activity:  See guidelines above.  Applicants may submit multi-year proposals with activities and budgets that do not exceed two years from the proposed start date.  Actual awards will not exceed two years in duration and activities and budgets submitted in year one can be revised/updated each year.  Continued funding after the initial 12-month period of performance requires the submission of a noncompeting single proposal and will be contingent upon available funding, strong performance, and continuing need.  In funding a program one year, PRM makes no representations that it will continue to fund the program 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.

Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants:

1. Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education (U.S.-based NGOs must be able to demonstrate proof of non-profit tax status).
2. Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education (overseas-based NGOs must be able to demonstrate proof of ability to work in this location); and
3. International Organizations.  International multilateral organizations, such as United Nations agencies, should not submit proposals through Grants.gov in response to this NOFO.  Multilateral organizations that are seeking funding for programs relevant to this announcement should contact the PRM Program Officer (as listed below) on or before the closing date of the funding announcement.

Cost Sharing or Matching:  Cost sharing, matching, or cost participation is not a requirement of an application in response to this funding announcement.

Proposals for consideration should describe the sources and amounts of additional funding that may be utilized to complement PRM funding, and meet the following criteria:

• Are not paid by the Federal Government under another Federal award.
• Are verifiable from the non-Federal entity’s records.
• Are not included as contributions for any other Federal award; and
• Are necessary and reasonable for accomplishment of project or program objectives.
• Please include this information in the Budget Summary, Budget Detail, and Budget Narrative of the proposal, and separated from the PRM share of the proposed budget.

Note: Though favorably looked upon, inclusion will not result in a competitive ranking increase when evaluated.

Other Information

Proposals must have 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 include at least one outcome or impact indicator per objective; objectives should be clearly linked to the sectors.

Proposals must adhere to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance, especially Sphere Standards .  See PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards including guidance on proposals for programs in urban areas.

PRM strongly encourages programs that target the needs of vulnerable and underserved groups among the program participant population (such groups may include women; children; adolescents; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals; older persons; the sick; persons with disabilities; and members of minority communities) and can demonstrate what steps have been taken to meet the specific and unique protection and assistance needs of these vulnerable groups effectively.

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 local authorities.
• an emphasis on the outcome or impact of program activities.
• a strong sustainability plan, involving local capacity building, where feasible.
• an understanding of and sensitivity to conflict dynamics and security actors in the program location.

Application and Submission Instructions

1. Address to Request Application Package:  Application packages may be downloaded from the website www.Grants.gov .
2. Content and Form of Application:  Organizations may submit a maximum of one proposal.  Any subsequent submissions received will be disqualified.  PRM strongly recommends using the proposal and budget templates that are available on PRM’s website.

Single-Year Proposals:

• Single-year program proposal page limits:  Single-year proposals using PRM’s templates must not exceed 15 pages in length (Times New Roman or Calibri 12-point font, letter sized paper, 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 but are not required to do so.  These attachments do not count toward the page limit total; however, annexes cannot be relied upon as a key source of program 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 will not be considered.
  • PRM strongly recommends application packages be submitted in Adobe PDF, as Microsoft Word documents may sometimes produce different page lengths based on software versions and configurations.
  • Exceeding page length limits will result in disqualification.  (Do not include additional cover pages).
  • All documents must be in English and should avoid the use of jargon and should spell out all acronyms upon first use.

Multi-Year Proposals:

• Applicants proposing multi-year programs should adhere to the following guidance: Applicants may submit proposals that include multi-year strategies presented in one-year (12 month) cycles for a period not to exceed two years (24 months) from the proposed start date.  Fully developed programs with detailed budgets, objectives and indicators are required for each year of activities.  Applicants should use PRM’s recommended multi-year proposal template for the first year of a multi-year applicationMulti-year funding applicants may use PRM’s budget summary and separate budget detail templates, and should disaggregate budget by year, per year, and for each program 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.
• Multi-year program proposal page limits:  multi-year proposals using PRM’s multi-year template must not exceed 20 pages in length (Times New Roman or Calibri 12-point font, letter sized paper, one-inch margins on all sides).  If the applicant does not use PRM’s recommended templates, proposals must 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 but are not required to do so.  These attachments do not count toward the page limit total however annexes cannot be relied upon as a key source of program information.  The proposal narrative must be able to stand on its own in the application process.  Proposals exceeding the page limit will not be considered.
  • PRM strongly recommends application packages be submitted in Adobe PDF, as Microsoft Word documents may sometimes produce different page lengths based on software versions and configurations.
  • Exceeding page length limits will result in disqualification.  (Do not include additional cover pages).
  • All documents must be in English and should avoid the use of jargon and should spell out all acronyms upon first use.
• 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 applications are submitted annually for year two of proposals through non-competed directed announcements for the continuation funding.  It is strongly recommended that NGOs submit as early as possible after the directed announcement has been issued for continuation of funding.  Late submissions will jeopardize continued funding.
• In the proposal narrative, please include an explanation of why multi-year funding may be necessary for this program to succeed, how longer periods of consultation with program participant populations will inform programming and enable interventions to be studied and improved, and how the proposed activities in year one will contribute to outcomes and impacts in years two and three.  Please, articulate and quantify cost efficiencies that could not otherwise be attained through single year programs as well.

Application Package

To be considered for PRM funding, organizations must submit a complete application package, including:

1. Proposal Narrative not exceeding stated page limits.
   • A gender analysis and protection mainstreaming analysis
   • Cash and voucher assistances (CVA) modality must report on CVS indicators
2. Indicator Table: Including all required PRM indicators and targets for each year (if multi-year).
3. Budget Summary
   • disaggregated by year and for each year of the program period (for multi-year proposals).
4. Budget Detail
   • disaggregated by year and for each year of the program period (for multi-year proposals).
   • Include total costs by objective and estimated costs by sector,
   • Total costs divided by country (if applicable)
5. Budget Narrative disaggregated by year and for each year of the program period.
6. Completed and signed SF-424 andSF-424A.  PRM requires that Box 21 of the SF-424 be checked.
   • If the applicant organization has an active registration in SAM.gov that was either created or updated on or after February 2, 2019, then the applicant does NOT need to submit the SF-424B as they will be prompted to complete the representations and certifications in SAM.gov.
7. Risk Analysis (separate from Proposal Narrative and from the Security Plan).
8. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Code of Conduct and a country or regional implementation plan specific to the country or region of the application.
   • Note: Codes of Conduct must be consistent with the updated 2019 IASC Task Force’s Six Core Principles . The country/regional implementation plan should outline how employees are trained and otherwise made aware of the Code of Conduct, how violations of the Code of Conduct against program participants are reported and followed up on in a safe and confidential manner, how program participants are made aware of the Code of Conduct and a mechanism to report any violations, and whether there is a focal point in the country or regional office for the Code of Conduct.
9. Security Plan.  The organization’s security plan should be current and specific to the location.
10. Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) Organization Framework
    • Note: The AAP section of a NOFO proposal narrative is specific to the program being proposed and is distinct from the organization-level AAP framework requirement listed here, which is a separate document.
11. Key Personnel for award applicant and sub-recipient(s)
    • Applicants must furnish names, titles, and brief biographical information on the education and experience of key personnel in implementing the program and key supervisory personnel; (i.e., the members of the professional staff in a program supervisory position engaged for or assigned to duties under the award).
12. A Market Analysis and a Program Participant Competency/Capacity Assessment for all proposals that include at least one livelihoods sector objective (or will be disqualified), if applicable.  Please see the General NGO Guidelines for more details.
13. Most recent Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), if applicable, or a de minimis rate calculation of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) if the applicant is eligible and elects to use the de minimis rate.
14. Most recent external audit report is required prior to issuance of an award, if proposal is chosen for implementation.
15. Information in support of any cost-sharing/cost-matching arrangements, if applicable.
16. Information detailing the source of any in-kind contributions, if applicable.
17. Details on any sub-agreements associated with the program including the budget detail (must be part of the budget submission as noted above), if applicable.

Additionally, organizations must consider the following considerations as part of their proposal package:

• To be considered a competitive proposal, the Proposal Narrative, Indicator Table, and Budget Detail should include the following information:
  • Focus on outcome or impact indicators as much as possible.  At a minimum, each objective should have one outcome or impact indicator.
  • Include specific information on locations of programs and participants (GPS coordinates highly recommended) 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 program could potentially endanger the lives of the program participants 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.
  • PRM expects each proposal, regardless of sector, to demonstrate protection mainstreaming, including by identifying potential protection risks associated with the program and how they will be mitigated.  Assistance activities should mainstream protection by analyzing the protection risks in relation to each specific programming sector.  An analysis of the risks should inform how assistance is designed to minimize them and maximize protection of program participants.  Applicants may introduce gender-specific risks in this section but should provide a full analysis in the gender analysis.
  • PRM partners must 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, such as 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 (LGBTQI+), 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 programs must estimate the total cost of these activities as a separate line item in their proposed budgets (see PRM’s budget template).  Proposals and budgets must include details of any sub-agreements associated with the programs.

C. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)

Note: On April 4, 2022, the formerly used DUNS Number was replaced by the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) UEI.  For more information on the process, visit GSA’s website on the UEI transition. 

Each applicant is required to:

• be registered in SAM  before submitting its application.
• provide a valid UEI number in its application; and
• continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active PRM award or an application or plan under consideration by PRM.

No federal award may be made to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the PRM award is ready to be made, PRM may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a PRM award and use that determination as a basis for making a PRM award to another applicant.

D. Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov. Grants.gov registration requires a UEI number and active SAM.gov registration.  If you are new to PRM funding, the Grants.gov registration process can be complicated.  We urge you to refer to PRM’s General NGO Guidelines “Application Process” section for information and resources to help ensure that the application process runs smoothly.  PRM also strongly encourages organizations that have received funding from PRM in the past to read this section as a refresher.  Applicants may also refer to the “For Applicants ” page on Grants.gov for complete details on requirements.

Do not wait until the deadline to attempt to submit your application on Grants.gov.  Organizations not registered with Grants.gov should register well in advance of the deadline as it can take several weeks to finalize registration (sometimes longer for non-U.S. based NGOs to receive required registration numbers).  We also 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.  PRM has extremely limited ability to correct or facilitate rapid resolution to technical difficulties associated with Grants.gov, SAM.gov or UEI number issues.  PRM partners must maintain an active SAM.gov registration with current and correct information at all times during which they have an active federal award or an application under consideration by PRM or any federal agency.

When registering with Grants.gov , organizations must designate points of contact and Authorized Organization Representatives (AORs).  Please note that as of December 2022, organizations based outside of the United States that do not intend to apply for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awards are no longer required to have a NATO CAGE (NCAGE) code to apply for non-DoD foreign assistance funding opportunities. If an applicant organization is mid-registration and wishes to remove an NCAGE code from their sam.gov registration, the applicant should submit a help desk ticket (“incident”) with the Federal Service Desk (FSD) online to seek guidance on how to do so. Applicants experiencing technical difficulties with the SAM.gov registration process should contact the Federal Service Desk  online or at 1-866-606-8220 (U.S.) and 1-334-206-7828 (International).

Applications must be submitted under the authority of the Authorized Organization Representative at the applicant organization.  Having proposals submitted by agency headquarters helps to avoid possible technical problems.

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 to the Grants.gov help desk.
• received a case number.
• have completed UEI and SAM.gov registrations.
• and had a documented service request opened to research the problem.

Applicants may contact the PRM NGO Coordinator before the submission deadline to determine whether an alternative method of submission is appropriate.  However, PRM makes no guarantee to accept an application outside of the grants.gov system.

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 or are experiencing issues resulting from discrepancies across registration platforms is not considered a technical difficulty and is not justification for an alternate means of submission.

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.)

E. Submission Dates and Times

• Announcement issuance date: Monday, February 13, 2023
• Proposal submission deadline: Friday, March 17, 203 at 11:59:59 p.m. (23:59:59) Eastern Daylight Time.  Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

F. Intergovernmental Review: Not Applicable

G. Funding Restrictions:  Federal awards will not allow reimbursement of Federal Award costs without prior authorization by PRM.

H. Other Submission Requirements

• Branding and Marking Strategy 

The following provisions will be included whenever assistance is awarded:

The Recipient shall recognize the U.S. Government’s funding for activities specified under this award at the project 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”

PRM highly encourages recognition of U.S. Government funding on social media and website platforms to be included in proposals branding and marking strategy.  Recipients should tag PRM’s Twitter account @StatePRM and/or Facebook account @State.PRM (rather than using hashtags).  Additionally, the applicable U.S. Embassy should be tagged as well.

Updates of actions taken to fulfill this requirement must be included in quarterly program reports to PRM.

All programs, projects, assistance, activities, and public communications to foreign audiences, partially or fully funded by the Department, must 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 must appropriately 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 project 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.  (Note: An exemption refers to the complete or partial cessation of branding, not use of alternative branding).  Requests should be initiated with the Grants Officer and Grants Officer Representative.  Waivers issued are applied only to the exemptions requested through the Recipient’s proposal for funding and any subsequent negotiated revisions.

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.

• PRM Standardized Indicators:  Partners must refer to PRM’s indicator list in Appendix D of the NGO Guidelines and include any mandatory and required indicators as part of the application.  PRM has two categories of indicators: 
  • Required: Indicators marked as “required” in Appendix D must be included in the proposal as applicable.  Each sector and sub-sector have up to three required PRM indicators; these must be included in the indicator table if the partner is proposing any activities or budget for that sector/sub-sector.  In addition, three indicators are required for all programs regardless of design or sector.  If the proposed program will not contribute to one or several of these mandatory indicators, the indicator must still be included in the proposal indicator table but with a target of zero.
    • Number of individuals directly reached through PRM funding 
    • Amount of PRM humanitarian funding distributed to local, national, or refugee-led organizations (in USD) – This amount should include any sub-awards or contracts with local, national, or refugee-led organizations.  If the prime applicant is a local, national, or refugee-led organization, they should put the full proposal budget total as the target value.  The IASC provides a working definition of “local” and “national” organizations .  Applicants can put a target of zero for this indicator if it does not apply to them; it will not affect their eligibility. 
    • Percentage of participants who report that humanitarian assistance is delivered in a safe, accessible, accountable, and participatory manner – This is a protection mainstreaming indicator developed by ECHO  and adopted by the Grand Bargain.
  • Recommended if applicable: Partners may consider using these indicators to monitor any related activities as they are aligned with humanitarian standards and best practices.  However, inclusion of recommended indicators is not mandatory and will not affect the proposal scoring.  Please note that in rare cases PRM may request for a partner to use a particular recommended indicator if there is a strong technical/thematic need to track information on that indicator, or if a similar custom indicator was proposed by the partner.

i. Applicant Vetting as a Condition of Award: Applicants are advised that successful passing of vetting to evaluate the risk that funds may benefit terrorists, or their supporters is a condition of award.  Vetting information is also required for all subaward performance on assistance awards identified by DOS as presenting a risk of terrorist financing.  Applicants may be asked to submit Risk Analysis Information about their company and its key personnel via the secure RAM web portal.   If vetting is required, the RAM Team will contact applicants directly via email and instruct them on how to enter their data via the Secure Portal.  Once a user is logged on to the Portal, there are links to help users input the required information.  Failure to submit information when requested, or failure to pass vetting, may be grounds for rejecting your proposal.

Recipient Vetting After Award:  Recipients shall advise the Grants Officer of any changes in personnel listed in the DS Form 4184, Risk Analysis Information, via the secure RAM web portal, and shall provide vetting information on new individuals.  The government reserves the right to vet these personnel changes and to terminate assistance awards for convenience based on vetting results.

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:

• Gap/Analysis (5)
• Profile of Target Population (5)
• Program Description/ Protection Mainstreaming / Gender Analysis (20)
• Objectives & Indicators (10)
• Monitoring & Evaluation Plan (10)
• Accountability to Affected Populations (5)
  • (Note: The AAP section of a NOFO proposal narrative is specific to the program being proposed, is the criterion listed above being evaluated, and is distinct from the organization-level AAP framework requirement, which is a separate document.)
• Coordination (5)
• Sustainability and Capacity-Building (5)
• Management and Past Performance (10)
• Risk Management (10)
• Budget/Budget Narrative (15 points)

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.  Examples of PRM scorecards can be found in Appendix H of the NGO Guidelines.

Department of State review panels may provide conditions and recommendations on applications to enhance the proposed program, which must be addressed by the applicant before further consideration of the award.  To ensure effective use of limited PRM funds, conditions or recommendations may include requests to increase, decrease, clarify, and/or justify costs and program activities.

Federal Award Administration Information

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Reporting: Successful applicants will be required to submit:
   1. 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 one hundred and twenty (120) 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 Bureau suggests that NGOs receiving PRM funding use the PRM recommended quarterly program report template (also used for final reports).  The suggested PRM NGO reporting template is designed to ease the reporting requirements while ensuring that all required elements are addressed.
   2. 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 one hundred and twenty (120) 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 .
   3. Audit Reports:  When a recipient-contracted audit is not required because the Federal award 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 office(r) 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.

PRM Points of Contact

Applicants with technical questions related to this announcement should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to submission.  Please note that responses to technical questions from PRM do not indicate a commitment to fund the program discussed.

• PRM Program Officer: Andrew McKenna, mckennaag@state.gov, Washington, D.C.
• Regional Refugee Coordinator: Rob McInturff, mcinturffra@state.gov, Amman, Jordan.

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 NGO Coordinator.

Original source can be found here.