FY 2011 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO programs benefiting Iraqi refugees in the Middle East and displaced persons and returnees in Iraq

Funding Opportunity Number: PRM-ANE-11-CA-001-NEA-041511-Iraqis.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number: 19.519 - Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Near East and South Asia

Announcement issuance date: Friday, April 15, 2011

Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) EDT. Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

ADVISORY: PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to allow time to address difficulties that may arise due to system delays.

Final budget appropriations for this fiscal year will determine the level of support PRM is able to offer through this request for proposals.

Proposed Program Start Dates: Proposed new projects may begin between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011. Proposed continuation projects which have been granted a no cost extension may begin up until December 31, 2011, subject to the availability of funds.

Duration of Activity: No more than 12 months. Applicants with multi-year programs must continue to 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.

Current Funding Priorities for Iraqi Refugees in the Middle East: PRM will prioritize funding for proposed NGO activities that best meet the Bureau’s priorities for displaced Iraqis as identified below.

NGOs submitting proposals in response to this funding announcement must be registered to operate in each of the countries of the proposed activities by the program start date. Within the body of the proposal, NGOs should clearly state their ability to operate in the proposed areas and include documentation providing verification of their registration status as an attachment. Documentation of registration status is particularly important in Syria and Turkey. NGOs which do not currently have an active, sustained presence in Iraq should provide information on actions taken to initiate operations, including baselines.

1) Assistance Programs

(a) Because of PRM’s mandate to provide protection, assistance, and durable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict, PRM will only consider funding projects that include a direct beneficiary base of at least 50 percent refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), or returnees. In Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey, proposed activities should primarily support Iraqi refugees. Inside Iraq, PRM is interested in projects which support both local integration of IDPs and reintegration of returning IDPs and refugees. PRM will consider proposals for activities in a single country as well as regional programs.

(b) Proposals for programs outside Iraq must focus on one or more of the following sectors (not listed by priority):

• Health care, including health education and preventative health care, reproductive health services, capacity building for local service providers, mainstreaming into local health care infrastructure, and clinical management of treatment for survivors of sexual or family violence. Proposals should demonstrate how clinical services for survivors of gender-based violence, including men, boys and LGBT individuals, are incorporated into the project, and describe planned or actual referral practices with other humanitarian assistance organizations. If an NGO intends to fund specialized health care, the proposal must provide specific information about the types of conditions the project plans to address, the number of beneficiaries the project plans to support for specialized services, treatment plans if the program envisages screening components, anticipated cost-sharing mechanisms, and plans for sustainability of treatment if it requires significant treatment and/or the health condition is chronic. NGOs will be required to provide their health program/beneficiary information to UNHCR’s health databases. NGOs should also comment in detail on how they currently cooperate with other NGO and IO healthcare providers, including what information they share, how regularly they meet, how they make referrals, how they cost share with other organizations, whether they adhere to a list of essential list of medications, how, if at all, the fees they charge for their services differ from UNHCR’s healthcare rates, and whether and why they provide brand name and/or generic medications.
• Mental health programs offering individual as well as family/group counseling and/or therapy. Proposals should articulate how beneficiaries are identified, any referral mechanisms for beneficiaries who require services provided by other organizations; an explanation of previous coordination with other mental health providers, including training; efforts to improve local capacity to provide adequate mental healthcare; the extent to which the NGO is able to utilize local organizations/resources to meet the mental healthcare needs of its beneficiaries; and an overview of the most prevalent mental health needs among the displaced Iraqi population that the NGO intends to address. Proposals should demonstrate how clinical services for survivors of gender-based violence are incorporated into the project, and describe planned or actual referral practices with other humanitarian assistance organizations.
• Gender-based violence prevention and response programs, including services for both female and male survivors and perpetrators.
• Humanitarian assistance and protection, including non-food items, particularly for winterization as well as infant care; home repairs; and other emergency assistance to extremely vulnerable individuals. Proposals should indicate how this assistance is filling an identified gap, including how the gap was identified; how the beneficiaries will be identified; the role that referrals may play in the project; and how the NGO intends to coordinate this gap assistance with UNHCR.
• Education, including kindergarten, remedial education, and non-formal education programs with special attention to adolescents, particularly those at risk of losing educational opportunities due to their interrupted educational career due to displacement, the need to generate income, or to their lack of documentation of prior education in Iraq. Proposals should address how the educational assistance will assist with integration into local educational structures, if applicable, and whether the certification earned from the educational assistance will be recognized by the Government of Iraq should the refugee voluntarily choose to return.
• Vocational training, continuing professional education, and/or livelihoods/business development programs linked to current and/or future job opportunities. Where applicable, the proposal should include a description of what efforts will be made to assist in making job placements.
• Programs aimed at addressing the interrelated assistance and protection needs of vulnerable beneficiaries by providing services and referral networks.

(c) Proposals for programs inside Iraq should focus on durable solutions for IDPs and returnees. They should be designed to increase local capacity of relevant Iraqi government and non-government actors and describe the extent to which the NGO is able to utilize local organizations/resources to meet the needs of its beneficiaries. Proposals should include detailed information on planned coordination and referral mechanisms to both local and international organizations.

Programs must focus on one or more of the following sectors (not listed by priority):

• Support for vulnerable IDP and returnee women, including protection and livelihood development linked to local markets.
• Gender-based violence prevention, response, and reintegration support for both female and male survivors and perpetrators.
• Mental health programs offering individual and family/group counseling and/or therapy, as well as capacity building of local mental health service providers. Proposals should demonstrate how clinical services for survivors of gender-based violence are incorporated into the project.
• Reintegration support for youth with an interrupted educational career due to displacement, the need to generate income, or to their lack of documentation of prior education in Iraq. This could include remedial education aimed at facilitating re-entry into the formal school system, or training in literacy, life skills, and vocational skills linked to local markets.
• Creative programming which supports local integration and/or return and reintegration, including programs facilitating ethno-sectarian reconciliation.

(d) All program design should take into account the following guidance:

• Programs are encouraged to prioritize the needs of women and girls in a way that strengthens their roles in families and in the broader community. Programs should also target the needs of the most vulnerable groups among the Iraqi refugee, IDP, and returnee population (e.g., female-headed households, disabled or isolated refugees, GBV survivors, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, etc.). Younger single men are also considered a vulnerable group for which PRM would consider targeted programming. Programs are encouraged to demonstrate how they will train their staff to effectively meet the specific protection and assistance needs of these vulnerable groups. Programs should be accessible to physically disabled persons.
• In proposals for follow-on activities for PRM-funded projects, NGOs should demonstrate the application of lessons learned, and changes necessitated by the dynamic social and economic situation of Iraqis in the region of concern. NGOs should assess the continuing effectiveness of the humanitarian assistance they currently provide, highlighting best practices developed and any programmatic adjustments that should be made in follow-on activities.
• Proposals should include a realistic and detailed assessment of the sustainability of the project.
• All NGOs must participate in UNHCR-designed and -managed refugee assistance information systems where applicable.

(e) 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 proven track record in providing proposed assistance both in the specified sectors and locations;
• Evidence of coordination with UNHCR, other international organizations (IOs), and NGOs working in the same area or sector, as well as – where possible – local authorities; (a Memorandum of Understanding with other partners detailing planned coordination may strengthen a proposal);
• A concrete implementation plan with well-conceived objectives and indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and reliable, time-bound and trackable (SMART), including breakdowns of beneficiaries by gender and nationality, at least one outcome or impact indicator per objective and established baselines;
• A budget that is appropriate for meeting the objectives and demonstrates co-funding by other federal and non-U.S. government sources;
• Appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations. PRM will favorably review proposals with realistic beneficiary targets;
• Adherence to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards.

Country Specific Instructions

Iraq: NGOs should describe security arrangements for international and local staff.

International Organizations

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:

In the past, PRM has funded NGO programs assisting Iraqis that ranged from $300,000 for a single-country project to up to $6 million for a regional project. The majority of the projects we funded were less than $2 million. In FY 2011, project proposals with solid and compelling budget justifications will be considered. Budgets based on a realistic and well-articulated assessment of needs and expenses will be noted favorably.

Budgets for regional projects should be broken down by country. As much as possible, all budgets should be broken down by objective.

As stated in 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 May 17, 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. Please note: Grants.gov is expected to experience continued high volumes of activity in the near future. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal 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 call 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 Analyst Virginia Terhar at TerharVS@state.gov or (202) 453-9292 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. Having proposals submitted by agency headquarters helps to avoid possible technical problems.
• 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 )
• NGOs that have not received PRM funding since 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.

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

This announcement is designed to accompany PRM’s 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.

• 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. 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). All NGOs will be required to provide GPS coordinates of project locations at the end of the first quarter of their project.
• Budget must include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization. PRM strongly encourages multilateral 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 PRM’s General NGO Guidelines.

Assistance Award Provision - SPOT

The following provisions will be included in the Bureau specific component of the Notice of Award for performance in a designated combat area (currently Iraq and Afghanistan). Recipients are required to include this provision in any sub-grant awards or agreements.

SPECIAL PROVISION FOR PERFORMANCE IN A DESIGNATED COMBAT AREA (CURRENTLY IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN)

(Revised January 2011)

All recipient personnel deploying to areas of combat operations, as designated by the Secretary of Defense (currently Iraq and Afghanistan), under grants over $100,000 or performance over 30 days must register in the Department of Defense maintained Synchronized Pre-deployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT) system. Recipients of federal assistance awards shall register in SPOT before deployment, or if already in the designated operational area, register upon becoming an employee under the assistance award and maintain current data in SPOT. Information on how to register in SPOT is available from your Grants Officer or Grants Officer Representative.

Recipients must enter all U.S. and Third Country National (TCN) personnel into SPOT. If the Recipient has concerns about the safety of locally hired Iraqi or Afghan personnel because of personal data entered into SPOT, arrangements may be made with the Grants Officer or the Grants Officer Representative to report anonymous aggregate data.

Locally-hired Iraqi or Afghan personnel can be added anonymously through the use of the aggregate count template except as noted in the following paragraph.

Recipients utilizing personnel who are performing a private security function; are performing duties as a translator or interpreter; require access to U.S. facilities, services, or support; or desire consideration for refugee or special immigrant status under the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (subtitle C of title XII of Public Law 110–181) must be entered into SPOT individually with all required personal information. If a locally-hired Iraqi or Afghan national falls into one of these categories, the Recipient must enter all of the required identification data into SPOT.

When the Grantee is ready to enter locally-hired individuals using the Aggregate Count method, the Grantee will notify the Grants Officer who will contact the Department SPOT Program Manager (A/LM/AQM) to obtain the “Aggregate Count” template. The Grantee will complete the “Aggregate Count” template and return to the SPOT Program Manager who will ensure that aggregate counts are loaded into SPOT. The Grantee SPOT Administrator is responsible for updating the aggregate locally hired national count on a quarterly basis by providing updated information via the “Aggregate Count” As template to the GOR/GO for each award who will forward to the Department SPOT Program Manager for SPOT entry.

Recipient performance may require the use of armed private security personnel. To the extent that such private security contractors (PSCs) are required, grantees are required to ensure they adhere to Chief of Mission (COM) policies and procedures regarding the operation, oversight, and accountability of PSCs. In a designated area of combat operations, the term PSC includes any personnel providing protection of the personnel, facilities, property of a grantee or subgrantee at any level, or performing any other activity for which personnel are required to carry weapons in the performance of their duties.

As specific COM policies and procedures may differ in scope and applicability, recipients of federal assistance awards are advised to review post policies and procedures carefully in this regard and direct any questions to the Embassy Regional Security Office (RSO) via the Grants Officer Representative (GOR). Any exclusion to these policies must be granted by the COM via the RSO. COM policies and procedures may be obtained from the RSO via the GOR. Recipients of federal assistance awards are also advised that these policies and procedures may be amended from time to time at the post in response to changing circumstances.

Recipients of federal assistance awards are advised that adherence to these policies and procedures are considered to be a material requirement of their grant.

Recipients of federal assistance awards are reminded that only the Grants Officer has the authority to modify the Notice of Award. Recipients shall proceed with any security guidance provided by the RSO, but shall advise the Grants Officer and the GOR of the guidance received and any potential cost or schedule impact.

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 Analyst Virginia Terhar (TerharVS@state.gov; 202-453-9292), Washington, D.C.

Regional Refugee Coordinator Rebecca Fong (FongRA@state.gov), U.S. Embassy, Damascus, Syria.

Iraq Refugee and IDP Assistance Coordinator Megan Larson-Koné (LarsonkoneME@state.gov), U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq.