Minutes for the Conference Call with USAID's Office of Acquisition and Assistance March 6, 2009 2:00PM EST
Participants
Mr. Mauricio Vera, Acting Director, Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Mr. Mark Walther, Division Chief, Office of Acquisition and Assistance
Ms. Heather MacLean, Senior Advisor, Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Mauricio Vera: I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone and introduce myself. I have been acting director of the CFBCI for a little over a month. As you know the Center has been very active in reaching out to a number of faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs). We will continue with these efforts. We hope to enhance our programs and do even more.
I have been with USAID for a little over a year. My permanent job is as the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. We work with small businesses and minority serving institutions. In fact, we work very closely with Mark Walther's office. In my limited time with the CFBCI, I have been pleased to see how proactive they have been. We have a meeting with the Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Mr. Joshua DuBois next week. We hope to receive more guidance at this point and have more information to share with you. We are anxious to hear what the new Administration is going to do.
At this point, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Mr. Mark Walther, a Division Chief with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance here at USAID.
Mark Walther: It's a pleasure to be here with you today. Just as a point of introduction, I have been a civil servant with USAID for about 20 years. I have supported a number of the various bureaus within USAID. I currently provide support to the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict Resolution and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA). I hope that you will find the information I share with you today useful.
Contracts and Grants
I will start by saying that 95 percent of the implementing work that USAID does is done through contracts and grants. They are the primary mechanism that we use to implement our foreign policy directives overseas for development purposes. I'd like to highlight the USAID Business Forecast Report that we try to release on an annual basis. We canvas all of USAID/Washington and our overseas missions for their procurement plans for the fiscal year and compile it into the report. A lot of organizations find this helpful because it is a snapshot of what is planned for competition both on the grants and contracts side. We are hoping to release the 2009 report by the end of March.
The website portal for all USAID contract opportunities is www.FBO.gov. Likewise, all USAID grants are advertised on www.Grants.gov. These are both federal government wide portals that we use. Contract opportunities are posted as requests for proposals or RFPs. Most grant opportunities will be posted as requests for applications (RFAs) or Annual Program Statements (APSs). The major difference between RFAs and APSs is that APSs are open for a longer period of time and usually have multiple dates to submit applications. Unless indicated in the solicitation, any type of organization can apply for contracts/grants with our agency (for-profit organizations, non-profits, universities, etc.) Traditionally, non-profits bid more for grants and for-profits compete for contracts. There have however, been a number of areas of crossover within the last decade.
An organization can partner with USAID through a number ways (sub-grants, joint ventures with other organizations, etc.) Also keep in mind that when bidding on an activity that you as an organization can be included as a proposed sub-partner in more than one bid for a grant.
If you are interested in how the Agency decides between competing via grants or contracts, USAID's Automated Directive System (ADS) chapter 304 walks you through the consideration process.
Unsolicited Proposals
While competed grants and contracts remain the main mode of business for the Agency, at any time during the fiscal year an organization can submit an unsolicited proposal to any department at USAID. ADS chapter 303 provides a guide for submitting unsolicited proposals.
There is a practical difficulty in dealing with unsolicited proposals because the Agency budgets and programs in advance. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of discretionary funding. We recommend that you stay up on www.FBO.gov, www.Grants.gov and the Forecast Report, since applying for grants and contracts through those venues still remains your best bet.
There is no Agency form or required format for how a concept paper is to be submitted. We just ask that the paper include the intended results and how you plan to measure those results. As an Agency we are interested in results-oriented programs. We want to what your organization brings to the table and how you intend to achieve your goals.
The Standard Form 424 or the Application for Federal Assistance is the federal budget form for grants. Don't be overwhelmed by it. I recommend that you do your best to fill out that particular form. It won't be a show stopper if you don't know what a specific block meant. This form is noted in the guidance for submitting an unsolicited proposal, and is typically referenced in RFAs and APSs.
Sub-Granting
There is also another avenue available, but it will take a bit of leg work.
Because we program in a multi-year period (usually five years) there are a number of awards that are currently being implemented by USAID partners. A number of missions have implementing guides available. USAID Missions should be able to tell you what programs they are currently implementing and who their partners are. (A number of them list their "implementing partners" on their websites.) There are a couple of bureaus and offices in USAID/Washington that have robust guides detailing their current programs, for example:
We highly recommend that you do your own due diligence in checking out the partners that you are considering approaching. Some partners are much better than others in looking for possible sub-grantees and actually using their sub-grantees during the implementation of the grant. Do some research on their past work with sub-partners. Have they just named partners in the grant or actually used them to implement programs? It is in your best interest to look into the record of prospective partners with whom you would like to work.
If you are looking for a particular document or grant, you are going to have to make a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Some organizations find it helpful to review older grants while others do not. It's not necessary to look at an older grant award in order to make a successful bid, however some organizations make a habit of requesting this information.
Preparing an Application
When you see a competitive solicitation, know that the technical aspects of the concept paper/application are very likely going to be the most weighted compared to cost. With grants, the cost is typically not a weighted factor, and reviewed for reasonableness/realism. In contracts it is weighted, but usually not as much as the technical factors.
Each solicitation will have specific requirements on the technical and cost proposals, branding, etc. It is important that you carefully read the instructions of what they are looking for in that specific RFP/RFA. Look closely at the evaluation factors. Cookie cutter approaches of preparing the application will NOT work. The technical review panels are very specific on the kind of information that they are looking for. You really need to look at the particular program and connect the dots between the information that they are seeking and what you are doing. Be sure to address how you are going to accomplish and measure the goals and objectives and why you have the capability to do.
Results-Oriented Sourcebook for internal/external use has a variety of examples. Links to prior solicitations that are results oriented. Helpful on how missions and operating units have structured them to make them more performance results oriented.
Look at the country-specific information. Programs are not generic across the spectrum. For example, a democracy program may not look the same and have the same requirements in El Salvador as it would in Rwanda. Panels will look at the unique country conditions. Also, look at the sub-elements within the RFP/RFA and address each one in your application.
Once a Grant is Awarded
Now, let's say that you make it through and you are the lead technical. If you have had prior government experience, it usually goes very quickly from there. If it is your first time, there may be a few additional steps that need to be taken. For example, they will make sure you are familiar with government cost accounting, as it is different from private sector.
We have an M/OAA audit branch and typically they will come on site and look at your books and make sure that you have the appropriate type of accounting systems. We strongly encourage you to cooperate, as they are there to help you and your organization. They want to make sure you are set up to succeed. It is not uncommon that if you are a new grantee you will need to make some accounting enhancements. In my 20 years, I have not run into a situation where, if an organization is cooperative and willing to take the necessary steps, there was a barrier to receiving the award. If we are satisfied and if the organization will make the necessary changes, we will go forward with the award. Additionally, it is common practice to have a post-award audit to make sure that everything has gone through according to plan.
We do understand that your organizations put a lot of effort into these proposals and that there is a lot of man hours invested. We also understand that the bidding process can be quite rigorous, taking anywhere from 6 months to a year. While debriefing for unsuccessful offers are mandatory for contracts, they are not mandatory for grants. Usually the debriefings for unsuccessful grant proposals are done on a discretionary basis. The Agency does, as a matter of policy, encourage that feedback be provided to unsuccessful applications. Organizations have within 10 business days of receiving notice that their proposals was denied to make a written request for feedback. I don't know definitively if we are doing well in meeting that goal. I have heard that this is a difficult process, as it is man power driven. We do understand that it is frustrating if you are continually getting denied and getting little to no feedback.
If you do run into a problem with the contracting officer that you are dealing with where you believe something is not being done in accordance with regulations/policies, there is typically a supervisory contract officer at the USAID post or in Washington to whom that person is responsible. Additionally, there is an M/OAA ombudsman here in Washington, Ms. Jean Horton. If you have a complaint or if you feel that you are not being treated fairly, the M/OAA ombudsman is another point of contact if you cannot resolve matters with a contracting officer. Naturally we request that you go to the contracting officer first. However, there are other avenues if your organizations believe something is not being undertaken in accordance with regulations/policies.
Question and Answer Portion of the Call
Q. My organization is still going through the registration process to become a Private Voluntary Organization. This is not an easy process for small FBCOs. Is there any chance that the requirement to have an audit might be lifted?
A. At this point we do not believe there will be changes to the PVO registration process. You may want to consider looking outside your organization for volunteer assistance in meeting these requirements. Some corporations encourage their employees to do pro bono work and would be good partners. Investigate whether local businesses might be interested in making"in-kind" donations to your organization to assist with this work. The Volunteers for Prosperity program assists organizations in finding volunteer professionals to meet specific needs. We would also encourage you to consider looking at our implementing partners. There are a variety of organizations/associations that are made up of hundreds of organizations that compete for grants and contracts. Sometimes it is also helpful to look into the training courses that some of these organizations/associations offer (i.e. InsideNGO, Interaction, the Professional Services Council, etc.).
Q. We are planning to apply for several PEPFAR grants and, as you know the lead time provided is not usually sufficient. Is there any way of knowing ahead of time when PEPFAR RFAs might start coming out? We've heard a rumor that all of the $48 billion that has almost been allocated by Congress is going to be divvied out in the first year of PEPFAR. Is there any way of knowing if that is the case?
A. The USAID Business Forecast Report does try to indicate, by quarter, any kind of solicitation that will be coming out. Look on the USAID webpage. The 2009 Report will be out in the next couple of weeks. Lisa Bilder is the OAA point of contact for PEPFAR grants in Washington. Additionally, the CFBCI will also try to highlight it in our newsletter when it comes out.
Q. My question is looking into the implementation of certain projects. We have noticed that certain companies/organizations have been awarded the same grants year to year. Why are these grants still being competed if the same companies/organizations continue to be awarded them?
A. I can tell you historically how we have gotten to this point. Since the beginning of decade our budget has increased, but our staffing has been stagnant or declined. A lot of operating units have been designing larger instruments and typically the larger organizations have been successful in the bidding process because of the breadth and magnitude of the activity. We are trying to rectify this situation. USAID's Office of Development Partners has some programs that are targeted to new partners (for example, the Development Grants Program). There have been some initiatives that have focused on encouraging new partnerships. We do not control the marketplace and of course, an incumbent will always have some advantage because they have done the job before. We do value competition, and promote competition. However, reversing the trend of large activities involves additional resources and time which we are actively trying to work towards. In the grant arena, there are some programs moving more towards grants that provide more meaningful opportunities to small and local organizations, especially under the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).
Q. We have received a number of grants through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). How different is the procedure for applying for grants with USAID? Are you under the same policies as EPA?
A. We follow all the same overall federal assistance regulations as EPA and other government agencies; however we have some special circumstances and provisions because we are internationally focused which are detailed and available on our website.
Q. In the current economy, we have noticed that some of the larger organizations are not as inclined to partner with the smaller organizations. Are there any requirements for building those types of mentoring relationships between "implementing partners" and sub-grantees?
A. In grants, some programs emphasize capacity building and mentoring. The Agency and the federal government are aware of the issue that you discussing. In response we have seen some changes that benefit smaller organizations, including some PEPFAR grants and ODP's small grant competition from this past year. Under contracts, we do have a small business mentor-protégé program. We recognize that it is a problem. We just do not have a complete solution yet.
Q. My organization is currently working in India and we are looking at webcasting certain trainings. Are there grants available for teaching via web?
A. If you decide that you are primarily interested in India we would suggest that you contact the USAID Mission directly. The Office of Education is located within the Bureau for Economic Growth Agriculture and Trade here in USAID/Washington. It may have additional information on their work in distance learning.
Q. Are there grants available in the energy sector?
A. We are not the experts in those areas; however we do know that EGAT does have teams that work on Energy, Environment and so on. (http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/economic_growth_and_trade/energy/) The Forecast Report will have information on what is being planned inclusive of all sectors.
Lastly, as a first step, we would encourage you to identify the country in which you are most interested in working. Please go to the USAID website for that particular country. Look at the priorities USAID has for its work in that country and make sure your work fits within those established priorities. Matching priorities is one of the first things USAID will look for in an application for funding.
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