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Caribbean ProgramEffective Proposal Preparation and Submission 2019

Caribbean ProgramEffective Proposal Preparation and Submission 2019

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Topics We Will Cover Today

I. Caribbean Program

II. Funding Availability and Geographic Scope

III. Key Proposal Preparation Tools

IV. Notice of Funding of Opportunity (NOFO)

V. Best Practices: Proposal Preparation and Submission

VI. Questions & AnswersBruce Weissgold / USFWS

I. What is the Caribbean Program?

GOAL: To conserve priority species, habitats, and ecological processes across landscapes with high biodiversity value in the

Caribbean.

I. Caribbean Program - Vision

• Cultivate leadership at local and national levels.

• Connect local communities needs with NPAs conservation.

• Promote regional coordination and cooperation.

• Incubate local grassroots organizations as future conservation leaders and grantees.

Credit: Getty Images

II. Funding Availability & Eligibility • Total Budget: $1M approx.

• Deadline: April 15, 2019, 11:59 PM EDT. Proposals must be submitted in English or Spanish. Late applications will not be accepted.

• Eligible Applicants: NPOs, NGOs; and public and private institutions of higher education based on the U.S. or the Caribbean. Small Caribbean organizations are strongly encouraged!

• Geographic Priorities: • Greater Antilles: Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica; • Lesser Antilles: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia,

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago; • South America: Guyana and Suriname.

• Period of performance is two years.

III. Key Proposal Preparation Tools

www.conservationmeasures.orgOpen Standards for the Practice of Conservation

USAID Biodiversity Conservation Gateway

III. Key Proposal Preparation Tools

Estándares Abiertos para la Práctica de la Conservación

IV. Notice of Funding of Opportunity (NOFO)

I. Description of the Funding OpportunityII. Award InformationIII. Basic Eligibility Requirements

IV. A. Application Requirements:

Active DUNS and SAM registration.Complete SF-424Complete SF-424B

IV. B. SummaryIV. C Project NarrativeV. Submission InstructionsVI. Application ReviewVII. Award AdministrationVIII. Agency Contacts

Andrew Moore / Creative Commons

IV. NOFOI. Description of Funding Opportunity

Categories

• Conservation of Threatened Species and their Habitats

• Addressing Illegal Trade of Wildlife

• Protected Areas Management and Conservation through Institutional Capacity Building and Local Community Engagement

IV. NOFO / Description of Funding Opportunity

Conservation of Endangered Species & their Habitats Desired Conservation Outcomes

• Extinction of species is prevented and conservation status is improved;

• Successful implementation of recovery and conservation strategies;

• Establishment of self-sustaining and viable populations of the species throughout their range;

• Habitat is enhanced through conservation and restoration activities;

• Effective implementation of alternative sustainable livelihood schemes by local communities;

• Human–wildlife conflicts are prevented/reduced through participative, culturally, ecologically and economically robust and sustainable solutions;

• Civil society is aware of the values of biodiversity conservation and carry out actions to conserve and use them sustainably.

Credit: Animal Spot

IV. NOFO / Description of Funding Opportunity

Addressing Illegal Trade of Wildlife in the CaribbeanDesired Conservation Outcomes

• Develop investigative capacity to identify wildlife traffickers and evidence that can be used for the purpose of their arrest and prosecution.

• Illegal activities curtailed.

• Deployment of field missions to deter illegal activities.

• Reduction in hunting and fishing for the illegal trade in wildlife.

• Reduced demand for illegal wildlife products and parts.

• Increasing public knowledge about trafficking, and positive change in attitudes and behaviors.

Leahy vetting: If foreign (non-U.S.) security forces will be involved in any of the proposed activities, please describe in detail the resources to be used to support these forces and specify if the participants are a unit (e.g, rangers assigned to a protected area), a group of individuals, or a single individual. We will contact any applicant selected for funding that is subject to Leahy vetting with further instructions.

IV. NOFO / Description of Funding OpportunityPAs Management & Conservation through Institutional Capacity

Building & Local Community Engagement

Desired Conservation Outcomes

• Improved management of MCNPA and buffer zones.

• Effective implementation of management plans.

• Effective measures to prevent, control and eradicate invasive alien species.

• Reduction of human-wildlife conflicts.

• Effective coordination among agencies.

• Species managed and harvested sustainably by PA communities.

• Ecosystem resilience enhanced through communities’ conservation and restoration activities.

Misty Johnson / Creative Commons

V. Best Proposal Preparation and Submission Practices• Read the NOFO!• Follow the NOFO’s template• Answer each question• Carefully follow the M&E guidance• Check your math…twice• Write your project summary• Ask questions• Familiarize yourself with the evaluation criteria• Review your full application at least once• Allow yourself enough time to submit your application• Verify that your application was received

V. Best PracticesRead the NOFO!

• Read the NOFO in its entirely and VERY, VERY, VERY carefully!• Check the eligibility information (do you qualify?)• Obtain/update your DUNS, NCAGE and SAM registration.

IMPORTANT:• DUNS: It can take up to 30 days to get your DUNS number!• SAM: International registrants with a bank account in the Caribbean must provide a

letter designating/identifying their Entity Administrator before their SAM registration will be activated. It does not need to be notarized. It can be scanned and submitted to the Federal Service Desk:

• https://fsd.gov/fsd-gov/account-creation.do• Once approved, applicant must then mail the original, signed letter to the Federal

Service Desk. If the letter is not received within 45 days, the registration will expire.

V. Best Practices Follow NOFO’s Template• Page limit: 10 pages not including summary, letter of endorsement, tables,

graphs, maps, CVs.

• Letter size page and font size no smaller than 12-point.

• Normal margins (1”)

• Number each page.

• DO NOT include: Social Security numbers, the names of family members, photographs, or any other personal or sensitive information including marital status, religion, age, or physical characteristics on the description of key personnel qualifications.

V. Best Practices/ Answer Each Question

• Identification of Need: Why is this project necessary?

Where is located? What are the threats? What are the target species/ecosystems? What activities will be implemented? Who is your target audience? Is your project at risk due to more frequent and/or severe weather events,

sea level rise, changes in drought or flooding frequency and intensity, increased ocean temperature, and other variabilities of this nature? What is your project’s theory of change?

V. Best Practices / Answer Each Question• Goal: What do you want to achieve in the long-term?Example: By 2025, 100% of the Jamaican rock iguana habitat within the Portland Bight Protected Area is protected from illegal logging.

• S.M.A.R.T. Objectives: What do you want to achieve in the short-term (next 24 months)?Example: By 2019, 50% of the landowners living in the buffer zones around the Portland Bight Protected Area are implementing agro-ecological farming techniques in their lands.

Credit: Activia Training

V. Best Practices/ Answer Each Question

Activities:How are you going to achieve your objective(s)?

• Training• Species reintroduction• Conservation planning • Species or habitat management • Patrols and field surveillance • SMART Protocol

• Counter wildlife trafficking • Prosecutions and convictions• Alternative livelihoods• Public engagement • Communications and outreach • Environmental law and policy, and • Partnerships.

V. Best Practices/ Follow the M&E guidance

Monitoring and Evaluation:

“How will you evaluate the progress and success of this project?

Measures of Programmatic and Project Effectiveness for the Caribbean Region

ObjectiveConservation

Action

Indicator(i.e., what you will

measure to track your progress toward

achieving the objective)

Monitoring Method

(i.e., how youwill measure the

indicator)

Current Status

(if known)

Desired Status

V. Best Practices/ Check your math…twiceBudget Table:IMPORTANT: Recipients without an approved indirect cost rate are prohibited from charging indirect costs to a Federal award. Accepting the 10% minimum rate as a condition of award is an approved rate.

Category/Budget Item Units Cost per Unit ($)

No. of Units

Total USFWS Other

PersonnelProject Director month $xxx xx $ xxx $xxxProject Coordinator month $ xxx xx $ xxx $ xxxPersonnel Subtotal $xxx $ xxxFringe Benefits% rate lump $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxx $ xxxFringe Benefits Subtotal $ xxx $ xxxTravelDomestic Flights (Coordination at Transit Points) Each $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxx

Meals (4 day Training 30 ppl) Day $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxxAccommodation (4 day Training 20ppl) Day $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxxTravel SubtotalEquipmentXxx Each $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxxEquipment Subtotal $ xxx $ xxxSuppliesXxx Each $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxxSupplies Subtotal $ xxx $ xxxContractualXxx lump $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxxContractual Subtotal $ xxx $ xxxOtherXxx lump $ xxx xx $ xxx $xxxOther Subtotal $ xxx $ xxx $ xxxTOTAL DIRECT CHARGES $ xxx $ xxx $ xxx

V. Best Practices/ Write your summary

Sentence #1: Identifies the category the project belongs to.

Sentence #2: Identifies where the project will take place and its key intended result(s).

Sentence #3: Identifies what is the conservation target and direct threats.

Sentence #4: Identifies what will be done (activities).

V. Best Practices / Write your summary

Example:

This project falls under the “Protected Areas Management and Conservation through Institutional Capacity Building and Local Community Engagement” category of the Caribbean Program. The purpose of this project is to support the conservation of the Three Bays National Park of Haiti by establishing a community-based fishing cooperative. The project is intended to conserve mangroves and coral reefs by addressing the impacts of illegal mangrove extraction, unsustainable fishing practices and overfishing. Specific activities include: (1) workshops with local communities to develop a business plan and governance structure of the cooperative; (2) completion of the government application for the community-based fishing cooperative; (3) delivery of 5 training workshops on sustainable fishing practices; fisheries laws and regulation, fisheries management practices; and accounting and administration.

V. Best Practices / Ask Questions

• Please provide our staff enough time to answer your questions.

• All questions MUST be submitted in writing to wwb_carib@fws.gov.

• Technical questions: Amanda Gonzales, Program Officer for Mexico and the Caribbean.

• Administrative/forms/budget/DUNS/SAM: Sonia Williams, Grants Specialist.

V. Best PracticesFamiliarize yourself with the Evaluation Criteria

• Read Section VI. Application Review (p. 18 NOFO).

• The Review Panel will rank proposals by scoring how well each proposal addresses:

• Program priority areas, & • The elements listed in the Application and Format section of the NOFO

• High priority, well justified projects that address all of the requested proposal elements will receive higher scores.

• Important: These scores are not the sole determining factor for final funding decisions.

V. Best PracticesReview your full application at least ONCE

Federal Assistance form (SF-424) Non-Construction form (SF-424b) DUNS/NCAGE/SAM active

Summary Identification of NeedMap of Project Area Goal Objectives Activities Time TableMonitoring and Evaluation Description of Entities Undertaking the

Project

Sustainability Literature Cited. Government Letter of Endorsement Budget Table Budget Justification Conflict of Interest Disclosures

Single Audit Reporting Statements (Foreign Applicants Excluded) Certification and Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities (Foreign Applicants Excluded)

V. Best PracticesSubmit your Application in a Timely Manner

• Deadline: Monday, April 15th at 11:59 PM (EDT)

• If possible, submit your application several days before the deadline.

• Submit your application during business hours (9:00 am to 4:30 pm EST).

• Caribbean applicants must submit application to :

Caribbean Program email box: wwb_carib@fws.gov (foreign applicants) Grants.gov (US based applicants)

• Upload a single PDF file.

• If your files are too big for a single e-mail, number your e-mails and attachments and include the name of your organization in the subject line.

V. Best PracticesVerify that your application was received

• Contact us if you have not received an email confirmation and a proposal number 5-10 business days after the submission deadline.

• If you do not receive this email, please contact Sonia Williams at wwb_carib@fws.gov

VI. Q&A

Additional Resources

• USFWS Assistance Award Guidelines and other funding opportunities: https://www.fws.gov/international/grants-and-reporting/how-to-apply.html

• SF424: https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/sf424-2-1-v2.1.pdf• SF424B: https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/SF424B-V1.1.pdf• DUNS: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform• NCAGE: https://cage.dla.mil/Home/UsageAgree• SAM:

https://www.unitedstatesbusinessregistration.us/?gclid=CjwKCAjw96fkBRA2EiwAKZjFTal3rnOdccEguqz6Ty-ShrdMXjnEeG1euQ7xJvPflDwn5asRpR9TkhoC-msQAvD_BwE

• Leahy Vetting: https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/fs/2018/279141.htm

• Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation: • English: http://cmp-openstandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CMP-OS-V3.0-Final-minor-

update-May-2107.pdf

• French: http://cmp-openstandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CMP-OS-V3-0-v-2013-05-06-French.pdf

• Spanish: http://cmp-openstandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CMP-Open-Standards-V3-Spanish.pdf

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Contacts: Amanda Gonzales, Program Officer for Mexico and the Caribbean

amanda_gonzales@fws.govSonia Williams, Grants Specialist for Western Hemisphere Branch

wwb_carib@fws.gov

Visit our website! www. fws.gov/international

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