U.S. Department of State

Deadline:   Wednesday October 15, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. (EDT)

Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

• Proposals should be submitted via Grants.gov. Organizations not registered with Grants.gov should sign up well in advance of the October 15, 2008 deadline as it can take up to two weeks for a registration to be finalized (and sometimes longer for non-U.S. based NGOs to get the required registration numbers).
  
  PRM’s CFDA number for Refugee Assistance Programs for African refugees is 19.517.
   
• Please 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. We recommend that organizations, particularly first-time applicants, submit applications via Grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to avoid last-minute technical difficulties that could result in your application not being considered.
   
• Applicants who are unable to submit via Grants.gov due to technical difficulties should contact Program Officer Brennan Gilmore at (202) 663-1712 at least one week prior to submission in order to determine whether an alternative method of submission is appropriate. Please note that e-mail submissions will not be accepted.
   
• 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.

Proposed Start Dates: December 1, 2008 – February 1, 2009

 

Duration of Activity: No more than 12 months

Applicants with multi-year programs to continue to meet the needs of newly returning refugees 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 if pursuing a multi-year strategy of reintegration and transition to early recovery support in southern Sudan.

PRM FY 2009 Africa Region Funding:

Please note that PRM may be operating under a “continuing resolution” (CR) for the first part of FY 2009, and therefore might not be able to fund any new activities while under a CR.

PRM will prioritize currently available funding for proposed ongoing NGO activities that best meet the Bureau’s priorities in the region.

 PRM FY 2009 Funding Priorities for southern Sudan:

(1) Proposed activities should support Sudanese refugee repatriation and reintegration via programs in return communities in Jonglei State, Eastern Equatoria State, and Upper Nile State of southern Sudan. PRM will consider activities supporting the following: protection, health, primary education, water/sanitation, mine awareness education, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, and livelihoods training and establishment. PRM will not support NGO projects in FY09 that focus on information campaigns, civic education projects, “go and see” visits or other activities to prepare refugees in countries of asylum for returns.

(2) Proposals should focus on areas of high refugee return where refugee returnees make up at least 50% of targeted beneficiaries in communities in Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria, and/or Upper Nile States. Proposals should specify current and projected refugee returnee population numbers in proposed locations as documented by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), and/or local authorities.

(3) PRM will accept proposals from any NGO that is able to satisfy these guidelines although, given our budgetary constraints, priority will be given to proposals from organizations that can demonstrate:

 

• a working relationship with UNHCR and 2008/2009 UNHCR funding and/or support for the proposed activities and/or overall country program;
   
• a proven track record in providing assistance to Sudanese refugee returnees in both the sector(s) and specified location(s) covered in the submission;
   
• evidence of coordination with and support from local authorities for proposed project (please note that PRM will share budget and project activity information with appropriate ministries and county commissioners in southern Sudan and with other USG entities involved with reconstruction efforts in southern Sudan);
   
• evidence of coordination with development organizations in the proposed region of work and a well-developed transition strategy; and
   
• appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations supporting reintegration.

 

Proposal Submission Requirements: See “How to Apply” section on Grants.gov for complete details on requirements, and note the following highlights below:

 

(1) Proposal formatting and content: Please refer to the “Submitting Proposals” section in the FY08 General PRM NGO guidelines available at http://www.state.gov/j/prm/fund/. These general PRM NGO guidelines are also available on Grants.gov in the “How to Apply” section.

Please take special note of the following requirements as outlined in the general PRM NGO guidelines:

• Budget must include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization (where applicable). PRM places great value on multi-lateral support for humanitarian programs.
   
• Organizations that received PRM funding in FY08 for activities in Sudan to support repatriation and reintegration must include an up-to-date, cumulative progress report against indicators as outlined in the cooperative agreement. Do not resend the last quarterly narrative report unless it has been modified to show updated activities through September 2008.
   
• Focus on impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one impact indicator. PRM will not fund reintegration projects in southern Sudan that require a period of time at the beginning of the project for community assessments or establishment of baselines. These activities must already have occurred and be incorporated into proposed indicators; and baselines should be provided to the greatest extent possible.
   
• NGOs that have not received PRM funding prior to the USG 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 providing copies of 1) the most recent external financial audit; 2) non-profit tax status under IRS 501 (c)(3); 3) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number; and 4) Employer ID number (EIN)/Federal Tax Identification Number.

 

(2) Pre-submission technical consultation: This announcement is designed to coordinate with the general FY08 General PRM NGO guidelines, which explain in detail PRM’s NGO funding strategy and priorities. Please read both sets of guidance carefully 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.

 

NGOs with technical questions related to this announcement should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to submitting the proposal:

PRM Program Officer Brennan Gilmore (GilmoreBM@state.gov or 202-663-1712) in Washington, DC; or

Acting Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Horn of Africa Nnenna Ofobike (OfobikeNN@state.gov) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

 

Proposal Review Process: PRM’s Office of Assistance for Africa conducts formal competitive reviews of all proposal submissions by convening proposal review teams to evaluate proposals based on the above proposal evaluation criteria and PRM’s priorities in the context of available funding.

 

In order to provide NGOs with timely feedback, PRM will inform applicants of a panel’s decision to recommend or not recommend funding proposed activities, and may request revised proposals and/or budgets based on feedback from the panel. PRM will follow up with formal notifications via letter to NGOs of final decisions taken by Bureau management.

 

*****************************************************************************************************

 

PRM funding opportunities for proposed activities in the Horn of Africa and Central Africa/Great Lakes (beginning December 1, 2008 – February 1, 2009) are also currently posted on Grants.gov.