U.S. Department of State

Deadline:   Friday February 29, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

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 February 29, 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 Wendy Henning or Simone Whittemore (202) 663-1030 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: April 1 – May 31, 2008

 

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.

 

PRM FY 2008 Africa Region Funding:

 

PRM will prioritize currently available funding for proposed NGO activities that best meet the Bureau’s priorities with regard to Central African (CAR) refugees in Cameroon and/or new DRC refugee outflows due to the conflict in North Kivu.

Current funding Priorities for the Great Lakes/Central Africa:

1. Proposed activities should support the necessary care and maintenance for refugees in camps/settlements. Priority sectors include: health and nutrition, water/sanitation, shelter, and GBV and other protection-related interventions.
2. Proposed activities should be closely coordinated with UNHCR and other agencies currently responding to the needs of the targeted refugee populations and address mutually identified gaps in their programming.
3. Proposal project periods should not exceed one year. Activities should be completed within the year and have mechanisms in place for longer-term sustainable impact on beneficiaries.
4. 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 UNHCR funding and/or support for the proposed activities and/or overall country program;
  • a proven track record in providing proposed assistance (both in the sector and specified region);
  • evidence of coordination with other organizations and host government entities operating in the area of intervention, and
  • appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations.

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 FY2008 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.
•  Focus on impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one impact indicator. PRM will be hesitant to fund projects that require a period of time at the beginning for community assessments or establishment of baselines. These activities must already have occurred and/or information have been gathered.
•  NGOs that have never received PRM funding must demonstrate that they meet the financial and accounting requirements of the U.S. Government including submission of an audit report performed by independent public accountants in accordance with the U.S. Government Auditing Standards before they will be eligible to receive PRM funding.

 

(2) Pre-submission preparation: This announcement is designed to coordinate with the FY2008 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.

Should NGOs have technical questions related to this announcement, they should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to proposal submission.

All applicants for new and follow-on funding may contact PRM Program Officer Wendy Henning (HenningWL@state.gov 202-663-1030) in Washington and Central Africa/Great Lakes Regional Refugee Coordinator George Frederick (FrederickGM@state.gov) in Kampala before submitting proposals.

 

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 to NGOs of final decisions taken by Bureau management.

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A PRM funding opportunity for proposed activities in Chad (beginning February 1 - May 31, 2008) is also currently posted on Grants.gov.