U.S. Department of State

(Issued September 6, 2007)

Deadline:  Thursday October 4, 2007 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 4, 2007 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 (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: October 15, 2007 – January 15, 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:

Please note that PRM may be operating under a “continuing resolution” (CR) for the first part of FY 2008, and therefore might not be able to fund new activities while under a CR. This would not preclude PRM from accepting proposals for Burundi and DRC repatriation and reintegration activities for which limited funds are available.

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

Current funding Priorities for the Great Lakes/Central Africa:

(1) Proposed activities should support the repatriation and reintegration of Burundi and Congolese (Democratic Republic of the Congo) refugees and/or necessary care and maintenance for refugees in camps/settlements. Priority sectors include: protection, health, water/sanitation, livelihood promotion/ micro-enterprise, primary education, gender-based violence prevention and response, and psycho-social support for victims of conflict.

(2) For repatriation and reintegration proposals should focus on areas of high refugee return where new refugee returnees make up at least 50% of targeted beneficiaries. Proposals should specify refugee returnee population numbers and/or projections for 2008 in proposed locations.

(3) As part of our strategy to promote durable solutions, funding for projects to support repatriation to and reintegration in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be prioritized above other project proposals submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

(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 2007/2008 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) to Burundi and DRC refugees and/or returnees;
• evidence of coordination with development organizations and a well-developed transition strategy, 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.
• Organizations that received PRM funding in FY 2007 for proposed activities should include an up-to-date, cumulative progress report against indicators as outlined in the cooperative agreement.
• 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 Burundi or DRC 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.
• 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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PRM funding opportunities for proposed activities in the Horn of Africa, Sudan, and Chad (beginning October 15, 2007 – January 15, 2008) are also currently posted on Grants.gov.