ELIGIBILITY
Who is eligible to apply for funding?
The TIP Office welcomes applications in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) from:
- U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profits /non-government organizations (NGOs), including faith-based organizations;
- Public international organizations (PIOs);
- Private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and
- For-profit entities.
For-profit entities should be aware that their applications may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process, and that the Department of State prohibits profit (any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs) to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards.
May an organization apply to this NOFO if the organization is not physically present in Zambia?
Yes, an organization may apply for this NOFO if they do not have a physical presence in Zambia. However, the TIP Office’s strong preference is that applicants should have existing active partnerships with in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders, including government interlocutors, private sector actors, and local civil society organizations and/or non-governmental organizations. Applicants should have demonstrable experience in administering successful projects, preferably in human trafficking in Zambia.
Does the TIP Office allow for local providers whose parent agency is headquartered outside of Zambia to apply? For example, the organization is headquartered in the U.S., however, it has a regional headquarters/office in Zambia where it is registered as an agency.
Organizations with a parent agency headquartered outside of the country are welcome to apply to the solicitation.
LOGISTICS
Where can I find the Notice of Funding Opportunity?
The funding opportunity is available on Grants.gov and SAMS-Domestic. If you are unable to view the funding opportunity, you should email JTIPGrants@state.gov to be linked to the NOFO. Only in SAMS-Domestic will you be able to view the opportunity, the accompanying templates, and the Guidelines document.
What are the expected funding dates?
Subject to available funds, the TIP Office anticipated making decision on the applications by December 2023 and expects to award the funds to successful applicant(s) no later than January 2024.
Is there a limit to the number of proposals that can be submitted by a single applicant?
Applicants may only submit one proposal per organization in response to this NOFO.
May an organization submit one proposal as the prime applicant and submit another proposal as a sub-grantee?
Yes.
What are the minimum and maximum funding amounts for this
NOFO?
The lowest funding threshold for this award is $4,000,000, with a ceiling of $12,000,000 million. All awards under this announcement are pending the availability of funds.
What is the maximum number of awards?
The number of awards depends on the availability of funds and the number of quality applications received.
What is a non-competitive continuation?
A non-competitive continuation (NCC) is a mechanism to provide funding for an additional project period for a project that was previously funded through a competitive project. The initial project period is 20-months, and up to two NCCs may be awarded for a maximum potential award length of 60 months.
Should I include the budget amount of the initial 20-month project
period or the total 60-month project period on the SF-424 form?
The amount of the total 60-month project period (inclusive of two potential non-competitive continuations) should be listed on the SF-424 form.
Is there a maximum and/or minimum program duration?
Applicants should develop applications that cover the entire funding amount they propose for a multi-year program, with the maximum award amount permitted for a project with up to $12,000,000 (USD) up to five (5) years, understanding that the final budget and proposal narrative will reflect implementation plan activities agreed to by the two partner governments.
Is there any restriction with regard to the cost share (e.g., max. amount)?
No, there is no cap on cost share, but applicants must be able to clearly justify the quantity of funding they plan to allocate to a sub-grantee and explain why that funding is being allocated.
Can you clarify about the page limit and character limit for the
Project Narrative?
The project narrative character limit is four pages. Applicants are required to use the Narrative Template provided within SAMS-D. Applicants MUST type within the grey box found in the template.
May applicants submit additional documents to the project narrative, in addition to the required templates and documents outlined in the NOFO?
No, applicants may only submit required annexes, as well as the project narrative. Any additional documents uploaded outside of what is specified in the NOFO will result in failure of the organization during technical review.
May an applicant include footnotes in the project narrative?
Yes, an applicant may include footnotes within the project narrative. However, the footnotes will be included within the character count limit.
Will there be acknowledgement of successful on-time submission by the TIP Office?
Successful submission acknowledgments will be received via SAMS-D. You will not receive an acknowledgement directly from the TIP Office.
Is SAMS-D the same as “SAM” or “SAMS” for organizations outside the US?
Applications for this funding opportunity must be submitted via SAMS Domestic (SAMS-D) by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on August 31, 2023, to be eligible for consideration. The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not required for submission of an application on SAMS Domestic; however, a valid Unique Entity Identifier number is required for organizations selected for an award. See section 3. under Application and Submission Information for more details. SAMS Domestic is the system for applying to federal assistance, countersigning awards, and managing post-award documentation with the Department of State.
How do I unlock my SAMS-Domestic account or change my SAMS-
Domestic password? What should I do if I encounter difficulty using
the SAMS-Domestic website?
Unfortunately, the TIP Office is unable to unlock SAMS-Domestic account or reset passwords. For assistance with SAMS-Domestic accounts, contact the ILMS Support Desk at 1-888-313-4567 (toll free for international callers) or submit a ticket using the ILMS Self Service Portal. Please let us know if you have any questions by emailing JTIPGrants@state.gov.
Who should be listed as the authorized certifying official on the SF-424B?
The “certifying official” is the person within your organization who can / will sign the award if an award is made. This could be the organization’s director, a project manager, or grants coordinator, for example. This is also the only point of contact who will receive information regarding the status of the application from the TIP Office.
CONTENT
If an applicant proposes a partnership with government, civil society,
another NGO, or a PIO does the partnership agreement have to be
finalized or in writing at the time of the application?
No, an applicant does not need to have a partnership agreement finalized or in writing at the time of the application but should be able to demonstrate the intended commitment to the partnership in the application through letters of intent to partner.
Can you provide more details on partnerships? Are you referring to
national NGOs and CSOs?
Applicants are welcome to demonstrate their past work partnering with NGO’s, CSO’s, academia, and other actors, including the government,
that show they are well suited to work with the U.S. Government and the Government of Zambia to co-create an implementation plan for the program.
Can you provide more guidance on partnerships v. sub-awards and what is required?
For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a partner organization is any organization that the applicant has partnered with in the past on programs related to human trafficking in Zambia. If an applicant anticipates a sub-award to a partner organization, the following types of organizations are allowable: any U.S. or foreign-based nongovernmental organization; public international organization (PIO); college or university; or for-profit organization.
Are organizations eligible to receive indirect funds?
Regarding indirect costs, organizations without a Negotiated Indirect Cost Recovery Agreement (NICRA) agreement may account for a maximum of ten percent (10%) of these expenses as indirect costs when submitting a budget; please note this 10% de minumus rate is in accordance with 2 CFR 200.414(f). For organizations that do not have a NICRA and elect not to use the de minumus rate, identified “overhead costs” must be charged as direct costs. Organizations with NICRA agreements may account for indirect costs as a lump sum for the relevant percentage of funding as permitted by the NICRA.
What types of costs fall under the indirect category, and do we need
to provide a breakdown of the different costs within that ten
percent?
If you are using the 10% de minimis rate, then 2 CFR 200 provides a breakdown of what can be charged and how it is calculated. Should the applicant be selected for funding, a breakdown of the different costs within that ten percent will be provided in the budget narrative and line-item budget after the Implementation Plan is developed.
Is a budget narrative required for sub-grantees?
A separate budget narrative for sub-grantees is not required at this time. Once applicant(s) are selected and the implementation plan is finalized, selected applicant(s) will submit a revision to their award that includes updated project narrative and budget summaries to reflect the planned activities under the implementation plan. Additional documents that may be included in the award revision/amendment may include, but are not limited to: monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) plans; timelines; risk mitigation and contingency plans; a line-item budget; and a budget narrative.
Does the sub-award include the ten percent?
The 10% de minimis rate can be used by any organization that doesn’t have a current negotiated rate (NICRA). However, no budgets should be submitted for sub-grantees under this NOFO. Once applicant(s) are selected and the implementation plan is finalized, selected applicant(s) will submit a revision to their award that includes updated project
narrative and budget summaries to reflect the planned activities under the implementation plan, including the activities to be conducted by sub-grantees, if relevant.
Can you further clarify when Letters of Intent to Partner are required
and from whom?
Letters of Intent Cooperate (from the government or civil society) are not required, but they are preferred, for this NOFO. These letters should be obtained in advance of an organization receiving an award.
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
What does an application include?
To ensure fairness, all applicants will have an equal chance to describe their proposed project. Detailed information on formatting requirements and more can be found in the NOFO and Guidelines.
How do we request a DUNS number?
Please note that organizations no longer work with Dun and Bradstreet to obtain a DUNS number. Organizations must directly request a UEI number instead, upon registration in SAM.GOV.
If an organization proposes a partnership with another organization,
do all parties need to obtain a valid UEI number, or only the
applicant?
For the purpose of filling out the SF 424s and submitting an application, the only UEI number required is that of the applicant – the principle
organization which is requesting funding. Organizations proposing partnership or sub-award agreements in their proposals are advised that their partners may obtain a valid UEI number in anticipation of selection for funding, as this information may be required for sub-award agreements.
Can multiple organizations submit one application?
Under this funding opportunity, applicants are encouraged to form a consortia and partner with other organizations to demonstrate both their individual and shared past experience addressing human trafficking in Zambia. Applicants partnering with other organizations must clearly identify ONE lead applicant, and the applicant may designate one or more partner organizations as sub-recipients.
Aside from the SAMS-D and SAMS.gov platform, are there any other systems or platforms on which we need to be registered or have accounts going forward?
If accepted for funding, the Payment Management System would be another platform that you would need to register with. The TIP Office will provide more information at a later time for this system.
Are applicants required to submit a hard copy original signature with their proposal via mail?
No, only an electronic signature submitted via SAMS-Domestic is required. No applications or supplemental documents are permitted to be submitted or will be accepted via mail – only the items listed in the instructions on the solicitation which must be submitted via SAMS-Domestic.
COMPETITIVE REVIEW
How does the TIP Office decide which proposal(s) to fund?
Following the submission, all proposals will be screened to determine whether they meet the technical requirements stated in this announcement. As a reminder, the TIP Office will only consider proposals that meet the very specific requirements outlined in the NOFO and Guidelines. Following the technical review, a formal content review of each full proposal that passes the technical review will commence. An intra- and interagency panel will review proposals for funding consideration. The panel will consider each proposal’s merits as well as applicable limitations on U.S. foreign assistance. Panel recommendations will be presented for consideration to the TIP Office’s Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons or Senior Official, who will make the final funding decision.
Where may I find additional advice about preparing the full proposal
application?
The TIP Office must ensure a fair, transparent, competitive grants process. No one from the TIP Office or other Department of State personnel, including Embassy personnel, may advise applicants on the content of its application. Persons with additional questions about the requirements of the solicitation may contact JTIPGrants@state.gov.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Is there a formal Q&A process throughout the full proposal process? If so, what is the deadline, where do we submit questions, and where will answers be posted?
We receive questions via the JTIPGrants@state.gov email.