U.S.DepartmentofState

BureauofNear Eastern Affairs

Office of Assistance Coordination

Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)

Local Grants Program

Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI)

for Applications to the 2016 MEPI Local Grants Annual Program Statement published on November 30, 2016
U.S. Embassy Morocco

PLEASE REFER TO THISDOCUMENT WHEN PREPARINGAN APPLICATION

Table of Contents

Local Grants Overview……………………………………………………………….3

U.S. Mission Morocco Project Priority Areas……………………….…………….....3

Deadlines and Other Information……………………………………………………..3

Eligibility…………………………………………………………………………………....4

Required Registrations………………………………………………………………..4

Application Requirements…………………………………………………………….5

Submitting an Application…………………………………………………………….6

ProposalReview Process………………………………………………..……………… …...7

ProposalReview Criteria……………………………………………………………..7

PLEASE REFER TO THISDOCUMENT WHEN PREPARINGAN APPLICATION

Local Grants Overview

The Office of Assistance Coordination’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Program seeks single-country proposals for its Local Grants Program. The Local Grants Program serves as the MEPI Program’s most direct means of supporting organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. The minimum award amount is $50,000 and the maximum is $150,000. Generally, these awards are designed to:

  • Strengthen civil society;
  • Support constructive advocacy and civic activism;
  • Support citizens’ efforts to contribute to positive economic, social, and political empowerment;
  • Expand opportunities for women and youth;
  • Strengthen the rule of law;
  • Develop independent media in service to communities; and,
  • Help communities work alongside governments in shaping their own futures.

The MEPI Program’s Regional Offices, located in the Middle East and North Africa, manage the Local Grants Program. Applications are reviewed and evaluated on the criteria outlined within these Proposal Submission Instructions. The project priority areas are outlined in the section below.

U.S. Mission Morocco Project Priority Areas

The U.S. Mission in Morocco welcomes applications that seek to address any of the priority areas listed above. In addition, for this round of grants, particularconsideration will be given to projects that:

  • Strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations that focus on youth development, and promote innovation in the fields of science, technology and sustainable development.
  • Strengthen the capacity of organizations working on women’s rights.
  • Provide opportunities for women and youth to enter and remain in the workforce.
  • Promote civic engagement with local officials.

These Mission Morocco project priority areas are designed to provide further guidance and clarification to the information provided in the 2017 MEPI Annual Program Statement.

Organizations that have received a MEPI grant in the past two years will not be eligible for consideration this year.

Deadlines and Other Information

Proposals must be submitted toU.S. Mission Morocco in Rabat by no later than 5:00 PMMorocco time on Tuesday, January 24, 2017. Please clearly label your email subject line to indicate the name of your organization and make sure to include all documents in the one email.

Completed applications should be emailed to U.S. Mission Morocco at

Planned information sessions in January 2017.

Casablanca: Dar America, Time TBD

Rabat: U.S. Embassy, January 5 at 10 AM

To register for these sessions please contact Kim LeBlanc at . You must be registered and have confirmation in order to attend.

Eligibility

A key objective of the local grants program is developing the capacity of local CSOs to manage their assistance locally. Eligible applicants include local organizations of civil society, non-profit organizations, community groups, non-governmental organizations, professional associations, private sector organizations, and universities based in Morocco, Only organizations that have an established local office in the country they propose to implement their project will be eligible to apply. Awards will be issued to the local office and not any partner or affiliate office that may be located outside of the country of implementation. Individuals are not eligible to apply to this announcement.

Organizations that have received a MEPI grant in the past two years will not be considered for funding this year under the local grants program.

Required Registrations

Organizations that apply for the MEPI grant must have active registrations with:

  • UniqueEntity Identifier (UEI),formerlyreferred toas a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS). Information on registering for UEI can be found here
  • The Moroccan government. Shortlisted applicants will need to provide a copy of their final registration papers delivered by the Moroccan authorities.

If a proposal is shortlisted for review by panel, the organization will be contacted and must provide:

  • NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code
  • System for Award Management (SAM)
  • Theorganization’s most recent financialaudit statement(A-133 audit or 2 CFR 200 Part F,if applicable orstandard audit).
  • Registration with the IRS may be required if the proposal is selected for review by panel.
  • Ifyour organization has a NICRA and includes NICRA charges in thebudget,your latest NICRA should be included as a .pdffile. This document will notbe reviewed bythe panelists, but ratherusedbyprogram andgrant staffif thesubmission is recommended for funding and does not count towards the page limit. Ifyour proposal involves subawards to organizations chargingindirect costs, please also submitthe applicable NICRA as a .pdf file. Pleasesee Appendix II: Budget Narrative Instruction formore information.

Note: If organizations are in the process of registration, and have encountered documented, technical registration issues, these applications will be reviewed for eligibility on a case by case basis provided the application is recommend by the selection committee. Per U.S. law, valid and active registration in the relevant systems is a requirement to receive grant funds.

The registrant or entity is required to create an account in each of these websites by initially creating a Username and Password in all sites: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), if necessary; D&B for a UEI; and ultimately, the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).

The Legal Business Name and Address must be precise and MATCH EXACTLY when entering it into the IRS, D&B DUNS, NCAGE, and SAM.gov websites—this includes spaces, parentheses, capitalization, small letters, punctuation, etc.

For detailed information on registering for the MEPI Local Grants Program, please reference the 2016 Annual Program Statement.

Application Requirements

Complete applications must include the following:

  1. Completed and signed SF-424, SF-424A, and SF424B; (which can be found withthe solicitation on the Embassy website at ma.usembassy.gov/education-culture/mepi and

2. Project Narrative (not to exceed seven[7]pages in Microsoft Word). Organizations are strongly encouraged to use the Project Narrative Template provided in Appendix I to complete the Project Narrative. If an organization chooses not to use the provided format, the Project Narrative must capture all the requested information outlined in the document and clearly label each section for clarity. Project narratives should articulate a logical relationship between proposed activities and desired outcomes – presenting the cause and effect “chain of results” that a project hopes to achieve.

Pleasenote theseven (7) pagelimit does notincludethe any other required application document, including Attachments, forms, and the Budget Narrative Template. Applicants are encouraged to submit multipledocuments in asingle Microsoft Word or Adobe file.

3.

The Budget Narrative Template includes the Line Item Budget as well a column to includesubstantive explanations and justifications for each lineitem in the detailed budget spreadsheet, as wellas the source andadescription of allcost-shareoffered. The budget should reflect the request to MEPI, any cost-sharing contribution, and total budget amount. All costs mustbein U.S. dollars. A summary budget should also be included using the OMB approved budget categories (see SF-424A as a sample). . Personnel costs should includea clarification ofthe roles andresponsibilities of keystaff, basesalary,and percentageof timedevoted to theproject.

5. Attachments (not to exceedten[10]pages total, preferablyin Microsoft Word)that includethe followinginorder:

a) Proof of registration with the Moroccan government.

b) Roles and responsibilities ofkeyprojectpersonnel: Pleaseinclude short bios that highlight relevant professional experience. This relates to the organization’s capacity. Given the limited space,CVs arenot recommended for submission.

c) Additional optional attachments: Attachments mayincludetimeline information, letters ofsupport, memorandums of understanding/agreement, etc. Letters of support and MOUs must be specific to the project implementation (e.g. from proposed partners orsub-award recipients) and willnot count towards thepagelimit.

For allapplication documents, please ensure:

1) All pages arenumbered,includingbudgets andattachments;

2) All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x11 paper; and,

3) All documents aresingle-spaced, 12 pointTimesNew Roman font, with 1-inch margins.

Captions and footnotes maybe10 pointTimes New Roman font. Font sizes in charts and tables, includingthe budget,can bereformatted to fit within 1 pagewidth.

Pleasenote: The MEPIProgram retainsthe right to ask foradditional documents not included in this PSI.

Additional information that successfulapplicantsmustsubmitafter notification ofintent to make a Federalaward, but prior to issuanceofaFederal award, mayinclude:

1) Written responses and anyrevised application documents addressinganyconditions or recommendations from the MEPISelection Committee;

2) Submission of required documents to register in any applicable U.S. government grant systems, if receivingMEPI Program funding for the first time, unless an exemption is provided;

3) Other requested information or documents included in thenotification ofintent to makea Federal award orsubsequent communications priorto issuanceofaFederal award.

All submissions must include these components, and must be submitted in English

Submitting an Application

To submit your application, please follow the steps below:

  1. Review the completed application documents (Application for Federal Assistance Form (SF-424), Project Narrative, Budget Narrative, and Budget Information Forms (SF-424A and SF424B)) for accuracy and make any necessary changes. Please note: A signature is required on the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424).
  1. Ensure that all application materials are in Englishand allcostsarein U.S. dollars. Ifan original document within the application is in another language,an English translationmustbeprovided. For any documents provided in both English and a foreignlanguage, the English languageversion is the controllingversion. (Pleasenote: the Department ofState, as indicated in 2 CFR200.111, requires that English is the official languageof all award documents).
  1. Send all five documents via email to U.S. Embassy Rabat. If you are unable to email the documents, please contact the U.S. Embassy to discuss other delivery options. The application materials must be submitted electronicallyby 5 PMMorocco time January 24, 2017. It is the sole responsibilityoftheapplicant to ensurethat allof thematerialsubmitted in thegrant application packageis complete, accurate,and current. The MEPIProgram strongly encourages all applicants, especiallyforeign or first-time applicants, to submitapplicationsbeforethedesignated duedate to ensurethat the application has been receivedand is complete.

Submission Date and Time

Applications must be time stamped before 5:00 pmMorocco time on January 24 2017. There will be no grace period, and any application not received by the application deadline will not advance to the Technical Review stage.

Award Notices

Applicants who do not advance to the Technical Review stage will be notified with 60 business days after the closing of the announcement. The authorized representative and program point of contact listed on the SF-424 will receive the notification via email from the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. Embassyexpects to notify applicants who have advanced to the Technical Review stage about the status of their application byApril 15. Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by Congressandallocated and committed through internal Bureau procedures. Successful applicants will receive correspondence from MEPI with a Federal Assistance Award (FAA). The FAA and the original proposal with subsequent modifications (if applicable) shall be the only binding authorizing document between the recipient and the U.S. Government. The FAA will be signed by an authorized Grants Officer, and transmitted to the recipient’s responsible officer identified in the application. MEPI reserves the right to award funding to applicants under this announcement for a period of up to two years after the announcement’s close date.

Proposal Review Process

A MEPI Selection Committee at the U.S. Embassy reviews all local grant proposals.The U.S. Embassy will inform organizations if their proposals will or will not be shortlisted for further consideration. Only the most competitive proposals received by MEPI Committees will be selected for further consideration by MEPI's regional offices, which will process and negotiate the awards.The issuance of a grant award by a MEPI Regional Office is contingent on the availability of funds and the negotiation and finalization of an approved budget and award package.

Proposal Review Criteria

Applications should address theevaluation criteria outlined below. Selection Committee members willevaluate eachapplication individuallyagainstthe followingcriteria, listed in order ofimportance,andnot against competing applications.

Quality of Project Idea – 25 points

Applications should be responsiveto thesolicitation,appropriate in thecountry/regional context,

and should exhibit originality, substance, precision, and relevancetothe Program Priorities outlined in this document.

The MEPIProgram prioritizes innovativeand creative approaches ratherthan projects that simplyduplicate oradd to efforts byother entities. This does not exclude projects that clearlybuild offexistingsuccessful projects in anewand innovativewayfrom consideration. Wheresimilar activities arealreadytaking place, anexplanation should beprovided as tohow new activities will not duplicate ormerelyadd to existingactivities and how theseefforts will be coordinated.

Project Planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives – 25 points

A strong application willincludea clear articulation ofhow theproposedproject activities

contributeto theoverallprojectobjectives,and each activitywillbe clearlydeveloped and detailed. The applicant should substantively demonstrate how they can achieve the objectives identified in the application. Objectives should be ambitious, yet measurable results-focusedand achievable in a reasonable time frame. Applications should address how the projectwillengage relevant stakeholders and should identifylocal partners asappropriate. If local partners havebeen identified, the MEPIProgram strongly encourages applicants to submitletters of support from proposed in-countrypartners. If applicable,applicationsshould identifytarget areasforactivities, and target participantgroups orselection criteria for participantsamongother pertinent details. In particularlychallengingoperatingenvironments,applications should include contingencyplans forovercoming potential difficulties in executingthe original work plan andaddress anyoperational or programmatic securityconcernsand how theywillbe addressed.

Institution’s Record and Capacity -25 points

The MEPIProgram willconsider thepast performanceof priorrecipients and thedemonstrated potential ofnew applicants. A key objective of the local grants function is developing the capacity of local CSOs to manage their assistance locally.

Applications should demonstrate an institutional record ofsuccessful programs, includingresponsible fiscal management andfull compliancewithallreportingrequirements forpastgrants. Proposed personneland institutional resources should be adequate andappropriate to achievethe project's objectives.

Cost Effectiveness -25 points

The MEPI Programstronglyencourages applicants to clearlydemonstrate project cost-effectiveness in theirapplication, includingexamples of leveraginginstitutional and other resources. However,cost- sharingor otherexamples of leveragingother resources isnot required anddoes not need to be included in thebudget. Inclusion in thebudget does not resultin additional points awarded duringthereviewprocess. Budgets however should havelow and/or reasonable overhead and administration costsandapplicants shouldprovide clear explanations and justifications forthese costsin relation to the work involved. All budgetitems should be clearlyexplained and justified to demonstrate its necessity, appropriateness,andits link to theproject objectives.

Pleasenote: if cost-shareis included in thebudgetthen the recipient must maintain written records to supportallallowable coststhat are claimed as its contribution to cost-share,as wellas coststo be paid bytheFederalgovernment. Suchrecordsaresubject to audit. In the event the recipient does not meet theminimum amount of cost-sharing as stipulated in the recipient’s budget, the MEPI Program’scontribution maybe reduced in proportion to the recipient’scontribution.

Additional Information

The MEPIProgram willnot considerapplications that reflectanytypeof support foranymember, affiliate, orrepresentative ofadesignated terrorist organization or armed actors.

Applicants should be awarethat the MEPIProgram understands that someinformation contained in applications maybe considered sensitive orproprietaryand willmakeappropriate efforts to protect suchinformation. However, applicants are advised thatthe MEPIProgram cannotguaranteethat such information will notbedisclosed, includingpursuant to theFreedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) orothersimilar statutes.

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