Funding Opportunity Number: PRM-MCE-11-CA-04292011

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number: 19.522

Announcement issuance date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST. Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

ADVISORY: PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to allow time to address difficulties that may arise due to system delays.

Proposed Program Start Date: September 1, 2011

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 and encourages applicants to seek a wide array of donors to ensure long-term funding possibilities.

Current Funding Priorities

GBV is an umbrella term covering a range of abuses perpetrated against individuals based on gender and gender norms, including (but not limited to) sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), female genital cutting, domestic violence, and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBT) individuals.

This call for submissions deals only with proposals for globally-relevant capacity building, research, assessment, or evaluation projects that will strengthen the international community’s ability to reduce and effectively respond to GBV, rather than building the capacity of a specific or single organization. (NOTE: Proposals for GBV prevention and/or response efforts serving refugee and conflict-affected populations in specific geographic locations should be submitted through a separate application process. See PRM Regional Funding Opportunity Announcements).

Proposals must:

1) Seek to build the capacity of NGO and implementing partners to prevent and respond to GBV with worldwide application and/or implications.

and/or

2) Involve research, assessments or formative evaluations that could inform and strengthen PRM (and/or the international community’s) policy and programming for GBV prevention and response. Such research, assessments, or evaluations should include concrete policy and program recommendations for relevant stakeholders and focus on PRM populations of concern.

NOTE: International Organizations (IOs) that are engaged in programs relevant to the assistance addressed by this PRM funding announcement should ensure that these programs are made known to PRM on or before the closing date of this funding announcement so that PRM can evaluate all IO and NGO programs for funding consideration.

PRM encourages submission of proposals that:

• Seek to better understand or address SEA, the needs of adolescents, lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBT), and/or male survivors of GBV.
   
• Consider ways to better incorporate men and boys into GBV prevention and response efforts.

Proposals should demonstrate:

• How the planned project will benefit PRM’s primary populations of concern (refugees and refugee returnees).
   
• Evidence of subject-matter expertise, and familiarity with current and past research and activities on GBV.
   
• A working relationship and/or coordination with UNHCR, current UNHCR funding, and/or a letter of support from UNHCR for the proposed activities and/or knowledge of UNHCR operations and findings from previous UNHCR research and evaluations.
   
• A proven track record in providing capacity building programs on GBV prevention and response;
  or
  A proven track record conducting research on or assessments/evaluations of humanitarian assistance programs and policies for refugees and/or conflict victims.
   
• Evidence of coordination with other international organizations (IOs), other NGOs, community-based organizations and – if applicable – local authorities working on related research and/or activities.
   
• A concrete implementation plan with well-conceived objectives and indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and reliable, time-bound and trackable (SMART), have established baselines, and include at least one outcome or impact indicator per objective.
   
• A budget appropriate to meet the proposal’s objectives and, where applicable, demonstrates co-funding by non-U.S. government sources.
   
• Adherence to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See PRM’s General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards. Grantees should be familiar with and utilize the IASC Guidelines for GBV Interventions in Humanitarian Settings in proposed standards and indicators.

Examples of the types of proposals sought (not an exhaustive list):

• Development of standards or best practices for psychosocial assistance, livelihood interventions, or addressing the needs of youth/adolescents, LGBT, and male GBV survivors.
   
• Development of best practices on integrating programming for LGBT persons into broader GBV prevention and response mechanisms and/or identifying more targeted interventions to address LGBT needs in both camp and urban settings.
   
• Development of best practices on integrating programming for LGBT refugees into broader GBV prevention and response mechanisms and/or identifying more targeted interventions to address LGBT needs.
   
• Research on best practices for monitoring and evaluating GBV interventions.
   
• Research on the links between GBV and education, and/or fuel/firewood.
   
• Methods of strengthening SEA prevention and response, including training for humanitarian actors in conducting SEA investigations.
   
• Training for implementing partners on GBV standards and/or managing GBV programming, including training and sensitization on LGBT issues.
   
• Research on how to more effectively include men and boys in GBV prevention and non-stigmatizing response.
   
• Designing Inter-Agency guidelines, accountability frameworks and/or tools to better address GBV and/or SEA.
   
• Distance learning resources to train humanitarian workers in the field to better prevent/respond to GBV.

Proposal Submission Requirements:

PRM will accept proposals from any organization, including universities and research institutes, in response to this funding opportunity announcement.

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

• Proposals must be submitted via Grants.gov. If you encounter technical difficulties with Grants.gov please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at support@grants.gov or by calling 1-800-518-4726. Applicants who are unable to submit applications via Grants.gov due to Grants.gov technical difficulties and who have reported the problem(s) to the Grants.gov help desk and received a case number and had a service request opened to research the problem(s), should contact PRM Program Officer Shanna Devoy at (202) 453-9349 or DevoySK@state.gov to determine whether an alternative method of submission is appropriate.
   
• Organizations not registered with Grants.gov should register well in advance of the deadline as it can take up to two weeks to finalize registration (sometimes longer for non-U.S. based NGOs to get the required registration numbers). To register with Grants.gov, organizations must first receive a DUNS number and register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR) which can take weeks and sometimes months. See the “Applicant FAQs” section on Grants.gov for complete details on registering.
   
• 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. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to avoid submission delays. We recommend that organizations, particularly first-time applicants, submit applications via Grants.gov no later than one week before the deadline to avoid last-minute technical difficulties that could result in an application not being considered.
   
• 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.
   
• Pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), Department of State is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its federal assistance programs. The list of certifications and assurances can be found at: http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=161&menu_id=68 )
   
• NGOs that have not received PRM funding since the U.S. Government 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 submitting copies of 1) the most recent external financial audit, 2) non-profit tax status under IRS 501 (c)(3), 3) a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and 4) an Employer ID (EIN)/Federal Tax Identification number.

Proposal Content, Formatting and Template:

Please refer to the “Proposal Submission and Review Process” section in PRM’s General NGO Guidelines. PRM strongly encourages organizations applying for PRM funding to use the PRM recommended proposal and budget templates. Templates can be requested by sending an email to PRM's NGO Coordinator. You must type “PRM NGO Templates” in the subject line to receive an automated reply containing the template.

PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED IN THE PRM NGO GUIDELINES:

This announcement is designed to accompany PRM’s General NGO Guidelines, which contain additional administrative information and explain in detail PRM’s NGO funding strategy and priorities. Please use both the General NGO Guidelines and this announcement 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. PRM recommends using the proposal and budget templates that are available upon email request from PRM's NGO Coordinator. Please send an email, with the phrase “PRM NGO templates” in the subject line, to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

• Proposals should outline how the NGO will acknowledge PRM funding. If an organization believes that publicly acknowledging the receipt of USG funding for a particular PRM-funded project could potentially endanger the lives of the beneficiaries and/or the organization staff, invite suspicion about the organization's motives, or alienate the organization from the population it is trying to help, it must provide a brief explanation in its proposal as to why it should be exempted from this requirement.
   
• Focus on outcome or impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one outcome or impact indicator. Wherever possible, baselines should be established before the start of the project.
   
• To increase PRM’s ability to track the impact of PRM funding, include specific information on locations of projects and beneficiaries. Any project involving the building or maintenance of physical infrastructure must include coordinates of site locations (place name, P-Code, latitude and longitude coordinates).
   
• Budget must include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization. PRM strongly encourages multilateral support for humanitarian programs.
   
• Organizations that received PRM funding in FY 2010 for activities that are being proposed for funding under this announcement must include the most recent quarterly progress report against indicators outlined in the cooperative agreement. If an organization’s last quarterly report was submitted more than six weeks prior to the submission of a proposal in response to this funding announcement, the organization must include, with its most recent quarterly report, updates that show any significant progress made on objectives since the last report.

Reports and Reporting Requirements:

Program reporting: PRM requires quarterly and final program reports describing and analyzing the results of activities undertaken during the validity period of the agreement. It is highly suggested that NGOs receiving PRM funding use the PRM recommended program report template. To request this template, send an email with the phrase “PRM NGO templates” in the subject line to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

Financial Reports: Financial reports are required within thirty (30) days following the end of each calendar year quarter during the validity period of the agreement; a final financial report covering the entire period of the agreement is required within ninety (90) days after the expiration date of the agreement.

For more details regarding reporting requirements please see PRM’s General NGO Guidelines.

Proposal Review Process:

PRM will conduct a formal competitive review of all proposals submitted in response to this funding announcement. A review panel will evaluate submissions based on the above-referenced proposal evaluation criteria and PRM priorities in the context of available funding.

PRM may request revised proposals and/or budgets based on feedback from the panel. PRM will provide formal notifications to NGOs of final decisions taken by Bureau management.

PRM Points of Contact:

Should NGOs have technical questions related to this announcement, they should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to proposal submission. (Note: Responses to technical questions from PRM do not indicate a commitment to fund the program discussed.)

PRM Program Officers: Shanna Devoy (DevoySK@state.gov; 202-453-9349) or Nicole Gaertner (GaertnerNR@state.gov; 202-453-9360), Washington, D.C.