Foreign Agricultural Service

Notice of Funding Availability: Inviting Applications for
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition
Program

Announcement Type: New.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.608.

SUMMARY: The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) announces it is
inviting applications for the McGovern-Dole International Food for
Education and Child Nutrition program (McGovern-Dole). Total resources
are expected to be about $190 million, but are contingent on final FY
2012 appropriations action. Eligible applicants may submit applications
through October 26, 2011. The McGovern-Dole program is administered by
FAS.

DATES: All applications must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time, October 26, 2011. Applications received after this date will not
be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Food Assistance Division, Office of
Capacity Building and Development, Foreign Agricultural Service, 1250
Maryland Avenue, Suite 400, SW., Washington, DC 20024; by phone: (202)
720-4221; by fax: (202) 690-0251; or by e-mail at: ppded@fas.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Authority: The McGovern-Dole program is authorized by the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as amended.
B. Purpose: The McGovern-Dole program promotes education, child
development, and food security for poor

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children in low-income countries through the donation of U.S.
agricultural commodities as well as the provision of financial and
technical assistance. The commodities are made available for donation
through agreements with Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs),
cooperatives, intergovernmental organizations, and foreign governments.
Financial assistance is also provided for administrative and activity
costs associated with achieving the objectives of the program.
C. Objectives: For this notice, FAS is concentrating McGovern-Dole
program resources toward achieving two objectives: (1) Improve the
literacy of school age children and (2) sustaining the benefits made
during project implementation to literacy, attendance, and enrollment
by graduating the project to the host country. For more information on
the objectives, please see Section V of this notice.
D. Priorities: FAS will give priority consideration to otherwise
acceptable applications that support results for priority countries and
regions listed at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFE/FFEPriorities.asp. FAS will also give priority to requests to continue
existing McGovern-Dole projects for non-priority countries and non-
priority regions. Applications to continue existing projects must meet
all of the criteria described in this notice including incorporation of
program objectives.

II. Award Information

A. Award Size: Grants provided under the McGovern-Dole program
normally range from $3-$10 million per year.
B. Type of Award: All awards will be made in the form of
competitive grants.

III. Eligibility Information

For eligibility requirements, see the McGovern-Dole program
regulations (7 CFR 1599.3).

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Application Content: An applicant for funding under the
McGovern-Dole program shall submit an application that contains the
information specified in 7 CFR 1599.4, which includes a completed form
SF-424, an Introductory Statement, a Plan of Operation, and a proposed
budget. Guidance on preparing the Introductory Statement, a Plan of
Operation, and a budget can be found in the proposal entry module of
the Food Aid Information System (FAIS) at the following address at:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/fais/public. Additionally, the application
shall include a plan to monitor the implementation of all program
activities, a Performance Monitoring Plan, and a plan to evaluate all
activities and report to FAS on the impact, in accordance with the
policy found at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFE/EvaluationPolicy.asp.
B. Method of Submission: The entire application package must be
submitted electronically to FAS's online proposal entry system, the
FAIS, located at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/fais/public.
C. Deadline for Submission: All applications must be received by 5
p.m. Eastern Standard Time, October 26, 2011. Applications received
after this date will not be considered.

V. Selecting Project Objectives and Results

A. Results Frameworks: In an effort to use scarce resources more
strategically, FAS has developed results frameworks for the McGovern-
Dole program. This framework corresponds to the highest-level objective
that the McGovern-Dole program strives to achieve: improve the literacy
of school age children. Applications that do not contribute to this
highest-level result will not be funded. However, FAS considers
sustaining the benefits made to literacy, attendance, and enrollment of
equal importance. Therefore all applications must include a plan to
graduate project activities to the host country that consists of
specific activities linked to specific results in the framework and
timelines for achieving them. A matrix of possible activities that
support sustainability as well as the results framework are available
on the FAS Web site at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFE/ResultsFrameworks.pdf.
B. Incorporating Results Into Proposals: Applicants must submit an
illustration of a framework that shows the intended results for the
proposed project. The project framework submitted by the applicant must
be consistent with the program-level framework that FAS has developed.
However, applicants can add results to or subtract results from the
framework as appropriate but cannot modify any of the remaining
results. Within the Introductory Statement, applicants must also
provide an assessment of how the proposed project will contribute to
the high-level objective of the McGovern-Dole program framework as well
as how graduation will be achieved. The assessment should focus on the
country specific context for the project including key problems or
barriers that limit an applicant's ability in achieving the high-level
objective. The assessment should provide to USDA an understanding of
why the application will include results for specific portions of the
frameworks and exclude results from others. The assessment will allow
USDA to follow the contributions of the application in the framework
and to make sure the application addresses key problems, barriers, or
weaknesses in the country. Applicants should also list strengths in the
countries or investments by other donors that explain the rationale for
excluding results.
C. Additional Information: For specific guidance on how to
incorporate the frameworks into an application as well as a list of
performance management indicators, both required and optional, please
see our application guidance at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFE/FrameworkGuidance.asp.

VI. Application Review Criteria

A. Review Process: FAS will review all responsive applications that
are submitted by the deadline. FAS will invite comments from other U.S.
governmental agencies on its award recommendations, but FAS will make
the final determination about which applications to fund.
B. Criteria: FAS will review and evaluate each application using
the following criteria:
1. Program Design and Alignment with the Solicitation (15 percent)
including:
(a) Clearly defined objective and activities that are logically
tied to the results to be achieved;
(b) Alignment with the McGovern-Dole results framework;
(c) The quality of the project's performance measures, and the
degree to which they relate to the objective, deliverables, and
proposed approach and activities;
(d) Detailed understanding of the need for the project;
(e) Clearly described project design and explanation of how the
applicant will implement the project;
2. In-country coordination (10 percent) including:
(a) An established relationship with the recipient government;
(b) Description of how the applicant will work with the recipient
government to implement the project;
(c) Description of what other stakeholders, including other USG
agencies (USAID, State, etc.), are doing to address poverty, hunger and
deficient primary education in the recipient country, what needs
remain, and how the proposed program complements and does not duplicate
those activities;

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(d) A demonstration that the proposed activities fit into the host
government's national food security plans and any education and
nutrition plans; and
(e) Demonstrated cooperation with other USG agencies doing
development work.
3. Commodity and Funds Appropriateness and Management (5 percent)
including:
(a) Commodity type and tonnages are clearly described;
(b) Storage and handling procedures for the commodity are
described;
(c) Specific country concerns such as customs exemptions, tariffs,
or other barriers are addressed; and
(d) A clear description of how the funds provided by FAS will be
used and how they will complement the commodities requested.
4. Organizational Capability and Experience (10 percent) including:
(a) A description of the organization's past experience working on
school feeding, education, and other development projects;
(b) Description of the organization's financial management
capability;
(c) Description of the organization's project management
capability;
(d) Description of past programs with USDA, USAID, or other USG
agency;
(e) Experience working in the country of the proposed project; and
(f) Registration in country or a plan to become registered.
5. Sustainability and Graduation (20 percent) including:
(a) A detailed plan for graduating the project including methods
and timelines that are realistic and incorporated into the McGovern-
Dole project framework;
(b) A description of the recipient government's financial or in-
kind support of the proposed activities will help continue the project
beyond the years of the proposal; and
(c) A description of the local community's support for the project
and willingness to sustain it.
6. Literacy (20 percent) including:
(a) A description of the activities to be undertaken and how they
support the results cited;
(b) Realistic and achievable outputs for the activities described;
(c) Realistic, achievable, and meaningful outcomes relevant to the
outputs of all activities;
(d) A description of how the required indicators will be
incorporated; and
(e) A full description of all beneficiaries.
7. Program Monitoring and Evaluation (10 percent) including:
(a) Well developed, recent, and clear baselines and target goals;
(b) Clearly described monitoring and evaluation plan sufficient to
provide FAS with a full accounting of all activities and indicators;
and
(c) Qualified monitoring team.
8. Application Quality (5 percent) including:
(a) Application is complete with all necessary sections;
(b) Application is consistent; and
(c) Application is clear.
9. The following factors will reduce FAS's evaluation of the
application because they negatively reflect on an organization's
ability to successfully implement and complete a grant agreement with
USDA.
(a) FAS has terminated an agreement with the organization for
violations within the last three years.
(b) The organization owes USDA a debt that is not covered by a
payment plan or other method of resolution.
(c) The organization has submitted late or has not submitted at all
two or more required reports in the last three years.
(d) The organization has not responded to FAS`s deadlines for
documents required to closeout an agreement on two or more occasions
within the last three years.

VII. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: FAS will notify each applicant in writing of the
final disposition of its application. FAS will send a letter to each
approved applicant that will specify the amount of funding. Once the
approved applicant receives this letter, FAS will begin negotiations
with the applicant to develop a grant agreement. The agreement will
incorporate the details of the project as approved by FAS and in
accordance with the McGovern-Dole program regulations, 7 CFR part 1599.
2. Reporting: An organization receiving funding under the McGovern-
Dole program will be required to provide quarterly financial reports,
semi-annual logistics and monitoring reports, project status reports, a
baseline study, a mid-term evaluation, and a final evaluation report,
as provided in the grant agreement. All reports must be submitted using
the FAIS. All organizations receiving funding will be required to
report against the indicators in the agreement at each reporting cycle.
Changes in the original project timelines and adjustments within
project budgets must be approved by FAS prior to their implementation.
3. Monitoring and Evaluation: A program participant shall submit to
FAS, in the manner specified in the agreement, an annual financial
audit in accordance with 7 CFR 1599.13(d). If FAS requires an annual
financial audit with respect to a particular agreement, and FAS
provides funds for this purpose, the participant shall arrange for such
audit and submit it to FAS, in the manner specified in the agreement.
The participant shall provide to FAS additional information or reports
relating to the agreement if requested by FAS.

Signed at Washington, DC, on July 20, 2011.
Suzanne E. Heinen,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-19135 Filed 7-27-11; 8:45 am]
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