Request for Proposals: Regional Geographic Initiative (RGI) | Region 10 | US EPA

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Request for Proposals: Regional Geographic Initiative (RGI)

*The Request for Proposals for 2006 RGI grants closed on December 15, 2005. Please check back in October for information about 2007 grants.*

REQUEST FOR INITIAL PROPOSALS (RFIP)
EPA REGION 10 REGIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INITIATIVES (RGI)
FISCAL YEAR 2006

Overview

Initial Proposals must be postmarked or submitted electronically no later than Thursday, December 15, 2005.

Federal Agency Name: US EPA, Region 10, Office of Ecosystems, Tribal and Public Affairs

Mailing Address: 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, mail code ECO-081, Seattle, WA 98101

Funding Opportunity Title: Request for Initial Proposals for Regional Geographic Initiative Funding

Funding Opportunity Number (RFA): EPA-R10-RGI-2006

Catalog of Financial Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 66.034, 66.424, 66.436, and 66.716

CFDA Titles: Number of Awards: Approximately 10

Funding Amount: Approximately $350,000.00

Due Date: Proposals must be postmarked or submitted electronically no later than Thursday, December 15, 2005.


Table of Contents

Section I: Funding Opportunity Description
Summary, Strategic Alignment, Environmental Results

Section II: Award Information
Funding Mechanisms, Duration, Award Amounts

Section III: Eligibility Information
Funding Restrictions and Requirements

Section IV: Application and Submission Information
Instructions, RGI Proposal Template, Submitting Your Proposal Package, Electronic Submissions

Section V: Application Review Information
Evaluation Criteria, Review & Selection Process

Section VI: Award Administration Information
Award and Notification Information

Section VII: Agency Contact(s)

Section VIII: Other Information
Links to Information on RGI, Grants, Environmental Results, FAQs, etc.



Section I: Funding Opportunity Description

A. Summary

This announcement solicits initial project proposals that support community driven approaches to solving environmental problems in Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington). The Regional Geographic (RGI) Initiative funds unique, geographically-based projects that fill critical gaps in the Agency's ability to protect human health and the environment by fostering and supporting community-driven approaches to long-term, sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.

RGI projects: High ranking Initial Proposal applicants will be asked to complete EPA Assistance Agreement Applications, and provide detailed workplans and budgets. Based on a final review of the complete applications, awards will be offered to approximately ten proposals.

B. Statutory Authority

RGI assistance agreements are awarded under various statutory authorities, depending on the nature of the project. (For example, an air quality project would be funded under a different authority than a watershed project.) Most RGI grants are awarded under our authorities under Section 103 (b)(3) of the Clean Air Act or Section 104 (b)(3) of the Clean Water and therefore must qualify as a "survey, study, research, investigation, experiment, training or demonstration.”

EPA will assign each successful applicant with the appropriate statutory authority. Statutory authorities that may apply to RGI assistance agreements include the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Safe Drinking Water Act; and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Successful applicants shall ensure that the final application is consistent with the statutory authority pertaining to that particular grant or cooperative agreement.

C. Alignment with EPA’s Strategic Plan

All RGI proposals must support Goal 4 of EPA’s Strategic Plan, “Protect, sustain or restore the health of people, communities, and ecosystems using integrated and comprehensive approaches and partnerships.” “Objective 4.2: Communities. Sustain, clean up, and restore communities and the ecological systems that support them. This goal and its strategic objectives describe a collaborative approach to addressing a wide range of environmental issues relating to human and/or ecosystem health. In practice, this means that RGI proposals must utilize some (but not necessarily all) of the following approaches:
More detail on this approach can be found in EPA’s 2003-2008 Strategic Plan under Objective 4.2
http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2003sp.pdf (PDF, 4.7MB, 239 pp.)

In addition to requiring the approach described above, applicants are expected to describe the environmental outcomes they seek to support. For the purposes of the Initial Application, this can be articulated in general terms such as clean water, clean air, salmon recovery, watershed protection, etc. Finalists will be asked to provide more detail.

D. Alignment with Region 10 RGI Strategic Goals

Proposals must support at least one of the following:
  1. Targeted Environmental Risk Reduction. The proposal contributes to achieving measurable environmental or human health benefits for sensitive or vulnerable populations (see definitions in box below.)
  2. Whole System Approaches to Environmental Protection. The proposal contributes to filling a critical gap in achieving measurable environmental or human health benefits in a key sector, watershed, airshed, or other strategically defined geographic area by promoting practices such as environmentally responsible land use, smart growth, sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry.
Definitions:

Sensitive Populations: Those who are disproportionately susceptible to adverse reactions from harmful environmental exposures. This may include children, the elderly, asthmatics, or pregnant women.

Vulnerable Populations: Those whose living circumstances, lifestyles or working conditions expose them to undue environmental risk. This may include subsistence populations, agricultural workers, or communities with significant harmful exposure pathways.

E. Measuring Environmental Results

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a project, applicants are expected to describe how they intend to measure their outputs or deliverables (conferences held, farmers trained, research completed and published, demonstration projects implemented) and how they intend to measure the outcomes or impacts of their activities. Outcomes are generally divided into short-term, intermediate, and long term timeframes. We have provided a WEB link that gives specific examples of how various types of proposals can measure outputs and outcomes. The RGI application requires that you describe the measures that you intend to use. (See Sections III and IV for details.)

General examples of appropriate RGI projects that could result in measurable outputs and outcomes for this solicitation include, but are not limited to:

Measuring Environmental Results: Outputs and Outcomes
Beginning in early 2005, EPA has required that all grant recipients document outputs and "to the extent practicable" outcomes. Outputs and outcomes differ both in their nature, and in how they are measured.
  1. OUTPUTS: Outputs are the activities or deliverables that are to be accomplished as a result of a grant. Outputs are generally described as deliverables or milestones in a workplan or timeline. EPA project officers track the completion of outputs to monitor the progress of a grant. Outputs include things like number of workshops held, number of volunteers trained, field work completed, study completed, watershed management plan completed, etc.
  2. OUTCOMES: Outcomes are the measurable impacts or results of the work of the grant. While outputs are accomplished during the life of the grant, outcomes generally occur after the completion of the grant. It is useful to categorize outcomes as short, medium, and long-term. Measuring environmental outcomes can be challenging, especially for small grants.
Medium and long-term outcomes can be costly, especially if monitoring, sampling and analysis are involved. In addition, it can take many years for the long-term impact of a grant to have a measurable effect on the environment. For small grants, we tend to focus on short and medium-term outcomes, but we want to see the grant in the context of long term goals and objectives.
  • Short-term outcomes may include things like: increased knowledge, active stewardship program.
  • Medium-term outcomes might include: documented widespread adoption of best management practices, documented reduction of pesticide use (3 of pounds of pesticides per acre no longer being used on 2000 acres).
  • Long-term outcomes might include: documented reduction of nutrients in lake, documented reduction in # of children with asthma, documented improvement of indoor air quality, meeting water quality standards.
For more information and examples of appropriate outcome measures, visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/webpage/measuring+environmental+results
Note: This webpage is updated frequently.

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Section II: Award Information

A. Amount of Funding Available
The EPA Region 10 Regional Geographic Initiative anticipates having approximately $350,000 in 2006 to award to eligible applicants. Projects up to $50,000 will be considered for funding. Should the amount available for funding change, the Agency will make grant awards based on the actual funding received. The Agency may award additional grants based on this solicitation and in accordance with the final selection process, without further notice of competition.

B. Funding Type
The funding for selected projects is in the form of a grant awarded under the Regional Geographic Initiative.

C. Total Number of Awards
We expect to make approximately 8 to 10 awards. The number of awards will depend on individual proposal costs, and the total amount of Federal funding available.

D. Start Date/Project Duration
Award funds for the selected proposals are expected to be available between June and September 2006. Proposed project periods may be up to two (2) years.

E. Disclaimer
Award of funding through this year’s competition is not a guarantee of future funding. Should additional funding become available, the Agency may make additional awards under this solicitation for up to four months from the date of original selections based on this solicitation in accordance with the final selection process and Agency policy, without further notice or competition. EPA reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no awards.

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Section III: Eligibility Information

A. Who May Apply?

Proposals will be accepted from universities, States, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including District of Columbia; international organizations; public and private universities and colleges; hospitals; laboratories; and other public or private nonprofit institutions which submit applications proposing projects with significant relevance to the Region 10 Regional Geographic Initiative as described in this solicitation.

An organization may submit more than one proposal if the proposals are for different projects. Applicants who received one of these grants in the past may submit a new proposal for a different project. All proposals will be considered new and will be evaluated based upon the specific criteria set forth in this solicitation.

B. Funding Restrictions and Requirements

EPA grant funds may only be used for the purposes set forth in the assistance agreement, and must be consistent with the statutory authority for the award. Grant funds may not be used for matching funds for other Federal grants, lobbying, or intervention in Federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings, and may not be used to sue the Federal government or any other government entity.

C. Eligibility Screening Requirements: Threshold Criteria

To be eligible for funding, proposals must meet the following threshold criteria. Failure to meet any of the following criteria will result in the automatic disqualification of the proposal for funding consideration. Ineligible applicants will be notified within 15 working days of determining they are ineligible based on the threshold criteria.

1. Proposal must benefit the EPA Region 10 geographic area of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and/or Washington.

2. The proposal must address one or both of the following areas.
Definitions:

Sensitive Populations: Those who are disproportionately susceptible to adverse reactions from harmful environmental exposures. This may include children, the elderly, asthmatics, or pregnant women.

Vulnerable Populations: Those whose living circumstances, lifestyles or working conditions expose them to undue environmental risk. This may include subsistence populations, agricultural workers, or communities with significant harmful exposure pathways.

3. Alignment with EPA’s Strategic Plan - All RGI proposals must support Goal 4 of EPA’s Strategic Plan, “Protect, sustain or restore the health of people, communities, and ecosystems using integrated and comprehensive approaches and partnership.” “Objective 4.2: Communities. Sustain, clean up, and restore communities and the ecological systems that support them.” This goal and its strategic objectives describe a community-driven approach to addressing environmental issues relating to human and/or ecosystem health. In practice, this means that RGI proposals must utilize some (but not necessarily all) of the following approaches: More detail on this approach can be found in EPA’s Strategic Plan under Objective 4.2.1 Sustain Community Health and 4.2.2 Restore Community Health http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2003sp.pdf (PDF, 4.7MB, 239 pp.).

4. The proposal must not be used for the purposes of routine program implementation, implementation of routine environmental protection or restoration measures, regulatory compliance or mitigation, land acquisition, purchase of vehicles, or completion of work which was to have been completed under a prior grant.

5. The initial proposal must substantially meet all format and content requirements in this RFIP.

6. In addition, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to parts of the initial proposal, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

7. Also, initial proposals requesting more than $50,000 in EPA funding will be returned without review.

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Section IV: Application and Submission Information

A. Important Anticipated Dates:
B. Application Instructions for Initial Proposal

This year, applicants have the option of applying with the standard mail-in hard copy or electronically online using the Grants.Gov website with an electronic signature.

The application requirements are the same for each method, however, the procedures for applying differ. The instructions are divided into three sections:
  1. Common application requirements,
  2. Standard hard-copy submissions, and
  3. Electronic submissions.
If you have never used Grants.Gov before, here are some tips.

Register your electronic signature early!

Most organizations have found Grants.Gov to be a user friendly system. The most frequent glitch has occurred when an organization has delayed obtaining the unique electronic signature to the last minute.

An electronic signature requires three levels of authorization before you can submit on line. You will need to decide who will be the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), the caretaker of the electronic signature for your organization. At a university the Chief Grant Official generally signs all of the electronic grants for the entire institution. If all goes well, this process can take as little as a week, but some organizations encounter internal and external delays that can slow things down quite a bit.

Remember, you can’t submit your application online until your organization has e-authentication credentials. Here are the basic steps:

1. Certify your DUNS Number. You must first have a certified, unique Dun and Bradstreet Universal Data Numbering System (DUNS) number. Some organizations may have more than one DUNS number registered. This can lead to unanticipated delays. Only one number can be certified.

2. Central Contractor Registry and Credential Provider Registration. Once you have your unique, approved DUNS number, you need to register with the Central Contractor Registry.

3. Grants.Gov Electronic Signature Authorization. Once steps A and B are complete, you will then need to contact Grants.Gov. The Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will be assigned password that will enable him or her to sign the Grants.Gov applications electronically. The AOR must be an individual who is able to make legally binding commitments for the applicant organization. Organizations may designate more than one AOR.

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C. 2006 Region 10 RGI Proposal Template

The Proposal Template is provided in Microsoft Word. This template will guide you through the application process. If you do not have access to Microsoft Word, please call the Agency Contact listed in Section VII.

Only the information required by this application will be considered. Supplemental information, reports, or attachments will not be provided to the review team. Reviewers will not read past the page or word limits for each section.
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Section V: Application Review Information

A. EPA Region 10 RGI Proposal Evaluation Criteria:

Initial proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria detailed in the proposal template and as described below. The template will guide you through the application process and provide details on the evaluation criteria. Proposals may receive a maximum of 100 points.

Initial Proposal Evaluation Criteria Other factors

In addition to the numeric scores that result from evaluating initial proposals against these factors, the following factors will also be considered as part of the initial proposal evaluation review: B. Region 10 RGI Review Procedures/Final Proposal Evaluation:

Initial proposals will be evaluated by an EPA Region 10 review team consisting of staff from a cross section of EPA programs. The review team will identify approximately 20 finalists to submit full EPA Assistance Agreement Applications. The finalists will be asked to submit additional information such as detailed workplans, letters of recommendation, resumes, and information relating to the applicants programmatic capability to perform the proposed work (e.g., their ability to technically perform the proposed project.) Finalists will be evaluated based on their programmatic capabilities, demonstration of collaboration and support information in the detailed workplan, resumes and letters of recommendation, as well as the initial RFIP evaluation criteria disclosed above.

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified within 15 days of the time that all awards have been finalized.

Selection Official: The final selection of applicants for award will be made by the Region 10 Regional Administrator based on the evaluation of applications against the criteria identified above, the recommendations of the review team, and consideration of the following factors:
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers will be required to sign a disclosure of conflict of interest form and will be removed from review of proposals where conflict of interest exists, or potentially exists and cannot be mitigated.

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Section VI: Award Administration Information

Selection for funding is not a guarantee of funding. Deadlines must be met and the work plan and application packet must be approved by the EPA Project Officer and the EPA Grants Specialist assigned to each recipient before the money can be officially awarded.

Before money is awarded, the applicant must ensure that reporting procedures, and proper systems are in place to track and administer funds.

Funding will be made available to recipients for project work to begin on or before September 30, 2006. (We may be able to accelerate that time line for a limited number of time-critical projects.)

Nonprofit applicants that are recommended for funding will be subject to pre-award administrative capability reviews consistent with Sections 8.b, 8.c, and 9.d of EPA Order 5700.8.

Disputes: Assistance agreement competition-related disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR (Federal Register) 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005) which can be found at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-1371.htm. Copies of these procedures may also be requested by contacting Dan Phalen at 206-553-8578.

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Section VII: Agency Contact

You may contact EPA to determine the status of your proposal or to request general advice on filling out your application. Assistance requests will be responded to by phone within 5 working days.

Direct contact: Dan Phalen, phalen.dan@epa.gov, 206-553-8578. Or call toll-free at 1-800-424-4372, extension 8578.
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Section VIII: Other Information

The following Web resources have been assembled to assist you in developing a top-notch proposal.
Note: These webpages are updated frequently.

Region 10 RGI Web Page: Region 10 Grants Page: Technical Resources for Applicants: Measuring Results: (back to top)


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URL: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf/RGI/RGI+Solicitation

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