Instructions for the Food Aid Proposal Entry
Food
for Education proposals must be received by USDA by 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time,
Friday, August 1, 2008.
I. Applicants must submit Standard Form 424 –
Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) by email along with this proposal
submission. Please email to PPDED@usda.gov. A blank form is
available at SF-424.
II. Other Information
1. Enter New Proposal or Modify Existing Proposal
Create New Proposal: Please select the fiscal year to
create a new proposal; continue by selecting Create Proposal. Once you have moved on to page 1 of the
form, YOU WILL need to save your proposal submission number and PIN in order to
return and modify your proposal.
Open a Previous Proposal: Please provide the
submission number and PIN in the blank box; continue by selecting Retrieve
Proposal.
Use this
link to access the Sample Online
Format
1. Name and Address of Applicant *
Please
provide the legal name of the organization and include U.S. headquarters and
in-country contact information, if applicable.
2. Program Introduction *
Please
provide concise information about the organization’s past food aid or
development activities, its experience within the country where the program is
proposed, commitment by the national government, potential graduation and
sustainability, involvement by local communities and institutions, explanations
for costs that enhance the effectiveness for the activities and any advantages
of monetization or bartering rather than cash.
Please include any other relevant information to demonstrate its
capability to implement the program in the country.
3. Fiscal Year of Submission*
Fiscal
Year will default to the current fiscal year you are submitting this proposal
for.
4. Program Type *
Program
type will default to the current program type you are submitting this proposal
for.
5. Primary Country of Donation *
Use
the drop-down and select the country of donation. Please check the box below if multiple countries will be
recipients.
6. Kind, Quantity and Delivery Schedule of Commodities Requested *
Use
the drop-down list to select each commodity to be used in the program, the use
of commodity and its package size. For
each commodity, specify the quantity in metric tons (MT) and round the tons to
the nearest ten. For example, 5,765 MT
is rounded to 5,770 MT. For each
commodity, give the requested delivery month to the U.S. port. For example, if the commodity is needed in
country by June 2003, the delivery month to the U.S. port should be no later
than April 2003. Also, for multiyear
proposals, please include all requested deliveries. Requests for multiple shipments of the same commodity should be
placed on separate lines.
7. Special Delivery, Commodity, Processing, or Packaging Needs *
Please
explain any special needs concerning delivery, commodity selection or packaging
needs. This section is limited to 250
words.
Page 2
1. Expenses of Proposal *
Enter
the dollar funding for each item in the table.
Please Note: Supporting documentation for dollar funding will be
requested once the organization has received approval notification.
2. Activity Objectives *
Please
provide a short paragraph of program objectives. Briefly state what you plan to accomplish by using the requested
agricultural commodity, financial and technical assistance to the beneficiaries.
Program Description
3. Steps for Program
Implementation *
This information should
be provided as applicable. The
following are suggested items to include:
a)
What is the duration of this program?
b)
For
this program, describe the primary activities.
c)
What
type of technical assistance is needed?
d)
Who
are the direct or indirect beneficiaries?
How many will be targeted?
e)
Who
will implement or oversee the food product distribution, feeding and other
activities, e.g., your organization, consultant, local government or
nongovernmental organization?
f)
How
and where will the food products be stored?
g)
Will
there be a recipient agency agreement?
h)
Provide
the ration size and frequency per direct beneficiary (number of beneficiaries
multiplied by frequency of feeding multiplied by ration size should equal the
total metric tons listed in items 6 on page 1 and item 2 on page 2 above for
this program type.
i)
When
and how will the meal(s) be prepared and served? (i.e., breakfast, snack,
lunch, etc.)
j)
How
will your agency monitor the implementation of the key activities per program
type to ensure program objectives are met?
4. Method of Choosing
Beneficiaries *
In a couple of paragraphs
please identify the criteria and methodology used to target the geographic
area(s) and the beneficiary group(s).
Criteria and methodology should help to distinguish why some regions or
beneficiary groups will receive resources (funds or agricultural products)
while others will not. Consider the
following questions when preparing your response:
a)
Why did you select the particular geographic
area(s), institutions and/or beneficiaries?
b)
Which methodology did you use to select targeted
beneficiary group? Which sources of
information did you use, e.g., government agency, computer database, interviews,
assessments, etc.?
c)
With whom did you collaborate to target a particular
region, institution or beneficiary?
5. Program Administration *
Please complete the
following table and include positions critical to the implementation of the
program. Use the drop-down to indicate
which type of funding source will be used for this program. Eventually, the position titles should be
cross-referenced in the comments section of the Attachment C detailed budget
(required only if proposal approved). A
text box is provided at the end of this table if you have added information.
6. Activity Budgets *
Please list the
contributions of any other donors or private sector entities that will be
needed to implement this program. Additionally, if the applicant is requesting
funds to cover activities that would “enhance the effectiveness” of the
program, please provide this as well in this section. The applicant should include the statement, “All other costs for
this program not covered by resources provided by FAS will be borne by (name of
your organization)”.
Please use the table to the
right to provide all dollar amounts for each activity.
Please refer to 7 CFR
1599.4(b)(6) for further explanation.
7. Recipient Agency *
Please identify any entity
located in the importing country that will receive commodities or commodity
sale proceeds from you, the applicant, for the purpose of implementing program
activities described in item 3.
Describe each entity’s qualifications and capability to perform its
program responsibilities. (Note: The
applicant is expected to enter into an agreement with any recipient agency
listed and hold it responsible for properly using the commodities or proceeds.
See 7 C.F.R. section 1599.10). A copy
of this agreement should be provided to USDA/FAS upon request.
8. Governmental or
Nongovernmental Entities *
Please specify any
government, nongovernmental or private sector entities in the country that will
be involved in the program and explain how the program will strengthen or
increase the capabilities of such entities to further economic development in
the country.
9. Method of Educating
Consumers *
Please state the means of
notifying consumers in the recipient country of the source of donated
commodities.
10.
Criteria for Measuring Progress *
Please
complete only those columns which are applicable. Also, A text box is provided below if you prefer a different
format or if there is any additional information you wish to provide.
Activity - Describe the type of activity.
Type & Number of Beneficiaries - Describe the type and number of beneficiaries, if
applicable.
Timeframe - Provide time frame in terms of months.
Region - Include the particular region(s) or area(s) of the country, if
applicable.
Food Tonnage - If appropriate, include the amount of agricultural commodity in
metric tons (MT).
11. Progress Indicators
– 6 objectives
All signed agreements will
be expected to evaluate the project objectives using this section. USDA has identified 6 overall objectives
that could be used by projects. To the
fullest extent possible, please use the standardized indicators provided by
inputting data in the baseline and target goal area. Additional blank spaces are provided at the end of the objectives
if you wish to add more indicators.
The
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program will
be evaluated against Cooperating Sponsor’s collected current baseline data,
which should be incorporated into the relevant progress indicators. Please include quantitative target goals
established against those baseline values.
Please indicate how the target goals are being used (e.g. monthly,
quarterly, annually, etc.).
Page 3
Please Note: If commodities are not
used for barter or monetization, no information is required. Please proceed to page 4 in the Food Aid
Proposal Entry System.
If using commodities provided by
USDA for barter or monetization, you must provide justification in the Program
Introduction on page 1 of the Food Aid Proposal Entry System.
1. Use of Monetized Funds *
Please
provide the Estimated Sales Prices Per MT for each commodity. Also, please provide the Anticipated
Interest in the Estimated Proceeds text box.
The total estimated proceeds will be automatically calculated for you.
2. Barter Activities *
Please
provide the Kind of Goods or Services, Quantity of Goods or Services, and Total
Value of Goods or Services for this section.
(The remainder of this page is for
monetized commodities only)
3. Impact on Other Sales *
Please provide a paragraph
or two that provides assurances that the current commercial markets will not be
adversely affected by the sale of the commodities. Include information on trade of the same and similar commodities
from the U.S. and other countries into this market. Discuss current trading partners. Include both commercial as well as traditional regional
stakeholders. Discuss the optimal
timing of the sale in terms of periods of heightened demand, seasonality,
harvest time, etc.
4. Private Sector
Participation in the Sale of the Commodities *
Please provide a paragraph
or two that describes how the commodities will be sold. Indicate who are the potential buyers given
the market for the commodities. Discuss
how the private sector buyers will be encouraged to participate in the sales process. Discuss any constraints that may hinder or
aid in the sales process, e.g., number of buyers, number of banks, letter of
credit fees, storage facilities at processing plants, etc. Indicate which measures the applicant will
undertake to guard against an unfair disadvantage based on limited potential
buyers.
5. Use of Sale Proceeds
*
Please provide the amount
of proceeds that will be used for Administrative Expenses, ITSH and the
ICR. Provide the project activity name
and the amount of proceeds planned for each.
Total administrative, ITSH, program
activities and allowable Indirect
Cost Recovery (ICR) expenses
shall not exceed the estimated level of proceeds from the Amount of Sales
Proceeds Anticipated table described under item 1 of the Food Aid Proposal
Entry System on page 3. A text box is
provided in this section for added explanation.
6. Procedures for
Assuring Receipt and Deposit of Sale Proceeds *
Please provide a paragraph
or two that describes how the applicant will ensure that it receives payment
for the sales and that the proceeds are deposited into a separate
interest-bearing account. Discuss how
and when the proceeds will be disbursed from the account for program
activities. Discuss who will have
access to the funds and how the accounts will be monitored and audited. If special banking issues are involved, the
applicant should describe any actions needed to safeguard deposits.
Page 4
Distribution Methods
1. Description of Transportation and
Storage, Description of Any Reprocessing or Repackaging, and Logistics Plan *
The main purpose of this
section is to provide assurances to USDA that the port, transportation
infrastructure, and storage facilities are sufficient to prevent undue spoilage
or waste.
Please provide one or two
paragraphs that describe in a logical sequence the following:
a)
The
discharge port facilities in the importing country, including offloading and
storage capacity, number of discharge berths, depth of draft, and who will
receive the commodities at the discharge port.
b)
The
mode of transport used to move the commodities from the discharge port to your
warehouse.
c)
Storage
capacity, structure and level of security.
d)
Any
processing or repackaging that you, the applicant, will arrange prior to the
sale or distribution of the commodities, or a short statement declaring that no
reprocessing or repackaging will take place.
e)
Movement
of food from warehouse to schools or feeding centers.
f)
Steps
taken to prevent undue spoilage or waste.
2. Duty Free Entry *
Please be familiar with and
provide information about local customs, duties, and taxes that may be
applicable for the commodities to enter the country. The applicant should list any special laws or taxes that may
apply and explain how these laws and/or taxes will affect either distribution
and/or monetization.
For direct feeding
programs, the applicant must indicate that the commodities will be imported and
distributed free from all customs, duties, tolls, and taxes. Please refer to, or if possible, quote from
any written documentation that supports duty-free entry.
For monetization programs,
if the commodities will not enter duty free, indicate who will be responsible
for paying applicable customs, duties, or taxes and how this payment will
affect the amount of sales proceeds realized from the sale. For example, if the buyer will pay the duty,
is the sales price representative of a fair market price given this
stipulation?
3. Economic Impact *
Please provide information
indicating how the commodities were selected.
Describe why the commodities can be imported and distributed without a
disruption to local production and marketing patterns along with no adverse
affect on prices of the same or like products (substitutable commodities)
within the importing country. Highlight
current local agricultural risks, aberrations, and marketing practices for
locally produced foods. Discuss how these factors have been considered in the
commodity selection process and monetization (if applicable) plan. Please include recent production and
consumption statistics along with sources to support these statements. Do not repeat information provided in page 3
about items 2,3 and 4.
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