ADS Chapter 303 - usaid.gov

1 ADS Chapter 303 Grants and Cooperative Agreements to Non-Governmental Organizations Partial Revision Date: 08/01/2019 Responsible Office: M/OAA/P File Name: 303_08011908/01/2019 Partial Revision Text highlighted in yellow indicates that the adjacent material is new or substantively revised. 2 ADS Chapter 303 Functional Series 300 Acquisition and Assistance ADS 303 Grants and Cooperative Agreements to Non-Governmental Organizations POC for ADS 303: Michael Gushue, (202) 567-4678, Table of Contents OVERVIEW .. 5 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES .. 5 POLICY DIRECTIVES AND REQUIRED PROCEDURES.

2 9 Policy Directives .. 9 Required 9 Type of Assistance Instrument .. 9 Deviations .. 10 Public Notice and Advertising .. 12 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance .. 13 Notice of Funding Opportunity .. 13 Solicitation Format .. 14 Cancellation of Notice of Funding Opportunity .. 19 Unsolicited Concept Papers and Applications .. 20 Eligibility .. 20 Eligibility Requirements .. 21 Merit Review 21 Reviewing Applications .. 24 When Eligibility Can Be Restricted .. 26 Restrictions to Eligibility .. 27 Late or Incomplete Submissions .. 39 Conflicts of Interest .. 39 The Award 40 Notification .. 40 Request for Additional Information.

3 41 Pre-Award Certifications, Assurances, Representations, and Other Statements of the Recipient and Pre-Award Terms .. 41 Pre-Award Risk Assessment .. 43 08/01/2019 Partial Revision Text highlighted in yellow indicates that the adjacent material is new or substantively revised. ADS Chapter 303 3 Pre-Award Surveys .. 47 Specific Conditions .. 50 Cost Share .. 52 Cost Share Determination .. 52 Cost Sharing in RFAs and APS .. 54 Meeting Cost Sharing Requirements .. 54 Substantial Involvement and Cooperative Agreements .. 55 Negotiation of the Award .. 57 The Award Process and Elements of an Award .. 58 Duration of Assistance Awards.

4 60 Designation of the Agreement Officer s Representative (AOR) .. 60 Congressional Award Notice System .. 65 Distribution of Awards .. 65 Award Administration .. 66 Unauthorized Commitments and Expenditures Requiring Prior Approvals .. 68 Controlling Language .. 70 Subawards .. 70 The Role of the Agreement Officer in the Debt Collection Process .. 73 Disputes and Appeals .. 74 Disputes .. 74 Appeals .. 74 Simplified Grants .. 75 Fixed Amount Awards to Non-Governmental Organizations .. 76 Leader with Associate Awards .. 79 Public-Private Partnerships .. 84 Participation of Faith-Based and Community Organizations.

5 85 08/01/2019 Partial Revision Text highlighted in yellow indicates that the adjacent material is new or substantively revised. ADS Chapter 303 4 Suspension and Debarment .. 88 Limitation on Construction under Assistance .. 89 USAID Implementing Partner Notices (IPN) Portal for Assistance .. 89 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) .. 90 Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse .. 93 MANDATORY REFERENCES .. 93 External Mandatory References .. 93 Internal Mandatory References .. 94 Mandatory Forms .. 96 ADDITIONAL HELP .. 97 DEFINITIONS .. 97 08/01/2019 Partial Revision Text highlighted in yellow indicates that the adjacent material is new or substantively revised.

6 ADS Chapter 303 5 ADS 303 Grants and Cooperative Agreements to Non-Governmental Organizations OVERVIEW Effective Date: 06/01/2006 This Chapter describes the Agency s internal guidance, policy directives, required procedures, and standards for the award and administration of USAID grants and cooperative agreements to: Institutions of higher education, Hospitals, Nonprofit non-governmental organizations, and Commercial organizations. USAID provides assistance to or organizations, individuals, nonprofits, and for-profit entities. Authorizing legislation (including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended), other statutes, Government-wide directives and regulations, and Agency policies specify the eligibility requirements for individual assistance programs.

7 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES Effective Date: 08/01/2019 a. The Bureau for Management, Office of Acquisition and Assistance (M/OAA) develops and interprets policy on behalf of USAID for the award and administration of grants and cooperative agreements. M/OAA carries out this responsibility in accordance with the requirements of 2 CFR 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards and USAID s implementing regulation 2 CFR 700 USAID Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and this ADS Chapter . b. The M/OAA Director is also the Assistance Executive and coordinates all matters that OMB or USAID regulations govern or which may require OMB approval.

8 The M/OAA Director: Authorizes restricted eligibility, in accordance with ; Makes the final decision on the choice of implementing instrument in the event of a dispute between the requesting official and the Agreement Officer, in accordance with ADS 304; and c. The Agency Liaison 08/01/2019 Partial Revision Text highlighted in yellow indicates that the adjacent material is new or substantively revised. ADS Chapter 303 6 Reviews information for the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) for completeness and accuracy and forwards the information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for entry into the CFDA by the General Services Administration (GSA); Updates CFDA entries annually; Submits an annual crosswalk that references program transactions occurring during the year, such as additions, deletions, consolidations of programs, and changes to program titles; Assigns CFDA numbers; and Prepares the CFDA entry describing the Agency's general program description.

9 NOTE: The Chief of the Strategic Planning and Performance Division of the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (PPC/SPP/SPA) was serving as the Agency Liaison to the CFDA (see ). However, this office has been superseded by the establishment of the Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance. Details of the liaison function will be revised. For further information, contact PPC and M/OAA. d. The Agreement Officer (AO) has legal responsibility for the award. Therefore, only the AO can take action on behalf of USAID to enter into, amend, or terminate an award. The AO is authorized this responsibility either by a warrant issued by the Director, M/OAA, or through a delegation by virtue of his or her position provided by: The Mission Director or other principal officer of a USAID overseas mission (see ADS 103), The Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (AA/DCHA), or The directors of DCHA offices, as re-delegated by the AA/DCHA (see ADS ).

10 E. Prior to award, the Activity Planner (also referred to as Planner) ensures that an anticipated award reflects the project design and planning documentation prepared in accordance with ADS 201 and ADS 300 and supports the assistance objectives. The Planner: 08/01/2019 Partial Revision Text highlighted in yellow indicates that the adjacent material is new or substantively revised. ADS Chapter 303 7 Ensures adequate notice and time is provided to the AO to compete and award an assistance instrument by using an annual A&A plan or by obtaining the AO s consent; Justifies an exception to eligibility, in accordance with this Chapter and as directed by the AO, if eligibility is to be restricted; Provides the Agency Liaison with an annual update on the information in Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) entries for which the Planner is responsible (see ); Complies with 22 CFR 216, Environmental Procedures, requirements during the design process; Manages the merit review of applications on behalf of the AO.