Applicant’s Webinar:

NICE RAMPS Funding Opportunity

June 13, 2023
Rodney 

Petersen

Danielle 

Santos

Susana 

Barraza

Nicole 

Saulnier
Welcome and 

NICE Overview

Susana Barraza

NICE Program Manager
Mission of NICE

To energize, promote, and 

coordinate a robust community 

working together to advance an 

integrated ecosystem of 

cybersecurity education, training, 

and workforce development.
Values of NICE

Seek Evidence

Pursue Action

Challenge Assumptions

Embrace Change

Stimulate Innovation

Foster Communication

Facilitate Collaboration

Share Resources

Model Inclusion

Measure Results
Strategic Alignment with 

Key Strategies

Rodney Petersen

Director of NICE
NICE Strategic Plan 

Goal #1: Promote the Discovery of Cybersecurity Careers 

and Multiple Pathways

Goal #2: Transform Learning to Build and Sustain a 

Diverse and Skilled Workforce

Goal #3: Modernize the Talent Management Process to 

Address Cybersecurity Skills Gaps

Goal #4: Expand Use of the Workforce Framework for 

Cybersecurity (NICE Framework)

Goal #5: Drive Research on Effective Practices for 

Cybersecurity Workforce Development

https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice/about/strategic-plan
Department of Commerce’s

Strategic Plan 

Objective 2.2: Build sustainable, 

employer-driven career 

pathways to meet employers’ 

need for talent and to connect 

Americans to quality jobs

https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/DOC-Strategic-Plan2022%E2%80%932026.pdf
Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor’s 

“Good Jobs Principles”

https://www.dol.gov/general/good-jobs/principles

Recruitment 

and Hiring

Diversity, Equity, 

Inclusion, and 

Accessibility (DEIA)

Pay Benefits

Skills and Career 

Advancement

Job Security and 

Working Conditions

Organizational 

Culture

Empowerment 

and 

Representation
Highly Effective Workforce Investments...

• Are employer led 

• Are guided by multiple community partners 

• Include wrap-around services 

• Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Prioritize proven earn and learn models 

• Lead to stackable, industry-recognized credentials 

• Measure and evaluate outcomes 

• Build sustainable systems and partnerships 

• Connect workforce development to economic development

• Are coordinated across the federal government

• Encourage the use of other government and private funding

https://www.commerce.gov/issues/workforce-development
Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder

Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) 

Cybersecurity Education and

Workforce Development 

Danielle Santos

NICE Manager of Communications & Operations
Purpose and Scope
2016 Pilot Program

Southwest Region: Arizona Statewide Cyber 

Workforce Consortium

Western Region: Cyber Prep Program

Central Region: Cincinnati-Dayton Cyber 

Corridor (Cin-Day Cyber)

Mid-Atlantic Region: Hampton Roads 

Cybersecurity Education, Workforce, and 

Economic Development Alliance (HRCyber)

Northeast Region: The Partnership to Advance 

Cybersecurity Education and Training (PACET)
A Roadmap for Successful Regional Alliances and 

Multistakeholder Partnerships to Build the 

Cybersecurity Workforce 

NISTIR 8287

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8287
2023 RAMPS Notice of Funding Opportunity

Eligible Applicants: all non-Federal entities

• non-profit organizations

• for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States

• state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments

• accredited institutions of higher education

• foreign public entities and foreign organizations

*individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non- Federal entities” and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO
Program Requirements

• Plan to establish a multistakeholder education and workforce partnership that includes, at minimum: 

o One institution of higher education or nonprofit training organization

o One local employer or owner or operator of critical infrastructure

• Partnerships are encouraged to have participation from one or more: 

o Federal Cyber Scholarship for Service programs

o National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity programs 

o Advanced Technological Education programs

o Elementary and secondary schools

o Training and certification providers

o Economic development organizations

o Other community organizations
Applicants Project Must

• Demonstrate how the activity aligns with the Department of Commerce Strategic Plan, meets the 

Effective Workforce Investment Criteria, and advances the Good Jobs Principles.

• Prioritize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility as an essential requirement in strategies intended 

to diversify the cybersecurity workforce and reach underserved and underrepresented communities.

• Ensure that the partnership is employer-led, community-focused, learner-centered, standards-based, and 

outcomes-driven.

• Describe planned initiatives that align to the goals and objectives of the NICE Strategic Plan or help 

support the strategies of the NICE Implementation Plan.

• Advance uses of the NICE Framework, including through demonstration of how the stakeholders intend to 

use the NICE Framework.

• Identify the workforce needs of the local economy and assess such workforce in accordance with the NICE 

Framework, including ideas for how the multistakeholder organization would leverage the CyberSeek job 

heat map and career pathways. 
Applicants Project Must

(cont.)

• Identify opportunities available and recruit employers to support paid internships, 

externships, apprenticeships, or cooperative education programs in conjunction 

with education and training providers in the local community.

• Identify how it would collaborate with one or more Center of Academic Excellence 

in Cybersecurity (CAE), Advanced Technological Education (ATE) programs, or 

Federal CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) institutions located in the region. 

• Define metrics that will be used to measure the success of their efforts. Metrics 

should include but not be limited to the number of CAE and ATE programs that 

participate in the program, outcomes of workforce demand and supply 

assessment, increases in diversity and inclusion, outcomes of recruitment 

activities, timeliness of milestones reached, etc.
Application Contents and 

Evaluation Criteria
Application Content – Required Forms

• SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance

o SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs

o SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs

• CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying

• SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable). 
Application Content - Technical Proposal

• Project Narrative (15 pages maximum)

o Executive Summary (no more than 2 pages)

o Project Approach and Project Execution Plan

o Project Impacts and Evaluation

oQualifications

oDissemination Plan

• Resume(s) of Key Personnel (2 pages per person)
Application Content - Technical Proposal 

(cont.)

• Budget Narrative and Justification

o Information needed for each budget category is as follows: 

 Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual (i.e., Contracts or 

Subawards, Other Direct Costs, Indirect Costs

• Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

• Letters of Commitment

• Current and Pending Support Form
Evaluation Criteria 

• Rationality of Execution and Strength of Partnerships (35 points)

• Project Impact and Dissemination of Results (35 points)

• Staff and Institution Capability to Perform the Work (15 points)

• Match of Budget to Proposed Work (15 points)
Administrative 

Requirements 

Nicole Saulnier

NIST Grants Officer
General Rules of Thumb...

Budget format

• Costs should be placed under the applicable budget categories of Personnel, 

Fringe Benefits, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other, and Indirect 

Charges.

• The total dollar amounts listed under each budget category in the Budget 

Narrative must match the dollar amounts listed on the SF424A.

• Cost computations and written justification must be provided for all costs in the 

Budget Narrative.

• The Budget Narrative and the SF-424A should include both Federal and NonFederal amount as part of the required 50% cost share under the NOFO.

• Best estimates are acceptable.
Budget Narrative Content

a. Personnel

• Name or TBD

• Job title

• Commitment of effort on the proposed (average number of hours per week or percentage 

of time)

• Salary rate

• Description of the role and the work to be performed

* Consultants/contracted personnel should be listed under the Contractual budget category.

* Include sufficient time for reporting requirements.
Budget Narrative Content

b. Fringe Benefits

• Identified separately from salaries and wages.

• Based on rates determined by organizational policy.

• Costs included as fringe should not be charged under another cost category.

c. Travel

• Include: destination; travel dates or duration of trip; names of travelers or number of people 

traveling; transportation rate; lodging rate; subsistence rate (per diem); and description of how 

travel is directly related to the project.

• For travel that is yet to be determined or destinations that are not known, provide best 

estimates based on prior experience.

• Become familiar with the Fly America Act if proposing foreign travel 
Fly America Act

49 U.S.C. 40118

All air travel funded by the federal government under 

Financial Assistance is required to use a "U.S. flag" air 

carrier service.

There are some circumstances where it’s not 

reasonable to use a U.S. flag air carrier, and you can 

make an exception to the Fly America Act. Please 

review policy for specifics.

However, ticket cost and convenience are NOT 

exceptions to the Fly America Act.
Budget Narrative Content

d. Equipment

• Defined as: property with an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more and expected service life of more than 

one year (unless the organization has established lower levels). 

• Items that do not meet the threshold for “equipment” may be placed under the Supplies budget 

category. 

• Identify each piece of equipment, the cost, and provide a description of how it will be used and why it is 

necessary for the successful completion of the project.

• Prorate costs for equipment that will be used for other purposes besides project-related effort.

e. Supplies

• Identify each supply item and provide a breakdown of costs by quantity or unit. 

• Describe the necessity of the cost for the completion of the project.
Budget Narrative Content

f. Contractual

• Treat each contract or subaward as a separate line item.

• Describe the services provided and the purpose.

• Describe the necessity of the contract or subaward.

• Describe how costs were determined

• For contracts, identify if the contract is sole sourced or competed.
Budget Narrative Content

Contracts vs. Sub Awards

The primary distinction between a sub-recipient and a vendor is the performance of programmatic work. 

Subaward

An award of financial assistance made under 

an award by a recipient to an eligible subrecipient or by a sub-recipient to a lower tier 

sub-recipient (DoC Grants Manual).

Contract (via a Vendor/Procurement) 

Principal purpose of the relationship is the 

acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter, of 

property or services (DoC Grants Manual).
Budget Narrative Content

g. Construction

• Not an allowed cost under this program.

h. Other Direct Costs

• Costs that do not easily fit into the other cost categories (e.g. conference 

registration costs).

• Identify the cost and provide a breakdown of the cost by quantity or unit.

• Describe the necessity of the cost for the completion of the project.
Budget Narrative Content

i. Indirect Costs

• Indirect costs include business expenses that are not readily identified but are 

necessary for general operation and conduct of activities.

• Indirect cost rates are negotiated with the recipient’s cognizant Federal 

agency. (Agency that provides the most Federal funding)

• For applicants without a negotiated rate:

• Use the 10% De Minimis Rate, authorized by 2 CFR 200.414.

• Establish a negotiated rate with NIST 

• For additional information about negotiating an Indirect Cost Rate, 

please contact Judy Inserra at gmdaudit@nist.gov
Allowable Costs

• Direct costs for technical work

• Salaries of technical personnel on the project

• Equipment used on the project (prorated)

• Materials and supplies

• Travel to NICE Conferences

• Audits – Single Audits are required by an external auditor if an NFE expends more 

than $750K in a fiscal year from all Federal awards. See Federal Single Audit 

requirements under 2 CFR 200 Subpart F.

• Accounting system certification - if a recipient has never received Federal funding, a 

certification that indicates whether the recipient has a functioning financial 

management system meeting the provisions of 2 CFR 200.302 may be required from a 

CPA. Sample will be provided at time of award.
Cost Share or Matching

Under 2 CFR 200.306 (b):

All Federal awards, any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third-party 

in-kind contributions, must be accepted as part of the non-Federal entity's cost sharing or matching when 

such contributions meet all of the following criteria: 

(1) Are verifiable from the non-Federal entity's records; 

(2) Are not included as contributions for any other Federal award; 

(3) Are necessary and reasonable for accomplishment of project or program objectives; 

(4) Are allowable under subpart E of this part; 

(5) Are not paid by the Federal Government under another Federal award, except where the Federal 

statute authorizing a program specifically provides that Federal funds made available for such program 

can be applied to matching or cost sharing requirements of other Federal programs; 

(6) Are provided for in the approved budget when required by the Federal awarding agency; and 

(7) Conform to other provisions of this part, as applicable
In-Kind as Cost Share

• Examples of In-Kind that can be used as the required Cost Share would be:

• An organization donating an employee’s time to the project. The employee is 

paid by their own organization and not charged to the federal award. The 

employee would need to track their time for this project and it should be 

reflected in the accounting records. The expense for the employee’s time on 

the project would qualify as an In-Kind contribution and can be attributed to 

the non-federal cost share. 

• Work or Event space is donated. The In-Kind amount would be the prevailing 

rate for the space or what you would have paid if it was rented.

• Donated items are eligible as In-Kind and should use the fair market value of 

goods and services and must be documented
Unallowable Costs

• Profit and fees

• Application writing and/or development

• Contingency fees

• Any cost disallowed by 2 CFR Part 200

• Any cost not required for the approved work
Submission Requirements

• Applications must be submitted at Grants.gov. Paper applications will 

not be accepted.

• Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to 

ensure that all attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system.

• Applicants may not submit replacement pages and/or missing 

documents once an application has been submitted. Any revisions 

must be made by submission of a new application that must be 

received by NIST by the submission deadline. 

• Applications are due by 11:59pm ET on August 7, 2023.
Award Requirements

• OMB Uniform Guidance, 2 C.F.R Part 200

• Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions Dated November 12, 2020

• Specific Award Conditions (SAC) specific to NICE and each cooperative agreement
Payment of Grant Funds

• Award funds are paid electronically through the Automated Standard Application 

for Payment (ASAP) system managed by the US Treasury.

• Enrollment will be required if not already enrolled.
Reporting Requirements

SF425 Federal Financial Reports

• Semi-annual basis for the periods ending March 31 and September 30 of each year

• Reports will be due within 30 days after the end of the reporting period

• A final financial report is due within 120 days after the end of the project period

Performance (Technical) Reports

• Semi-annual basis for the periods ending March 31 and September 30 of each year

• Reports will be due within 30 days after the end of the reporting period

• A final technical report is due within 120 days after the end of the project period

• Each report submitted by a regional alliance or partnership shall include the following:

o An assessment of efforts made by the regional alliance or partnership

o The metrics used by the regional alliance or partnership to measure the success of the efforts of the 

regional alliance or partnership under the cooperative agreement
Questions?

Subject Area Point of Contact

Programmatic and Technical Questions Danielle Santos

Phone: 202-308-3909

E-mail: nice@nist.gov with ‘2023-NISTRAMPS-01’ in subject line

Technical Assistance with Grants.gov 

Submissions

grants.gov

Phone: 800-518-4726

E-mail: support@grants.gov 

Grant Rules and Regulations Nuria Martinez

Phone: 301-975-6215

E-mail: nuria.martinez@nist.gov
Helpful LEARN MORE

Information • NICE Webinar: Community-Based Partnerships for Cybersecurity

• June 21, 2023, 2-3PM ET

• Register at nist.gov/nice/webinars

• 2016 RAMPS Pilot Programs and NIST Publication on 

Roadmaps to Successful RAMPS

• Learn more at nist.gov/nice/ffo

• 2023 RAMPS Program:

• Webinar recording

• Grants.gov information

• ASAP.gov information

• nist.gov/news-events/events/2023/06/applicants-webinar-nice- ramps-funding-opportunity

Deadline to Apply: Monday, 

August 7, 2023 by 11:59pm ET

Link to opportunity on 

Grants.gov:

https://www.grants.gov/web/

grants/viewopportunity.html?oppId=3485

50