Source: http://www.epa.gov/education/pdf/solNotice2012.htm
Timestamp: 2013-05-24 03:22:07
Document Index: 106347391

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 230', 'arts 30', 'arts 30', 'art 30', 'art 2', 'art 47', 'art 31', 'art 30', 'art 25', 'art 170', 'art 230', 'art 230']

2012 Environmental Education Regional Model Grants Solicitation Notice
FEDERAL AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) Office of
Environmental Education TITLE:
Environmental Education Regional Grants -- Solicitation Notice for 2012 ACTION:
Solicitation Notice RFP NUMBER:
EPA-EE-12-01 Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA): 66.951 Purpose: The
purpose of the Environmental Education (EE) Regional Grant Program is to
increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provide
the skills that participants in its funded projects need to make informed
environmental decisions and take responsible actions toward the environment. Application
Deadline: Applications must be postmarked by December 12, 2012, 11:59 pm local
time or submitted electronically via www.grants.gov by December 12, 2012, 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time
(EST) in order to be considered for funding. See Section IV(D) for more details about the deadline. Number and Value of Awards: The total estimated funding for this competitive
opportunity is approximately $2,160,000 nationwide. EPA expects to award one (1) grant per Region for an
expected 10 grants nationwide; the award amount is approximately (but no more
than) $216,000, subject to the availability of funds, the quality and quantity
of applications received, and other applicable considerations. Cost
Sharing Requirement: Applicants must
demonstrate how they will provide non-federal matching funds of at least 25% of
the total cost of the project. Start Date: Applications should plan for projects to start no
earlier than March 11, 2013. CONTENTS
BY SECTION I.��������� Funding
Opportunity Description II.������� Award
Information III.������ Eligibility
Information IV.������ Application
and Submission Information V.������� Application
Review Information VI.������ Award
Administration Information VII.���� Agency Contacts Appendices
A � Federal Forms and Instructions B � Checklist for Proposal C � Expected Outputs and Outcomes and Examples of
Performance Measures (Logic Model) D �
Instructions for Electronic Submissions (www.grants.gov)
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description A. Background and
this solicitation EPA is seeking grant proposals from eligible applicants to
support environmental education projects that promote environmental stewardship
and help develop knowledgeable and responsible students, teachers, and
citizens. This grant program provides financial support for projects that
design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices,
methods, or techniques, as described in this notice, and that will serve as
models that can be replicated in a variety of settings. Under this solicitation
EPA expects to award environmental education grants from the 10 EPA Regional
offices. Grantees
that receive awards under this solicitation must establish methods to document
and report measurable results from grant projects. To ensure that grant
proposals are competitive, applicants should carefully read Sections IV and V
regarding how to structure a proposal and what criteria will be used to
evaluate proposals. EPA receives a large number of grant applications under
this program and can fund just a small percentage of those applications
Applicants must demonstrate that
their proposal is for a project for which they (the applicant) have not been
previously awarded a grant by EPA�s EE program; or the applicant must
demonstrate that they are expanding, broadening or otherwise enhancing a project
previously funded by EPA�s EE Grant Program in such a way that it could serve
as a replicable model of environmental education practices, methods, or
techniques. �In addition, EPA encourages
applications for funding of projects that provide a variety and range of educational and environmental priorities, geographic areas,
and audiences as compared to the pool of previously funded projects in each
Region.� Go to the EPA website www.epa.gov/education/grants/index.html#grants=4 to see the list and descriptions of
proposals previously funded by this program.
B. Definitions This
grant program funds environmental education (EE) projects that will serve as models of practices, methods and/or
techniques that can be replicated in a variety of settings. �Environmental
Education (EE)� is defined in the National Environmental Education Act of 1990
(the Act) as �educational activities and training activities involving
elementary, secondary, and postsecondary students, as such terms are defined in
the State in which they reside, and environmental education personnel, but does
not include technical training activities directed toward environmental
management professionals or activities primarily directed toward the support of
noneducational research and development.��
The Act also states that �The Office of Environmental Education
shall�support development and the widest possible dissemination of model
curricula, educational materials, and training programs for elementary and
secondary students and other interested groups, including senior
Americans.�� �
EPA further clarifies that
environmental information and outreach may be important elements of EE
projects, but these activities by themselves are not environmental
education.� By itself, environmental
information only addresses awareness and knowledge, usually about a particular
environmental issue. Outreach involves information dissemination and requests
or suggestions for action on a particular issue (often without the critical
thinking, problem solving and decision making steps in between). EE increases
public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provides the
participants in its programs the skills necessary to make informed
environmental decisions and to take responsible actions. EE is based on
objective and scientifically sound information and does not advocate a
particular viewpoint or a particular course of action.� EE teaches individuals how to weigh various
sides of an issue through critical thinking, problem solving and decision
making skills on environmental topics. EE covers the range of steps and
activities from awareness to action with an ultimate goal of environmental
stewardship. �EE involves lifelong
learning; its audiences are of all age groups, from very young children through
senior citizens.� EE can include both
outdoor and in-classroom education, in both formal and informal settings.
are definitions of terms used throughout this solicitation. (1)
�Environmental Information� provides facts or opinions about environmental
issues or problems. Information is essential to any educational effort.
However, environmental information is not, by itself, environmental education.
Information provides facts or opinions whereas education teaches people how to
think, analyze, and solve problems. (2)
�Environmental Outreach� disseminates information and sometimes asks audiences
to take specific action, but doesn�t necessarily teach people how to analyze an
issue. Outreach often presents a particular point of view, and often in pursuit
of a particular goal. Examples may include a community meeting to inform
residents about a toxic site in their area and where they can go for help, or a
campaign to get volunteer participants for a beach or stream cleanup event. (3)
�Environmental Stewardship� is voluntary commitment, behavior, and action that
results in environmental protection or improvement. Stewardship refers to an
acceptance of personal responsibility for actions to improve environmental
quality and to achieve sustainable outcomes. Stewardship involves lifestyles
and business practices, initiatives and actions that enhance the state of the
environment. Some examples are: live or conduct business in such a way as to
minimize or eliminate pollution at its source; use energy and natural resources
efficiently; decrease the use of hazardous chemicals; recycle wastes
effectively; and conserve or restore forests, prairies, wetlands, rivers, and
urban parks. Stewardship can be practiced by individuals, groups, schools,
organizations, companies, communities, and state and local governments. C.
Educational and Environmental Priorities In order to be eligible, all
applications must: �(1) address at least
one of the EPA educational priorities listed below, (2) address at least one
EPA environmental priority listed below; and, (3) be for a project that
satisfies the definition of �environmental education� as defined under Section
I(B). The
educational and environmental priorities listed below are not in order of
importance or preference. Proposals may address more than one priority in each
category. However, it is important that a proposal is clear as to what the
focus of the project will be and how that focus will contribute to a replicable
project that will model quality outputs and outcomes and that has a vision for advancing
and strengthening the field of practice of environmental education.� �
EPA�s Educational Priorities
Community Projects: Addressing
environmental stewardship in a local formal or informal educational context in
rural, suburban and urban settings, and using outdoor, place-based,
experiential, service learning and/or community-focused stewardship activities
as the primary teaching tool(s). (2) Human
Health and the Environment: Educating students of any age group, from the very young
through the elderly, and training* their educators or community leaders on how
to teach, in formal and non-formal settings, in the outdoors and in classrooms,
about human health threats from environmental pollution and how to minimize
human exposure to preserve good health. (3) Career
Development: Educating
students of any age group, from the very young through the elderly, and training*
their educators or community leaders on how to teach, in formal and non-formal
settings, about environmental issues, solutions and stewardship for the purpose
of encouraging interest in careers in environmental fields.
*A note on training educators: �EPA
has funded various kinds of projects focused on the skills needed to be an
effective environmental educator. A resource to help guide projects that
address EE �teaching skills� is the Guidelines for the Preparation and
Professional Development of Environmental Educators developed with EPA
funds. You may download or order a copy of this publication by going to EPA�s
website at www.epa.gov/education/resources.html. EPA�s
addition to addressing at least one educational priority listed above, and
satisfying the definition of environmental education, all proposals must
address at least one of EPA�s environmental priorities listed below. The
mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. EPA has
identified the following priorities that help focus the work of the Agency. (1) Protecting
Air Quality � These efforts help protect the health of all Americans and the
ecosystems we depend on by preventing pollution and increasing energy
efficiency, improving indoor and outdoor air quality, reducing industrial air
pollution and pollution from vehicles and engines, protecting the stratospheric
ozone layer, reducing acid rain, and addressing climate change.� See more information at www.epa.gov/air/.
(2) Assuring the
Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution � These efforts protect all Americans and
the environment from potential risks from pesticides and toxic chemicals and
prevent pollution before it begins.� See
more information at www.epa.gov/aboutepa/ocspp.html.
(3) Cleaning Up Our Communities � These efforts provide
guidelines for safe and environmentally-friendly practices in waste management
and support the redevelopment and reuse of potentially contaminated sites. See
more information at www.epa.gov/aboutepa/oswer.html.
(4) Protecting
America�s Waters � These efforts ensure that drinking water is safe, and restores and
maintains oceans, watersheds, and their aquatic ecosystems to protect human
health, support economic and recreational activities, and provide healthy
habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife. See more information at www.epa.gov/aboutepa/ow.html.
These priorities focus on
environmental challenges that require a population that is diverse, informed,
environmentally literate, as well as willing and able to translate their
knowledge and skills into decisions and actions that protect the environment in
every community, including but not limited to minority, low income, and tribal
communities. As such, we encourage proposals that reach out to a variety of
communities, especially those that can be demonstrated to be more likely
affected adversely (e.g., higher rates of medical problems due to environmental
factors) by environmental risks than other communities. Environmental education
is an important non-regulatory tool the Agency uses to help meet its mission. D. Partnerships
work with partners to develop, design and implement proposed projects.� Partnerships can strengthen recruitment plans
by increasing potential numbers and diversity of audiences, can increase the
variety of and accessibility to expertise needed to create a model project, and
can assist in meeting the matching funds requirement. See Section III(B) for
more information about the matching funds requirement.
Statutory Authority Section 6 of the National
Environmental Education Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-619) authorizes the award
of these Environmental Education Grants.
F. Linkage to EPA�s Strategic
Plan and Expected Outputs and Outcomes (1) Linkage
to EPA�s Strategic Plan. All
proposals must support EPA�s cross-cutting strategy of Expanding the
Conversation on Environmentalism and one or more of the following Strategic
Goals of the Agency:
� Goal 1: Taking Action
on Climate Change and Improving Air Quality
� Goal 2: Protecting
America�s Waters � Goal 3: Cleaning Up
Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development
� Goal 4: Ensuring the
Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution
See EPA�s 2011-2015
Strategic Plan at www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html. (2)
Expected Outputs and Outcomes (See Appendix C). Recipients of these grants will
design, develop and implement replicable educational projects that advance and
strengthen the field of practice of environmental education by providing models
of quality methods, practices and techniques and creating a vision for how to
inspire behavioral change through non-regulatory means and raise public
awareness of actions that can be taken to promote environmental stewardship.
During the evaluation process for proposals, EPA will determine if each work
plan contains well-defined outputs and outcomes. Outputs and short-term outcomes
must occur and be reported to EPA within the project period. Progress should at
least begin on medium-term or long-term outcomes during the project period. For
more detailed information on expected outputs and outcomes from environmental
education grants, please see Appendix C. G. Other
Funding Opportunities Please
note that this is a very competitive grant program. Limited funding is
available and not all grant proposals can be funded. If your project is not
funded, you may wish to review other available grant funding opportunities on
the federal site www.grants.gov, or on the
grants page of the website for the National Environmental Education Foundation
at www.neefusa.org/grants/. Section II. Award
Funding Type The funding for selected projects
will be in the form of a grant. B. Number and Amount of Awards EPA
expects approximately $2,160,000 to be available for grants in the amount of approximately
(but no more than) $216,000. Each of
EPA�s 10 Regions anticipates funding one (1) grant, resulting in 10 grants
nationwide, subject to the availability of funds and the quality of
Start Date and Length of Project Period Proposals
should plan for their projects to begin
no earlier than March 11, 2013. Applicants should plan for a flexible start
date since the date awards are made varies from Region to Region. EPA will
accept proposals for one or 2 year project periods, but the total funding will
be the same regardless of the project period (i.e., if a 2 year project is
proposed, the award amount is approximately $216,000 for the whole 2 years and
no additional funding will be issued for the second year.) The proposal must
demonstrate clearly how the project will be completed in the time frame
proposed. D.
Funding and Partial Funding Provisions EPA
reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no awards under this
announcement or make fewer awards than expected. EPA also reserves the right to
make additional awards under this announcement consistent with Agency policy
and guidance if additional funding becomes available after the original
selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later
than 6 months after the original selection decisions. In
appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund proposals
by funding discrete portions or phases of a proposed project. If EPA decides to
partially fund a proposal, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice
any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal, or portion thereof,
was evaluated or selected for award, and therefore maintains the integrity of
the competition and selection process. E.
Multiple Proposals Applicants can submit more than
one proposal under this solicitation so long as each one is for a different
project and is separately submitted. Section III. Eligibility
Eligible Applicants Any local education agency,
college or university, state education or environmental agency, nonprofit
organization as described in Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or
a noncommercial educational broadcasting entity as defined and licensed by
Federal Communications Commission may submit a proposal. Applicant
organizations must be located in the United States or territories and the
majority of the educational activities must take place in the United States; or
in the U.S. and Canada or Mexico; or in U.S. Territories. A teacher�s school
district, an educator�s nonprofit organization, or a faculty member�s college
or university may apply, but an individual teacher or faculty member may not
apply. �Tribal
education agencies� that are eligible to apply include a school or community
college which is controlled by an Indian tribe, band, or nation, which is
recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by the United
States to Indians because of their status as Indians and which is not
administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tribal organizations do not
qualify unless they meet that criteria or the non-profit criteria listed above.
The terms for eligibility are defined in Section 3 of the Act and 40 CFR
47.105. B.
Matching Funds Non-federal matching funds of at
least 25% of the total cost of the grant project are required for awards made
under this announcement. The matching requirement is explained in detail in
Section IV(C)(4) under Budget and Non- Federal Match. In order to ensure you
meet the match requirement, divide the total cost of the project, including the
minimum 25% match, by 4. For example, if the total cost of your project is $288,000
then your match must be a minimum of $72,000 and your request from EPA would be
$216,000. (Some applicants find it easier to divide the dollar amount they are
requesting from EPA by 3 in order to figure their required match; e.g., if you
are asking for $216,000 from EPA to fund your project, then you must have a
match of $72,000, or $216,000 divided by 3). Please see Section IV(C)(4) for
additional information about matching funds. In order to be eligible for
funding consideration, proposals must demonstrate how the applicant will meet
the match requirement if it is selected for award. �Under appropriate circumstances, applicants
may use partnerships to assist with matching funds requirements.� See Section I(D) above for further
information about Partnerships. Applicants must
be aware, however, that regardless of whether it is their partners or their own
organization that proposes providing the matching funds, the applicant itself is responsible for meeting the cost share
requirement. C.
Threshold Eligibility Criteria Proposals
must meet the following threshold criteria to be eligible for funding consideration
under this solicitation. Failure to meet any of the following criteria in
the proposal will result in automatic disqualification of the proposal for funding
consideration. Ineligible applicants will be notified within 15 calendar
days of the determination that they are ineligible based on threshold criteria.
(1) ������ a. Proposals must substantially comply with the application
submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this
announcement or else they will be rejected. Where a page limit is specified in
Section IV for the work plan, pages in excess of the page limitation will not
be reviewed. b. Proposals must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 pm, December 12, 2012 EST, hand delivered by
close of business on December 12, 2012, in the Regional Office, or postmarked
by 11:59 pm, December 12, 2012 local time in order to be considered for
funding. Applicants are responsible
for ensuring that their proposal reaches the designated person/office specified
in Section VII of the announcement by the submission deadline.
c. Applications submitted electronically, hand delivered, or postmarked
after the submission deadline will be considered late and returned to the
sender without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly
demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical
problems associated with www.grants.gov. Applicants should confirm receipt of their proposal with
the appropriate contact listed in Section VII(C) as soon as possible after the
submission deadline�failure to do so may result in your proposal not being
reviewed. (2) The
applicant must be an eligible organization as described in Section III(A)
above. (3) The
applicant must demonstrate how it will meet the non-federal match as required
in Section III(B) above. (4) The amount
requested from EPA must be no more than $216,000. Proposals for projects to
receive EPA funding greater than $216,000 will be rejected. (5) All
proposals must be for projects that satisfy the definition of �environmental
education� as defined under Section I(B). (6) All
proposals must address at least one of the educational priorities listed in
Section I(C). (7) All
proposals must address at least one of the EPA�s environmental priorities
listed in Section I(C). (8) Applicants must demonstrate
that their proposal is for a project for which they (the applicant) has not
been previously awarded a grant by EPA�s EE program and a statement to this
effect must be included in the first paragraph of the Project Summary; or the
applicant must demonstrate that they are expanding, broadening or otherwise
enhancing a project previously funded by EPA�s EE Grant Program in such a way
that it could serve as a replicable model of environmental education practices,
methods, or techniques. Grantees currently
or previously funded by EPA�s EE grant program who are interested in applying
under this solicitation must list all of those previously funded projects of
the last three (3) years, clearly labeled as �EPA EE Grants�, in the Past
Performance section of their proposal. (9) Applicants
can submit more than one proposal under this solicitation so long as each one
is for a different project and is separately submitted. D.
Ineligible Activities Environmental education funds
cannot be used for: (1) Technical
training of environmental management professionals; (2)
Environmental �information� and/or �outreach� projects that have no additional
educational component, as described in Section I(B); (3) Advocacy
promoting a particular point of view or course of action; (4) Lobbying
or political activities as defined in OMB Circulars A-21 www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a021_2004/, A-87 www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a087_2004/, and A-122 www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a122_2004. (5)
Non-educational research and development; or (6)
Construction projects�EPA will not fund construction activities such as the
acquisition of real property (e.g., buildings) or the construction or
modification of any building. Ineligible activities:� If a proposal is submitted that includes any
ineligible tasks or activities, that portion of the proposal will be ineligible
for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the proposal,
render the entire proposal ineligible for funding.
IV. Application and Submission Information A. Submission Requirements Please
follow the instructions below and do not submit additional items or forms.
Please do not refer to websites or online tools in your proposal as the
reviewers will evaluate only the materials provided in the application.
This solicitation notice describes all the information and forms necessary
to prepare a complete proposal package, as well as a description of the review
process that will be used in each EPA Region and the criteria and point system
under which your proposal will be reviewed and ranked (see Section V). Applicants
should take these criteria into consideration when designing proposals and
should address them directly in their proposals. If an applicant is selected
as a finalist after the evaluation process is concluded, EPA will provide them
with additional federal forms and any other information and instructions needed
Note: �Proposals must either be
for projects for which the applicant has not been previously awarded a grant by
EPA�s EE program, and a statement to this effect included in the first
paragraph of the Project Summary, or the applicant must explain clearly
how a project previously funded by EPA�s EE Grant Program is being expanded,
broadened or strengthened or in some way enhanced to make it a model,
replicable project that has the potential to advance and strengthen the field
of EE. Grantees currently or previously funded by EPA�s EE grant program who
are interested in applying under this solicitation must list all of those
previously funded projects, clearly labeled as �EPA EE Grants�, in the Past
Performance section of their proposal. See Section III(C)(8). Applicants
have the option to submit their proposals in one of two ways: (1) hard
copy; or (2) electronically through www.grants.gov.
Regardless of the option chosen, applicants must submit the information
described below. If you wish to apply with hard copy (paper) submission, please
follow the instructions below for �Hard Copy Submission� and go to the
environmental education website www.epa.gov/education/grants/ where you can access and print the two required
federal forms. If you wish to apply electronically via www.grants.gov, please follow the instructions below and in Appendix
D for �Electronic Submission�.� Electronic submissions must be completed by
11:59 pm EST, December 12, 2012, in order to be considered eligible. �Note that registration for www.grants.gov can take a week or longer. Further detailed instructions are available on www.grants.gov and can be downloaded. �
Copy Submission: �Applicants choosing to submit applications in hard
copy must submit an original and two copies of the proposal materials
described below (by mail, express delivery service, or hand delivery) to the
Regional Office in which the project will be located. The 10 EPA Regional
Offices and the EE contacts in them are listed in Section VII (Agency
Contacts). The original, signed package must be postmarked by 11:59 pm, December
12, 2012 local time or hand delivered by close of business in the appropriate
Regional Office on December 12, 2012. Electronic Submission: The electronic submission of your proposal must be made by an
official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov
and is authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance. For more
information, go to www.grants.gov and click on �Get Registered� on the
left side of the page. Note
that the registration process may take a week or longer to complete. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please
encourage your office to designate an authorized organization representative (AOR)
and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as
possible. Please see Appendix D for additional instructions.
Format of Proposal Submission The required contents of the
proposal package are described in detail below. The entire narrative portion of
the Work Plan (which includes the Project Summary, Project Description, and
Project Evaluation) shall not exceed 7 single-spaced pages. �Pages in excess of the page limit will not be
�One page� refers to one side of a
single-spaced typed page. The pages must be letter-sized (8 � X 11 inches);
recommended font size is no smaller than 10 point. The Detailed Budget and
Appendices (i.e., Timeline, Logic Model, Technical Expertise/Qualifications,
and Partnership Commitment Letters) are not included in the page limit. C.
Contents of Submission A
complete proposal package must contain all of the information outlined below (original
and 2 copies of each, if submitting a hard copy application). Please also
refer to the additional instructions provided under �Instructions� below. Also,
please see Appendix B -- Checklist for Proposal. (1) Standard
Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance (2) SF 424A
Budget Information (3) Work plan
(not to exceed 7 single spaced pages total): (a) Project summary (recommended not to exceed 1 page); (b) Project description; (c) Project evaluation; (4) Detailed
budget (no page limit) (5) Appendices
(no page limit): (a) Timeline; (b) Logic model; (c) Programmatic capability and past performance; and (d) Partnership letters of commitment (only if you have
partner organizations making a commitment to the project � please NO letters of
endorsement or recommendation) Instructions:
Standard Form (SF) 424 � Application for Federal Assistance. Complete the form. Refer to
Appendix A for additional instructions. (2)
Standard Form (SF) 424A � Budget Information. Complete only Section B with the EPA funds and
matching funds in separate columns and with the totals in column 5. Do not complete
Section A, C, D, E or F of this form. Refer to Appendix A for additional
instructions. NOTE: The two federal forms required are
available online at www.epa.gov/education/grants/ and the website also has examples of
completed forms. You can enter your data and budget information on the online
forms and print a hard copy (and print or make 2 additional copies) to be
submitted by mail or delivery service with your proposal if you choose to
submit hard copies rather than electronically through www.grants.gov. Only finalists will be asked to
submit additional federal forms necessary to process a federal grant. (3) Work
Plan. A work plan
describes your proposed project. The work plan (and the appendices described
below as applicable) must address the requirements in Section I of this
solicitation as well as any applicable threshold eligibility requirements in
Section III(C) and the evaluation criteria in Section V(A). Grant
reviewers look at many proposals when scoring them, and providing your
information in the order listed prevents information from being overlooked. The
work plan and budget will be scored based on the ranking factors identified in
Section V(A). The work plan must not exceed 7 single-spaced pages total; excess
pages will not be reviewed.
Summary: Provide a
recommended one page overview of your entire project in the following format. (i)
Organization and Partnerships: �Briefly
describe: �1) your organization, 2) who
will manage and implement your project, and 3) list your key partners for this
grant, if applicable. Partnerships are considered a contribution to the success
of projects. See Section I(D) for more information about the use of
partnerships in applications submitted under this solicitation.� (Note: Letters of Commitment from your
partners must be included with your application.) Full details about your
organization and staff will be in an appendix. (ii) Summary: �Provide a concise statement that your
organization is not currently receiving and has not previously received funding
for this project from EPA�s EE Grant Program, or explain clearly how a
project previously funded by EPA�s EE Grant Program is being expanded, broadened
or strengthened or in some way enhanced to make it a model, replicable project
that has the potential to advance and strengthen the field of EE. (Note:
Grantees currently or previously funded by EPA�s EE grant program who are
interested in applying under this solicitation also must list all of the
previously funded projects of the last three (3) years, clearly labeled as �EPA
EE Grants�, in the Past Performance section of their proposal.) ��
Next, briefly
explain how your project will serve as a model program for creating behavioral
change that benefits the environment, how it could be replicated in other
settings, and how it provides a vision or standard for advancing and
strengthening the field of practice of environmental education. Clearly explain the project goals and objectives, and how it meets
the definition of environmental education given in Section I(B). In addition,
identify the educational priority or priorities listed in Section I(C) that
your project addresses, as well as how your project addresses one or more of
EPA�s environmental priorities listed in Section I(C). Your summary should use ordinary
terms to provide reviewers with an understanding of the purpose and expected
outcomes of your project. A person unfamiliar with your project should be able
to read the summary and understand your plan. (iii) Implementation/Delivery
Method: �Explain how you will reach your
audience, such as workshops, field trips, interactive programs, conferences,
etc. (iv) Audience:
�Describe the demographics of your target
audience including the number and types you expect to reach, such as educators
and students and specific age/grade levels. An important priority for EPA is
expanding the conversation on environmentalism by reaching a variety of audiences.
Where appropriate, describe how the project will reach diverse communities,
including but not limited to minority, low income and tribal communities. (v) Costs: �List the types of expenses on which you will
spend the EPA portion of the grant funds. (Note:� The form 424A and the detailed budget are
where you will include your full allocation of costs.) (b) Project
Description: �Describe precisely what your project
will achieve and how it will serve as a model for advancing and strengthening
the field of practice of environmental education, using the following headings
� what, why, how, and who. Explain each aspect of your proposal clearly and
address each topic below. If you choose to reorder the following paragraphs,
include the headings below or you risk the possibility of information being
overlooked when the project is scored. Please address all of the following to
ensure that grant reviewers can fully comprehend and evaluate your proposal. (i) What: �(1) Identify the educational priority or
priorities your project will be addressing. Educational priorities are defined
under Section I(C). (2) Identify the environmental issue(s) you will be
addressing, and EPA environmental priorities are defined under Section I(C).
(4) Explain the goals of your project and your vision of the project as a replicable
model for advancing and strengthening the field of practice of environmental
education, including but not limited to such goals as broadening and
diversifying the audiences reached through environmental education and creating
new or strengthening existing EE practices, methods and/or techniques. (5)
Explain the part of your project that will encourage behavioral change that
improves the environment and increase environmental stewardship as defined in
Section I. NOTE:
project may address more than one environmental and/or educational priority. However,
it is important that a proposal is clear as to what the focus of the project
will be and how that focus will contribute to a model, replicable project with
quality outputs and outcomes and with a vision for advancing and strengthening
the field of environmental education.�� (ii) Why: �Explain the need for a project such as the one
you are proposing to serve as a model in the field of environmental education.
Why are you proposing this particular project and why have you chosen the goals
for your project? Explain why you have chosen the educational priority(ies) and
environmental issue(s) that you are focusing on, including why this priority
and this issue are important to your specific goals and to your audience. Cite
studies or sources, where appropriate, that verify the need for your project. (iii) How: �Explain how you will reach your goals and
objectives. Clearly explain how you will achieve your expected outputs and
outcomes including those described in the Appendix. This includes clearly identifying
your activities as well as the materials and implementation/delivery methods
that will be used. NOTE:� Please see the information provided in the
online FAQs at www.epa.gov/education/grants/ about
developing, evaluating, and selecting educational materials to be used as part
of your proposal. The �Excellence in EE� series of publications listed at www.epa.gov/education/resources.html includes guidelines for: developing and evaluating
educational materials; the initial preparation of environmental educators; and
using environmental education in grades K-12 to support state and local
education reform goals. The Ocean Literacy Framework at http://oceanliteracy.wp2.coexploration.org/?page_id=47, the Energy Literacy Framework at www1.eere.energy.gov/education/energy_literacy.html, and the Climate Literacy Framework at www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators/climate-literacy are examples of other government-sponsored resources
for developing educational materials and/or helping environmental educators
understand and teach about some of the environmental issues listed in Section I(C)
of this document. Clarify for the reviewers how
you will complete all basic steps of your project from beginning to end. Do not
omit steps that lead up to or follow the actual delivery methods (e.g., if you
plan to make a presentation about your project at a local or national
conference, specify where).
Explain how your project will encourage behavioral change that improves the
environment and increase environmental stewardship as defined in Section I(B). �Explain how you envision your project serving
as a model in the field of environmental education, how it will advance and
strengthen the field, and how it could be replicated in a variety of settings.
(iv) Who:
Identify your target audience and the numbers to be reached. Discuss the needs
of that audience and why you have chosen to target them. Also, explain
your recruitment plan to attract your target audience, and identify
incentives to be used such as teacher stipends or continuing education credits,
or partnerships that will facilitate recruitment. An important priority for EPA
is expanding the conversation on environmentalism by reaching a variety of
audiences. Proposals should be clear as to how they will reach a variety of
audiences, including but not limited to minority, low income, and tribal
communities. (c) Project
Evaluation: In this
section, you must explain your plans for meeting the goals and objectives of
your project and for tracking and measuring your progress towards achieving the
expected outputs and short-term outcomes. If your medium- and long-term
outcomes can also be measured within the project period, explain your plans for
that evaluation as well. For additional information on project outputs and
outcomes, please refer to Appendix C. Evaluation plans may be quantitative
and/or qualitative and may include, for example, evaluation tools, observation,
or outside consultation. Pre- and post-training measurements are recommended to
determine if your performance measures for learning are being satisfied. If
funded by EPA, grant recipients must be willing to report evaluation results to
EPA. Please be sure to include project evaluation activities in your timeline
of activities explained in Section IV(C)(5) below. For additional guidance on
project evaluation please see My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant
at http://meera.snre.umich.edu, which is a website partially
supported with EPA funds to assist educators and others in evaluating their
educational projects. Please note: Section I(F)(1) above explains that all EE
grants must support the EPA Strategic Plan. In addition, all EPA grants must have
an outcome of environmental improvement or protection over time. (4) Budget
and Non-Federal Match. Create
a detailed budget table with three columns titled �EPA Funds�, �Non-EPA Funds�,
and �Total� to show how EPA funds and non-federal matching funds will be used.
Make sure you demonstrate how you will meet the non-Federal match requirement described in Section III(4) of this
solicitation. In the detailed budget, use the same order and headings listed on
the Budget Form 424A. These cost categories are: personnel/salaries; fringe
benefits; travel; equipment over $5,000; supplies; contract costs; other costs;
and indirect costs, where appropriate, since not all applicants will use every
cost category. Provide details for each expense, such as personnel (number of
staff, title or role in project, hourly wage, and percentage of time spent on
project), travel (reasons for travel, costs and locations of trips, and costs
per mile for travel and per diem per person), and supplies (provide categories
and detailed listings according to the project tasks in which they will be
used). Make sure you factor in the costs for all proposed activities and
clarify which will be paid by EPA or will be paid by matching funds. (See
Appendix A, Instructions for the SF424 Application, which includes instructions
for preparing a detailed budget.) Please note the following funding restrictions: -- Generally applicants are
allowed to include indirect costs; such as expenses for rent, supplies and
other administrative and office support costs on the "indirect costs"
line of their proposed budget as long as they have a federally
approved/negotiated indirect cost rate agreement in place. Usually organizations
without a federally approved/negotiated indirect cost rate agreement must
submit an indirect cost rate proposal to their cognizant Federal agency (with
copy to EPA if EPA is not the cognizant agency) for approval within 90 days of
the date of being awarded a grant if they wish to be reimbursed for indirect
costs. In such cases, recipients are not allowed to seek reimbursement for
indirect costs until an approved indirect cost rate is obtained. However, if the recipient does not have a current
negotiated indirect cost rate or proposal, and if EPA is the recipient�s
cognizant agency, EPA can allow the recipient to charge a flat indirect cost
rate of 10% of salaries and wages (see 2 CFR Part 230, Appendix A).� Please note: Recipients that opt to use the
10% flat rate are obligated to use the flat rate for the life of the grant
award. To find more information on indirect
cost rate agreements, go to www.aqd.nbc.gov/services/ICS.aspx. -- If you anticipate earning
program income as a result of your EPA award, show the estimated amount,
explain how it is to be earned (the source of income � e.g., workshop fees),
and how it will be used to enhance your project. When you do use program
income on your project, it is important that you include the amount in your
detailed budget. -- EPA�s EE Grant Program will not
fund the acquisition of real property (including buildings) or the construction
or modification of any building. EPA may, however, fund activities such as
creating a nature trail with educational signs or building a bird watching
station, as long as these items are an integral part of the environmental
education project, and the cost is a relatively small percentage of the total
amount federal funds requested. --
Funds for salaries and fringe benefits may be requested only for those
personnel who are directly involved in implementing the proposed project and
whose salaries and fringe benefits are directly related to specific products or
outcomes of the proposed project. EPA strongly encourages applicants to request
reasonable amounts of funding for salaries and fringe benefits to ensure that
your proposal is competitive. Matching Funds Explanation: �Non-federal
matching funds must be at least 25% of the total cost of the project. The match
must be for allowable costs and may be provided by the applicant or a partner
organization or institution. The match may be provided in cash or by in-kind
contributions and other non-monetary support. In-kind contributions often
include salaries or other verifiable costs such as supplies/materials, and this
value must be carefully documented. In the case of salaries, applicants may use
fair market value for the locale. If the match is provided by a partner
organization, the applicant is still responsible for proper accountability and
documentation. All grants are subject to federal audit. IMPORTANT: �The
required matching non-federal share is 25% of the ENTIRE cost of the project.
To calculate 25% of the entire cost of the project, calculate how much you will
spend on the entire project from beginning to end, including both federal funds
and your own funds, and divide this amount by 4. The amount resulting will be
the amount you will need to contribute to the project as the minimum match. For
example, if the total cost of the project is $288,000, divide this amount by 4,
which equals $72,000. Your match needs to be at least $72,000 and the amount you
request from EPA would be $216,000. (Some applicants find it easier to
calculate their match requirement by dividing the amount of federal funds they
are requesting by 3; e.g., if you are requesting $216,000 from EPA then your
match requirement is $216,000 divided by 3 = $72,000.) Amount of EPA Request Minimum Match
Total Project Cost $216,000 maximum request $72,000 $288,000 Other Federal
Funds: You may not use
any federal funds to meet any part of the required 25% match described above,
unless it is specifically authorized by statute. If you have already been
awarded federal funds for a project for which you are seeking additional
support from this grant program, you must indicate those funds in the budget
section of the work plan. You must also identify the project officer, agency,
office, address, phone number, and the amount of the federal funds. (5) Appendices. Appendices provide information on your timeline, logic
model, past performance and programmatic capability, and any partnerships with
other organizations. (a) Timeline � Include a
�timeline� to link your activities to a clear project schedule and indicate at
what point over the months of your budget period each action, event, milestone,
product development, and evaluation will occur. Please ensure that you have
realistic goals and will use effective methods to reach them. (b) Logic Model �
Provide a graphic to display the outputs and outcomes developed through the
project. An example of a basic logic model is attached in Appendix C of this
document. Our website has a basic logic model where you can enter your data and
print a copy to submit with a proposal (http://www.epa.gov/education/grants/#grants=1). Refer to Appendix C for additional instructions and
information on outputs and outcomes. (c) Programmatic Capability
and Past Performance � Attach a description of your programmatic
capabilities and ability to successfully implement and manage the proposed
project including staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and
resources or the ability to obtain them to successfully achieve the goals and vision of the project, and your
organizational experience and past history in performing tasks similar to the
proposed project. Include a paragraph describing the qualifications of each of
the key personnel conducting the project and how each will contribute to the
timeliness and successful outputs and outcomes of your project. If you send
resumes for the key personnel conducting the
project, please keep them to a maximum of 3 one-page resumes. Please also submit a list of
federally funded assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal
grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) similar in size,
scope and relevance to the proposed project that your organization performed
within the last three (3) years (no more than 5 agreements, and preferably EPA
agreements) and describe (i) whether, and how, you were able to successfully
complete and manage those agreements and (ii) your history of meeting the
reporting requirements under those agreements including whether you adequately
and timely reported on your progress towards achieving the expected outputs and
outcomes of those agreements (and if not, explain why not) and whether you
submitted acceptable final technical reports under the agreements. In
evaluating applicants under these factors in Section V(A), EPA will consider
the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant
information from other sources, including information from EPA files and from current/prior
grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information provided by the
applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or
past reporting information, please indicate this in the proposal and you will
receive a neutral score for these factors (a neutral score is half of the total
points available in a subset of possible points). If you do not provide any
response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors. Note: �If you have received or are receiving grant funds from
EPA�s EE Grant program in the past three (3) years, you must clearly label
those as �EPA EE Grants� when responding to this item. (Note: You must list all
previously EPA funded EE grants from the last three (3) years, even if you are
proposing in this application to expand, broaden or strengthen a project
previously funded by EPA�s EE Grant Program or in some way enhance it to make
it a model, replicable project for which you are seeking funding under this
RFP.)��� (d) Partnership
Letters of Commitment � If
the applicant organization has partners, such as commercial enterprises,
non-profit organizations, schools or school districts, state and local agencies,
or other entities, letters of commitment should be included from partners explaining
their role in and/or funding of the proposed project. If no letters are
included, it will be assumed the applicant has no partners. Applicants must be
aware, however, that regardless of whether it is their partners or their own
organization that proposes providing the matching funds, the applicant itself
is responsible for meeting the cost share requirement described in Section
III(B) of the announcement. See Section I(D) for further information about the
value of partnerships. If an applicant does not have partners for this project,
the proposal should be clear about how the project will be completed
effectively without partners. Note: �Do not include
letters of endorsement or recommendation or have letters mailed in later.
Regardless of the source, letters of endorsement or recommendation will not be
considered in evaluating proposals. Please do not submit other appendices or
D. Submission Deadline Due Date � Proposal packages
must be postmarked by December 12, 2012, 11:59 pm local time, hand
delivered by close of the local business day on December 12, 2012, or
submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by December 12, 2012, 11:59 pm EST in
order to be considered for review. E.
Pre-proposal/Application Assistance and Communications In accordance with EPA�s
Assistance Agreement Competition Policy (EPA Order 5700.5A1), EPA staff will
not meet with individual applicants to discuss draft proposals, provide
informal comments on draft proposals, or provide advice to applicants on how to
respond to ranking criteria. Applicants are responsible for the contents of
their applications/proposals. However, consistent with the provisions in the
announcement, EPA will respond to questions from individual applicants
regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the
submission of the proposal, and requests for clarification about the
announcement. �In
addition, if necessary, EPA may clarify threshold eligibility issues with
applicants prior to making an eligibility determination.
least two webinars/conference calls will be conducted by EPA staff to answer questions about this
solicitation notice from potential applicants. Please go to www.epa.gov/education/grants/ for announcements of dates/times and call-in numbers,
or to sign up to be on an email list for notifications of dates/times and
call-in numbers for the webinars/calls. Answers to frequently asked
questions about this program will be listed on the website (www.epa.gov/education/grants/). For information on whom to contact, please see
Section VII(C) of this announcement. Email inquiries only. F.
Contracts and Subawards Applicants
that plan on using project funds for contracting or subawards must comply with
the following requirements. EPA awards funds to one eligible applicant as the
recipient even if other eligible applicants are named as partners or
co-applicants or members of a coalition or consortium. The recipient is
accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.
Funding may be used to provide subgrants or subawards
of financial assistance, which includes using subawards or subgrants to fund
partnerships , provided the recipient complies with applicable
requirements for subawards or subgrants including those contained in 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31, as appropriate. Applicants must
compete contracts for services and products, including consultant contracts,
and conduct cost and price analyses, to the extent required by the procurement
EPA selects for funding does not relieve the applicant of its obligations to
comply with subaward/subgrant and/or competitive procurement requirements as appropriate. Please note that applicants may not award sole source contracts to consulting,
engineering or other firms assisting applicants with the proposal solely based
on the firm's role in preparing the proposal/application. Successful applicants cannot use subgrants or
subawards to avoid requirements in EPA grant regulations for competitive
procurement by using these instruments to acquire commercial services or
products from for-profit organizations to carry out its assistance
agreement. The nature of the transaction between the recipient and the
subawardee or subgrantee must be consistent with the standards for
distinguishing between vendor transactions and subrecipient assistance under
Subpart B Section .210 of OMB Circular A-133, and the definitions of subaward
at 40 CFR 30.2(ff) or subgrant at 40 CFR 31.3, as applicable. EPA will not be a
mechanism. Section V of the announcement describes the evaluation
criteria and evaluation process that will be used by EPA to make selections
under this announcement. During this evaluation, except for those
criteria that relate to the applicant's own qualifications, past performance,
and reporting history, the review panel will consider, as appropriate and
relevant, the qualifications, expertise, and experience of: (i) an applicant's named subawardees/subgrantees
identified in the proposal/application if the applicant demonstrates in the
proposal/application that if it receives an award that the subaward/subgrant
will be properly awarded consistent with the applicable regulations in 40 CFR
Parts 30 or 31. For example, applicants must not use subawards/subgrants
to obtain commercial services or products from for profit firms or individual
consultants. (ii) an applicant's named contractor(s), including
consultants, identified in the proposal/application if the applicant
demonstrates in its proposal/application that the contractor(s) was selected in
compliance with the competitive Procurement Standards in 40 CFR Part 30 or 40
CFR 31.36 as appropriate. For example, an applicant must demonstrate that
it selected the contractor(s) competitively or that a proper non-competitive
sole-source award consistent with the regulations will be made to the
contractor(s), that efforts were made to provide small and disadvantaged
businesses with opportunities to compete, and that some form of cost or price
analysis was conducted. EPA may not accept sole source
justifications for contracts for services or products that are otherwise
readily available in the commercial marketplace.
EPA will not consider the qualifications, experience,
and expertise of named subawardees/subgrantees and/or named contractor(s)
during the proposal/application evaluation process unless the applicant
Note:� No sub-awards for amounts of $5,000 or less
may be made under this solicitation notice.
Confidential Business Information In accordance with 40 CFR 2.203, applicants may claim
all or a portion of their proposal as confidential business information. EPA
will evaluate confidentiality claims in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2.
Applicants must clearly mark proposals or portions of proposals they claim as
confidential. If no claim of confidentiality is made, EPA is not required to
prior to disclosure. However, competitive proposals/applications are considered
confidential and protected from disclosure prior to the completion of the
competitive selection process. H. Management Fees When formulating
budgets for proposals, applicants must not include management fees or similar
charges in excess of the direct costs at the rate approved by the applicant�s
cognizant audit agency, or at the rate provided for by the terms of the
agreement negotiated with EPA. These are fees added to the direct costs in
order to accumulate and reserve funds for ongoing expenses, unforeseen
grants. Management fees or similar charges may not be used to improve or expand
the project funded, except to the extent authorized as a direct cost of
carrying out the scope of work. Section V. Application Review
Information A. Evaluation and Scoring Only
proposals that meet all of the eligibility criteria in Section III will be
evaluated on a 100 point scale using the criteria below. Applicants should take
these criteria into consideration when designing proposals and should address
them directly in their proposals. The following criteria and points will
be used to score eligible proposals: (1) Project
Summary � Maximum Score: �3
points. Under this factor proposals will be evaluated based on the extent
to which the project summary clearly and completely addresses the content and
format described in Section IV(C)(3)(a). (2) Project
Description � Maximum Score: �40
points (i) What: �Maximum
Score: �10 points. Under this factor
proposals will be evaluated based on the substance, clarity and completeness of
the explanation of what the project will entail, including the educational and
environmental priorities addressed, the goals the project hopes to achieve, and
how it will serve as a replicable model for advancing and strengthening the
field of practice of environmental education. Please refer to Section
IV(C)(3)(b)(i) for content and format required. (ii) Why: �Maximum
the explanation of the need for a project such as the one proposed to serve as
a model, including why the particular goals, priorities and audience(s) have
been chosen. See Section IV(C)(3)(b)(ii) for further information. (iii) How: �Maximum
the explanation of how the project will accomplish its goals and objectives,
including how the project will encourage behavioral change and environmental
stewardship and how its methods or programs will serve as model(s) that can be
replicated in a variety of settings and how it will advance and strengthen the
field of environmental education. See Section IV(C)(3)(b)(iii) for further
information. (iv) Who: �Maximum
Points: �10 points. Under this factor
proposals will be evaluated based on how well the project:  � identifies the target audience, numbers reached, why they were
chosen, and clearly explains the recruitment
plan, including incentives to be used such as teacher stipends or
continuing education credits and
if/how the applicant�s partner(s) will help with recruitment. (5 points).  � reaches a diverse audience, including but not limited to minority,
low income and tribal communities, and demonstrates how the project will help
address environmental issues that are more likely to adversely affect the
audience(s) targeted. (5 points). See Section IV(C)(3)(b)(iv) for further information.
Evaluation � Maximum Score: �10
points. Under this factor proposals will be evaluated based on the substance,
clarity and completeness of the explanation of how the project�s success in
meeting its goals and objectives will be achieved and tracked and measured.
This includes evaluating the applicant�s plan for tracking and measuring its
progress towards achieving the expected project outputs and outcomes, including
those in Appendix C, and its support of EPA�s Strategic Plan and the
improvement of the environment over time. See Section IV(C)(3)(c) for more
information. (4) Budget � Maximum Score: �14 points. Under this factor, proposals
will be evaluated on: (i) How well the budget information clearly and accurately shows
how funds will be used. (9 points) (ii) Whether the funding request is reasonable given the
activities proposed and provides a good return on the investment. (5 points) (5) Timeline,
Logic Model, and Partnership Letters of Commitment � Maximum Score: �18 points. Under this factor proposals
will be evaluated on the extent to which they clearly and completely address
the content of each of the following. Please review Section IV(C)(5) for
information on what content and format is expected in each of these appendices.
(i) Timeline: The extent to which the timeline links the
activities to a clear project schedule and clearly indicates a realistic
timeline of when each action, event, milestone, product development and
evaluation will occur. (6 points) (ii) Logic Model: The extent to which the logic model graphic
displays outputs and outcomes developed through the project in accordance with
the instructions and information in Appendix C. (6 points) (iii)
Partnership Letters of Commitment: Proposals will be evaluated based on the
extent to which the applicant will engage with other partners to help
effectively develop and implement the project as a model that could be
replicated and could advance and strengthen the field of EE. If the applicant
has partners, they should provide letters of commitment from them. If no
letters of commitment are provided, it will be assumed the applicant has no
partners for the project. If the applicant does not intend to have partners
then it should explain how it will effectively perform the project without
partners. Please do not send letters of endorsement or recommendation; they are
not helpful and will not be considered. (6 points) (6) Programmatic
Capability and Past Performance �
Maximum Score: �15 points.
Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their ability to
successfully complete and manage the proposed project taking into account the
applicant�s: (i) past performance in successfully completing and managing
the assistance agreements identified in response to Section IV(C)(5)(c) of the
announcement. (2 points) (ii) history of meeting the reporting requirements under the assistance
agreements identified in response to Section IV(C)(5)(c) of the announcement
including whether the applicant submitted acceptable final technical reports
under those agreements and the extent to which the applicant adequately and
timely reported on their progress towards achieving the expected outputs and
outcomes under those agreements and if such progress was not being made whether
the applicant adequately reported why not. (2 points). (iii) organizational experience and plan for the
timely and successful achievement of the objectives of the proposed project. (5
points). (iv)
staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability
to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project. (6
points) Note: �In evaluating applicants under items i and ii
of this criterion, the Agency will consider the information provided by the
applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources
including agency files and prior/current grantors (e.g., to verify and/or
supplement the information supplied by the applicant). If you do not have
any relevant or available past performance or past reporting information,
please indicate this in the proposal and you will receive a neutral score for
these subfactors (items i and ii above-a neutral score is half of the total
response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors. B. Review and Final Selections The review process to be used by
the 10 EPA Regional Offices is described below. All eligible proposals will be
evaluated on the 100 point scale described in Section V(A) above by� a review panel in each Region (i.e., each
Region will convene a panel of reviewers for applications in its Region).� Each panel will consist of three reviewers comprised
of EPA staff and/or external peer reviewers approved by EPA. Proposals will be
reviewed and scored, and then will be ranked based on the reviewers� scores,
and the scores and rankings will be provided to the EPA Regional Selection
Official(s) for final funding decisions. In addition to providing the rankings
and scores to the Selection Officials, EPA staff will also brief the Selection
Official(s) on the EPA educational and environmental priorities, geographic
areas, and audiences that are addressed in the highest ranked proposals. Final
funding selection decisions will be made by the Selection Official in each
Regional Office based on the rankings and scoring by the evaluation panel in
that Region, and may also take into account the factors identified above that
they will be briefed on in order to ensure an efficient and effective use of
federal funds. Section
VI. Award Administration Information A.
Notification to Applicants Applicants
will receive a confirmation that EPA has received their proposal after EPA has
entered information about all proposals into a database. The 10 EPA Regional
offices operate independently, so specific dates are not available for when EPA
will contact the highest scoring finalists to request additional federal forms
and other information as recommended by reviewers and send non-selection
notification to the others. Non-selection notification will be sent within 15
calendar days after a decision of non-selection. If selected for a grant, an
award package will be mailed to the recipient organization explaining the
responsibilities of the grantee.
of receipt of applications, as well as selection and non-selection notification
will be sent to the individual identified on line #21 of the SF424. B.
Administrative and National Policy Requirements The Environmental Education Grant
Program Regulations provide additional information on EPA�s administration of
this program (57 FR 8390; Title 40 CFR, part 47). Also, EPA�s general
assistance regulations at 40 CFR Part 31 apply to state, local, and Indian
tribal governments and 40 CFR Part 30 applies to all other applicants such as
nonprofit organizations. A listing and description of general EPA Regulations
applicable to the award of assistance agreements may be viewed at: www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/applicable_epa_regulations_and_description.htm. Executive
Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs may be applicable to
awards, resulting from this announcement. Applicants selected for funding may
be required to provide a copy of their proposal to their State Point of Contact
(SPOC) for review, pursuant to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review
of Federal Programs. This review is not required with the Initial Proposal and
not all states require such a review. Non-profit applicants that are
recommended for funding under this announcement are subject to pre-award
administrative capability reviews consistent with Section 8b, 8c and 9d of EPA
Order 5700.8 - Policy on Assessing Capabilities of Non-Profit Applicants for
Managing Assistance Awards (www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/award/5700_8.pdf). In addition, non-profit applicants that qualify for
funding may, depending on the size of the award, be required to fill out and
submit to the Grants Management Office the Administrative Capabilities Form
with supporting documents contained in Appendix A of EPA Order 5700.8. C.� Unpaid Federal Tax Liabilities and Felony Convictions for
Awards made under this announcement are subject to the
provisions contained in the Department of Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012, HR 2055, Division E. Sections 433 and 434
regarding unpaid federal tax liabilities and federal felony convictions. These
provisions prohibit EPA from awarding funds made available by the Act to any
for-profit or non-profit organization: (1) subject to any unpaid Federal tax
liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative
remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a
timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for
collecting the tax liability; or (2) that was convicted (or had an officer or
agent of such corporation acting on its behalf convicted) of a felony criminal
conviction under any Federal law within 24 months preceding the award, unless
EPA has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation, or such officer
or agent, based on these tax liabilities or convictions, and determined that
such action is not necessary to protect the Government�s interests. Non-profit
or for-profit organizations that are covered by these prohibitions are
ineligible to receive an award under this announcement.
D. Central Contractor
Registration (CCR)/System for Award Management (SAM) and Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) Requirements Unless exempt from these requirements
under OMB guidance at 2 CFR Part 25 (e.g., individuals),
applicants must: 1. Be registered in the CCR prior to
submitting an application or proposal under this announcement. CCR/SAM
information can be found at www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. 2. Maintain an active CCR registration
with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal
award or an application or proposal under consideration by an agency, and
3. Provide its DUNS number in each
application or proposal it submits to the agency. Applicants can receive a DUNS
number, at no cost, by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line
at 1-866-705-5711, or visiting the D&B website at: �www.dnb.com. If an applicant fails to comply with
these requirements, it will, should it be selected for award, affect their
ability to receive the award.
Please note that the CCR has been replaced by the
System for Award Management (SAM). To learn more about SAM, go to SAM.gov or www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/.
Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting Applicants
requirements established under OMB guidance at 2 CFR Part 170, unless they
qualify for an exception from the requirements, should they be selected for
funding. F.
Progress Reports and Work Products Specific
financial, technical, and other reporting requirements to measure the grant
recipient�s progress will be identified in the EPA grant award agreement. Grant
recipients must submit periodic formal progress reports, as instructed in the
award agreement. Also, two copies of a Final Technical Report and two copies of
all work products must be sent to the EPA project officer within 90 days after
the expiration of the project period. G.
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) located on the web at: �www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/resolution.htm. Copies of these procedures may also be requested by
contacting the person or persons listed in Section VII(C) of this announcement.
H.� Unfair Competitive
EPA personnel will take appropriate
actions in situations where it is determined that an applicant may have an
unfair competitive advantage, or the appearance of such, in competing for
awards under this announcement.� Affected
applicants will be provided an opportunity to respond before any final action
Unliquidated Obligations An
applicant that receives an award under this announcement is expected to manage
assistance agreement funds efficiently and effectively and make sufficient
progress toward completing the project activities described in the work-plan in
a timely manner. The assistance agreement will include terms/conditions
implementing this requirement. J.� Website References in the
Any non-federal websites or website
links included in this solicitation are provided for proposal preparation
and/or informational purposes only. U.S. EPA does not endorse any of
these entities or their services.� In addition,
EPA does not guarantee that any linked, external websites referenced in this
solicitation comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the
K. Data Access and
Information Release EPA has the right to obtain, reproduce,
publish, or otherwise use the data first produced under the awards to be made
under this solicitation and authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or
otherwise use such data for Federal purposes under 40 C.F.R. � 30.36(c). In
addition, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. � 30.36(d), if EPA receives a Freedom of
Information Act request for research data that (1) relates to published
research findings produced under an EPA award and (2) was used by the Federal
Government in developing an agency action that has the force and effect of law,
then EPA shall request, and the award recipient shall provide, within a
reasonable time, the research data so that it may be made available to the
public through procedures established under the FOIA.
Section VII. Agency Contacts A.
Internet: �www.epa.gov/education/grants/
visit our website where you can view or download: federal forms, a basic logic
model template, �Tips for Developing Successful Grant Applications� (www.epa.gov/education/grants/#grants=2), descriptions of projects funded under this program
in each state, Frequently Asked Questions (www.epa.gov/education/grants/), and other education links and resource materials. B.
Notification of Future Environmental Education Grant Cycles If
you wish to be notified when the next Solicitation Notice is issued, you should
visit our website (www.epa.gov/education/grants/) where you can log in for notification of a new
notice. C.� Mailing Addresses Applications submitted in hard
copy should be sent via U.S. Postal Service, express mail (such as FedEx
and UPS), courier service (or otherwise hand delivered) to the EPA Regional
Office where the proposed project will be located. See below for complete
address information for Regional Offices. (NOTE: EPA
cannot be responsible for applications sent to the wrong address.) U.S.
EPA Regional Offices EPA Region I � CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT Kristen Conroy U.S. EPA, Region 1 Environmental Education 5 Post Office Square, Mail Code ORA-01-1 Boston,
MA 02109-3912 EPA
Region II � NJ, NY, PR, VI Terry
Ippolito U.S. EPA, Region 2 Environmental Education 26th Floor 290 Broadway New York, NY 10007-1866 EPA Region III � DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV Kathleen
Kirkland U.S. EPA, Region 3
(3PA00) 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA
19103-2029 EPA
Region IV � AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN Kathy
Armstrong U.S.
EPA, Region 4 Environmental
of Public Affairs 61
Forsyth Street, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30303 EPA Region V � IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI Megan
Gavin U.S. EPA, Region 5 Environmental Education (AT-18J) 77 West Jackson Boulevard Chicago, IL 60604 EPA Region VI � AR, LA, NM, OK, TX Bonnie
King U.S.
EPA, Region 6 Office
of External Affairs (6XA-A) 1445
Ross Avenue Dallas, TX 75202 EPA Region VII � IA, KS, MO, NE Up until September 30, 2012: Denise Morrison U.S. EPA, Region 7 Environmental Education Office of Public Affairs 901 N. 5th Street Kansas City, KS 66101 Effective October
1, 2012, Region VII offices will move to:� Denise Morrison U.S. EPA Region 7 Environmental Education Office of Public Affairs 11201 Renner Blvd. Lenexa, KS 66219��
EPA Region VIII � CO, MT,
ND, SD, UT, WY Wendy Dew U.S. EPA, Region 8 Environmental Education 1595 Wynkoop Street Denver, CO 80202-1129 EPA Region IX � AZ,
CA, HI, NV, American Samoa, Guam, Marianas Islands Sharon Jang
U.S. EPA, Region 9 Environmental Education (CED-4) 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105 EPA Region X � AK, ID, OR, WA Sally Hanft U.S. EPA, Region 10 Environmental Education Public Environmental Resource Center 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900 (ETPA-086) Seattle, WA98101 D.� For Further Information
who need clarification about specific requirements in this Solicitation Notice
may contact the Office of Environmental Education at EPA Headquarters in
given to applicants in response to inquiries is solely for the purpose of clarifying
specific requirements in this Solicitation Notice. Email inquiries only.
Please do not mail applications to EPA Headquarters.
check our Frequently Asked Questions online at www.epa.gov/education/grants/ before contacting EPA Headquarters with a question. Also
please check our website at www.epa.gov/education/grants/ for announcements of dates, times and call-in numbers
for conference calls that will be held by EPA�s EE program to answer
potential applicants� questions. You can also go to the same site to sign up
for notifications about the calls. Information: U.S.
EPA Headquarters Environmental
Education Grant Program Office of Environmental Education
Karen Scott (EEgrants@epa.gov) Appendix A ����������������������� Appendix A:�
Instructions for the SF 424 � Application for Federal
Assistance This is a standard Federal form to be used by
applicants as a required face sheet for the Environmental Education Grants
Program. An interactive PDF version of this form is available online at www.epa.gov/education/grants/.
1. ���� Select
"Application.� 2. ���� Select
�New.� 3. ���� Leave
blank. 4. ���� Leave
blank. 5. ���� a.�� Leave blank. �������� b.�� Leave blank. 6. ���� Leave
blank. 7. ���� Leave
blank. 8. ���� a.�� Enter the legal name of the applicant organization. �������� b.�� Enter the Employee/Taxpayer Identification
Number as assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). �������� c.�� Enter the DUNS number of the application
organization. �������� d.�� Enter the address (including street, city,
state, and zip code) of the applicant organization. �������� e.�� Enter information as appropriate. �������� f.��� Enter the name, telephone number, fax, and
e-mail address of the person to be contacted on matters involving this
application. Middle name and suffix are optional.
9. ���� Enter
the appropriate letter to identify the applicant organization. If a
not-for-profit organization, the organization must be categorized as a
501(c)(3) by the IRS to be eligible for this grant program. 10. �� Enter
�Environmental Protection Agency.� 11. �� Enter
�66.951.� 12.��� Enter
�EPA-EE-12-01� 13.��� Leave
blank. 14.��� List
only the major areas affected by the project. 15.��� Enter
the title of the project for which you are applying (brief title such as �Place-Based EE for Students and Teachers�) 16.��� a.�� List the Congressional District where the
applicant organization is located. �������� b.�� List the Congressional District(s) affected
by the project. If the project affects an entire state, enter �STATEWIDE.� �������������� To
identify the appropriate Congressional District, go to www.house.gov/. 17. �� Enter
the project start and end dates for the project (e.g., 2/18/13 to 2/18/14). 18. �� Enter
the amount of funding requested or to be contributed during the funding/budget
period. �������� a.
� Enter the amount of money you are
requesting from EPA. �������� b.
� Enter the amount of money the
application organization is contributing. �������� c.
� Enter the amount of money a state
organization is contributing, as appropriate. �������� d.
� Enter the amount of money a local
organization is contributing, as appropriate. �������� e.
� Enter the amount of money another
organization is contributing, as appropriate. �������� f.
�� Enter the amount for any program income
which you expect will be generated by the project: e.g., income from admission
fees to a conference financed by the grant funds. In your budget narrative
explain how the income will benefit the project. �������� g.
� Enter the total amount of the project.
The total of lines (b-e) must be at least 25% of the amount entered into (g)
because this grant program has a matching requirement of 25% of the total
allowable project costs. Divide the
total amount entered in (g) by 4 to determine the match required for your
proposal. 19. �� Select
"c. Program is not covered by E.O. 12372." 20. �� Answer
as appropriate. 21. �� Enter
the name, title, telephone number and e-mail of the person authorized to
contract or obligate the applicant organization to the terms and conditions of
the grant. If you are submitting a hard copy application, print a copy of the
SF-424 and sign it (preferably in blue ink to identify the original). �
the SF-424A - Budget This is a standard federal form used by applicants as
a basic budget. Section
A - Budget Summary �Do NOT
complete � Leave whole page blank for this program. Section
B - Budget Categories - Complete Columns (1), (2) and (5) as stated below. All funds requested and contributed as a match must be
listed under the appropriate Object Class categories listed on this form.
Please round figures to the nearest dollar. In column (1) list by category how
EPA funds will be spent; in column (2) list matching funds by category; then
add across and put the totals in column (5) per category. Many applicants will
have blank lines in some Object Class Categories and no applicant should use
line 6(g) Construction because it is an unallowable cost for this program.
NOTE: Your total dollar figures on the Form 424 and 424A and detailed budget
should all be the same. Your detailed budget should list costs under the same
object class categories used on this form, but with significantly more
information; for example the 424A will have a total for travel and the detailed
budget will list number of travelers and trips, locations, per diem costs, etc.
6(i) - Show the totals of lines 6(a) through 6(h) in each column. Line
6(j) - Show the amount of indirect costs. Please note: if you are claiming
indirect costs, you MUST either: 1) have an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement on
file with a Federal Agency, or 2) submit an indirect cost rate proposal to the
EPA or other Federal agency (with copy to EPA) for approval within 90 days of
being awarded a grant. Recipients are not allowed to seek reimbursement for
indirect costs until an approved indirect cost rate is obtained. �Note: If the recipient does not have a current
negotiated IDC rate or proposal, and if EPA is the recipient�s cognizant
agency, EPA can allow the recipient to charge a flat IDC rate of 10% of
salaries and wages (see 2 CFR Part 230, Appendix A).� Recipients that opt to use the 10% flat rate
are obligated to use the flat rate for the life of the grant award. Line
6(k) - Enter the total amount of Lines 6(i) and 6(j). Line
7 - Program Income - Enter the estimated amount of income, if any,
expected to be generated from this project. Do not add or subtract this amount
from the total project amount. Describe the nature and source of income in the
detailed budget description and your planned use of the funds to enhance your
project. Instructions for Detailed Itemization of Costs The proposal must also contain
a detailed budget description as specified in Section IV(C)(4) of this Notice,
and should conform to the following: Personnel:
all participants in the project by position title. Give the percentage of the
budget period for which they will be fully employed on the project (e.g.,
half-time for half the budget period equals 25%, full-time for half the budget
period equals 50%, etc.). The detail should include for each person: Percentage
of Time on project X Annual Salary and/or hourly wage = Personnel Cost. List
this data for all personnel and then put the total on the Form 424A. Fringe
Benefits: �Indicate percentage of basic salary and what it
includes, such as health insurance. Travel: �If
travel is budgeted, show trips, travelers, destinations, costs per mile, per
diem and purpose of travel. Equipment: �Identify
each piece of equipment with a cost of $5,000 or more per unit to be purchased
and explain the purpose for which it will be used. Less costly items are
listed under supplies. Supplies: �List
categories of supplies; e.g., laboratory supplies and office supplies for items
that can be grouped. If the supply budget is less than 2% of total costs, you
do not need to itemize. Contractual:
�Specify
the nature and cost of such services and how costs were determined such as by
using estimates or historical information. Explain how you will select your
contractor. EPA may require review of contracts for personal services prior to
their execution to assure that all costs are reasonable and necessary to the
project. Construction:
allowable for this program. Other: Specify all other costs under this category. These may
include costs such as: stipends for teachers, costs for buses for field trips,
fees for entrance to parks and nature centers, printing, postage, conference
fees for booths, and other costs that do not fall under the categories listed
above. Indirect
Costs: �Provide the percentage rate used
and explain how charges were calculated for this project. Please note:
if you are claiming indirect costs, you MUST either: 1) have an Indirect Cost
Rate Agreement on file with a Federal Agency, or 2) submit an indirect cost
rate proposal to the EPA or other Federal agency (with copy to EPA) for
approval within 90 days of being awarded a grant. Recipients are not allowed to
seek reimbursement for indirect costs until an approved indirect cost rate is
obtained. Note: If the recipient does not have a current negotiated IDC rate or
proposal, and if EPA is the recipient�s cognizant agency, EPA can allow the
recipient to charge a flat IDC rate of 10% of salaries and wages (see 2 CFR
Part 230, Appendix A).� Recipients that
opt to use the 10% flat rate are obligated to use the flat rate for the life of
the grant award. Income:
�If you anticipate earning program income as a result
of your EPA award, show the estimated amount, explain how it is to be earned
(the source of income), and how it will be used to enhance your project. When
you do use program income on your project, it is important that you include the
amount in your detailed budget. Example
of a Detailed Itemized Budget Table Line Item
EPA Funds Matching Funds Total Project Cost Personnel Fringe Benefits Travel Equipment Supplies
Contractual Other Indirect Costs Income Total Be sure to double check your
Detailed Itemized Budget against Form 424, Section 18 and Form 424A Section B
to ensure the amounts you are requesting match each other. Appendix B � Checklist for Proposal Checklist
for Content of Proposal Submission � Please
submit only the following documents in this order (Please send the
original and two copies for hard copy submissions.): _____
Standard Federal Application Form (SF-424) _____
Budget Form (SF-424A) - Section B � 1 page only - Use 3 columns - EPA share,
matching share, and total in column 5 _____
Project Summary Sheet �recommended 1 page � format required _____
Project Description (what, why, how, who) - Format optional -- use headings to
help reviewers find everything. _____ Project Evaluation Criteria for key outputs and
outcomes _____ Detailed Budget � Use three columns to show EPA, non-Federal,
and the total portions for each expense.
Use the same order and categories used on 424A, but with much greater detail.
Be sure to double check your Detailed Budget against Form 424, Section 18 and
Form 424A Section B to ensure the amounts you are requesting match each other. Appendices _____ Timeline � List all major activities and milestones
over project period _____ Logic model showing outputs and outcomes _____ Programmatic Capability and Past Performance _____ Letters of commitment from partners explaining the tasks
or funding they will provide Please do not submit letters of recommendation or endorsement from individuals or organizations that explain the merits of your project
or your past accomplishments. They will not add to your score
regardless of who sends them on your behalf. Also, please do not submit
unnecessary cover letters, maps and other attachments, binders and binder
sheets, and audio visuals such as videos or CDs. These create a burden for the
reviewers and are not helpful, nor are they reviewed or evaluated. �
Appendix C � Expected Outputs and Outcomes and
Examples of Performance Measures (Logic Model) Expected Outputs and
Outcomes. Outputs and short-term
outcomes must occur and be reported to EPA within the project period. Progress
should at least begin on medium-term or long-term outcomes during the project
period. Recipients of these grants will further EPA�s strategic goals by
implementing educational projects that improve behavior through non-regulatory
means, raise public awareness of actions that can be taken to prevent
pollution, expand the conversation on environmentalism, and promote
environmental stewardship. During the
evaluation process for proposals, EPA will determine if each work plan contains
well-defined outputs and outcomes as described below. (a) Outputs are activities, efforts, and/or work
products that the applicant proposes to produce or provide during the project
period to support an environmental goal. Expected outputs funded under this
announcement may include: recruitment for projects that provide replicable
models on how to educate teachers, students, and the public about environmental
issues; classroom activities, workshops, or field trips; training sessions for formal
and informal educators; development of educational materials and websites;
designing methods to measure increased scores on standardized tests; and
designing systems or methods to report the results to EPA. Grant proposals must
clearly define measurable quantitative or qualitative outputs that can be
reported during the funding period. After the project is implemented, grant
recipients are required to submit to EPA status reports about their progress in
achieving outputs. See examples of outputs below. (b) Outcomes are the results, effects, or consequences
that will occur from carrying out the activities or outputs of the
environmental education project that is supportive of an EPA strategic goal.
Outcomes may have behavioral or health-related elements, but all must be
environmental, educational and quantitative. Outcomes should include efforts to
reach traditionally under-served audiences such as tribes, communities of
color, economically distressed communities and/or geographically isolated
communities. All of them may not necessarily be achievable during the project
period. Outcomes are classified as short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Short-term
outcomes include: increased learning, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
motivation. This type of outcome must be expected to occur during the project
period. Medium-term outcomes include: decisions, actions, practices, and
behavior that are the foundations of stewardship to protect the environment.
For example, a project that provides a model of how to best teach students
about an environmental issue may include actions such as students cleaning up a
stream, beach, habitat, or nature trail. A project directed at modeling community-focused
EE may include outcomes like homeowners using more environmentally friendly
methods in their landscaping or choosing more energy efficient practices in
their homes. Most projects will accomplish some medium-term outcomes during the
project period. Long-term outcomes include: models of programs that have
enhanced civic responsibility and environmental improvements. These long-term
outcomes may occur after the project closes, such as establishing a more
environmentally literate public that takes action to restore or protect a
watershed or transform a Brownfield site into an inner city park. Anticipated
outcomes for environmental education grants include: (1) Promotion and expansion of environmental stewardship; (2) Increased environmental knowledge and public awareness of
environmental issues as measured by pre- and post-training tests or other
evaluation techniques; (3) Improved environmental literacy among students as
measured by improved scores on standardized achievement tests or other
evaluation techniques; (4) Improved educator access to training on environmental topics
and EE methods and materials; (5) Sustainable environmental
Examples of Performance Measures (Logic Model).� This chart provides examples of some of the outputs and outcomes
Environmental Education Grants may produce. It is intended as guidance to
define terms used in this announcement. A basic logic model template can be
found on the EPA Environmental Education web site (www.epa.gov/education/grants/) and used to print out a specific version
that complements your grant proposal. Sample Logic Model of
(examples of outputs and outcomes for various types of model EE
students, or other target audience
Videos, CDs, DVDs, websites
Conferences and presentation of
environmental education resources and programs
Students and teachers learn
Increased motivation to become
stewards and protect habitat and the environment
Educators are motivated to
train others Assessment of learning;
Changes in awareness about
issues and decisions that affect the environment
Students and community leaders
make decisions to improve their environment
Specific actions are taken to
Environmental stewardship is
Assessment of actions to
improve the environment; Measuring success
Establishment of sustainable
Improved environmental literacy
and environmental change for the better
Increased stewardship leads to
civic responsibility for environmental protection, habitat preservation, and
prevention of environmentally induced human health problems.
Appendix D � Instructions for
Grants.gov Electronic Submissions for Announcement Number EPA-EE-12-01
The electronic submission of your
proposal must be made by an official representative of your institution who is
registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for Federal
assistance.� For more information, go to www.grants.gov and click on �Get Registered� on
the left side of the page. Note that the registration process may take
a week or longer to complete.� If
your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage
your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and
ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible.����� To begin the proposal process
under this grant announcement, go to www.grants.gov and click on the �Apply for
Grants� tab on the left side of the page.�
Then click on �Apply Step 1:�
Download a Grant Application Package� to download the compatible Adobe viewer and obtain the application
package. To apply through grants.gov you must use Adobe Reader
applications and download the compatible Adobe Reader version (Adobe
Reader applications are available to download for free on the Grants.gov website. For more
information on Adobe Reader please visit the Help section on grants.gov at www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp or www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/program_status.jsp).
viewer, you may retrieve the application package by entering the Funding
Opportunity Number, EPA-EE-12-01, or the CFDA number that applies to the
announcement (CFDA 66.951), in the appropriate field. You
may also be able to access the proposal package by clicking on the Application
button at the top right of the synopsis page for this announcement on www.grants.gov (to find the
synopsis page, go to www.grants.gov and click on the
�Find Grant Opportunities� button on the left side of the page and then go to
Search Opportunities and use the Browse by Agency feature to find EPA
opportunities). Proposal
Submission Deadline:� Your organization�s AOR must submit your
complete proposal package electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) no later than 11:59 pm EST, December 12,
2012.� Please submit all of the proposal materials described
The following forms and documents
are required to be submitted under this announcement:
I.������ Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)
II.����� Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)
III.��� Work plan prepared as described in Section IV(C) of the
IV.��� Budget and Non-Federal Match
V.���� Appendices
(a) � Timeline;
(b) � Logic model;
(c) � Technical experience,
qualifications and past performance; and
(d) � Partnership letters of
commitment (only if you have partner organizations making a commitment to the
project � please NO letters of endorsement or recommendation)
The proposal package must include all of the following
materials:� I.� Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for
Federal Assistance Complete the form.� There are no attachments.� Please be sure to include organization fax
number and email address in Block 5 of the Standard Form SF 424.� Please note that the organizational Dun and
Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be
included on the SF-424.� Organizations
may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number
Standard Form SF 424A � Budget Information: Complete the form.� There are no attachments.
The total amount of federal
funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on
line 6(k) of SF-424A.� If indirect costs
are included, the amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j).� The indirect cost rate (i.e., a percentage),
the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should
also be indicated on line 22. III.
Work Plan-Project Narrative Attachment
Prepare in accordance with the
instructions in Section IV(C) of the announcement.� The document should be readable in PDF or MS
Word and consolidated into a single file. IV. Budget
and Non-Federal Match-Project Narrative Attachment
Word and consolidated into a single file. V.
Appendices-Project Narrative Attachment or Other Attachments Form
instructions in Section IV(C) of the announcement. The document should be
readable in PDF or MS Word and consolidated into a single file. Appendices
(a)�� Timeline;
(b)�� Logic model;
(c)�� Programmatic capability
and past performance; and
(d)�� Partnership letters of
I through III
listed under Proposal Materials above should appear in the �Mandatory
Documents� box on the Grants.gov Grant Application Package page.� The Other Attachments, Document IV, appears
in the Optional Documents box.
For documents I and II, click on
the appropriate form and then click �Open Form� below the box.� The fields that must be completed will be
highlighted in yellow.� Optional fields
and completed fields will be displayed in white.� If you enter an invalid response or
incomplete information in a field, you will receive an error message.� When you have finished filling out each form,
click �Save.�� When you return to the
electronic Grant Application Package page, click on the form you just
completed, and then click on the box that says, �Move Form to Submission List.�� This action will move the document over to
the box that says, �Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.�� For documents III, IV, and V, you will need to
attach electronic files.� Beginning August 15, 2012, applicants are now limited to
using the following characters in all attachment file names. Valid file names may only include the following UTF-8
characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore ( _ ), hyphen (-), space, period.
If applicants use any other characters when naming their
attachment files their applications will be rejected.
Prepare your work plan as
described in Section IV of the announcement and save the document to your
computer as an MS Word, PDF or WordPerfect file.� When you are ready to attach your work plan
to the application package, click on �Project Narrative Attachment Form,� and
open the form.� Click �Add Mandatory
Project Narrative File,� and then attach your proposal (previously saved to
your computer) using the browse window that appears.� You may then click �View Mandatory Project
Narrative File� to view it.� Enter a
brief descriptive title of your project in the space beside �Mandatory Project
Narrative File Filename;� the filename should be no more than 40 characters
long.� To attach the other required
documents (IV Budget and Non-Federal Match and V Appendices), you may click
�Add Optional Project Narrative File� and proceed as before or use the Other
Attachments from that appears in the Optional Box.� When you have finished attaching the
necessary documents, click �Close Form.��
When you return to the �Grant Application Package� page, select the
�Project Narrative Attachment Form� and click �Move Form to Submission
List.�� The form should now appear in the
box that says, �Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.�� Once you have finished filling
out all of the forms/attachments and they appear in one of the �Completed
Documents for Submission� boxes, click the �Save� button that appears at the
top of the Web page.� It is suggested
that you save the document a second time, using a different name, since this
will make it easier to submit an amended package later if necessary.� Please use the following format when saving
your file:� �Applicant Name �
FY12 Region5ModelGrant � 1st Submission� or �Applicant Name � FY 12
Region5ModelGrant� Back-up Submission.�� If
it becomes necessary to submit an amended package at a later date, then the
name of the 2nd submission should be changed to �Applicant Name �
FY12 Region5ModelGrant� 2nd Submission.��� Note:�
Please substitute the �5� in the name with the number of the EPA Region in
which you are proposing to conduct your project.
Once your proposal package has
been completed and saved, send it to your AOR for submission to U.S. EPA
through Grants.gov.� Please advise your
AOR to close all other software programs before attempting to submit the
proposal package through Grants.gov.� In the �Application Filing Name�
box, your AOR should enter your organization�s name (abbreviate where possible),
the fiscal year (e.g., FY12), and the grant category (e.g., Region5ModelGrant).� The filing name should not exceed 40
characters.� From the �Grant Application
Package� page, your AOR may submit the application package by clicking the
�Submit� button that appears at the top of the page.� The AOR will then be asked to verify the
agency and funding opportunity number for which the application package is
being submitted.�� If problems are
encountered during the submission process, the AOR should reboot his/her
computer before trying to submit the proposal package again. [It may be necessary
to turn off the computer (not just restart it) before attempting to submit the
package again.] If the AOR continues to experience submission problems, he/she
may contact Grants.gov for assistance by phone at 1-800-518-4726 or email at www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp or contact EPA Headquarters staff
as identified in Section VII of the announcement. Proposal packages submitted thru
grants.gov will be time/date stamped electronically.
confirmation of receipt from EPA (not
from grants.gov) within 60 days of the proposal deadline, please contact
the appropriate Regional EPA staff as identified in Section VII of the
announcement.� Failure to do so may result in your proposal