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Smart Growth Streets and Emergency Response (EPA-OPEI-0701) Points of Clarification
- Are Metropolitan Planning Organizations eligible entities?
- Are cities and counties eligible entities?
- Is EPA looking for external peer reviewers for this program?
- Is there a range of minimum and maximum amounts an applicant may request?
- Is there a preference between hard copy or electronic submission?
- Can you confirm that matching funds are not required but that providing matching funds will give applicants a competitive advantage?
- What type of organization do you expect to be the most successful through this program?
- I understand from the RFP that there is up to $150,000 available for between one and three Phase 1 projects. Please provide guidance on how we should best respond with a proposal when the Federal resources available might range between approximately $50K and $150K for Phase 1?
- Will you be funding 3 awards for $150,000 each in the first phase?
- Why are portions of the synopsis on grants.gov shaded grey?
- Would a project to provide providing small, low-speed, electric vehicles to volunteer crime prevention patrols be eligible for funding under this RFP?
- The program announcements state that "Only one application will be accepted per applicant." Please clarify if this means one application per institutional applicant (one per institution), or one application per individual applicant (one per principal investigator). I am asking because our institution (a university) is trying to determine if we will need to have an internal competition to select one applicant.
- We are a local government and are interested in working on this issue at a local level or with our tri-county government. Does it make sense for us to apply for this grant?
- Is it worthwhile for a city with older, established street networks to apply or do you envision communities with new streets that are more suburban?
- Should the applicant be a regional body or a national group?
- In the subsection "Activity 2: High Priority Research," the RFP asks applicants to "prioritize the research needs and develop the workplan for carrying out this research." Is it anticipated that, as part of the deliverables funded under this cooperative agreement, the successful applicant will actually carry out the research proposed in the workplan within the stated funding and time limits? Or is the intent simply to produce and prioritize a research workplan that EPA or some other entity will carry out?
- What can be paid for under the grant? Salary, transportation costs to arrange meetings?
- We are located in the Pacific Northwest, should we just focus regionally?
- Should we focus on retrofitting existing streets or on the construction of new streets?
- I'd like to brainstorm some ideas about partnering with other organizations.
- EPA has stated that the research must be carried out by the grantee within the stated funding and time limits. However, the RFP states that "all selected [research] topics must be able to be adequately addressed within a 30-month timetable." If all Phase 1 work is to be completed within the first two years (24 months), is this consistent with the 30-month timetable envisioned for completing the research?
- Is it possible for the "high priority research" (Activity 2) and the identification of best practices (Activity 3) to result in the same work product? In other words, can at least part of the high priority research include the identification of the best practices?
- Is this a new program or an ongoing program?
- The project we are working on is creating a "smart growth street" for a new town center. This street will also serve as an alternate coastal evacuation route and will require significant coordination with emergency response individuals. Would this project be eligible?
- Can you tell us if there are other teams in our region that we could collaborate with?
- Can we include Canadian examples and organizations in our proposal?
- Under Criterion #2 (defined as "Degree to which the applicant demonstrates expertise and experience in the smart growth issues associated with this RFP"), can expertise and experience in smart growth issues be achieved by partnering with an organization that meets these requirements (as in Criterion 1 and 3?)
- I assume that the "applicant" includes not only the "recipient" (i.e., project leader) but also the partners and co-applicants. I am confused about the word "applicant," is it the entire team?
- Is the total of $500,000 available when adding together the Phase I funding, or is the $500,000 exclusive of the $150,000?
- Should travel for participants invited to the workshops be included in the proposal budget?
1. Are Metropolitan Planning Organizations eligible entities?
Yes. In Section 3.1 of the RFP, eligible applicants are defined as "States, territories, Indian Tribes, interstate organizations, intrastate organizations, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, and individuals." This definition includes MPOs.
2. Are cities and counties eligible entities?
Yes. In Section 3.1 of the RFP, eligible applicants are defined as "States, territories, Indian Tribes, interstate organizations, intrastate organizations, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, and individuals." This definition includes cities, counties and local government.
3. Is EPA looking for external peer reviewers for this program?
No. EPA will be conducting the reviews in-house.
4. Is there a range of minimum and maximum amounts an applicant may request?
No. However, as stated in the RFP, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit proposals for Phase 1 activities (years 1 and 2 of the agreement), for approximately $150,000 or less. Applicants should provide detailed descriptions of the activities proposed for Phase 1 under this competition, as well as a description of what follow-up activities would be conducted in Phase 2 (years 3, 4 and 5) if additional funding is made available.
5. Is there a preference between hard copy or electronic submission?
There is no preference between hard copy or electronic submission.
6. Can you confirm that matching funds are not required but that providing matching funds will give applicants a competitive advantage?
Section 3.2 of the RFP states, "There are no match or cost-sharing requirements. However, the effectiveness with which the project budget uses EPA funds and leverages matching funds will be considered when proposals are evaluated." Section 5.1, Criterion 6 discusses the selection criteria that will be used to evaluate how funds are leveraged. Applicants can earn a maximum of 5 points for this criterion.
7. What type of organization do you expect to be the most successful through this program?
EPA will consider proposals from all eligible applicants as defined in Section 3.1. All applications will be evaluated against the same criteria, as described in detail in the RFP.
8. I understand from the RFP that there is up to $150,000 available for between one and three Phase 1 projects. Please provide guidance on how we should best respond with a proposal when the Federal resources available might range between approximately $50K and $150K for Phase 1?
As the RFP states, applicants are encouraged to: "submit proposals for Phase 1 activities, expected to cover years 1 and 2 of the agreement, for approximately $150,000 or less." Proposals should reflect the amount of funding that you think your organization would need to carry out the activities required under Phase 1.
9. Will you be funding 3 awards for $150,000 each in the first phase?
No. EPA may fund up to three awards under this solicitation. The total amount of funding available for the first phase of the grant is $150,000. If more than one applicant were selected, they would receive a portion of this funding. See Section 2.5 regarding partial funding.
10. Why are portions of the synopsis on grants.gov shaded grey?
Shaded grey areas indicate where changes have been made from the original posted synopsis.
11. Would a project to provide providing small, low-speed, electric vehicles to volunteer crime prevention patrols be eligible for funding under this RFP?
No. Section 1.1 of RFP details the activities that will be funded under this RFP. Providing small, low-speed, electric vehicles to volunteer crime prevention patrols is not consistent with the activities described in Section 1.1.
12. The program announcements state that "Only one application will be accepted per applicant." Please clarify if this means one application per institutional applicant (one per institution), or one application per individual applicant (one per principal investigator). I am asking because our institution (a university) is trying to determine if we will need to have an internal competition to select one applicant.
Only one application will be accepted per institutional applicant. If multiple principal investigators at the same institution are interested in applying, only one application would be eligible from that institution.
13. We are a local government and are interested in working on this issue at a local level or with our tri-county government. Does it make sense for us to apply for this grant?
We're looking for applicants that can, or through partnerships can, host meetings of key stakeholders at a national or regional (e.g., Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, etc.) scale. We will not support proposals that are local or limited to a single state.
14. Is it worthwhile for a city with older, established street networks to apply or do you envision communities with new streets that are more suburban?
Any city is an eligible entity, regardless of existing street design or age. The key issue to note is that the activities described in the Funding Opportunity section of the RFP must be national or regional (e.g., Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest) in scope and not local or limited to a single state.
15. Should the applicant be a regional body or a national group?
We're looking for applicants that can, or through partnerships can, host meetings of key stakeholders at a national or regional (e.g. Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, etc) scale. Applicants must also be able to conduct training and outreach at the national or regional (e.g. Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, etc) scale. We will not support proposals that are local or limited to a single state.
16. In the subsection "Activity 2: High Priority Research," the RFP asks applicants to "prioritize the research needs and develop the workplan for carrying out this research." Is it anticipated that, as part of the deliverables funded under this cooperative agreement, the successful applicant will actually carry out the research proposed in the workplan within the stated funding and time limits? Or is the intent simply to produce and prioritize a research workplan that EPA or some other entity will carry out?
The applicant will both develop the research needs and the workplans as well as carry out the research within the stated funding and time limits.
17. What can be paid for under the grant? Salary, transportation costs to arrange meetings?
Salary and transportation costs for the scheduled discussion roundtables would be eligible costs. All eligible costs for nonprofit organizations are defined in OMB Circular A-122 (see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a122/a122.html) and all eligible costs for public entities are defined in OMB Circular A-87 (see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a087/a087-all.html).
18. We are located in the Pacific Northwest, should we just focus regionally?
We're looking for applicants that can, or through partnerships can, host meetings of key stakeholders at a national or regional (e.g., Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, etc) scale. We will not support proposals that are local or limited to a single state. It is also expected that the applicant can conduct training and outreach at the regional or national level.
19. Should we focus on retrofitting existing streets or on the construction of new streets?
Both topics are eligible. The purpose of this RFP is to find ways that developments with the narrower street designs characteristic of walkable smart growth communities can also work successfully for, and be accepted and approved by, local emergency response officials--regardless of whether the existing street network is being retrofitted or a new network is being proposed. The goal is to create a solution, or set of solutions, that are endorsed by multiple interests and will be applicable in communities across the country or in significant regions of the country.
20. I'd like to brainstorm some ideas about partnering with other organizations.
As explained in Section 4.8 of the RFP, EPA staff cannot provide substantive pre-proposal assistance to potential applicants. Applicants should review the selection criteria in the RFP related to partnering and structure their proposals to meet those criteria. EPA staff interaction with potential applicants is limited to responding to questions regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the proposal, and requests for clarification about the announcement.
21. EPA has stated that the research must be carried out by the grantee within the stated funding and time limits. However, the RFP states that "all selected [research] topics must be able to be adequately addressed within a 30-month timetable." If all Phase 1 work is to be completed within the first two years (24 months), is this consistent with the 30-month timetable envisioned for completing the research?
Yes. For Phase 1 (years 1 and 2 of the grant) EPA expects applicants will, at a minimum:
- convene all meetings and document meeting findings as described in Activity 1;
- complete a prioritized list of research needs and a workplan for carrying out that research as described in Activity 2, and;
- identify replicable practices and techniques and put at least two of these in a format that can be immediately distributed as described in Activity 3.
While it may be possible to undertake and complete a short turn-around research project in Phase 1, EPA does not require that research be completed during that time period. The 30-month "clock" begins once a research project is initiated (during Phase 1 or Phase 2). It is expected that approved research projects will take no longer than 30 months from initiation to completion.
22. Is it possible for the "high priority research" (Activity 2) and the identification of best practices (Activity 3) to result in the same work product? In other words, can at least part of the high priority research include the identification of the best practices?
No, these are two separate activities. The "high priority research" activity must address critical underlying issues and questions that need to be resolved through research in order to move the issue forward. The "current best practices" activity supports identifying and packaging already existing, successful practices and techniques that are broadly applicable and ready for immediate distribution and use.
23. Is this a new program or an ongoing program?
This is a new RFP and it is not part of an ongoing program.
24. The project we are working on is creating a "smart growth street" for a new town center. This street will also serve as an alternate coastal evacuation route and will require significant coordination with emergency response individuals. Would this project be eligible?
As stated in the RFP (Section 4.8), EPA cannot provide pre-proposal/application assistance regarding draft proposal ideas or how to respond to the ranking criteria. I encourage you to very carefully review Section 1.1 (the Funding Opportunity Description) that describes in detail the specific activities eligible for funding under the RFP as well as Section 5.1 that contains the selection criteria that will be used to evaluate proposals.
25. Can you tell us if there are other teams in our region that we could collaborate with?
As stated in Section 4.8 of the RFP, EPA cannot discuss draft proposals or provide advice on how to respond to the ranking criteria. It will be up to your organization to make contact with other groups in your region to determine if you should collaborate.
26. Can we include Canadian examples and organizations in our proposal?
The RFP seeks to create solutions that can be used nationally, throughout the United States. If including Canadian examples, the applicant would need to demonstrate that these examples are relevant and replicable for a US audience.
27. Under Criterion #2 (defined as "Degree to which the applicant demonstrates expertise and experience in the smart growth issues associated with this RFP"), can expertise and experience in smart growth issues be achieved by partnering with an organization that meets these requirements (as in Criterion 1 and 3?)
In evaluating Criterion 2, only the applicant's (i.e., not the partners') expertise and experience with the smart growth issues associated with this RFP will be evaluated.
28. I assume that the "applicant" includes not only the "recipient" (i.e., project leader) but also the partners and co-applicants. I am confused about the word "applicant," is it the entire team?
The applicant is not the entire team. EPA awards funds to one eligible applicant as the "recipient," even if other eligible applicants are named as "partners," "co-applicants," or members of a "coalition" or "consortium." This is defined in Section 4.6 of the RFP.
29. Is the total of $500,000 available when adding together the Phase I funding, or is the $500,000 exclusive of the $150,000?
The total amount of funding available for the first phase of the grant is $150,000. Depending on funding availability, agency priorities, and applicant performance, the remaining phase (years 3 - 5) may be funded with an additional $350,000.
30. Should travel for participants invited to the workshops be included in the proposal budget?
Travel for meeting participants is an allowable direct cost and can at your discretion be included in the project budget. If you propose to support this cost with matching funds from another source (or from your own organization), your proposal must include documentation that the funds will be available (see sections 3.2 and 4.2 in the RFP).