OpportunityTitle: Exchange program for biotechnology experts
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: &#8226; U.S. not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations &#8226; U.S. public and private educational institutions
Description: For more detailed information, please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) file in the Related Documents section of this grant opportunity. A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy, Ashgabat of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to organize an exchange visit for 5 biotechnology experts from Turkmenistan to the United States for two to three weeks. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Priority Region: Turkmenistan Background: The Academy of Sciences serves as the main agency responsible for developing science in Turkmenistan and supervises a number of research centers and institutes. (For the purposes of this NOFO, the word Academy will refer to the Academy of Sciences and its research centers). The Government of Turkmenistan is phasing out funding for the Academy, which is now looking to commercialize its research to sustain its work. Consequently, it is trying to further build its capacity both for scientific research and commercialization and wants to learn from international experience in those areas. Goal: Within 18 months after the program completion, the participants will conduct research to adapt at least two new biotechnologies to Turkmenistan&#8217;s conditions and will market biotechnological solutions and services to at least five agricultural companies or producers, as measured by the number of new projects and follow up consultations with program participants. Objectives: The Turkmen experts will 1. Study the experience of U.S. scientific and educational institutions in developing and applying biotechnologies in the following areas: - protecting crops from insects, bacteria, and other pests; - artificial selection of crops; - improving the quality of soil and decreasing salinity; - livestock breeding; - use of halophytes as a source of feed for livestock and as a method to improve the quality of soil 2. Learn methods of commercializing biotechnological research from experts at U.S. scientific and educational institutions. 3. See how biotechnologies are applied at specific agricultural facilities. 4. Share Turkmenistan&#8217;s experience in the above-mentioned areas with U.S. colleagues and create research partnerships. 5. Adapt U.S. biotechnologies to Turkmenistan&#8217;s soil and climate and develop methods of applying them in local agriculture production. 6. Create targeted, strategic proposals for commercializing biotechnologies and other types of research. 7. Apply the information on research commercialization they learned during the program to better market the Academy&#8217;s technologies and research services among local private and state-owned businesses. Activity Locations: Post recommends that Applicants consider the specifics of Turkmenistan&#8217;s desert climate and soil when identifying program locations. B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION Length of performance period: 6 to 12 months Number of awards anticipated: 1 award Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $35,000 to a maximum of $55,000 Total available funding: Type of Funding: FY20 Fulbright-Hays Public Diplomacy Funds Anticipated program start date: October 2021 This notice is subject to availability of funding. Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements are different from grants in that bureau/embassy staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation. Post will be involved in soliciting participants for the program, identifying program dates, and recommending some program sites and venues in the United States. Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 12 months or less. C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION 1.Eligible Applicants The following organizations are eligible to apply: U.S. not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations U.S. public and private educational institutions 2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is not required, but is an advantage. Depending on the amount of cost sharing, the applicants will be assigned up to 10 percentage points. 3. Other Eligibility Requirements In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a unique entity identifier (Data Universal Numbering System/DUNS number from Dun &amp; Bradstreet), as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section D.3 for information on how to obtain these registrations. Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov. Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding. D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible. Content of Application Please ensure: -The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity -All documents are in English &#183;All budgets are in U.S. dollars &#183;All pages are numbered &#183;All documents are formatted to 8 &#189; x 11 paper, and &#183;All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins. The following documents are required: 1. Mandatory application forms &#183; SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance &#8211; organizations) or SF-424-I (Application for Federal Assistance --individuals) &#183; SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs) &#183; SF424B (Assurances for Non-Construction programs) 2. Summary Page: Cover sheet stating the applicant name and organization, proposal date, program title, program period proposed start and end date, and brief purpose of the program. 3. Proposal: The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. You may use your own proposal format, but it must include all the items indicated in the attached full version of the NOFO. 4. Budget Justification Narrative: After filling out the SF-424A Budget (above), use a separate sheet of paper to describe each of the budget expenses in detail. See section H. Other Information: Guidelines for Budget Submissions below for further information. 5. Attachments : &#183;1-page CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program &#183;Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner &#183;If your organization has a NICRA and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA should be included as a PDF file. &#183;Official permission letters, if required for program activities 1. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Required Registrations: Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) in the System for Award Management (SAM) is not eligible to apply for an assistance award in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 235), &#8220;Debarment and Suspension.&#8221; Additionally, no entity listed on the EPLS can participate in any activities under an award. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the EPLS in SAM to ensure that no ineligible entity is included. All organizations applying for grants (except individuals) must obtain these registrations. All are free of charge: &#183; Unique entity identifier from Dun &amp; Bradstreet (DUNS number) &#183; NCAGE/CAGE codehttps://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx &#183; www.SAM.gov registration 2.Submission Dates and Times Applications are due no later than August 21, 2020 3 Funding Restrictions Award funds cannot be used in any countries other than the United States and Turkmenistan 4. Other Submission Requirements All application materials must be submitted by email to AshgabatCulturalAffairs @state.gov E. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 1. Federal Award Notices The grant award or cooperative agreement will be written, signed, awarded, and administered by the Grants Officer. The assistance award agreement is the authorizing document and it will be provided to the recipient for review and signature by email. The recipient may only start incurring program expenses beginning on the start date shown on the grant award document signed by the Grants Officer. If a proposal is selected for funding, the Department of State has no obligation to provide any additional future funding. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the discretion of the Department of State. Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. government, nor does it commit the U.S. government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Further, the U.S. government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received. Payment Method: Grant funds will be disbursed by wire transfer in one installment. 2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Terms and Conditions: Before submitting an application, applicants should review all the terms and conditions and required certifications which will apply to this award, to ensure that they will be able to comply. These include: 2 CFR 200, 2 CFR 600, and the Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions which are available at: https://www.state.gov/about-us-office-of-the-procurement-executive/. Note the U.S Flag branding and marking requirements in the Standard Terms and Conditions. 3.Reporting Reporting Requirements: Recipients will be required to submit a financial report and a program report within 30 days after the program completion. F. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS If you have any questions about the grant application process, please contact: AshgabatCulturalAffairs@state.gov. For more detailed information, please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) file in the Related Documents section of this grant opportunity.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: AshgabatCulturalAffairs@state.gov
GrantorContactText: Public Affairs Section &lt;br/&gt;U.S. Embassy, Ashgabat