Transcript Slide 1

Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
FY2011 Northeastern Area
State & Private Forestry
Competitive Allocation RFP
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
The Case for Change
 Meets the requirement of law in the 2008 Farm Bill
 Gives State Foresters and their partners significant
flexibility to pursue outcomes aligned with their
State Forest Resource Strategy
 Provides a transparent, efficient, credible, and
collaborative process
 Enables well-informed decisions about allocations
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
This is Not Business as Usual!
 A single RFP—not combined, aggregated, or compiled
 A process to decide how to best ALLOCATE Federal
dollars (this is NOT a competitive grants program)
 An opportunity for NA to collaboratively work with the
State Foresters throughout the decision process
 A process driven by priority needs, rather than the
“color” of available money!
 A way to identify merit-worthy, unmet project needs
(beyond the dollars available)
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Funding Authorities
 Funding authorities for this year:
 Fire
 Forest Health
 Forest Stewardship
 Urban & Community Forestry
 This process does not include or affect
core S&PF program funding
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
This RFP Replaces the Following
Previously Separate RFPs:
 National S&PF Competitive Resource Allocation
(“Redesign” grants)
 Hazard mitigation
 NA Forest Health treatments, methods and
technology development, and other efforts
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Funding Parameters
 There is no limit on the number of proposals any
one State can submit
 The intention is to consider and fund projects of
various sizes
 A minimum project proposal amount of $30,000 in
Federal funding (smaller projects can be bundled)
 The maximum amount to be awarded to any one
State is $1.5 million (total of all projects)
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Who Can Submit Proposals?
 State Foresters are eligible to submit or
authorize proposals (pass-through to partners)
 State Ag. agencies or other organizations with
State Forest Health Program responsibilities can
submit proposals through or with concurrence
from the State Forester
 All others must submit proposals through the
State Forester
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Other Submission Considerations
 NA encourages State Foresters to submit
proposals by cooperators; State Foresters have
the discretion whether to forward proposals.
 Cooperators should submit proposals through
the State Forester for where the work is to occur.
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Multistate Proposals
 Multistate proposals are encouraged where
appropriate, but do not receive preferential
consideration
 Need concurrence of all relevant State Foresters
 Identify the amount of funding for each State
 Link to each State Strategy
 NA is available to help facilitate
for multistate projects
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
discussion
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Additional Information
 Funds through this RFP can only be spent on
work conducted on non-Federal lands.
 Projects may span up to 3 years, with full funding
committed at the time of award.
 Funds to be passed through to third-party
recipients must be clearly identified and will
count towards a State’s total allocation.
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Proposal Requirements
Applications will proceed for ranking only if they
meet all of these requirements:
A. Link to the Statewide Forest Resource Strategy,
national, and regional priorities
B. Provide (50/50) matching funds (see Web site)
Contact Zaneta Hammond with questions regarding
eligible match: [email protected], 610-557-4015
C. Appropriate and authorized use of Federal funds
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Criteria for Proposal Evaluation
1. Significant issue or concern (30 points)
2. Measurable results and significant
outcomes (30 points)
3. Capacity to succeed (10 points)
4. Technical soundness (10 points)
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Support for Proposal Development
 NA Field Representatives and Field Office staff:
 New England & New York – Terry Miller, 603-868-7694
 Mid-Atlantic – Bob Lueckel, 304-285-1540
 Midwest – Barb Tormoehlen, 651-649-5276
 Assistance from the Cooperative Fire staff in
Newtown Square will be coordinated through
the Field Representatives
 Experience has shown that this consultation
results in higher quality proposals and more
collaboration between similar efforts
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
NA’s Guidance to Staff
 Distribute the RFP broadly to established
and new partners.
 Engage early in the process.
 This is an opportunity for NA staff to provide
meaningful technical support to help you and
your staff construct the best possible
proposals.
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Additional resources can be found on the
NA RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Project Submission
 Applicants fill out the application form
 5-page maximum length (excluding budget
tables, project timeline, and letters)
 Submit in PDF format to [email protected]
 For assistance submitting proposals, contact
Terry James: [email protected] 610-557-4107
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Collaborative Project Selection
 Preliminary review for completeness and to
determine potential funding eligibility
 Proposals evaluated and ranked by interagency
review team with a 1:1 ratio of Federal to State
representatives
 A ranked list of proposals will be submitted to the
NAASF Exec. Committee & NA Director by March 1
 The NA Director will work with the NAASF Exec.
Committee to approve projects
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Beyond Project Selection
 Project funding will be provided through a grant
agreement, with standard reporting requirements
 Successful applicants will need to track and report
accomplishments and successes for selected
proposals
 Projects ranked but not funded will receive further
consideration should additional funds become
available
 The list of ranked projects helps NA and NAASF
make the case for unmet needs
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
FY2011 RFP Process
RFP and Proposal
Submission
Proposal Review
and Ranking
Selection
and Notification
Expanded RFP
announced
Nov. 1, 2010.
Prelim. review
of proposals for
completeness
coordinated by NA
Deputy Director.
Ranked Proposals to NAASF
Exec. Committee & NA Director
State Forestry
Agencies, Forest
Service & partners
work to develop
proposals.
---------------------Technical support
for proposal
development
available from NA
State Foresters*
submit
proposals
by Feb. 1, 2011.
Proposals to RFP
Review Team with
One-to-one ratio of
federal-to-state
representatives.
Review Team
evaluate &
score
proposals on 4
criteria
Normalize scores
(Z-score process),
rank & recommend
list of projects by
March 1, 2010.
NAASF Exec.
Committee and
NA Director
approve projects
for funding.
NA Exec. Team
identifies mix
of funds for
selected projects.
NA Exec. Team
compiles FY 2011
grant list with
funding sources.
NA notify grantees
- successful
- not successful
Projects ranked but not funded will receive
further consideration by the NAASF Exec.
Committee and NA Director should additional
funds become available in FY 2011.
Evaluation
NA & NAASF
Evaluation of
Process
Recommendations
for process changes
for FY 2012 to
NAASF Exec.
Committee &
NA Director
by May 1, 2011.
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Feedback
 Ongoing feedback is critical to the success of
this RFP
 Provide comments and suggestions through
your Field Representative, or directly to Jim
Barresi or Ian MacFarlane
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Process Evaluation
 Recommendations for changes to the process
will be made to the NAASF Exec. Committee
and the NA Director by May 1, 2011
 NAASF and the NA Director will closely
evaluate the RFP process and institute changes
as appropriate for future years
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp
Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Questions?
NA FY11 RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp