Living Languages Grant Program (LLGP); Solicitation of Proposals
| Citation | 86 FR 59419 |
| Record Number | 2021-23406 |
| Published date | 27 October 2021 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Indian Affairs Bureau |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 205 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59419-59422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23406]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[222A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900253G]
Living Languages Grant Program (LLGP); Solicitation of Proposals
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED), through its
Living Languages Grant Program (LLGP), is soliciting proposals from
federally recognized Tribes for grants to fund Native language
instruction and immersion programs for Native students not enrolled at
Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools, including those Tribes in
States without BIE-funded schools.
DATES: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on January 25,
2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James R. West, Program Analyst,
Office of Indian Economic Development, Room 6049-B, 12220 Sunrise
Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191; telephone: (202) 595-4766; email:
[email protected]. Additional Program information can be found at
https://www.bia.gov/service/grants/llgp.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
II. Number of Projects Funded
III. Background
IV. Eligibility for Funding
V. Applicant Procurement Procedures
VI. Limitations
VII. Language Instructor Credentials
VIII. LLGP Application Guidance
IX. Review and Selection Process
X. Evaluation Criteria
XI. Transfer of Funds
XII. Reporting Requirements for Award Recipients
XIII. Conflicts of Interest
XIV. Questions and Requests for OIED Assistance
XV. Separate Document(s)
XVI. Paperwork Reduction Act
XVII. Authority
I. General Information
Award Ceiling: 200,000
Award Floor: 25,000
CFDA Number: 15.151
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
Number of Awards: 15-60
Category: Education Program Enhancements
II. Number of Projects Funded
OIED anticipates award of approximately fifteen (15) to sixty (60)
grants under this announcement ranging in value from approximately
$25,000 to $200,000. The program can fund projects only one year at a
time. OIED will use a competitive evaluation process based on criteria
described in the Evaluation Criteria section (section X of this
notice).
III. Background
The Office of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, through
OIED, is soliciting proposals from Indian Tribes as listed in 85 FR
5462 for grant funding to support Tribal programs to document Native
languages or build Tribal capacity to create or expand language
preservation programs. The LLGP will exclude as grantees BIE schools
and BIE-funded schools or programs targeting students enrolled in those
schools.
The funding will focus on small or start-up programs whose
objective is to document or build the capacity to preserve Native
languages that are losing users, but which still have active users at
the grandparent generation. The LLGP seeks to document, preserve, and
revitalize languages that are used for face-to-face communication;
languages that can be used by a child-bearing generation, but are not
being transmitted to children; languages whose only active users are
members of the grandparent generation or older; languages whose only
active users are members of the grandparent generation or older but who
have little opportunity to use them; and languages that serve as a
reminder of heritage identity for an ethnic community, but which lack
proficient speakers.
These grants will be funded under a non-recurring appropriation of
the BIA budget. Congress appropriates funds on a year-to-year basis.
Thus, while some LLGP projects may extend over several years, funding
for successive years depends on each fiscal year's appropriations.
OIED administers this program through its Division of Economic
Development (DED).
The funding periods and amounts referenced in this solicitation are
subject to the availability of funds at the time of award, as well as
the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Indian Affairs priorities at
the time of the award. Neither DOI nor Indian Affairs will be held
responsible for proposal or application preparation costs. Publication
of this solicitation does not obligate DOI or Indian Affairs to award
any specific grant or to obligate all or any part of available funds.
Future funding is subject to the availability of appropriations and
cannot be guaranteed. DOI or Indian Affairs may cancel or withdraw this
solicitation at any time.
[[Page 59420]]
IV. Eligibility for Funding
The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), through the OIED
Division of Economic Development (DED), solicits proposals from
federally recognized Indian Tribes to receive grants LLGP grants.
Excluded as grantees are BIE-operated schools and BIE-funded
schools or programs targeting students enrolled in those schools.
V. Applicant Procurement Procedures
The applicant is subject to the procurement standards in 2 CFR
200.318 through 200.326. In accordance with 2 CFR 200.318, an applicant
must use its own documented procurement procedures which reflect Tribal
laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to
applicable Federal law and standards identified in 25 CFR part 2.
VI. Limitations
The LLGP grant funding must be expended in accordance with
applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, including 2 CFR part
200.
Applicants that are currently under BIA sanction Level 2 or higher
resulting from non-compliance with the Single Audit Act are ineligible
for an LLGP award. Applicants at Sanction Level 1 will be considered
for funding.
No more than one proposal will be accepted by a federally
recognized Tribe. Applications should address only one project. Any
submissions that contain multiple project proposals will not be
considered. OIED will apply the same objective ranking criteria to each
proposal.
The purpose of LLGP grants is to fund Native language instruction
and immersion programs only. LLGP awards may not be used for:
Indirect costs or administrative costs as defined by the
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR);
Legal fees;
Contract negotiation fees; and
Any other activities not authorized by the grant award
letter.
VII. Language Instructor Credentials
Instructors identified in LLGP proposals for funding need only be
approved by the Tribal applicant and need not be credentialed or
certified by a State, educational institution, or other external
entity.
VIII. LLGP Application Guidance
All applications must be submitted in digital form to grants.gov.
For instructions, see https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/Applicants/HowToApplyForGrants.htm.
All LLGP applicants must submit the standard forms ``package'' as
outlined in section IX of this announcement. These forms can be found
under the ``package'' tab on the LLGP2021 grant listing at
www.grants.gov. In very limited circumstances, OIED may accept a non-
digital application. Please contact OIED at least a week prior to the
submission deadline for approval.
There are seven mandatory components (forms) that must be included
in each proposal package. Links to the mandatory forms can be found
under the ``package'' tab on the LLGP2021 grant opportunity page at
www.grants.gov. The following are the names of the required forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) [V3.0]
Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)
[V1.0]
Budget Narrative Attachment Form [V1.2]
Project Abstract Summary [V2.0]
Project Narrative Attachment Form [V1.2]
Attachments [V1.2]
Key Contacts [V2.0]
Application for Federal Assistance SF-424
It is required that the applicant complete the Application for
Federal Assistance SF-424. Please use a descriptive file name that
includes Tribal name and project description. For example:
LLGPSF424.Tribalname.Project.
Project Abstract Summary and Project Narrative Attachment
The first paragraph of the project narrative must include the title
and basic description of the proposed Living Languages project. The
Project Narrative must not exceed 15 pages. At a minimum, it should
include:
A technical description of the project and, if applicable,
an explanation of how the project would benefit the applicant and does
not duplicate previous work.
A description of the project objectives and goals.
Deliverable products that the project will generate,
including interim deliverables (such as status reports and technical
data to be obtained) and final deliverables.
Resumes of key consultants and/or personnel to be
retained, if available, and the names of subcontractors, if applicable.
This information may be included as an attachment to the application
and will not be counted towards the 15-page limitation.
Please use a descriptive file name that includes Tribal
name and project description. For example:
LLGPNarrative.Tribalname.Project.
Project Narratives are not judged based on their length. Please do
not submit any unnecessary attachments or documents beyond what is
listed above, e.g., Tribal history, unrelated photos, and maps.
Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) [V1.0] and
Budget Narrative Attachment Form [V1.2]
It is required that the budget be submitted using the SF-424A form.
Please use a descriptive file name that includes Tribal name and
project description. For example: LLGPBudget.Tribalname.Project.
The budget must identify the amount of grant funding requested and
a comprehensive breakdown of all projected and anticipated
expenditures, including contracted personnel fees, consulting fees
(hourly or fixed), travel costs, data collection and analysis costs,
computer rentals, report generation, drafting, advertising costs for a
proposed project and other relevant project expenses, and their
subcomponents.
Travel costs should be itemized by airfare, vehicle
rental, lodging, and per diem, based on the current Federal government
per diem schedule.
Data collection and analysis costs should be itemized in
sufficient detail for the OIED review committee to evaluate the
charges.
Other expenses may include computer rental, report
generation, drafting, and advertising costs for a proposed project.
Key Contacts [V2.0]
Applicants must include the Key Contacts information page that
includes:
Project Manager's contact information including address,
email, desk, and cell phone number.
If there is more than one contact, please provide an
additional key contact's form.
Please use a descriptive file name that includes Tribal
name and identifies that it is the critical information page (CIP). For
example: LLGPCIP.Tribalname.Project.
Attachments [V1.2]
Utilize the attachments form to include the Tribal resolution
issued in the fiscal year of the grant application, authorizing the
submission of a LLGP 2021 grant application. It must be signed by
authorized Tribal representative(s). The Tribal resolution
[[Page 59421]]
must also include a description of the Living Language project that
will be delivered. The attachments form can also be used to include any
other attachments related to the proposal.
Required Grantee Travel and Attendance at an Language Preservation
Annual Grantee Meeting
Grantees will be required to have two individuals who work directly
on the project attend an in-person annual DOI/OIED-sponsored grantee 3-
day meeting in Washington, DC, during the year of the grant award.
Applicants must include costs in the budget to cover this requirement.
Travel costs must not exceed $6,000 per person. Applicants should
follow their own travel policies to budget for this 3-day meeting.
Special Notes
Please make sure that the System for Award Management (SAM) number
used to apply is active, not expired.
Please make sure an active Automated Standard Application for
Payment (ASAP) number is provided. Applicants must have an ASAP number
to be eligible.
It is helpful to list counties where the project is located and
congressional district number where the project is located.
Incomplete Applications. Incomplete applications will not be
accepted. Please ensure that all of the forms listed in the
announcement are completed and submitted in grants.gov.
IX. Review and Selection Process
Upon receiving an LLGP application, OIED will determine whether the
application is complete. Any proposal that is received after the date
and time in the DATES section of this notice will not be reviewed.
The Committee, comprised of OIED staff, Federal partners, and
subject matter experts, will evaluate the proposals against the ranking
criteria. Proposals will be evaluated using the three ranking criteria
listed below, with a maximum achievable total of 100 points.
Final award selections will be approved by the Assistant
Secretary--Indian Affairs and the Associate Deputy Secretary, U.S.
Department of the Interior. Applicants not selected for award will be
notified in writing.
X. Evaluation Criteria
Clarity and Reasonableness: 20 points. The Committee will review
LLGP grant proposals for completeness, organization, and the
reasonableness of identified costs, all in the context of achieving a
project's stated goals and objectives. The Committee will examine
whether the budget submitted is detailed enough to explain how and when
funds are to be spent and whether line-item budget numbers are
appropriate and reasonable to complete the proposed tasks.
Qualitative Impact: 40 points. The proposal should clearly state
how the project would document, preserve, or revitalize a Native
language whose status is described at Section III of this notice. The
Committee will evaluate the extent to which the Native language
addressed by the proposal is jeopardized or nearing extinction and the
degree to which the proposal could enliven the language by arresting or
minimizing intergenerational disruption.
Quantitative Impact: 40 points. The proposal should estimate the
number of students or percentage of Tribal members who will be directly
and indirectly benefitted by the proposal. This criterion is not
intended to favor proposals submitted by Tribes with larger populations
or disadvantage those submitted by Tribes with smaller ones. Because
LLGP funds are limited, however, the Committee must conduct a cost-
benefit analysis of each proposal. On this basis, the Committee will
prefer applicants that are currently receiving little or no Federal
funding for language preservation activities.
LLGP applications will be ranked using only these criteria (as
described above):
Clarity and Reasonableness: 20.
Qualitative Impact: 40.
Quantitative Impact: 40.
Total: 100.
XI. Transfer of Funds
OIED's obligation under this solicitation is contingent on receipt
of congressionally appropriated funds. No liability on the part of the
U.S. Government for any payment may arise until funds are made
available to the awarding officer for this grant and until the
recipient receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in
writing by the grant officer.
All payments under this agreement will be made by electronic funds
transfer through the ASAP. All award recipients are required to have a
current and accurate DUNS number to receive funds. All payments will be
deposited to the banking information designated by the applicant in the
SAM.
XII. Reporting Requirements for Award Recipients
The applicant must deliver all products and data required by the
signed Grant Agreement for the proposed LLGP activities to OIED within
30 days of the end of each reporting period and 90 days after
completion of the project. The reporting periods will be established in
the terms and conditions of the final award.
OIED requires that deliverable products be provided in both digital
format and printed hard copies. Reports can be provided in either
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Spreadsheet data can be
provided in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or Adobe PDF formats.
All vector figures should be converted to PDF format. Raster images can
be provided in PDF, JPEG, TIFF, or any of the Windows's metafile
formats. The contract between the grantee and the consultant conducting
the LLGP funded project must include deliverable products and require
that the products be prepared in the format described above.
The contract should include budget amounts for all printed and
digital copies to be delivered in accordance with the grant agreement.
In addition, the contract must specify that all products generated for
the project belong to the grantee and cannot be released to the public
without the grantee's written approval. Products include, but are not
limited to, all reports and technical data obtained, status reports,
and the final report.
In addition, this funding opportunity and financial assistance
award must adhere to the following provisions:
XIII. Conflicts of Interest
Applicability
This section intends to ensure that non-Federal entities
and their employees take appropriate steps to avoid conflicts of
interest in their responsibilities under or with respect to Federal
financial assistance agreements.
In the procurement of supplies, equipment, construction,
and services by recipients and by sub-recipients, the conflict-of-
interest provisions in 2 CFR 200.318 apply.
Requirements
Non-Federal entities must avoid prohibited conflicts of
interest, including any significant financial interests that could
cause a reasonable person to question the recipient's ability to
provide impartial, technically sound, and objective performance under
or with respect to a Federal financial assistance agreement.
In addition to any other prohibitions that may apply with
respect to conflicts of interest, no key official of an actual or
proposed recipient or sub-recipient, who is
[[Page 59422]]
substantially involved in the proposal or project, may have been a
former Federal employee who, within the last one (1) year, participated
personally and substantially in the evaluation, award, or
administration of an award with respect to that recipient or sub-
recipient or in development of the requirement leading to the funding
announcement.
No actual or prospective recipient or sub-recipient may
solicit, obtain, or use non-public information regarding the
evaluation, award, administration of an award to that recipient or sub-
recipient or the development of a Federal financial assistance
opportunity that may be of competitive interest to that recipient or
sub-recipient.
Notification
Non-Federal entities, including applicants for financial
assistance awards, must disclose in writing any conflict of interest to
the DOI awarding agency or pass-through entity in accordance with 2 CFR
200.112, Conflicts of Interest.
Recipients must establish internal controls that include,
at a minimum, procedures to identify, disclose, and mitigate or
eliminate identified conflicts of interest. The recipient is
responsible for notifying the Financial Assistance Officer in writing
of any conflicts of interest that may arise during the life of the
award, including those that have been reported by sub-recipients.
Restrictions on Lobbying. Non-Federal entities are
strictly prohibited from using funds under this grant or cooperative
agreement for lobbying activities and must provide the required
certifications and disclosures pursuant to 43 CFR part 18 and 31 U.S.C.
1352.
Review Procedures. The Financial Assistance Officer will
examine each conflict-of-interest disclosure on the basis of its
particular facts and the nature of the proposed grant or cooperative
agreement and will determine whether a significant potential conflict
exists and, if it does, develop an appropriate means for resolving it.
Enforcement. Failure to resolve conflicts of interest in a
manner that satisfies the Government may be cause for termination of
the award. Failure to make the required disclosures may result in any
of the remedies described in 2 CFR 200.338, Remedies for Noncompliance,
including suspension or debarment (see also 2 CFR part 180).
Data Availability
Applicability. The Department of the Interior is committed
to basing its decisions on the best available science and providing the
American people with enough information to thoughtfully and
substantively evaluate the data, methodology, and analysis used by the
Department to inform its decisions.
Use of Data. The regulations at 2 CFR 200.315 apply to
data produced under a Federal award, including the provision that the
Federal Government has the right to obtain, reproduce, publish, or
otherwise use the data produced under a Federal award as well as
authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such
data for Federal purposes.
Availability of Data. The recipient shall make the data
produced under this award and any subaward(s) available to the
Government for public release, consistent with applicable law, to allow
meaningful third-party evaluation and reproduction of the following:
[cir] The scientific data relied upon;
[cir] The analysis relied upon; and
[cir] The methodology, including models, used to gather and analyze
data.
XIV. Questions and Requests for OIED Assistance
OIED staff may provide technical assistance, upon written request
by an applicant. The request must clearly identify the type of
assistance sought. Technical assistance does not include funding to
prepare a grant proposal, grant writing assistance, or pre-
determinations as to the likelihood that a proposal will be awarded.
The applicant is solely responsible for preparing its grant proposal.
Technical assistance may include clarifying application requirements,
and registration information for SAM or ASAP.
XV. Separate Document(s)
Application for Federal Assistance SF-424 Form.
Project Narrative Attachment Form (This form includes the
Project Narrative, Budget, Tribal Resolution, and Critical Information
page).
XVI. Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection requirements contained in SF-424,
Application for Federal Assistance have been reviewed and approved by
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act, 44 U.S.C. 3504(h). The OMB control number is 4040-0004. The
authorization expires on December 31, 2022. An agency may not conduct
or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, any information
collection that does not display a currently valid OMB Control Number.
XVII. Authority
This is a discretionary grant program authorized under the Snyder
Act (25 U.S.C. 13) and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2020 (Pub. L. 116-94). The Snyder Act authorizes the BIA to expend such
moneys as Congress may appropriate for the benefit, care, and
assistance of Indians for the purposes listed in the Act. LLGP grants
facilitate one of the purposes listed in the Snyder Act: ``General
support and civilization, including education.'' The Further
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, authorizes the BIA to ``carry
out the operation of Indian programs by direct expenditure, contracts,
cooperative agreements, compacts, and grants, either directly or in
cooperation with States and other organizations.'' Further, the
Conference Report specifies $3,000,000 for grants to federally
recognized Indian Tribes to provide Native language instruction and
immersion programs to Native students not enrolled in BIE schools,
including those Tribes and organizations in States without Bureau-
funded schools.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2021-23406 Filed 10-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P
