Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance & Regional Financial Management Office

Distibuted on a Quarterly Basis; Written by Hala Elattar, Tracie Frost and Chelsea Lynn

Developing the Capacity of USAID Implementing Partners: USAID/India Grants Compliance Course

On Monday, February 1, 2016, USAID/India welcomed 43 implementing partners and 9 Agreement Officer Representatives (AORs) to the JW Marriot Hotel to participate in the third Grant and Cooperative Agreement Compliance Course. This 5 day training is part of USAID/India’s continuing efforts to strengthen the capacity of our local partners and enhance our collaboration with implementing partners to achieve our development objectives.

The course provided the participants with an overview of USAID’s overall rules and regulations related to Grants and Cooperative Agreements. It also included financial and audit management sessions to enhance their knowledge and ensure compliance with the Agency requirements.

Upcoming Training Opportunity

USAID/India Grant Compliance Course

Apr 4 – Apr 8, 2016

The Leela Palace

New Delhi

 

USAID/India Regional Controller Amr Elattar kicked off the conference with opening remarks. Soon after a brief introduction to the attendees, trainers Jeffrey Bell and Gwen Whiting engaged the participants in activities that introduced them to the Legal Landscape, U.S Government Structure and the Hierarchy of Rules.

 

Visit Us

https://www.usaid.gov/india

https://www.usaid.gov/india/work-with-us/partnership-opportunities

https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners

 

Facebook Sign Up

Sign up to Facebook to view all pictures (including graduation) from the Grant and Cooperative Compliance Course: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1101184026579051.1073741847.61...

 

Local Capacity Building

RFMO and ROAA are pleased to introduce USAID/India's Local Capacity Building Team.

• Rodeina Fattah, Senior Coordinator,has over two decades of USAID experience and served as the Director for Capacity Building at USAID/Iraq.

• Chelsea Lynn, Associate Coordinator, has procurement experience and previously worked with the ROAA team.

In the coming months, Rodeina and Chelsea will develop and coordinate USAID/India's Local Capacity Building initiative to improve outreach and support to partners. They are currently consulting with Technical and Support offices to build a Mission-wide framework for capacity building. Stay tuned for regular updates on this initiative!

Charles "Chuck" Pope, Director of Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance was also there to enhance participants understanding of USAID’s overall acquisition and assistance rules and regulations and to answer some of the burning questions.

 

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS IN ATTTENDANCE

• AAPL

• ATREE

• BBC Media Action

• CARE India

• Center for Microfinance

• CKS

• Clean Energy Access Network

• CURE India

• Digital Green

• ELDF

• English Helper

• FICCI

• IAP

• IL&FS Clusters

• IORA

• IPE Global

• IRADe

• Jhpiego

• JSI

• Karnataka Health Promotion Trust

• LEHS/Wish Foundation

• New Ventures India

• PHFI

• REACH

• Room to Read

• SAATHII

• Safe Water Network

• Samhita Social Ventures

• SATHGURU

• Skymet

• Social & Resource Dev. Fund

• STIR

• Swasti

• TERI University

• WCT

• WISH Foundation

• World Health Partners

 

Helpful Tips: Voucher Best Practices

Submission of a proper voucher speeds the release of funds. A proper voucher includes the following:

• Name, address, and contract number of the partner.

• Voucher number

• Date the voucher was prepared

• Certification

• Date of service

• Amount stated in correct currency

• Signature of authorized person

• For timely payment, submit your vouchers on a schedule, once a month.

Keep Chuck Pope's 4 Ps in mind as you structure your emails, conversations and requests with your AOR/COR. This approach will make interactions more efficient and productive - allowing the right decisions to be made as quickly as possible.

Problem: Tell us the who, what, where, when, why and how of your problem/issue.

Proposed Solution: If you think you have a way to solve the problem, let us know your idea!

Policy: Where in the award or policy/regulation does it give USAID the authority to make a decision, give approval, offer direction and/or provide guidance? What policy allows (or doesn't expressly prohibit) the proposed solution?

Precedent: Where, when and with whom (CO/AO) have you tried the recommended course of action before AND was it successful? Precedent is very important when there isn't a specific policy governing the proposed solution.

 

Opportunity: Karmany’s New Matching Platform

Interns Wanted!

USAID, the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-GN), and Karmany signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on February 10, 2016 to launch an internship program. Over 100 undergraduate students at IIT-GN have applied in the opening two days. Karmany has built a straightforward online portal where the undergraduate students can find and apply to internship opportunities at USAID partner organizations.  Check out www.karmanyconnect.com and consider creating internship opportunities. Use this unique link to sign up: http://bit.ly/1NmoPLo or contact Shweta Gandhi at Shweta@karmany.org to get more information on how to post opportunities. The interns do not need to work on USAID projects. Rather, think of anywhere in your organization where you have a need to use a bright IIT student to help your mission forward.

 

Spotlight: MENCAFEP, Sri Lanka

MENCAFEP originated 28 years ago when Ranji and Chris Stubbs (Founders) were working to help unemployed young women in Nuwara Eliya to find work in a depressed economy. At that time they found out that many disabled children and their families were being ostracized in their communities not knowing how to care for them or how to stand up to the discrimination. Ranji and Chris decided to start a day-care school and center where these children could be looked after.

In 1988, they began with six children, but today MENCAFEP works with more than 2,500 children and their families. During MENCAFEP'S years of existence, it has helped more than 7,000 children and their families.

MENCAFEP's first care center was founded in hills of Nuwara Eliya in January 1988 to provide care for mentally disabled children and their families. The organization then expanded to the East of Sri Lanka. Many families with disabled children moved to districts to be near the organization. According to MENCAFEP founders, with early intervention and good support systems many mentally underdeveloped children have become productive members of the society.

 

Success Story

When Daniela* was a few months old, Chris and Ranji Stubbs - founders of MENCAFEP - found her, abandoned in a hut in one of Sri Lanka's plantations. The couple quickly took Daniela under their wings, not realizing that the baby suffered from a serious speech disability. Daniela could not speak. At MENCAFEP, the couple worked rigorously with their medical team - especially the speech therapists - to help little Daniela to utter her first "ahh", babble and then talk. Today, six years later, Daniela is multilingual. She is fluent in English and the local languages Tamil and Sinhala. She studies in MENCAFEP's school.

*Name changed to protect identity

Testimonial

Alfonso, a student volunteer from Turin International, Italy said, "At the MENCAFEP Integrated Pre-school every child starts from the beginning, disabled and able to help each other, which is amazing to see. This group to me shows how children with different abilities can learn and live together. I also met another group for seriously handicapped children. When we met this groups something special struck our hearts. Don't ask what, why or even how, I can only tell you the affection, protection, and every kind of special feeling I felt for these children. The days spent with these kids were amazingly unique for me. It was something special that I will never forget. In this group of mixed children, they drew, played and had music lessons. The most important thing in life is happiness, and I guarantee you that in that group of children, happiness was never missing. For no big reason those children would smile and be happy. Within days as I said before, we created a relation with them, to share moments and love. The best thing you can give those children is protection, attention, affection and love."

 

New Contract: PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited (India)

ROAA/India, Sri Lanka & Maldives is proud to announce that a Contract has been executed with PricewatrehouseCoopers Private Limited (India). The activities under this award to a local partner are directed at accelerating and expanding the global transfer of proven Indian health solutions. These health solutions can result in substantial, not incremental, improvements in health status and meet in particular, the health needs of the least well off populations of the partnering countries. Through this contract, USAID/India will help public and private sector Indian institution(s) establish systems for the global transfer and adoption of proven, high-impact RMNCH+A interventions and solutions for ending preventable maternal and child deaths.

 

New Cooperative Agreement: World Health Partners (WHP)

ROAA/India, Sri Lanka & Maldives is proud to announce that a Cooperative Agreement has been executed with World Health Partners (WHP). The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement is to assist the Government of India (GOI) with identifying, applying and scaling up successful innovative approaches to addressing tuberculosis (TB), especially among under-or inadequately-served urban slum dwellers and other low-income populations. The TB Health Action Learning Initiative (THALI) will work with the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP), municipal governments, an private providers to improve TB control.

 

New Cooperative Agreement: Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT)

ROAA India, Sri Lanka &Maldives is proud to announce that a Cooperative Agreement has been executed with Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT). The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement is to assist the Government of India (GOI) with identifying, applying and scaling up successful innovative approaches to addressing tuberculosis (TB), especially among under-or inadequately-served urban slum dwellers and other low-income populations. The TB Health Action Learning Initiative (THALI) will work with the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP), municipal governments, an private providers to improve TB control.

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act

The Ministry of Home Affairs, India, has extended the date for filing applications for renewal of FCRA registrations up to June 30, 2016.

www.fcraonline.nic

For more information on MENCAFEP, please visit www.mencafep.com and learn more about their activities. A Project for Children & Young People With Disabilities

 

New Cooperative Agreement: REACH

ROAA/India, Sril Lanka & Maldives is proud to announce that a Cooperative Agreement has been executed with REACH. The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement is to assist the Government of India (GOI) in launching a national movement for a Tuberculosis (TB)-free India by 2050. To launch the national movement, the Recipient will assist in convening a National Call to Action, drawing on lessons learned from the Global Child Survival Call to Action to End Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths. It is expected that this TB Call to Action will convene diverse stakeholders to address a comprehensive set of technical areas that need national strategies to accelerate TB control in India. The Recipient will also assist national and state governments in developing road maps to achieve the National Call to Action across key technical areas.

 

New Cooperative Agreement: Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC)

ROAA/India, Sri Lanka & Maldives is proud to announce that a Cooperative Agreement has been executed with Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement is to advance low-carbon sustainable manufacturing practices in India's industrial sector while improving health and safety conditions inside factories and community conditions related to air, water and carbon emissions. To establish an Indian owned and operated, financially and operationally viable Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)+Center. The overall EHS+Center activity builds professional capacity in a range of manufacturing practices, including environmental, health and safety, and energy and carbon management. ISC proposes to include additional intensive energy efficiency workshops that will target the most energy intensive industrial processes in some of India's most energy intensive industrial sectors - ensuring carbon emissions reductions.

 

Hot Topics

This section is meant to provide guidance in the form of Q&A. We encourage you to submit your question(s) to helattar@usaid.gov. We will address them and feature the answer. We hope you will find this section helpful and informative.

 

Q: What are the process, scope, and timeline for budget revisions?

A: You have the freedom to realign your budget at any point in the award, but you may need prior approval from the Agreement Officer before making any changes.

As a first step, check your award: Are there any specific approval requirements? In general, budget revisions need prior approval if:

- The revision amount is greater than 10% of the total award amount

- Funds are moved between indirect and direct cost categories

- Training/participant support funds are moved to other cost categories

2 CFR 200.308 provides detailed information on other actions that require prior approval, including changes to subawards, key personnel, and cost share.

Please direct questions or comments about this newsletter to Hala Elattar helattar@usaid.gov or to Tracie Frost at tfrost@usaid.gov.