FY2011 Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry Competitive Allocation RFP

1. FY2011 Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry Competitive Allocation RFP Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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

5. This RFP Replaces the FollowingPreviously Separate RFPs: • National S&PF Competitive Resource Allocation (“Redesign” grants) • Hazard mitigation • NA Forest Health treatments, methods and technology development, and other efforts

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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 discussion for multistate projects

10. 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.

11. Proposal Requirements Applications will proceed for ranking only if they meet all of these requirements: • Link to the Statewide Forest Resource Strategy, national, and regional priorities • Provide (50/50) matching funds (see Web site) ContactZaneta Hammond with questions regarding eligible match: zhammond@fs.fed.us, 610-557-4015 • Appropriate and authorized use of Federal funds

12. Criteria for Proposal Evaluation • Significant issue or concern (30 points) • Measurable results and significant outcomes (30 points) • Capacity to succeed (10 points) • Technical soundness (10 points)

13. 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

14. 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.

15. Additional resources can be found on the NA RFP Web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/rfp

16. Project Submission • Applicants fill out the application form • 5-page maximum length (excluding budget tables, project timeline, and letters) • Submit in PDF format to na-rfp@fs.fed.us • For assistance submitting proposals, contact Terry James: trjames@fs.fed.us 610-557-4107

17. 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

18. 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

19. FY2011 RFP Process RFP and Proposal Submission Proposal Review and Ranking Selection and Notification Evaluation 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 NA & NAASF Evaluation of Process NAASF Exec. Committee and NA Director approve projects for funding. NA Exec. Team identifies mix of funds for selected projects. State Forestry Agencies, Forest Service & partners work to develop proposals. ---------------------- Technical support for proposal development available from NA Recommendations for process changes for FY 2012 to NAASF Exec. Committee & NA Director by May 1, 2011. Proposals to RFP Review Team with One-to-one ratio of federal-to-state representatives. NA Exec. Team compiles FY 2011 grant list with funding sources. Review Team evaluate & score proposals on 4 criteria State Foresters* submit proposals by Feb. 1, 2011. • NA notify grantees • - successful • - not successful Normalize scores (Z-score process), rank & recommend list of projects by March 1, 2010. 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.

20. 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

21. 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

22. Questions?