Urban Waters Learning Network
NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service¿s intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition. ABSTRACT Funding Announcement P13AS00074 Project Title Urban Water Learning Network Recipient Groundwork USA Principle Investigator / Program Manager Ann-Marie Mitroff Total Anticipated Award Amount $99,986.86 Cost Share None New Award or Continuation? Task Agreement under Cooperative Agreement H4531110704 Anticipated Length of Agreement From date of award to August 31, 2014 Anticipated Period of Performance From date of award to August 31, 2014 Award Instrument Cooperative Agreemnet Statutory Authority 16 USC 1g CFDA # and Title 15.921 Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Single Source Justification Criteria Cited (4) Unique Qualifications NPS Point of Contact June Zastrow, 303-987-6718, june_zastrow@nps.gov OVERVIEW Cooperative Agreement Number H4531110704 was entered into by and between the Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), and Groundwork USA (GW USA) to support the reuse of brownfields, derelict sites, and green spaces for conservation, recreation, and other community benefits. Brownfields are defined as derelict sites that have been contaminated or perceived to have been contaminated through previous uses of the site. The purpose of this task agreement is to support the work of Groundwork USA to draw on the expertise it has developed through the Groundwork USA network to provide technical assistance to communities impacted by brownfields and other environmental justice issues to conserve and improve impaired urban water resources, such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and shorelines, by providing local organizations, tribal and local governments that are part of the Urban Waters Learning Network with the skills and techniques to effectively restore these resources over time. The Urban Waters Learning Network includes NPS developed Groundwork Trust organizations and grant recipients from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Urban Waters Program. Groundwork USA, the national office of the Groundwork USA network, is a critical component of the Groundwork model. Its mission is to support the development of the Groundwork network, promote and coordinate the work of the network, access national resources and partnerships to support local projects and programs, establish and document best practices and share the expertise and best practices it has developed with communities doing similar work. Unless otherwise specified herein, the terms and conditions as stated in the Cooperative Agreement will apply to this Task Agreement. RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT GW USA agrees: 1. That the funds made available through this Task Agreement will be used to support community led urban water restoration projects by drawing on the experience of the Groundwork USA network and its partners to develop and share best practices for community led urban water restoration projects, advise NPS, EPA and the Urban Waters Federal Partners on the specific needs of communities and organizations working on urban waters projects, to highlight and document successes, and to provide technical assistance to help selected organizations overcome barriers to success. 2. That the funds provided under this Task Agreement cannot be used for construction documents or construction of specific projects. 3. To support community led urban water restoration projects by drawing on the experience of the Groundwork USA network and its partners to develop and share best practices for community led urban water restoration projects as part of the previously established Urban Waters Learning Network, by accomplishing the following tasks: a. Develop and conduct six (6) or more webinars or conference calls for program managers and relevant staff of urban waters organizations with similar programs. Topics would be selected in consultation with EPA, NPS and/or other Federal Agency Partners to address current challenges faced by EPA Urban Waters grantees. b. Identify potential topics for the webinars/conference calls through urban waters grantee reports to EPA, urban waters discussions on Basecamp the internet-based communications system used by the Urban Waters Learning Network), and feedback from participating organizations and agencies; c. Coordinate use of Basecamp to provide information, resources and tools to Network members needed for on-the-ground urban waters work. This will include prompting use of the Network for information exchange, developing topic-oriented network postings/messages, soliciting members work products for sharing, prompting discussions among organizations with similar programs, encouraging solicitation of advice from members on specific topics; d. Support Network discussions on Environmental Justice and provide summaries on the Basecamp internet site. Provide written guidance for urban waters organizations for addressing Environmental Justice issues drawing on best practices and existing materials; e. Identify national and regional urban waters/river-related conferences and workshops that would be good opportunities for members of the Urban Waters Learning Network for training, networking, and sharing expertise. Recruit Network members to present their urban waters work at these forums and assist them with their presentations; f. Identify lower cost training opportunities, such as web based training, and update the Learning Network on the availability of the these training opportunities; and g. Develop and coordinate training sessions at the River Rally Conference, focused on members of the Urban Waters Learning Network, including Groundwork Trusts and Urban Waters EPA grantees. Sessions should include: i. River Rally Conference 2013: A pre-Rally 2-4-hour facilitated session including small break-out groups focused on building skills and communications within the Network; ii. River Rally Conference 2013: An Intensive 3-hour workshop on Urban Waters projects open to all Rally participants that focuses on grantee projects and lessons learned on cutting edge practices for urban waters conservation; and iii. River Rally Conference 2014: A pre-Rally 4-hour facilitated session focused on the Urban Waters Learning Network to highlight accomplishments, evaluate the network model, assess lessons learned and develop recommendations for future development. Session should include facilitated group discussions, small group break-out to focus on particular topics and opportunities for participants to convene discussion groups on topics of their choice. 4. To identify needs of communities and organizations working to conserve their urban water resources as part of the Learning Network and advise NPS, EPA and the Urban Waters Federal Partners on needs for technical assistance, resources, and training, and identify barriers to conservation that prevent improvement of water quality in urban areas, by accomplishing the followings tasks: a. Twice a year, provide a summary, from the perspective of the members of the Learning Network, on issues and needs impacting their work to conserve urban waters. The summary should include specific policy challenges encountered, examples of ways coordination could be improved among Federal Partners, barriers identified preventing organization action, support needed from EPA/Federal Partners, other ways grantees need assistance; b. Twice during the Task Agreement period, provide development and coordination assistance to EPA and/or Federal Partners to bring EPA tools/resources to grantees and other urban waters practitioners; for example, assisting in the development of a regional conference or joint Federal Partners meeting with urban waters practitioners; c. Introduce Learning Network members to the opportunities for technical assistance from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA). Provide opportunities for RTCA staff to connect with Learning Network members as part of the ongoing activities of the Network. 5. Every calendar quarter, compile one or more examples of success stories from Urban Waters Learning Network grantees, providing a paragraph summary, one or two photos, and contact information and distribute to NPS, EPA and the Urban Waters Learning Network. When possible, identify examples that cross NPS, EPA and other Federal Partners¿ programs 6. In response to direction from EPA and NPS, provide individual coaching to Urban Waters Learning Network grantees that appear to EPA regional staff to be ¿at risk¿ for completing their grants successfully. The costs for this individual coaching will not exceed 20% of the agreed upon budget. Under this task, a limited number of one-to-one consulting hours would be used to assist selected grantees with financial management, board training, personnel management, community partnership development, accessing support from NPS, EPA and other partners and other topics that would address organizational barriers to success. The EPA regional staff would make a direct referral for this coaching. 7. To prepare a final report at the completion of the project that documents the outcomes and provides recommendations to EPA and NPS for the Urban Waters Learning Network model and associated work of this task agreement. 8. To maintain a photographic record and list of accomplishments for tasks identified in this Agreement. 9. To submit quarterly narrative progress reports to the National Park Service documenting the work completed on the tasks outlined above and required financial reports, in accordance with NPS requirements. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT Substantial involvement on the part the National Park Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. In particular, the National Park Service will be responsible for the following: 1. That the funding under this Task Agreement may be used to support the work of Groundwork USA to support community led urban water restoration projects by drawing on the experience of the Groundwork USA network and its partners to develop and share best practices for community led urban water restoration projects, advise NPS, EPA and the Urban Waters Federal Partners on the specific needs of communities and organizations working on urban waters projects, to highlight and document successes, and to provide technical assistance to help selected organizations overcome barriers to success. 2. To support GW USA with the funding from this Agreement to accomplish the tasks of this agreement. 3. To support the work of GW USA to link communities working on urban waters restoration projects with technical assistance from the NPS Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. 4. To participate in the work of GW USA and its partners to accomplish the tasks described, especially providing technical assistance to communities working to conserve their urban water resources. 5. To coordinate support activities with Groundwork USA, EPA and other partners involved in the Urban Waters Learning Network. SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable for each single-source award. The justification must address one or more of the following criteria as well as discussion of the program legislative history, unique capabilities of the proposed recipient, and cost-sharing contribution offered by the proposed recipient, as applicable. In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria: (1) Unsolicited Proposal ¿ The proposed award is the result of an unsolicited assistance application which represents a unique or innovative idea, method, or approach which is not the subject of a current or planned contract or assistance award, but which is deemed advantageous to the program objectives; (2) Continuation ¿ The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of an activity presently being funded, and for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity; (3) Legislative intent ¿ The language in the applicable authorizing legislation or legislative history clearly indicates Congress¿ intent to restrict the award to a particular recipient of purpose; (4) Unique Qualifications ¿ The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, cost-sharing ability if applicable, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications; (5) Emergencies ¿ Program/award where there is insufficient time available (due to a compelling and unusual urgency, or substantial danger to health or safety) for adequate competitive procedures to be followed. The National Park Service did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria: (4) UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS Single Source Justification Description: This task agreement will support the ongoing work of Groundwork USA¿s Urban Water Initiative and will further develop the capacity of the Urban Waters Learning Network. The Network is made up of other Groundwork trusts and grant recipients from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Urban Waters Program. This work will identify and assess needs of communities and organizations working to conserve their urban water resources. Groundwork USA will provide technical assistance to address those needs in partnership with NPS and EPA. STATUTORY AUTHORITY 16 U.S.C. §1g authorizes the NPS to enter into cooperative agreements that involve the transfer of NPS appropriated funds to state, local and tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofit organizations for the public purpose of carrying out National Park Service programs. This section provides broad authority for NPS to enter into cooperative agreements with most recipients for a public purpose. Although broad, this authority must be read in conjunction with the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977 and other authorities that prescribe whether a particular relationship should be a procurement contract or a cooperative agreement. Thus, in making this determination, one must always consider whether the principal purpose of the work is to acquire goods and/or services for NPS¿s direct benefit in furtherance of its mission or for a public purpose.
Office: National Park Service
June_Zastrow@nps.gov
