U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership: University Partnership Program

 

The U.S. Department of Transportations Office of International Transportation & Trade seeks proposals from qualified applicants to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Department of State to support collaboration between and among American and Southeast Asian university educators and students within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as part of the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership (USASCP) Transportation Program and Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP)s Regional Connectivity Program in a University Partnership Program (UPP). Qualified applicants will support the success of the USASCP City Pair work plans by developing partnership opportunities whereby university students in the ASEAN region are empowered to take on meaningful work that both benefits their academic advancement and the goals of the city pairs and/or Mekong Regional Connectivity Program. Qualified Applicants will collaborate with ASEAN universities and related stakeholders (local governments, etc.) to support knowledge transfer activities that build local capacity to take on activities similar to those identified in the USASCP Work Plans and Mekong Regional Connectivity Program. They will support a shared knowledge base across the ASEAN community that reduces barriers to the implementation of mobility innovations inspired by or related to the USASCP projects and regional connectivity related to the Mekong Regional Connectivity Program. Furthermore, qualified applicants will foster innovation in areas including system integration, partnerships, innovative business models and equity of service delivery within the ASEAN region. Qualified applicants will identify and respond to project-specific challenges, serving as a central point of contact with USDOT and related stakeholders to collaboratively address implementation challenges.

Active 19.127 Department of State B - Project Grants Not applicable. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Section Section 632(b) Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations including colleges and universities and related research organizations. The immediate beneficiaries are the eligible US Universities and US-based related research organizations. Sub-recipients will be "U.S. and ASEAN universities in Southeast Asia. Not applicable. The competitive application review process consists of an initial screen for eligibility followed by a two-phase review process: a technical review and a senior leadership review. In the technical review, DOT staff will evaluate project proposals using criteria rating guidance specific to the University Partnership Program NOFO. The second phase is a senior leadership review where the final project selection is made by the Assistant Secretary for Aviation, utilizing input from the technical review and considering other key Departmental objectives. The technical review will be conducted by a three-person team comprised of subject matter experts from across DOT modes, with an official from the Office of International Transportation & Trade (OST-X) serving as a team leader. The US/ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership program manager for OST-X or their designee will provide training to the review team to discuss program purpose, instructions for the reviews, timeline, and the responsibilities and confidentiality required of reviewers. At the close of the NOFO, the program manager will retrieve proposals submitted via Grants.gov. Prior to commencing the review period, the OST program manager will conduct a preliminary eligibility screen with assistance from the Chief Counsel's office, as needed. With supervisory approval, the program manager will remove any ineligible applicants from the application pool. During the one-week technical evaluation period, the reviews team will provide individual ratings and submit their evaluations of their assigned applications to the Team Lead. Each review team will discuss, via conference call, or other virtual meeting platform, their ratings and provide input into the team rating for each application they reviewed. The review team leader is responsible for assigning a team rating for each application along with written comments. The team review constitutes the technical rating for that proposal. The teams will identify any potentially ineligible project activities and will confirm these cases with the program manager prior to rating these projects as ineligible. The program manager will perform quality control by examining reviews to ensure the written rating explanations support the project ratings and correspond to the provided criteria rating guidance. If there is a discrepancy between the ratings and the written explanations or the criteria rating guidance, the program manager may ask the team lead to edit accordingly. The program manager has the authority (with supervisory approval) to override the team rating when necessary to ensure that it accurately reflects the team's written explanations and ratings guidance. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. This program is excluded from coverage under 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. The cooperative agreement will be written, signed, awarded, and administered by the Agreement Officer. The assistance award agreement is the authorizing document and it will be provided to the recipient for review and signature by email. The recipient may only start incurring program expenses beginning on the start date shown on the cooperative agreement award document signed by the Agreement Officer. If a proposal is selected for funding, the Department of Transportation has no obligation to provide any additional future funding. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the discretion of the Department of Transportation. Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Further, the U.S. government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received. November 14, 2022 to December 31, 2022 Up to 60 days From 15 to 30 days. See NOFO for process. See NOFO for process. A review committee comprised of USDOT subject matter experts will evaluate all eligible applications. The competitive application review process consists of an initial screen for eligibility followed by a two-phase review process: a technical review and a senior leadership review. In the technical review, DOT staff will evaluate project proposals and assign a rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, Not Recommended, or Ineligible based on the following parameters: ? Highly Recommended: Highly Recommended in six or more criteria and no ratings lower than Recommended. ? Recommended: Highly Recommended in five or fewer criteria and no ratings lower than Recommended. ? Not Recommended: Not Recommended in one or more criteria. ? Ineligible: Applications or applicants are deemed ineligible to receive DOT funds as determined by the NOFO requirements. After reviewing their assigned applications, the review team will discuss the evaluation results and select consolidated team ratings based on the evaluation criteria. The second phase is a senior leadership review where the final project selection is made by the Assistant Secretary for Aviation, utilizing input from the technical review and considering other key Departmental objectives including climate change and sustainability and racial equity. - Support the success of the USASCP City Pair work plans through the creation of partnerships between and among US and ASEAN universities resulting in the completion of discrete elements of the city pair work plans. - Address the technical, regulatory, institutional, and capacity challenges to regional connectivity through the Mekong Regional Connectivity Program. - Share knowledge, expertise and technology in transportation policy, planning and related areas that builds the capacity of USASCP participants and Mekong Regional Connectivity Program stakeholders, as well as the broader ASEAN and US stakeholders. - Develop students at both US and ASEAN universities by providing them real-world experience in working with a range of stakeholders to accomplish a well-designed and meaningful task related to their area of academic study. - Build connections between and among students and faculty at US and ASEAN universities that results in ongoing collaboration to address common challenges in areas of transportation planning, policy and technology. Not applicable. Not applicable. Foreign Assistance Data Review: As required by Congress, the Department of State must make progress in its efforts to improve tracking and reporting of foreign assistance data through the Foreign Assistance Data Review (FADR). The FADR requires tracking of foreign assistance activity data from budgeting, planning, and allocation through obligation and disbursement. Successful applicants will be required to report and draw down federal funding based on the appropriate FADR Data Elements, indicated within their award documentation. In cases of more than one FADR Data Element, typically program or sector and/or regions or country, the successful applicant will be required to maintain separate accounting records. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. 12/1/22 – 2/1/25 See NOFO on grants.gov for more info. None/Not specified. Hendrik Opstelten
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 21590 USA
hendrik.opstelten@dot.gov
Phone: 202-366-8094 https://www.usascp.org/ 04-0140-2-0-090 (Cooperative Agreements) FY 21 FY 22 est $200,000.00; FY 23 est $250,000.00; - $590,000 will be on the cooperative agreement in total; The length of assistance will be October 31, 2022 September 30, 2024 One award of $590,000 Not applicable. Not applicable.