Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance & Regional Financial Management Office

Distributed on a Quarterly Basis
Written by Hala Elattar and Chelsea Lynn

What’s Inside: June 2016
USAID Grants Compliance Course
Feature: IKP Knowledge Park
New Awards

Special Edition

India Partnerships Program (IPP)
Innovation and Partnership Opportunities
APS-386-16-000001
Grants Compliance training April 4, 2016 – April 8, 2016

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

USAID/India welcomed 33 Implementing Partners from 23 organizations from different sectors to its fifth Grants and Cooperative Agreement Course on Monday June 6, 2016 at the Leela Palace Hotel. This five day training is part of USAID/India's Local Capacity Building initiatives. It engages local partner and USAID staff to improve their understanding of USAID policies and effectively manage USAID grants and cooperative agreements. Three USAID/India staff along with one member from USAID/Sri Lanka participated in the training.

To date, USAID/India has trained 155 local partners' staff from 51 different prime and sub recipient organizations. Additionally, 35 USAID/Sri Lanka staff completed the training (including Agreement Officer's Representatives, Project Management Specialists, Financial management staff and Procurement staff).

Deputy Mission Director Mr. Idris Diaz kicked off the conference with opening remarks.

USAID/India Director of the Regional Office of Acquisition & Assistance, Charles "Chuck" Pope, and Regional Controller Amr Elattar welcomed and encouraged the participants to engage and to take advantage of each other's expertise.

Upcoming Training Opportunity

USAID/India Grant Compliance Course
Oct 3 – Oct 7, 2016
The Leela Palace, New Delhi

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

Trainers Christine Librizzi and Mollie Allers introduced the participants to the course and engaged them in activities that introduced the Legal Landscape, U.S Government Structure and the Hierarchy of Rules. The course also included financial and audit management sessions presented by USAID staff.

Implementing Partners in Attendance

• AAPL
• BBC Media Action
• Cmf
• CTA
• CYSD
• Gravis
• IAP
• IDE Nepal/ENBATIA
• IL&FS
• Iora Ecological
• IPE Global
• Kaivalya Education Foundation
• KHPT
• PSI India
• READ Alliance
• Room to Read
• SAATHI
• SARF
• SATHGURU
• Shanta Memorial Health
• The Tibet Fund

RFMO Helpful Tips

1. Complete the standard audit statement of work (SOW) provided by RFMO.
2. Submit the SOW to USAID RFMO for Controller approval.
3. Send the RFP to the list of USAID-approved audit firms with the SOW.
4. Follow your organizational procurement policies to select the audit firm.
5. Seek RFMO’s approval for the audit firm and submit the audit agreement copy to RFMO.
6. Proceed with the audit, starting with the entrance meeting.

What’s New?

Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
ADS 303, Grants and Cooperative Agreements to Non-Governmental Organizations has been partially updated to include revised Trafficking in Persons (TIP) requirements. ADS section 303.3.32, Trafficking in Persons, highlights the AO's role in monitoring the recipient's compliance with the trafficking requirements found in the Mandatory Standard Provision and the Certification Regarding Trafficking in Persons. The section also provides policy on handling violations on TIP requirements and associated remedies. Please review ADS 303maa, Standard Provisions for U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations, ADS 303mab, Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations, and ADS 303mat, Standard Provisions for Fixed Amount Awards to NGOs.

Updated USAID Graphic Standards Manual & Partner Co-Branding Guide
The Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA) has worked closely with other operating units, including the Office Counsel and the Management Bureau's Office of Acquisition and Assistance, to modernize USAID graphic standards and provide updated branding and project naming guidance. Applied consistently and correctly, this guidance will help raise awareness about the great work USAID is doing on behalf of the American people. The update also includes Agency's Partner Co-branding Guide, which provides a full description of how to use the USAID identity with assistance awards. An electronic copy of the guide is available at: www.usaid.gov/branding

Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC)
Per ADS Chapter 540, USAID and its implementing partners are mandated to regularly submit technical and programmatic materials to the Development Experience Clearing House (DEC) website. DEC, the largest online resource of USAID-funded technical and programmatic materials, is a repository of over 150,000 documents that strengthen USAID's capacity to plan, design, implement, and evaluate its work across all sectors. Please sign up and upload your project related documents on the DEC website at: http://dec.usaid.gov

Spotlight: IKP Knowledge Park

IKP Knowledge Park is a non-profit science park incubator located in Hyderabad. IKP Knowledge Park currently holds two awards with USAID/India; one that identifies and scales innovations in the Tuberculosis sector and one that identifies and scales innovations in Agriculture. Deepawita Chattophadyay is the Chief Executive Officer of IKP Knowledge Park.

Conversation with Deepanwita Chattopadhyay

April 28, 2016 - Written by Chelsea Lynn

Q: What is the benefit of having multiple awards with USAID/India? A: If you have multiple awards, you can actually distribute or amortize the common costs to all the projects, so that you can run each project optimally. Having two projects helps us actually synergize. Also, there's a lot of knowledge of the organization and running programs, so probably you'll do the second one better, and the third one even better because there's learning in the process.

Q: Would you encourage other partners to pursue multiple projects with USAID/India? A: Yes I would. I think definitely yes, because the help that we got from USAID as a partner while running it was networking, including global networking. I visited the Washington DC office of USAID and interacted with different groups, talking about our program. They wanted to know what we were doing, they gave us feedback of what kind of TB programs they ran at other missions. It was fantastic, that was maybe after 9 months into the program. Also, you have expertise, very deep expertise in sectors. [Our Agreement Officers Representative] has huge knowledge and networks in India as well that is very helpful.

Q: What is your advice to organizations interested in expanding partnerships with USAID/India? A: USAID/India would be a great partner if you are looking to make a difference which has huge impact in the community but does not have a market pull at this moment. What we do today can create a market pull later, or can have an impact with governments or other organizations. USAID and whoever works with USAID can be champions to take it forward to that level, building those blocks to make a lasting impact on something which is just not opportunistic in terms of markets.

Success Story: "One of our awardees, 90 DOTS has been able to successfully pilot its low cost TB medication adherence technology on around 2,000 patients in 29 sites across 6 states in India. The Revised National TB Control Programme of India has shown interest in implementing the technology at its centres. Based on the initial outcomes, they are being funded to scale up the project in India and pilot the technology in Myanmar." Deepanwita Chattopadhyay - IKP CEO.

New Awards

New Award: Jhpiego Corporation
ROAA/India, Sri Lanka & Maldives is proud to announce that a Fixed Award Amount (FAA) has been executed with Jhpiego Corporation. The purpose of this award is to improve the quality of PSE for the nursing midwifery cadre in private sector institutions in Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi-NCR, thereby contributing to strengthening the delivery of high-impact RMNCH+A interventions at the facility and community levels.

New Award: Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP)
ROAA/India, Sri Lanka & Maldives is proud to announce that an award has been executed with Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP).

The purpose of this Grant is to support the Every Newborn Action Plan - "a world in which there are no preventable deaths of newborns and stillbirths, every birth is celebrated, and women, babies, and children survive and thrive and reach their full potential." Through the new initiative, stakeholders aim to save at least 100,000 newborn lives annually and to facilitate future in-country ability to continue saving newborn lives - by scaling up the Helping Babies Survive (HBS) training and quality improvement initiatives in partnership with health professional associations in India, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

New Award: World Vision Inc.
ROAA India, Sri Lanka &Maldives is proud to announce that an award has been executed with World Vision Inc. The purpose of this Grant is to ensure that children and their families are able to recover quickly from landslides and floods and have immediate relief to sustain their basic needs. World Vision International will support the following activities in the affected region:

• NFI Packs - including blankets, mattresses, flash lights, water cans, mosquito nets, plastic mats & tarpaulin,
• Hygiene Packs - toothbrush, toothpaste, laundry soap, baby soap, laundry powder, baby powder, large unbreakable combs, special sanitation packs for women.
• WASH - water tanks, mobile toilets,
• Child Protection - child friendly spaces,
• Education Packs - books & educational material, and
• Camp Management - camp hygiene and sanitation supplies, cash for work camp renovations.

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: USAID works in diverse fields – What is the ultimate goal?
A: USAID Mission: We partner to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.

In India, USAID partners with the Government of India, the private sector and civil society to address the issues of Global Health; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Global Climate Change; and Feed the Future.

Our Goals:

• Saving and Improving Lives Through Increased Access to Health Services
• Supporting Clean Water and Sanitation For All
• Advancing Global Climate, Change Resilience, Forestry and Clean Energy
• Investing in Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Disaster Management
• Strengthening Education, Empowering Women and Protecting Rights

For more information, please visit us at https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are and https://www.usaid.gov/india/our-work.

Q: To what extent does USAID want to engage with sub-recipients of grants and cooperative agreements?
USAID has a contractual relationship with the prime recipient. Under the agreement, there are various requirements and provisions by which the prime must abide. The prime recipient has a similar relationship with a sub-recipient. USAID does not have a direct relationship with the sub-recipient; the prime is responsible for ensuring that all mandatory provisions and important clauses in the award flow down to the sub-recipient. A pre-award risk assessment is alway recommended to ensure compliance.

Stay tuned: Online Learning Games for Implementing Partners

Want to learn more about USAID rules and policy, while having fun? Online learning Games are coming soon...Stay tuned!

Please direct questions or comments about this newsletter to Hala Elattar helattar@usaid.gov or to Chelsea Lynn (clynn@usaid.gov)