FY24 Exchange Network General FAQs

General Topics:

Applicant Questions Asked in FY24:

Questions Asked During Prior Webinars:

Solicitation Notice and EN Administration

Budget Planning

Contractors and Individual Consultants

Eligibility

Funding Areas and Scoring

Technical Understanding

Reuse and IT Component Registration

Partnerships and Previous Projects

General Topics:

What is the Exchange Network (EN)?

The Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) is a partner-inspired, developed, implemented, and governed information network for environmental data sharing among EPA, states, tribes, and territories. The EN:

  • Facilitates the sharing of environmental data, especially through shared and reusable services;
  • Streamlines data collection and exchanges to improve timeliness for decision making;
  • Increases the quality and access to environmental data;
  • Reduces burden and costs for co-regulators and the regulated community; and
  • Supports better environmental and public health decision making.

Who is eligible to apply for a FY24 Exchange Network grant?

Eligible applicants for the Exchange Network Grant Program include states, U.S. Territories (i.e., American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands), federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages and inter-tribal consortia of federally recognized tribes (e.g., the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission). Other entities, such as regional air pollution control districts and some public universities may apply for assistance if they are agencies or instrumentalities of a state or tribe under applicable laws. Entities asserting they are agencies or instrumentalities of a state must provide a letter from the appropriate state Attorney General certifying the applicant is an agency or instrumentality of the state. Entities asserting they are instrumentalities of a tribe must provide a certification and supporting documentation from the tribal council or other appropriate tribal government official certifying they are an instrumentality of the tribe.

How do I apply for an EN grant?

Those interested in applying for an EN grant should download the Solicitation Notice (SN) from the EPA Exchange Network website. The SN identifies EPA's grant funding areas and the types of assistance agreements that are available, provides application instructions, optional templates, and includes evaluation criteria used to score the applications. In addition to the SN, EPA has posted additional documents on the EPA Exchange Network website to assist applicants in preparing successful applications. These documents provide an overview of the notice, as well as tips and tricks for preparing an application that meets all requirements.

When are the FY24 Exchange Network grant applications due?

Applicants for the FY24 Exchange Network Grant program must submit an application package to EPA through the Grants.gov website (or by an alternative method for those applicants with an approved Grants.gov Exception) on or before Thursday, May 23rd, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern.

How long can an EN grant project last?

The period of performance for EN grants is 3 years; FY24 grant projects should include a project start date of October 1, 2024 and an end date of September 30, 2027.

How much funding can I apply for under the Exchange Network Grant Program?

Applicants applying under an individual opportunity may request up to $300,000 in funding. Applicants applying under a partnership opportunity may request funds up to $500,000, if the partnership eligibility criteria outlined in Section III-D of the Solicitation Notice are met. An eligible applicant applying under the Individual Capacity Building with Mentorship opportunity may request up to $315,000 if all requirements are met; see Solicitation Notice Appendix C of the Solicitation Notice for more details.

What projects are eligible for an EN grant?

Section I-B of the Solicitation Notice presents EPA's annual assistance activities and funding areas known as EN ‘project opportunities’. These EN project opportunities are listed in Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, and provide potential applicants with the information needed to design a proposal for a particular data exchange, data service, or project type. Applicants can apply under one or multiple EN project opportunities or propose projects without a specific EN project opportunity write-up.

  • Appendix A contains opportunities designed to help agencies adopt innovative business processes, data management practices and services to support their workflows
  • Appendix B includes opportunities designed to eliminate paper submittals and expand e-reporting required as part of EPA programs. Opportunities within Appendix B are created by EPA National Program Offices to help their stakeholders submit and share programmatic data for fourteen EPA programs
  • Appendix C has opportunities available only to tribes and territories to build IT and data management capacity necessary to manage their environmental programs and enable increased participation in the EN

Note: Grant funds are intended for development of projects or data management; funding is not available for operations and maintenance.

Where can I find information on past Exchange Network grant projects?

Please visit https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/previous-exchange-network-grant-projects for an overview of previously awarded Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) grant projects, including recipient name, project description, award amount, and award date. Appendix D of the Solicitation Notice also provides an overview of resources which applicants may find useful for contacting prior EN grantees. 

1. Please be sure that you have thoroughly read the Project Opportunity write-up in Appendix A-C of the Solicitation Notice; there are links included there which would likely be helpful to you.

2. Explore the ‘Previous Exchange Network Grant Projects’ section of the EN website, organized by fiscal year.

  • Search each file for the project opportunity you wish to apply for using ctrl-F, to see applicable projects.

3. Explore the IT Component and Project Registration Forms web area, and use the filters to select ICIS projects; review the project summaries and registration forms that populate:

4. Explore the E-Enterprise Community Inventory Platform (EECIP) to see if users have included information on ICIS and/or prior EN Grant Projects that relate to ICIS.

  • Note: if you are not yet a user of the site, you will have to register; registrations are usually approved within 48 business days.

Who can I contact if I have questions while completing my EN grant application? Can I set up a call with EN grant program staff?

Applicants with questions about eligibility can contact EN Grant Program Manager Erin McGown (ENGrantProgram@epa.gov).

As this is a competitive grant program, EPA staff are unable to meet with potential applicants during the open application period (the time between the publication of the SN and the application due date). Any questions sent over email will be answered in as much detail that is allowable and made publicly available on the EN website FAQs.

Can you give an example of when a programmatic contact would be necessary?

The requirement for a programmatic contact stems from an organizational structure that is reflected in some of our applicant organizations, in that office which is writing the grant (often a central IT department) is not the office that owns, collects, manages, etc. the data (often a programmatic office, such as a drinking water office within a state agency). Programmatic contacts are required in this scenario to ensure that the department/office that will ultimately implement the project is coordinating with the office that owns/manages/collects/ reports the relevant environmental data. This ensures that any technology used or developed will truly reflect the business needs and requirements of the environmental program(s) which the grant is designed to benefit. This is often not applicable to smaller organizations.

If your program owns and manages the data that is being used, a programmatic contact is not necessary. Just be sure to clearly state it is not an applicable role within your project narrative, and then explain in your justification that your program owns/manages the data.

Applicant Questions Asked in FY24:

What's New in the FY24 Solicitation Notice?

Potential applicants are encouraged to review the new FY24 Solicitation Notice (Solicitation Notice) in full, as significant updates have been made throughout the document. Significant updates to the FY24 Solicitation Notice include, but are not limited to:

  • Section I-B. EN Assistance Activities and Funding Areas: VES was removed as an EN Project Opportunity; details are provided in a paragraph on SN page 5; remaining references to VES are linked to this paragraph. 
  • Section V-A Evaluation Criteria – 4B: The appropriate budgeting criterion was simplified from FY23’s version; applicants are now asked to write a two-part cost rationale for each project output. 
  • Section V-A Evaluation Criteria – 5: The ‘historical drawdowns’ consideration was removed, as many projects are delayed due to COVID-19 and related staffing/turnover issues. This reduced the overall points under past performance. 
  • VI-B. Administration and National Policy Requirements: QA language was updated to reflect the new business process and QA Term and Condition developed in FY23. 
  • Standard annual updates to EN project opportunities in Appendices A-C. 
  • Minimal changes to applicant guidance in Appendices D, E, F, and G. 

Does the removal of VES as a stand-alone EN Project Opportunity in the Solicitation Notice’s Appendix A mean that EPA will no longer fund projects which involve VES?

Beginning in FY24, Virtual Exchange Services (VES) is no longer an EN project opportunity within Appendix A. VES provides foundational EN capabilities for exchanging data, comparable to physical nodes. VES continues to be a supported capability that can be leveraged to deliver on many of the data exchange opportunities outlined in Appendices A-C. EPA encourages applicants to consider the options under the ‘Open Data Modernization and Digital Transformation Projects including Geospatial Data’ project opportunity to support foundational activities (e.g., ICIS Digital Services projects, eBeaches projects, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund & Clean Water State Revolving Fund projects). Projects under EN project opportunities appropriately utilizing VES capabilities in their implementation can be considered for funding in FY24.

‘Additional Attachment C: Formal Project Partners – Roles and Responsibilities, Distribution of Funds, and Overview of Subaward Budget’ requests ‘letters of support confirming partner participation in the proposed project.’ Can you clarify who is confirming this, is it the sub-awardee partner to EPA or to the lead applicant?

For each participating partnering organization, there should be a letter provided by the partnering agency that confirms that organization’s participation in the project. That letter can be addressed to either the lead applicant or EPA, and the content is standardized. We just need to see something on that organization’s/agency’s letterhead, confirming that they are participating, that is signed by the AOR or tribal leadership, etc.  

What constitutes "an overview" of subaward budget as requested in Additional Attachment C:  Formal Project Partners – Roles and Responsibilities, Distribution of Funds, and Overview of Subaward Budget?

A spreadsheet with line items is fine – basically, if money is going to be passed to the partnering organization via a subaward, that subaward amount should be explained. So, if $100K is going to be given to the partner as a subaward, what will that money be used for? This can be either a detailed summary paragraph or in a table or similar itemized format (and its absolutely fine to keep it simpler than the budget narrative format).

If a sub-awardee has indirect costs as well, do they also need a Negotiated Indirect Cost Agreement in place?

If indirect costs are going to be applied to the subaward budget, the partnering organization’s indirect cost rate agreement must be included as part of the submitted application and must meet the indirect cost rate requirements as outlined in the SN (see page E11). Additionally, this agreement must be valid until at least 9/30/24 (although, in the case of a tribal organization, a draft agreement as submitted to DOI is allowable). If an indirect cost rate agreement is not in place, the partnering organization can instead opt to use the de minimum rate of 10% of total subaward amount.

The optional templates have tables that request similar information. Is it okay to reference another table rather than repeat whole paragraphs or to not use these tables?

Though you are free to edit the optional tables as you see fit, please note that they relate directly to elements that are scored under our evaluation criteria. While the use of these tables does not guarantee a high score, they can help applicants to provide all the information that is ultimately considered and scored by reviewers. If the language is exactly the same, you can put something in place such as ‘see response under [description]’ – just be sure this is crystal clear to reviewers. You are also welcome to shrink the font slightly, although we’d ask you not to go smaller than 10 pt font.

Is the Cost per Output breakout mandatory? Can we choose to leave this out?

Costs per project output are scored under our evaluation criteria and therefore should be included.  

We also recognize that not everything is known at the time of proposal development; please just do the best you can in estimating costs and scheduled completion dates over the three-year period of performance (as this is the length of project your workplan should reflect). You can easily update these dates through your semi-annual reporting, or more substantial changes can be made through change requests (in which you would just send a revised workplan to your Regional Exchange Network Coordinator).

How do the project activities as listed in the EN project opportunities in Appendices A-C relate to the funding thresholds?

The funding thresholds are set by the application type – it is a limit of $300,000 for anyone applying as an individual applicant and, for eligible EN partnerships (coalition projects) that meet all the requirements in our SN, that funding threshold is increased to $500,000. (Note: we also have one option for first time tribes and territories using a qualified mentor that has a funding threshold of $315,000, but that is not a common project and must meet all requirements as outlined in Appendix C). 

The project activity cost ranges as published in appendices A-C are just meant to give applicants an idea of what these activities may cost, so that they can use these estimates to help build out and plan their project. However, they are just estimates for possible and/or suggested activities.

All projects must adhere to the set funding thresholds, depending on their application type (individual or partnership), in order to be eligible. Applicants can always apply over multiple years if they were not able to accomplish all desired work within a single application (assuming that none of the work is duplicative and/or qualifies as operations and maintenance – which is prohibited under our program).

I have an idea for an EN grant project, can I send you that idea to confirm if the project is a good fit for your program?

Basically, as long as projects fall under one or more of the current EN Funding Areas and the requirements as outlined within our FY24 Solicitation Notice are met, we consider a wide variety of project types in our annual grant competition.

Can an organization who is participating as a partner in another EN grant application submit their own application for consideration in the same fiscal year?

We cannot award a partnership project in the same year that an individual project is being awarded. So, if, for example, Organization A applies both as an individual applicant and as part of the partnership application with Organization B, and both of these applications score high enough to be awarded, then Organization A would either have to remove themselves from the partnership project with Organization B and/or withdraw their individual project. We encourage applicants not to submit both proposals in a single year, to avoid this scenario.

Does the policy on non-competitive procurement for contractors also apply to sub-awardees?

Contractual procurement restrictions do not apply to partnering organizations receiving funds from the lead applicant in the form of a subaward under the Exchange Network grant program. If you are working with another organization as part of a EN partnership assistance agreement, you are required to submit 'Additional Attachment C: Formal Project Partners - Roles and Responsibilities, Distribution of Funds, and Overview of Subaward Budget' as described on page E11 of the FY24 solicitation notice. 

What is the maximum number of projects that a state division can submit?

According to III-B. Threshold Eligibility Criteria for Applications, criterion 'C', applicant may submit more than one application; however, applicants are not eligible to receive more than one award under this Solicitation. This restriction applies both to single applicants and, in the case of a EN partnership (coalition) application, to applicants applying either as the lead applicant or as an eligible formal partner.

In other words, if an organization submits more than one application, they will be in direct competition with themselves since only one assistance agreement can be awarded.

If our Indirect Cost Rate is applied by state fiscal year which runs from July to June. Must we get the following year's rate for submittal?

Yes, we require that the indirect cost rate submitted with your application be valid until September 30th of the calendar year of the application cycle. So, if you rate expires in June, you would need to provide next year's rate.

If you do not have an active rate at the time of award, you can opt to use the 10% de minimis rate instead. Tribal applicants may provide a draft rate agreement as submitted to the Department of Interior (DOI).

Are there any restrictions regarding the partnership with other agencies or entities?

There are multiple requirements as related to EN Partnerships that must be met to be considered for award. For example, eligible partners must be separate units of government; EPA will not consider partnerships formed from within a single state, territorial, or tribal government as eligible. 

Please carefully read the eligibility criteria for EN Partnership Applications found in section III-D and IV-B of the Solicitation Notice.

Is there a possibility for partial awards? Our agency is considering applying for two projects within one grant application, and so I am wondering if it is possible that one but not the other might receive funding. Instead of the two projects in one application, would it be better to submit these as two separate applications?

If an organization is combining two projects within a single application, all relevant details for both projects must be included within the 10-page project narrative. As such, application reviewers will score on the project as a whole (including both parts). This might impact the application's score if the 10-pages is not sufficient to explain both aspects of the project or one aspect is less developed. Therefore, though this is allowable, it may make more sense to submit these projects as separate applications. Please note, applicants are not eligible to receive more than one award under this Solicitation. Therefore, it is recommended that you submit these projects in separate fiscal years.

Partial funding is possible through the EN grant program and reflects when a project goal, project output and/or requested cost is unallowable, is duplicative of prior work, or has been flagged by our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) as inappropriate for the proposed project.

As a local agency, we are required to provide a letter from the Attorney General. Is there anything you are looking for specifically in the letter?

The letter must be signed by the Attorney General on organizational letterhead and must confirm your organization's status as a instrumentality of the state. Instrumentalities of a tribe must provide a certification and supporting documentation from the tribal council or other appropriate tribal government official certifying this status. 

If we have a request from EPA to fix something within our systems, and are applying for funds to do so, would it be beneficial for us to include that information/e-mail, and if so, where would you suggest for us to do so?

This information should be included in the project description section of your project narrative (section 1), where we ask for background information and details about why the proposed project is necessary. As the EN grant program has an express restriction on both duplicative funding and Operations and Maintenance (O&M), the applicant should be sure to provide sufficient details and background information to clarify what will be done to the existing system and why this is different than the previous work as funded in the original EN assistance agreement. Additionally, it needs to be clear that he system will now serve needs different from or significantly greater than those originally intended. This will help ensure that your proposed project is not flagged as duplicative of previous work or Operations and Maintenance.   

Do you know of any future changes coming to ICIS-Air? We are asking for planning purposes and are wondering if it would be better to apply this year or next.

EN project opportunities are written each year by our partnering EPA National Program offices and are included in Appendices A-C of the Solicitation Notice. EPA National Program offices are asked to include information on any big changes or significant system upgrades/new specifications under the ‘status’ section of these write-ups. However, the EN Grant Program is often not aware of timeline specifics and we recommend getting in contact with the National Program office directly to ask them what their forecasted changes, if any, might be.

Also, the Exchange Network Forum is a great venue to ask questions like this, as relate to EPA National Program or specific technologies. You can find more information on the EN Forums and register to attend future meetings at: Exchange Network Forum | The Exchange Network.

For Additional Attachment E: List of Prior Exchange Network Assistance Agreements, can you confirm that this is just for EN grants and not for all assistance agreements? Also, do we list these agreements at the agency level or at the program office?

The EN Grant Program is only asking applicants to list past Exchange Network grants in the attachment ‘List of Prior EN Assistance Agreements’. Applicants should include a bulleted list of prior EN awards, with the grant number, fiscal year in which they were awarded, and, if available, the original project title. 

We ask that you list EN agreements received by your agency at large, not your specific division or program office. This is because applicants are identified by the UEI number assigned to their organization on SAM.gov. If you are not fully aware of the number of EN grants received by your agency, you are welcome to reach out to the EN grant program to request this information. 

Please note that there is also a project narrative section titled ‘past performance’ (section 8). However, this section does not ask you to list prior projects but rather explicitly state the number (#) of EN grants received. If you have never received an EN grant before, you are instead asked to explicitly state this in this section. 

For the funding restriction on duplicative work, is that in regard to previous EN grants or all assistance agreements that may have come from the EPA?

During our annual application review process, we have application review panels score applications against the evaluation criteria as well as subject matter experts who conduct a separate technical review. These subject matter experts (SMEs) are from the applicable EPA National Program Office (e.g., the Office of Air and Radiation) and are familiar with the specific data flow that applies.

If the proposed project is similar to any prior work being done under any other EPA grant (including a prior EN assistance agreement) this should be referenced in the project narrative and the applicant should take care to spell out how this new work would be different from the other grant project. This way, the SMEs will not flag the work as duplicative, in the event that they are familiar with the other work that the applicant may have completed in the past.

Please remember that the EN grant program does not fund costs towards operations and maintenance. 

If an applicant defined their own project opportunity rather than choosing one listed in Appendices A-C, would it be allowed or even requested that we seek pre-approval prior to submitting the application to ensure that the project is acceptable?

As Exchange Network grants are competitive, we are unable to review any projects or provide project-specific advice prior. Applicants can propose projects that do not fall under one of the EN Project Opportunities as listed in Appendices A-C, so long as they are able to clearly describe how this project supports one or more of the EN funding areas. It is important to remember that funding area 3 is only available to tribes and territories, so states may only propose a project that relates to funding area 1 and/or 2:
                               Funding Area 1: Increased Data Access and Innovative Business Processes;
                               Funding Area 2: Eliminate paper submittals and expand e-reporting; and
                               Funding Area 3: Augment the information management capacity of EN partners.

Can you explain more about the unallowable costs related to conferences and workshops? Does this also include travel to conferences?

The restrictions around the funding of conferences and workshops fall into two categories: (1) the EN does not fund workshops or conferences that do not primarily benefit the applicant/any formal partners and (2) the EN does not fund workshops or conferences that primarily benefit the EPA.

Costs related to hosting or travelling to attend a conference, workshop, or training that benefits the grantee organization and/or their immediate partners are allowable so long as they are a reasonable percentage of the overall grant project and fit clearly within the scope of the project. Costs for travel to attend a conference or workshop would be captured under travel, where applicants should also detail the purpose of the travel and how it relates to the proposed work. 

If the applicant is conducting a conference or workshop that includes a small budget for light food and refreshments, these costs should be categorized under ‘other’ unless provided as part of a contract with the venue that is hosting the event. Costs for funds given to those who are participating in the training or conference should be categorized under ‘other’ as ‘participant support costs’, only if these participants are not directly employed by the applicant agency. Please note that both participant support costs and light food/refreshment costs are subject to approval by EPA. 

For states and territories planning to attend the National Exchange Network Conference (or E2i), there is travel funding available through ECOS and therefore this is not fundable under the EN Grant Program. Travel to the EN National Conference (or E2i) is allowable for tribal applicants. Additionally, travel costs to regional EN conferences are allowable for all applicant types.

If we partner with another state, would we have the opportunity to apply for this grant on our own in future years? Can we apply again next year and if not, when would we be eligible to apply again?

In a partnership agreement, there is a lead applicant and the partner or partnering organization(s). The lead applicant cannot have more than four active Exchange Network assistance agreements as of December 31 of the prior calendar year (so 12/31/23 for FY24 grants). Therefore, you can apply in subsequent years as a single applicant so long as your organization is not the lead or sole recipient of more than four active EN grants. You may choose to work with another organization as a partnering organization (not lead), regardless of how many active EN grants you currently have. 

What are the reporting requirements for a partnership agreement?

Per the Exchange Network Terms and Conditions, partnering organizations must report on their sub-awardee activities in both the semi-annual reports and final reports. This includes:

1. Summaries of results of reviews of financial and programmatic reports. 

2. Summaries of findings from site visits and/or desk reviews to ensure effective subrecipient performance. 

3. Environmental results the subrecipient achieved. 

4. Summaries of audit findings and related pass-through entity management decisions. 

5. Actions the pass-through entity has taken to correct deficiencies such as those specified at 2 CFR 200.331(e), 2 CFR 200.207 and the 2 CFR Part 200.338 Remedies for Noncompliance.

Partnering organizations should submit this information to the lead applicant prior to the standard semi-annual reporting due dates (4/30 and 10/31), so that this can be included in the lead applicant’s electronically submitted reports in the ENPTS (CDX) system. 

What are ‘business and/or administrative Needs’?

The EN grant program does not have a set definition for 'Business or Administrative Needs', but essentially, applicants should provide statements that define the organizational requirement(s) that must be met in order to get an organization from where they currently are to where that organization would like to be. This could be improvements to or the implementation of programmatic workflows, improved management and policy decisions, improved public data access and/or usability, the implementation of strategic business processes, improvements to process and staff efficiencies, etc.

In other words, what are some weaknesses, dependencies, or risks of the organization that will be partially or fully addressed through the proposed EN project?

What is meant by 'the business and/or administrative need which will be supported by each project goal', in Section 2 of the Project Narrative?

The first section of the project narrative asks for a list of some general business needs and administrative needs of the applicant organization that will be met through the proposed project. Then, in section two, it asks that those general needs be linked to the proposed goals. So, for each goal, applicants should list the business or administrative need that is most supported (as listed in the prior section of the project narrative). This requirement is asking that a connection be established between project goals and organizational needs.

Questions Asked During Prior Webinars:

Solicitation Notice and EN Administration

Where can I find a copy of the FY24 Solicitation Notice Webinar presentation?

A PDF file of this presentation, titled FY24 EN Solicitation Notice Webinar, is available on the EN website under "Resources."

While we would ideally like to provide this, EPA requirements for external (public) recordings require significant time for approval and may exceed the  May 23rd application deadline. The slide deck from the presentation, however, can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/exchange-network-grant-program#Resources.

Is there a maximum amount of funds that the EN Grant Program will award per state?

There is no annual or continuous maximum funding threshold per state. However, when making the final funding decisions, the EPA Selection Official may consider geographic distribution of awards, which may limit the number of grants approved per state in a grant cycle.

The project funding thresholds for the FY24 Exchange Network grant cycle include:

  • Single Applicant Awards: may request up to $300,000;
  • Partnership Awards – may request up to $500,000 if partnership eligibility criteria are met;
  • Single Applicants Applying Under ‘Individual Capacity Building with Mentorship’ – may request up to $315,000 if all opportunity requirements are met.

Does EPA offer this grant every year?

Funding for the Exchange Network Grant Program is based on the year’s appropriation but has been continuously funded each year since 2002.

If awarded a FY24 EN assistance agreement, what is the anticipated timeframe for the funding?

Our anticipated award date for FY24 EN assistance agreements is September 30th, however this may be delayed due to the late release of the FY24 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice and other related factors.

When is the start date of a FY24 grant application if selected for award? Is it possible to extend the deadline?

The start date for the FY24 EN grants would be October 1st, 2024, and the end date would be September 30, 2027 as we have a three-year period-of-performance.

Grantees can finish their projects early within this three-year period, and EPA can also issue no-cost extensions if the project isn’t completed at the end of the three years (up to 4 times, for a total project period of up to 7 years). However, we highly encourage avoiding extensions wherever possible to avoid the associated processing and paperwork.

There is also no penalty if the applicant is not able to immediately start their work on October 1, 2024. From an application standpoint, however, applicants should include project goal and output scheduled completion dates which fit within the FY24 period of performance, October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2027.

When and how will this grant be advertised to interested parties?

The Solicitation Notice was posted to Grants.gov on March 27, 2024. Grant cycle update are regularly posted to the Exchange Network website (https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork), so that is an excellent resource for updates on the EN grant program. Exchange Network Alerts are also sent out to registered participants about important EN news throughout the year. To register for EN alerts, please visit https://www.exchangenetwork.net/news/. 

How many proposals are typically received annually?

Anywhere between 30 and 80 proposals. In recent years, the EN grant program has averaged between 40-45 applications.

What is meant by ‘business/administrative needs’ asked for in the project narrative? Can you clarify or provide some examples of what these might be?

Business and/or administrative needs are typically high level and reflect need(s) of an organization that would be improved by the proposed project. Applicants should think of this as a pain point, an inefficiency, and/or a vulnerability of the applicant organization.

Is there a standard template or form for Attachment E: List of Prior Exchange Network Assistance Agreements?

As relates to Attachments E, there is no standard form or template for this. Please just create a list in Word (or equivalent), saved as a PDF, that includes the information as described on page E12 of the SN.

Can you provide more information on ‘enhancing data sharing and availability for other organizations on the Exchange Network’?

Specific examples cannot be given for this, as it relates directly to our scored evaluation criteria. However, we do ask applicants to provide details on how the proposed work could enhance data sharing/availability for (1) immediate stakeholders (your organization and any formal EN partners, if applicable) and (2) organizations outside of the immediate stakeholders (so - other member states/tribes/etc. in the Exchange Network that might read a summary and/or get in contact about your project and/or developed/reused components).  Therefore, ask yourself when answering this - how might your project benefit the Exchange Network (and its participants) as a whole.

Budget Planning

Is the purchase of equipment allowed for this grant program?

Yes, the purchase of equipment is allowed. Equipment is tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a cost that equals or exceeds $5,000 per unit. Necessary items that are less than $5,000 per unit should be categorized in the project budget as ‘supplies’ and not as ‘equipment’.

EPA will consider requested equipment costs against the overall budget to ensure that these costs are reasonable.

Is the ceiling ($300k) for an individual grant a onetime award? Are the funds expected to be split over three years?

Yes, the $300,000 for an individual award is a onetime award and should be spent within the three-year period of performance. Costs need not be split evenly over three years.

We are not sure if our project will take a full three years; can we plan our budget to finish early?

The 3-year period of performance is a strict requirement for Exchange Network assistance agreements. Our program recommends, in cases where you predict the work will be completed faster than 3 years, estimating your total personnel cost over the project and then distributing that amount over 3 years (and then applying the fringe rate/costs). Note: If an application lists a period of performance shorter than three years, then this would have to be amended prior to award if selected.

Applicants are encouraged to include realistic and generous scheduled completion dates which stretch over the entire 3-year period of performance, as this helps to prevent the need for extensions should unexpected delays occur.  There is no penalty for completing a grant project early; grantees can complete projects anytime during the three-year period of performance.

Does this grant cover personnel costs? Specifically, can EN grant funds be used to hire a member of staff or would we have to hire a contractor?

EN grant funds may be used for personnel costs, including the hiring of staff to support the grant project, the hiring of an individual consultant, or the use of a contractor. Applicants should review Appendix E for more information on what to include in the application when a portion of the grant will be used to hire key personnel.

Additional FAQs related to contractors and individual consultants can be found in the section below.

Can an EN grant applicant include construction funds in their project budget?

No. Though a construction cost category is listed on the standard form ‘SF-424A’, applicants may not use EN funding for construction costs (see Section III-C Funding Restrictions).

If awarded an EN grant is there a state match requirement?

There is no match requirement for Exchange Network grants.

In how much detail should travel plans be budgeted for and can these costs be updated if plans change after the grant is awarded?

Applicants should provide details on proposed travel in your application to the best of their abilities, based on anticipated travel plans (location, duration, etc.) Changes that alter the cost of travel more than 10% of the original budgeted costs will require a workplan update. To make this change, grantees can work with their Regional Exchange Network Coordinator (RENC) to document any changes and/or rework the project budget (as needed). Find your RENC’s contact information here.

We do ask that you split travel into individual trips, even if these are just estimates based on prior travel and/or assumed participants. Please note that we ask for different information related to travel within the project narrative (see Appendix E or the optional project narrative template) and the budget narrative attachment form (see the budget guidance in Appendix D or the optional budget narrative template).

What is the definition of ‘management fees’, as listed as an unallowable cost?

‘Management fees’ are expenses which exceed the direct costs and allowable indirect costs (per their indirect cost rate agreement). These costs are used to accommodate ongoing business expenses, unforeseen liabilities, and other similar expenses. These costs fall outside the scope of the proposed project and/or are unforeseeable. Management fee costs are unallowable.

A list of all unallowable costs can be found in the Section III-C of the FY24 Solicitation Notice, starting on page 13.

Can you expand on the funding restriction ‘development and deployment of physical nodes’?

In data communication, a physical node is a node (an electronic device which creates, receives, and/or transmits information) which can be physically touched. General examples of a physical node include a modem, hub, bridge, switch, or data terminal equipment (DTE) such as a digital telephone handset or printer. In the context of the Exchange Network, physical nodes were devices that were installed, managed and operated by a state, tribe, or territory participating in the Exchange Network to create, receive, and/or transmit environmental data. Specific EN examples include the physical node ‘OpenNode’ and, for Enfotech, a node that is part of their software suite. EN grant funds cannot be used towards the development and/or deployment of physical nodes.

A list of all unallowable costs can be found in the Section III-C of the FY24 Solicitation Notice, starting on page 13.

Can you expand on the funding restriction around ‘operations and maintenance (O&M)’?

During O&M an asset is in operation and produces the same product or provides a repetitive service. Maintenance is the activities necessary to keep an IT asset functioning as designed. This includes operating system upgrades, technology refreshes, and security patch implementations. Maintenance excludes activities that expand the capacity of an asset or otherwise upgrade it to serve needs different from or significantly greater than those originally intended. Operations are the day-to-day management of assets in the production environment and include activities to operate data centers, help desks, operational centers, telecommunication centers, and end user support services. EN grant funds cannot be used towards ‘operations and maintenance (O&M)’.

A list of all unallowable costs can be found in the Section III-C of the FY24 Solicitation Notice, starting on page 13.

What are fringe costs?

These costs are allowances and services that you provide to your employees as compensation in addition to regular salaries and wages. Examples of fringe costs include employee leave, employee insurance, pensions and unemployment, and holiday benefits. Information on calculating fringe benefit costs is available in Appendix D of the FY24 Solicitation Notice (see page D5).

Is an Indirect Cost Rate required to apply?

An Indirect Cost Rate is not required to apply for a grant unless your budget includes indirect costs. If you wish to include indirect costs in your proposed budget, you must provide a copy of your current approved indirect cost rate agreement in your application package. Please see pages D7, D8, and E11 of the FY24 Solicitation Notice for an example indirect cost rate and guidance on how to calculate these costs.

Please note that all applicants may also elect to use the De Minimis Rate of 10% of modified total direct cost to charge indirect costs in a proposed project.

What documents are required to charge an indirect cost?

If you wish to include indirect costs in your proposed budget when applying for a grant or cooperative agreement, you must (1) Provide a copy of your current approved indirect cost rate agreement valid until at least September 30th of the current year, or (2) Provide a copy of documentation showing that you have submitted an indirect cost rate proposal to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval if you do not have a current approved indirect cost rate or if it expires after September 30th.

What if my agency does not have an approved indirect cost rate agreement or our rate is expired?

If you have not submitted a proposal for an indirect cost rate (IDC) agreement you may choose one of the following options for including indirect costs in your proposed budget: (1) Select the EPA 10% Default Indirect Cost Rate for the life of the agreement, or (2) Choose not to charge the indirect cost rate for the life for the agreement.

For rates that have expired, EPA may approve a regulatory exception to allow a recipient with a fixed rate with carry-forward to continue to use the fixed rate for up to four additional fiscal years after the rate's expiration date. Please note you must submit a regulatory exception to continue to use an expiring/expired fixed rate with carry-forward request to EPA for approval. Instructions follow below on how to continue to use an Expiring/Expired fixed rate with Carry-Forward:

The applicant/recipient should email the exception request to OMS-OGDWaivers@epa.gov, copy the EN grant program at ENGrantProgram@epa.gov when submitting the exception request, and:

  1. The email subject should be "IDC Regulatory Exception." Include grant numbers for all current grants with the EPA. These numbers are available on the EPA grant award documents, and will start with the Program Code (such as "GA" for a GAP grant) and then eight alphanumeric characters (such as J0110962)
  2. Include the Recipient Organization's Name, as shown in www.SAM.gov
  3. Include the Recipient Organizations Unique Entity Identifier (currently the Dunn and Bradstreet or DUNS) Number
  4. Include the recipient Organization's Contact Information (email address, mailing address, and phone number)
  5. Include a statement that the applicant/recipient is requesting an exception to the requirement at 2 CFR 200.414© that it charge indirect costs based on an approved rate
  6. Include a justification for the exception (description of why the exception is needed, any extenuating circumstances that may prevent compliance with the requirement to obtain an approved fixed rate with carry forward prior to expiration)
  7. Include a copy of the most recent IDC rate agreement; and
  8. Include any additional information that may help EPA to make a determination

Can a applicant use grant funds to purchase software?

Yes, a grantee may use grant funds to purchase software if appropriate for the proposed project.

Contractors and Individual Consultants

Can an applicant propose grant funds for inclusion on an EN contract?

In-kind grant support via an EPA contract is allowable; however, the availability of this option varies from EPA program to EPA program and is contingent upon there being an available EPA contract. If an applicant wishes to include in-kind funds in their proposed grant, they must clearly state this both within their application cover letter and their project narrative. See Section II-A of the Solicitation Notice for more information on in-kind funding.

How should contractual costs be captured and estimated?

The following details should be included in project narrative Section 3: Identifying Key Personnel and Associated Roles, Responsibilities, and Qualifications, if a proposed project includes a contractor or individual consultant: anticipated project roles and responsibilities, the planned method of acquisition, and the planned method of vetting to ensure the selected candidate is qualified to complete assigned work (see Solicitation Notice page E7).

Contractor and/or Individual Consultant costs should also be detailed in project narrative Section 7: Overview of Project Budget. If these costs are not yet known, applicants should estimate to the best of their knowledge the anticipated costs and should provide a cost rationale for how these costs were calculated and why the cost was deemed appropriate for the work.

Can the entirety of a proposed project’s budget just be contractor costs? Are there any additional requirements?

In the case that 100% of requested funds will be distributed as a contract or subaward, applicants must explain how these transactions will be manage in compliance with applicable Federal requirements without project funding for personnel costs. In other words, how will the applicant pay for management of the contract (weekly meeting with contractors, providing technical direction, etc.), since no project costs will go towards the cost of these duties (via personnel and/or fringe costs)? If this is applicable to your project, provide a 1-3 sentence explanation in Project Narrative Section 3, ‘Identifying Key Personnel and associated Roles and Responsibilities’.

Contractors often provide estimates based on milestones e.g., data migration. Is it okay to provide that, rather than the hourly rate that the budget narrative requests that we use?

Our standard format for how contractual costs can be captured is hourly rate times the number of hours. If you are able to do so, please just work this table backwards to fit our standard rate. So, if the total amount is $30,000, you could put in an estimated [standard] contractor rate ($150 per hour) and estimate 200 hours (as 150 x 200 = 30000). Please note that for individual consultants, there is a maximum rate of $91.95 per hour as set by the Office of Personnel Management.

Can you give more direction on the non-competitive procurement?

As listed in Section II-A of the SN, there are two important pieces to requesting non-competitive procurement. (1) As provided in 2 CFR 200.317, state agency applicants follow their own laws and policies with regard to competition requirements for procurement contracts. Note that other (non-state) applicants are subject to the Procurement Standards in 2 CFR Part 200. (2) Non-competitive procurement is not allowable without EPA approval, which is provided only in select cases. For example, non-competitive procurement may be allowable in situations where a contractor is the single proprietary source of a necessary software. Applicants must provide a detailed justification when using this procurement method. Another critical piece of guidance is the information on sole-source procurement on page 13 of the Best Practice Guide for Procuring Services, Supplies, and Equipment Under EPA Assistance Agreements.

Can you give an example of an allowable use of non-competitive procurement?

An existing relationship or a history of prior work completed by a contractor or vendor does not justify the use of non-competitive procurement. Similarly, proximity of a contracting firm to an applicant’s organization is not sufficient reasoning. One example of a valid non-competitive procurement rationale is that software required for the proposed project is proprietary and developed by the contractor; therefore, the item is available only from a single source.

Eligibility

Can a for-profit organization apply for an EN grant?

No, for-profit organizations do not meet eligibility criteria for the Exchange Network grant program as a lead applicant. In rare cases, for-profit organizations may be eligible to participate in a project as an EN partner and receive subaward funding; however, this is dependent on EPA approval which is rarely provided. For-profit firms may also participate in a project as hired contracting firm or vendor, subject to state or Federal competitive procurement requirements.

Can multiple programs in my organization or agency apply for an EN grant?

Multiple programs within your organization are welcome to apply for an EN grant, but please note that applicants are not eligible to receive more than one award under this Solicitation Notice (see page 12). The highest scoring application would be selected for award, assuming all eligibility criteria are met.

Can work from a previously funded grant be expanded or improved upon?

Applications must not request funds for activities or deliverables for which the applicant has previously received funds. If a proposed goal and/or objective is similar to one(s) that have previously been funded, the application must thoroughly describe:

  • How the proposed activities differ from those previously funded;
  • How the current application will complement past or ongoing work.

In addition, please note that EN funds cannot be used for the operations and maintenance of flows, including minor schema updates for existing flows.

Can an agency with an active EN grant apply for another EN Grant in FY24?

Applicants with current EN grants may be eligible to apply for a FY24 grant award, but there is a threshold eligibility criterion (see Solicitation Notice Section III-B) which states that applicants may not have more than 4 active EN grants as of December 31, 2023. This eligibility restriction is therefore based on the number of active grants that your organization currently has. If you have concerns about your organization’s eligibility based on current open EN grants, please reach out to the EN Grant Team.

Are local air agencies eligible?

Local agencies are largely ineligible unless they have the status ‘instrumentality of the state or tribe’. More information on this status, and its associated requirements, are available in Section III-A of the Solicitation Notice; additionally, the EN definition of this term can be found on page G4. Please note that an ineligible applicant has the option to partner with an eligible applicant, assuming that all partnership eligibility criteria are met and that the eligible organization is the lead applicant.

Does it affect credibility of our application if this is the first time we are applying for the grant?

No, the credibility of first-time applicants is not affected by this; we have many new grantees each fiscal year. Please be sure to state you have never received a prior EN grant in the Past Performance section of your Project Narrative (Section 8). Please note, however, that there is an unfortunate aspect of the past performance evaluation criterion in which applicants with no past performance (no prior EN grants) receive a maximum of 4 points as part of a ‘neutral’ score (per EPA grant policy). 

We are interested in applying for this funding and adding our project to our current PPG. However, our current PPG ends in two years and this application/project is a three-year award opportunity. Can we add this to our PPG or not?

Here is the EN Grant Program’s suggestion in this scenario: (1) Please be sure that your project narrative, workplan, and associated documents should reflect the three year standard period of performance, as this is a requirement of our program. (2) Clearly state in both your cover letter and the project narrative that you would like to add this to an existing PPG. (3) Be sure to provide that PPG number in both of these documents. If your application is successful, we will contact the PPG grant specialist/grant coordinator in the appropriate Regional EPA office. If possible, we will work to add the award to the requested PPG. If the timing does not align, we will work to award it under another PPG (if applicable) or will award it in direct grants funding to your organization.

My organization currently has 4 open EN grants, are we still eligible to apply?

If you had four EPA assistance agreements open as of 12/31/23, you are still eligible to apply this year because you are not exceeding four at the time of application (5 or more are unallowable).

How can I tell if I am eligible to apply as an instrumentality of the state?

In order to apply as an instrumentality of the state, our requirement is that your organization would have to provide a signed “letter from the appropriate state Attorney General certifying the applicant is an agency or instrumentality of the state” as part of your application package (see SN Section III-A, page 11). This is further detailed in our Solicitation Notice on page E12, under ‘Additional Attachment F’.

Funding Areas and Scoring

Can states or instrumentalities of the state apply under Funding Area 3?

The opportunities found within Funding Area 3 are only available to U.S. Territories, federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Villages, instrumentalities of the tribe, and inter-tribal consortia of federally recognized tribes (e.g., the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission). Neither states nor instrumentalities of the state may apply under Funding Area 3.

Under the NPDES EN Project Opportunity, is state NPDES primacy a pre-requisite?

Applicants applying under the NPDES EN Project Opportunity (see Appendix B) must have primacy in order to complete the activities as listed in that write-up. Please see the write-up in Appendix B for more information and linked resources. However, applicants without primacy may submit an application to do certification submittals.

How does the EPA decide on the scoring from an agency with multiple proposals? For example, an individual and a partnership assistance agreement.

There are no scoring benefits or priorities given to an individual EN assistance agreement verses an eligible EN partnership assistance agreement; there are simply different funding thresholds available and some additional information required in the application attachments (see Solicitation Notice Appendix E for more details on this).

There is a restriction in that an organization/agency can submit more than one proposal in a single application cycle, but we would not award more than one assistance agreement to an organization. Therefore, if you were to submit both an individual proposal and a partnership proposal, both applications would be scored against the same evaluation criteria (as listed in Section V of the SN) and the highest scoring application would be selected for award.

Technical Understanding

What is a node?

A Node or Network Node is a server running specialized software that initiates and responds to requests for environmental information from Exchange Network partners. The requests and responses use common formats expressed in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and conform to the Exchange Network protocol and specifications. A Node can initiate the submission of data, request data from another node, and respond to a request for data from another node or an application making a data query over the network. Sending data in response to a query is known as publishing. Nodes allow for machine-to-machine communications, which means that data exchanges can be automated. A node has an administrative interface that lets its owner configure and operate it.

What is a node client?

A node client is a software application that allows a user to send data to Exchange Network nodes using Exchange Network services but cannot listen to requests or other messages coming from nodes. It allows for human-to-machine communication as opposed to machine-to machine communication. Node clients are easy to install and use and are available in .NET and JAVA versions. A Node Client Developer Kit (SDK Software) simplifies integrating Node client functions (web service calls) into any software application with just a few lines of script. Examples of clients include:

  • Exchange Network Service Center
  • Windsor Client
  • CDX JAVA Client
  • Homeland Emergency Response Exchange (HERE)

What is the Exchange Network Services Center?

The Exchange Network Services Center (ENSC) is a browser-based portal that provides Exchange Network users to a broad range of Network services. Users are able to easily submit data, monitor status of data submissions, get, and download information from other partners on the Exchange Network. This portal is a:

  • "No Frills" web access to Exchange Network services
  • Simple, easier-to-use and more intuitive site designed for the less technical program user and more advanced technical users
  • Requires no software to install or configure
  • Can be accessed from any computer with a browser and internet access
  • More personalized experience that allows you to quickly access the services and data that you use most often

What is the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy (EEDS), its three principles, and how is it scored?

The E-Enterprise Digital Strategy (EEDS) is a shared vision to unlock the power of digital information, better coordinate IT systems and services, and deliver more responsive environmental protection. The three principles of this strategy are, the 'Information Centric Approach', the 'Shared Platform Approach', and the 'Customer Centric Approach'. An applicant’s guide to the EEDS has been included in Appendix D of the Solicitation Notice, which includes definitions and examples of these three principles.

The EN Grant Program awards points through its evaluation criteria to projects that align with the three principles of the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy (EEDS) (see criterion 3F in Section V-A ‘Evaluation Criteria’).

What is Virtual Exchange Services (VES)?

Beginning in FY24, Virtual Exchange Services (VES) is no longer an EN project opportunity within Appendix A. VES provides foundational EN capabilities for exchanging data, comparable to physical nodes. VES continues to be a supported capability that can be leveraged to deliver on many of the data exchange opportunities outlined in Appendices A-C. EPA encourages applicants to consider the options under the ‘Open Data Modernization and Digital Transformation Projects including Geospatial Data’ project opportunity to support foundational activities (e.g., ICIS Digital Services projects, eBeaches projects, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund & Clean Water State Revolving Fund projects). Projects under EN project opportunities appropriately utilizing VES capabilities in their implementation can be considered for funding in FY24.

Virtual Exchange Services are EPA cloud-based services that support all the functions of a Network Node. VES can host any number of state, tribal, and territory partner data exchange activities and provide all the same services as a traditional Exchange Network node for the data flows listed in Table 1 below. The VES environment is maintained by EPA while each partner can be provided a secure tenant to configure and implement fully functional data flows with no coding required. Currently, there are no costs to Exchange Network partners for the use of VES other than the charges incurred for partners to implement data flows in their environment (e.g., mapping data, database enhancements, local security requirements). EPA maintains the dataflow templates that allow users to import each dataflow and avoid coding, installation and hardware and software costs for the data exchange process.

Table 1: Data Flows Supported by VES

Integrated Compliance Information System - AIR (ICIS-AIR)

Emissions Inventory System (EIS)

Integrated Compliance Information System - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES)

Integrated Compliance Information System – Digital Services (ICIS-DA)

Water Quality Exchange (WQX v2.1)

How does the VES approach assist with development and maintenance of data exchanges?

The VES approach simplifies development and maintenance of data exchanges using inheritance features and plug-in support. It eliminates software licensing costs, server costs and much of the administration costs for partners, while providing a simplified development model and greater economies of scale. State, tribal or territorial administrators retain complete control of all aspects of their VES, their data flows and access to their staging tables or databases. VES is currently in production with large and small states, tribes, and air districts. Some states are using VES for new flows listed in Table 1 above and keeping their physical nodes for existing flows.

Are there limitations on who can implement VES?

Certain technical requirements are necessary for successful implementation of VES. Technical Requirements are a Machine Windows 64-bit Internet connected computer with a modern web browser, a Database SQL Server Express Edition, an SQL Server, an Oracle Connectivity Internet Service Bus (ISB) Technical Skill Database processing to move data from source(s) into the staging database. There needs to be an additional Tool or process to map data into the staging table.

What is the difference between Exchange Network Services Center (ENSC) and VES? Which should I use?

To help determine which is the right option for your organization, the VES/ENSC Decision Tree (PDF) (1 pg, 178 K) was created to guide partners to the select the best solution. More information and resources to help your organization decide are available on the Virtual Exchange Services website.

Can I choose to build my own node and not use VES or ENSC?

Yes. EPA, however, no longer provides grant funding to build and deploy physical nodes. Furthermore, the agency does not provide funding for node operation and maintenance.

If I have a traditional node, can I continue to use it and receive grant funding under the EN Grant Program? If not, how do I transition to a virtual node and virtual services?

EN Partners that have their own nodes can apply for grant funding to deploy new data exchanges or for data publishing projects that use their own node.

For developing software, how detailed does each proposal need to be as far as scope? Can it generally explain what it's supposed to do?

It is important to provide as much detail as possible, so that reviewers and EPA can understand what is being proposed and assess the applicant’s ability to carry out the proposed work. Additional information, in terms of how project narrative details are scored, can be found in the Solicitation Notice’s Evaluation Criteria (see Solicitation Notice Section V-A). Additionally, applicants are encouraged to review the overview of the project narrative in Appendix E of the Solicitation Notice, Section 5: ‘Technical Solutions and Data Availability’, (page E8) for more information and guidance.

Are there any restrictions regarding programming languages, platforms, or cloud hosting?

In general, there are no restrictions on programming language or cloud hosting. However, there is a prohibition on purchasing technology covered under the National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2019 Public Law 115-232 (section 889). See page 14 of the FY24 Solicitation Notice for more details.

Reuse and IT Component Registration

In the context of the EN’s Commitment to Reuse, does something like the use of the EPA WQX Web Services API for flowing data count?

Yes, the reuse of EPA services such as the EPA WQX Web Services API counts in the context of the EN’s commitment to reuse existing resources. Applicants are encouraged to review the Solicitation Notice’s Evaluation Criteria (see Solicitation Notice Section V-A) and the overview of the project narrative in Appendix E, Section 4: ‘Commitment to Reuse', for more information and guidance.

Is use of the contractor, enfoTech, and their products allowable for our project? Their product isn't freely shared, but other states that have purchased it will benefit from what we build. It will become part of the "off the shelf" system that others can use.

This is allowable. Please note that extensive contractor guidance and links to external guidance is available in Section II-A of the FY24 Exchange Network Grant Solicitation Notice. Additional guidance for applicants including a contractor in their proposed project is also available in Appendix D (‘How to Correctly Calculate and Capture a Project Budget Across Application Attachments’) and Appendix E (Project Narrative overview) of the Solicitation Notice.

As relates to the reuse of IT Components, are only components as developed by prior Exchange Network grantees allowable or are IT Components that are internal to the applicant’s agency/organization applicable too?

If there are internal IT Components that your proposed project will incorporate/reuse, this should be detailed in the ‘Technical Understanding’ section of your project narrative, as described in Appendix E ‘Project Narrative Overview’. If the (re)use of these internal technologies means that no additional items, as developed by current and prior grantees in the Exchange Network, are necessary/appropriate for the proposed project, this should be clearly stated in the ‘Commitment to Reuse’ section of the project narrative. Additionally, the use and appropriateness of these internal IT Components should be referenced in the applicant’s detailed justification for why no (EN) IT Components will be reused in the proposed project (as is a requirement in the ‘Commitment to Reuse’ section for applicants not reusing EN IT Components).

How can I find IT Component Resources that are available for reuse in my EN grant project application?

Searchable IT Component and Project Registration Forms: This web area, new in FY23, provides a table of prior EN assistance agreements which met the EN term and condition to complete an ‘IT Component and Project Registration Form’ at the time of grant close-out (see Section VI-B).  These forms help to ensure that products and services continue to be available for use and/or collaboration in future EN projects. To reflect an understanding of this registration requirement, applicants must commit to register any newly developed resources (required since 2011) and must also commit to register the reuse of existing resources (required since 2018). Applicants should include these as two explicit commitment statements within the ‘Commitment to Reuse’ section of their project narrative. 

 Applicants are encouraged to view and explore previously completed IT Component and Project Registration Forms for project ideas and to identify IT components which can be reused in their proposed project. To view these forms:

Click the hyperlinked grant number in the project table to view available IT Component and Project Registration Form PDFs that meet your search parameters.

Is it expected that we would have fully analyzed reused components and any contractors/vendors before applying?

As outlined in the Solicitation Notice (section VI-B) and reflected in our evaluation criteria (Section V-A), applicants must research and consider available technologies and IT components prior to submitting a project proposal. Applicants must then either: (1) explicitly identify which EN data and technology management resources as developed by prior EN grantees will be reused or repurposed in their proposed project within the ‘Commitment to Reuse’ section of their project narrative; OR (2) (if no items are deemed appropriate for reuse (and this is okay and applicable for many projects!)), explicitly state this and provide a detailed justification explaining why available technologies/components will not be used.

For this scenario, the EN Grant Program recommends stating in the Commitment to Reuse section that you have identified items for reuse, and provide all the requisite information as detailed in the overview of the project narrative in Appendix E. But add language detailing the fact that your organization plans to do additional research to ensure these IT Components are a good fit, and if they aren’t, provide a brief overview of the approach you would take instead. (What you might develop if you are unable to reuse an existing product, for example.) And if you are successful and awarded an assistance agreement, and you end up unable to use these products, you simply would reflect this in a simple change request (which you would do through your Regional Exchange Network Coordinator) where you detail what you are doing instead, and also provide a line or two on this change in your semi-annual reports. This is quite common for our grantees (as technology is ever changing), and as long as it is documented and the replacement approach is still within scope, it is a very simple process.

This same approach should be applied to contractors, vendors, etc. Document what you plan to use but know that you have the flexibility to adjust as needed after award.

Partnerships and Past Projects

What sections of the SN should I familiarize myself with, if I am interested in applying as an EN partnership?

Applicants interested in applying as a formal EN partnership should review the following sections of the SN:

•             Final paragraph of I-B. EN Assistance Activities and Funding Areas

•             II-A General Information, Subaward Information

•             III-D. Eligibility Criteria for Exchange Network Partnership Applications

•             IV-B. Partnership Agreements

If opting for the partnership option, please be sure to carefully read the ‘other’ budget category information in Appendix D’s budget guidance re: subawards, as well as consider the guidance in Appendix E on what should be included in the project narrative. Please note that Additional Attachment C would also be required in an EN Partnership Award.

Is a separate SF 424 form for the partnering organization needed in addition to the SF 424 for the lead applicant? Also, please advise if there are any additional forms or special requirements needed when submitting a partnership application.

Applicants applying as an EN partnership must include details in the project narrative; please review the guidance in Appendix E ‘Project Narrative Overview’ to see exactly where details on your partnering organization/partner contacts are required.

A separate 424 form is not necessary, however; you would submit one which includes your organization’s costs as direct costs, and any costs that would be awarded to your partner as a pass-through entity should be captured as a ‘subaward’ under the ‘other’ budget category. Be sure to also capture these costs in the Budget Narrative Attachment Form (again, list it as a subaward under the ‘other’ budget category). Please see Section II-A of the Solicitation Notice and the following link for more information on subawards: https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients.

Please ensure you are forming an eligible partnership by checking the EN Partnership Eligibility Criteria in Solicitation Notice Section III-D, as well as review the information in Section IV-B Partnership Agreements. Finally, there is an additional attachment necessary for partnership awards – please see ‘Additional Attachment C’ in Appendix E (see Solicitation Notice page E11).

My organization has been advised to partner with other Divisions in our agency when submitting a grant request because multi-Divisional requests are looked more favorable than one Division in an agency. Can you confirm if that is the preferred approach?

There is no preference given to partnerships or multi-Divisional applications. Grant applications are ranked and scored based on their ability to address the evaluation criteria. Please note that intra-agency or intrastate projects are not eligible partnerships as outlined in the partnership eligibility criteria found on page 14 of the FY24 Solicitation Notice.

For capturing the required past performance information, does an applicant need to include every grant awarded to the entity? For example, do they need to include every grant awarded to a state or is it restricted to the specific agency/group applying?

In the Past Performance section of the project narrative, please clearly indicate the number of prior Exchange Network assistance agreement(s) or put zero (0) if the organization has never received an EN assistance agreement since 2002.

FY24 applicants that have received prior Exchange Network assistance agreements must provide an additional attachment (see SN page E12, Additional Attachment E) which lists previously awarded EN assistance agreements since 2002.

Considering that our grant has not ended, will any application submitted by my team lose points because we haven't registered a product with EN at this time?

The registration requirement is only considered and scored as part of the Past Performance Evaluation for grants awarded since 2011 that are fully closed-out. Please note that grantees can submit the IT Component and Project Registration Form at any time, using the form template available here. Please complete and return this form to your region’s Regional Exchange Network Coordinator (see list of current RENCs here).

In a partnership agreement, can a partner procure their own contractor? If so, how should these cost be captured in the Budget Narrative and any other applicable attachments?

A partnering organization can procure their own contractor as long as the applicable procurement standards are followed.  As provided in 2 CFR 200.317, state agency applicants follow their own laws and policies with regard to competition requirements for procurement contracts. Non-state subrecipients are subject to the 2 CFR Parts 200 and 1500 procurement standards; unlike states, they cannot follow their own procurement procedures unless those procedures comply with the Federal rules.

Note that contractual costs solicited by a project partner should be included as part of the total ‘subaward’ cost under the budget category ‘Other’. A summary of the cost breakdown of the subaward, and general information on the contractor procurement, should be included in the ‘Formal Partners’ attachment (Attachment C).

We are applying as a partnership; do we need to decide which organization will host our dataset, or is this something that we can determine after consulting with stakeholders?

I think this is dependent on the project and the expected outputs/outcomes and should be decided by the participating organizations (with a goal to best meet the business needs of all). And it is fair that there might be some specifics of the project that aren’t figured out yet, and will be decided through the course of the project; I would just recommend speaking to these future decisions in your project narrative (including how this decision will be ultimately be made) and ensuring that all information as requested under the technology sections is sufficiently addressed in your project narrative (‘Technical Solutions and Data Availability’, ‘Project Alignment with the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy (EEDS)’, etc.).

For a partnership grant, is it okay to have part of the work be for the partnership and the rest for one of the participating organizations only? 

The goals and outputs for the proposed project may include work for just one of the organizations, in addition to goals and outputs that encompass both organizations. The EN Grant Program would just caution that the work must be in alignment with the requirements of the EN Grant Program (supporting the EPA strategic plan, EN Funding Areas, etc.), as well as be complementary across the participating organizations. So Org A might have some goals and outputs that are specific to it, and Org B might have some goals and outputs that are specific to it, but there must also be additional work that is done together/to the benefit of both Org A & B.

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Last updated on May 20, 2024