Rurality Score Objective Scoring Calculator - 2020 Economic Need - - PDF document

Rurality Score Economic Need (see scoring table) Special Consideration Needs and Benefits (estimate) 25 Total Projected Score Site Name physical address Hub, End user, H&E Town or Place Census Population Rurality Score County Cong. District SAIPE

Rurality Points 0-5000 40 5001-10,000 30 10,001-20,000 20

• ver 20,000

Economic Need Points 30%+ AVG SAIPE 30 20%-29% AVG SAIPE 20 10%-19% AVG SAIPE 10 0%-9% AVG SAIPE Total 10 maximum pts 10 Needs and Benefits Total 30 maximum pts 30

Insert rows as needed AVG: SCORE: Scoring Table

Sp Consideration

Objective Scoring Calculator - 2020

10/16/2019 1

How To Write Your Own

Distance Learning & Telemedicine Grant!

Learning Objectives

• Develop an in-depth

understanding of the RUS DLT Grant

• Determine if this grant is a fit

for your organization

• Learn strategies to make your

grant more competitive

• Leave with a Draft Outline of a

RUS-DLT Grant!

Before We Begin…

 Forget everything you know about federal grants… never assume!  When in doubt, refer to the current year’s Application Guide!  Get out your PCs or Tablets now – this is a workshop!

10/16/2019 2

WORKSHOP AGENDA

• DLT Grant Overview – the basics
• Project Design
• Objective Scoring
• Organizations & Workflow

Prioritization

• Paperwork Requirements
• DLT Worksheets
• Needs & Benefits
• Budget & Scope of Work
• Matching Funds Worksheet &

Letter

• Telecommunications Plan
• Financial Information &

Sustainability

• Statement of Experience
• Executive Summary
• Putting it All Together
• Post Submission

What’s it All About?

The DLT Grant provides funding for interactive “real time” distance learning or telehealth projects that provide rural residents with access to content and/or services, helping to bridge the digital divide.

The DLT Basics

• CFDA: 10.855
• Due Date: (TBD) probably late Winter / Spring
• How Much: Rumored $80M Total Funds for 2020
• Matching Funds: 15% of the Federal Request (about 13% of total project costs)
• Award Size: Historically $50k - $500k *rumored increase in award size
• Priorities: Special Consideration Points vary by year

FY18 and FY19 prioritized STEM and Opioid Focus FY20 TBD

• Submission – hard copy or Grants.gov recommended!!

10/16/2019 3

Eligible Expenditures

 Capital Expenditures – interactive distance learning or telemedicine equipment, video infrastructure, ancillary core network devices necessitated by the project, internal wiring, software, licensing, digitally connected peripheral devices and associated services.  Up to 20% of the budget can be spent on broadband related expenditures  Cloud Services, if adequately defined and justified

Ineligible Expenditures

 Recurring Expenses – transmission costs, existing operational costs, salaries, benefits, contractual, supplies, etc.  No Indirect Costs! No Evaluation Costs!  Unrelated technology purposes -- this is not a grant for tons of PCs/Tablets… the main purpose is for the interactive

• video. Peripherals that help deliver

content or services via the video transmission are provisionally eligible Licensing/software and services must be associated with an endpoint in the budget

Let’s Cut to the Chase!

Who Can Apply?

Various forms of eligibility

• 1. Organizational Eligibility – For Profit, Non-Profit, Tribal Entity, State or Local

Org, Schools, Universities, Community & Technical Colleges, Libraries, Pre-K’s, Clinics, Health Care Centers, Hospitals/Clinics, Workforce Development Offices, First Responders…. It’s easier to tell you who is NOT eligible (federal orgs, sole

• proprietors. orgs. in coastal barrier zones). Fiscal Agent (applicant) MUST have

a DUNS and active SAM registration.

• 2. Programmatic Eligibility – Proposed use must be focused on interactive

distance learning and/or telehealth projects that provide benefits/services to end users in rural communities

• 3. Rural Eligibility – Overall Project Rurality score of at least 20 points
• 4. Required Match – Projects must match at or above 15% of the federal

requested amount (just over 13% of the overall project costs)

Types of Projects

 School to School – sharing teachers & courses, enrichment  School to Health Center – school based health; prevention / wellness, mental health/substance abuse programming  School to Higher Ed – dual enrollment, teacher training  Higher Ed to Higher Ed – connecting satellite campuses to expand course

• fferings, bridging programs, workforce dev

 Libraries & Other Community Centers – lifelong learning, Adult Ed, Workforce development, Enrichment  Medical Centers to Clinics – primary & specialty care delivery; CME  Clinic to Clinic or Hospital to Hospital – sharing doctors, dentists, nurses or allied health professionals; sharing CME, wellness & prevention programs  Mental Health & Substance Abuse Clinics to anyone – delivering behavioral health and/or substance abuse treatment, education, therapy, etc.  State/Local Orgs – connecting the “local” organizations together to share employee learning / training (DOH, Head Start, WIBs, etc.)

Limited only by your imagination!

10/16/2019 4

Major Grant Components

Objective Scoring Subjective Scoring Unscored yet Required Objective Scoring Subjective Scoring Required but not Scored Required but not Scored

Rurality – up to 40 pts Needs & Benefits – up to 30 pts Executive Summary Official Grant Budget & Match letter/worksheet Economic Need – up to 30 pts Financial Info & Sustainability Certs / Assurances Special Consideration – up to 10 pts Statement of Experience Proof of Legal Existence / Eligibility Technology System Plan State Rural Development Letter

• 1. Do we need to have a formal (legal)

consortium to submit a consortium application?

• 2. We need more bandwidth to optimize our
• project. Is that an eligible expense if we can

document the need?

• 3. Are we required to submit a Grants.gov

application?

• 4. If we file a paper (hard copy) application, do

we still need an active SAM registration?

• 5. The eligible expenses include annual
• maintenance. Can we include maintenance

expenses associated with existing equipment that will be an integral part of this project?

• 6. Are Cloud Services eligible?
• 7. Can we request multiple licenses that provide interactive video

connectivity or infrastructure?

• 8. Is In-Kind Match eligible?
• 9. A vendor offered to write this grant for me, and promised “no

strings attached.” Is that ok? 10.Other ????

10/16/2019 5

Project Design

• Before you can begin constructing your project, you need to first

articulate what your project is about!

• Is it Distance Learning, Telemedicine or a combination of both?
• What problems are you trying to solve through the use of these technologies?
• Who is your target audience?
• Think on a broader scale!
• Expand your thinking beyond your initial “focus” issue (ex: need for a Spanish

Teacher)

• Identify potential project partners/participants that will benefit from

the educational or health content or services you propose to delivery and/or receive

Design Examples

• 1. Hub(s) & Spoke(spokes) -- Content or service provider connecting to

end user sites who will receive the content or services

• Medical Center with Specialists to smaller hospitals or clinics without local

specialists

• Community College connecting to K12s to deliver dual enrollment
• 2. Hub-End User to Hub-End User – Sites that will provide experts to

share content or services connecting to remote sites who will receive the content and services, and deliver back different content and services.

• Rural High School with Mandarin teacher connects to another rural high school

with a Spanish teacher. Students at both sites receive foreign language classes not available locally.

• Rural hospital to Rural Mental Health & Substance Abuse clinic. Hospital

connects to MHSA clinic for services not available locally. Clinic connects to hospital for Continuing Medical Education and training.

Design Examples, cont…

• 3. Non-Fixed – Occasionally, you have a hub site that wants to provide

services or content to anyplace in a given geography. In this instance, your Objective Scoring is determined by the single HUB site. Example:

• Visiting Nurse Services – a Home Health Org would like to send a visiting nurse to anyone

within their service area (ex: 2 county area). The Home Health Org is the HUB and their physical location would be used to define rurality and poverty scores.

• 4. Hybrid – Sometimes a project will have both a fixed and non-fixed
• component. In those cases you score the non-fixed portion first, and

then include it as a line item to be averaged in with your fixed site

• calculations. Example:
• School District wants to put video endpoints in all rural schools to share instruction, but

they also want to deliver home school courses to any students within the geography they cover.

• CHC wants to connect to hospital for fixed site telemed, but also wants to connect on

demand to any site that their EMS team visits within their coverage area.

10/16/2019 6

• 1. Can I have more than one HUB?
• 2. Do I need to average in HUB/End

Users?

• 3. What if I need to include less rural

sites due to political implications?

• 4. Do I need to include sites that will

provide content or services if we are not requesting any budget line items for those sites?

• 5. Others?

Objective Scoring Calculator

• Once you have identified potential programmatic

partners, you need to look at their demographics

• Are they a HUB, End-User or HUB/End-User?
• Find their Rurality
• Identify their Poverty / Economic Need Score
• Crunch the Numbers! Is your score competitive?
• If not, consider adding or deleting sites to obtain

a higher Objective Score

10/16/2019 7

Rurality – How To’s

• www.factfinder.census.gov
• Select Advanced Search and then

Geographies

• Click on the Address tab and

search the address for each site in your project

• Once you gather info, go back to

the simple search for population information

Why Not Start with Simple Rurality Search?

• Some states have duplicate town

(city, village, etc) names located in different counties

• Some recognized places have the

same name /different designation Canton Township, Canton City, etc.

• Unless you are 100% sure of your

site designation, you should opt for an Advanced Rurality Search

Start with the Advanced Search

• Provides exact (and a wealth of) information!
• Determines if your site is within (or outside of) boundaries
• Defines the City, Town, Village, CDP, etc.
• Provides County, School District, AI/AN/NH designation, etc
• Gives you the Congressional District
• This is information you’ll need for the Site Worksheet,

Rurality Worksheet, etc.

10/16/2019 8

Advanced Search

• Enter address
• Try to make the search as

simple as possible (no punctuation)

• You can search by city,

town, etc. OR zip code – zip code is a great option

• Remember you are

searching the physical address NOT the mailing address

• Print or capture info –

you’ll need it later!

What if the address isn’t searchable on this tab?

10/16/2019 9

But now what? You still can’t tell if it’s within the boundary of Haines AK!

Boundary Selections

You can select a wide variety of data points by setting boundaries and labels.

10/16/2019 10

Outside the Boundaries…

Include a rurality map showing that the physical location of that site is outside the boundaries of place.

Census Rural – Maximum Rurality Points

Rurality Scoring

• Find rurality and score for

ALL sites

• Only average in the scores for

End User or Hub-End User sites

• Don’t’ forget… sites that are
• utside the boundaries of

place automatically receive the maximum rurality points!

10/16/2019 11

Your turn! Let’s practice…

1. 204 Edwards Ave, Mound Bayou, Mississippi 38762 2. 767 South Street West, Mound Bayou, Mississippi 38762 3. 294 Granger Dorsey Rd, Mound Bayou, MS 38762 Hints!

• 1. Standard search
• 2. Advanced Geo search
• 3. Map search

Economic Need (SAIPE)

https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/saipe/#/?map_geoSelector =aa_c

Your turn! Find the SAIPE Scores!

1. 600 N Jones Ave, Holcomb, KS 67851 2. 34335 U.S. 101 S, Cloverdale, OR 97112 3. 1422 N. Craftsbury Rd, Craftsbury, VT 05827

10/16/2019 12

Special Consideration

• Generally 10 Points – all points are golden!
• Focus varies by year – the last 2 years were Opioid and STEM
• Projects should have a “predominant” focus on these areas (>50%)
• Very broad definitions of Opioid and STEM

STEM

• Science, Technology, Engineering, Medical
• Classes offering STEM curriculum
• Training in STEM fields
• Workforce certification programs having a

STEM component/approach

• Most CTE Courses fall under the STEM umbrella

Opioid

• Opioid Treatment and therapy
• Opioid Prevention & Wellness Education
• Training for opioid medical response for first

responders and medical professionals

• MAT Medically Assisted Treatment educational

and oversight

• Opioid recovery - family support and social

service coordination programs

Now it’s your turn…

• Grab the Objective Scoring Sheet in

your handout packet or pull it up in the Excel document in email

• Use your own list of potential sites /

addresses to populate the worksheet

• If you didn’t bring your own list of

potential sites, use the example addresses in the packet

• Score the sites to see if it’s a

competitive project, if all sites are eligible (population less than 20,000), etc.

Organization & Workflow

10/16/2019 13

Resist the Urge to Work A-Z

The order in which you package your grant is NOT the

• rder in which you

want to develop your project!

Let’s Switch Things Up!

Get paperwork requirements out of the way

• L. Contact with State Director
• I. Compliance (Certs & Assurances)
• K. Environmental Impact & Historical Preservation
• J. Legal Existence & Authority to Contract

Worksheets C1 Rurality Worksheet C2 Economic Need Worksheet C3 Special Consideration Subjective Scoring Section

• C4. Needs & Benefits

Technology Considerations

• E. Scope of Work & Budget
• D. Matching Funds Worksheet / Letter
• H. Telecommunications Plan

Unscored but required Narrative Sections

• F. Financial Information & Sustainability
• G. Statement of Experience
• B. Executive Summary

Paperwork Requirements

The Basics… where to start Contact with State Director Compliance (Certs & Assurances) Environmental Impact & Historical Preservation Legal Existence & Authority to Contract

10/16/2019 14

Where to Start

• 1. SAM Registration
• Do you have a SAM registration?
• Is it active?
• Is the POC still employed at your Organization?
• 2. Grants.gov
• Are you registered and account associated with SAM?
• Is your AOR authorized for submission in eBiz?
• Create a workspace
• L. Consulting the State Director

https://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices

• Your State Office of Rural Development will require what they refer to

as an “Executive Summary”

• The Executive Summary is actually the last section you should work
• n… but don’t wait until the last minute to contact Rural Dev!
• Write a 1-2 paragraph summary of your project
• Provide the list of hub and end user sites and their locations
• Estimate the amount of grant funding and matching funds
• Locate the Office of Rural Dev. Contact and then call or email to

confirm if this is the correct contact info (frequently it is NOT)

• Submit your summary (titled “Executive Summary”) and request a

letter in return… and follow up to make sure they are working on your request

Sections I & K Compliance & Environmental/Historic Impact

Section I – Compliance: Standard Certs and Assurances (see hand-out)

• Grant Guidance will specify which standard Certs and Assurances are required
• A Checklist will “auto-sign” some of these forms for you…. That said, we

recommend you sign and submit them all

• These forms are required for the Fiscal Agent
• If you have an informal consortium, and if each consortium member intends

to own their own equipment/services, then each member must submit their

• wn set of signed Certs & Assurances

Section K – Environmental Impact & Historical Preservation

• In most cases, this form requires a simple statement that there this is not a

construction project and therefore there will be no impact (and signature)

• The exceptions… if you are working on a last mile project or renovating a

historic building

10/16/2019 15

• J. Legal Existence & Authority to Contract
• Requirements vary each year – adhere to 2020 grant guidance!
• Verify SAM Active SAM Registration (take a screen shot)

This may also require a signed form

• Legal Opinion Letter is the easiest way to address all requirements in

this section (see hand out)

• Other options
• Legal Charter, Articles of Incorporation, Proof that the State recognizes your
• rganization as a state or local agency (i.e. K12 schools, state health orgs, etc)
• Proof of authority to contract – show recent federal grant funding award

letter or statement

Required Grant Worksheets

• A. Site Worksheet

C1 Rurality Worksheet

C2 Economic Need Worksheet C3 Special Consideration Worksheet

Site Worksheet

• List HUBs first
• Fill in all information

from your Obj. Scoring Worksheet

• Add in site numbers
• Worksheets are

hyperlinked to keep info and order consistent

10/16/2019 16

Rurality Worksheet

Find SAIPE % by County

https://www.census.gov/data- tools/demo/saipe/#/?map_geoSelector =aa_c&s_state=01

• r pull from Obj. Scoring Calculator

Enter to the first decimal Average percentages for all sites EXCEPT the HUB(s) Find the associated score

Special

Consideration

Worksheet

10/16/2019 17

Needs & Benefits

• The only scored narrative section
• Subjective – worth 30 points!
• This section is the differentiator – put

your effort here!

• We have created a template to guide

you through this section. Refer to your hand-outs!

• Be a story-teller… this is where you can

really demonstrate the need for your project and resonate with the reviewer.

• What’s your project about?
• Paint an emotional picture.
• Summarize who you are, where you

are, what your problems are and how you propose to address those challenges through the use of DL or TM.

• Insert a table of the sites in your

project (copy from your Rurality Worksheet)

• You can use this in your Executive

Summary, Scope of Work, Telecom Plan, etc.

Start with a Project Overview

Site Name Designation Location Population ME Center for the Deaf HUB Falmouth ME 11,185 Chebeague Island School End User Chebeague Island ME 341 Cliff Island Elementary End User Cliff Island ME 60 Peaks Island School End User Peaks Island ME 843 Total 12,429

Add a Geographic Profile

Discuss the area being served. Paint a picture of the geographic challenges (isolation, rurality, terrain, weather, etc.) Consider adding a map. Put the geographic isolation into context for the reader… examples: “It’s a 30 minute drive just to pick up a gallon of milk or to get gas.” “Four of our project schools are only accessible by air or boat” “There is not a single healthcare provider in the entire county”

10/16/2019 18

Describe the demographics of your service area. Where do you not compare favorably? Poverty levels, educational attainment, unemployment, minorities, etc. One of the easiest ways to document and compare demographic info is with a table. Compare the datasets relevant to your project. Then describe what the data says in narrative form.

Location % in Poverty Median Income % with HS diploma 4 yr degree or greater

Not in Labor Force

USA 14.6% $57,652 87.3% 30.9% 36.6% Mississippi 21.5% $42,009 83.4% 21.3% 42.3% Mound Bayou 44.8% $21,154 77% 19.1% 55.9% Sunflower 39.6% $26,289 69.7% 16.9% 49.1% Project Avg. 42.2% $23,722 73.35% 18% 52.5%

http://www.factfinder.census.gov

Demographic Profile

Outward Migration

• Where relevant, document population loss of any of the areas in your

project that have seen decline

• Why do you think that population decline is occurring? (lack of jobs,

lack of housing, lack of healthcare or educational resources???)

• How will your project can help stem the population loss?

Project Location 2000 Census Pop. 2010 Census Pop. % change Mound Bayou, MS 2102 1533

• 27.1%

Sunflower Town, MS 1334 1159

• 13.12

Mississippi 2,844,646 2,967,297 4.31%

Community Involvement and Needs Assessment

• Consider holding a planning meeting (or meetings). Provide a

snapshot of the posted invitation (newspaper, web, etc) and include details… date, time, and who attended.

• Develop a planning committee. List their names and titles, and

keep a record of the dates that you meet, who attended, and what was discussed. Include a wide variety of stake-holders.

• How did you identify the critical needs that will be addressed by

your project?

• Surveys
• Climate assessment
• Other data points

(test scores, health or economic data)

10/16/2019 19

Assessment leads to

Needs Identifcation & Project Design

• When identifying your Needs, try to think broadly
• Start with your primary need and then consider other ways distance

learning or telemedicine connections can help address problems in your target area. Example:

• Primary need: to provide primary care in a school based health setting
• Other possible needs / use cases:
• Prevention / Wellness Programming
• Special Education Services (PT, OT, Speech, Psychological Testing)
• Expanding access to teachers, families, community members
• Access to specialty care (ENT, Allergist, Mental Health Professionals, etc.)
• Continuing Medical Education / Professional Development

How does your Project Address those Needs?

• Describe your project. How do the technologies you are proposing

help you address those needs? Just a couple of lines is fine!

“This project places telemedicine endpoints, along with digitally connected medical scopes, in each of our schools. This will allow real time connections to healthcare experts for the delivery of primary care, addressing the critical lack

• f access to geographically accessible healthcare.”

Align your Needs, Benefits & Outcomes

Example “Alignment” Table

10/16/2019 20

Now Elaborate…

• Needs – list the individual needs you’ve just
• utlined in your Alignment Table
• For each Need, discuss the need in detail.
• Cite sources – how can you prove this need really

IS a need?

• Make regional, state or national comparisons!
• In what ways do you not compare favorably?
• Reference test scores, health statistics, etc.
• BAD is GOOD… really highlight your Need!
• Assume the reviewer is not an expert on your

topic… keep your narrative simple and to the point

Benefits Outcomes

• From the Alignment Table,

capture all of the Benefits you identified

• Discuss them individually
• How does your project allow

you to achieve those benefits?

• Talk in general terms
• Where Benefits are broad,

Outcomes are specific

• Capture the numbers of

people served

• What are the specific number
• f courses or services provided

for the first time?

• What % increase, decrease,

improvement, etc. are you anticipating?

Other N&B Elements

Project Support

Alignment w/State Plan

Non-Duplication

• Letters showing a

“360” of support – no templates!

• Donations of

money or time!

• Board approval &

support

• Facebook or

Twitter comments

• Discuss how your

project (DL or TM) is in line with the direction your state is championing.

• Cite similar

initiatives

• Discuss any past DLT

projects that any project member may have be part of (last 3 yrs)

• Are any project

members involved in another 2020 DLT?

• Address

Non-Duplication

10/16/2019 21

Now It’s Your Turn…

• Find the Needs Section Outline in your

workshop handouts

• Write an opening Project Overview
• Fill in a Needs/Benefits/Outcomes Alignment

Table

• We’ll take 30 minutes or more on this section

Q: How long does my Needs section need to be? A: There is no prescribed length for this section; however, this is a very highly weighted section. Shoot for 10 pages or more, but more importantly, just be thorough and address all elements Q: What data points should I include? A: You are identifying need… Bad = Good. Point out relevant areas where your project sites do not compare favorably. All projects are different, so use data that impacts your proposed project Q: How many support letters do I need? A. Quality over Quantity! No templates! Have a representative sampling Q: Where do I find an expert to comment on my project? A. Experts are in the eye of the beholder. Contact people qualified to discuss the specifics of your project. Be prepared to provide them with a project summary so they can comment

• n what you are proposing.
• E. Scope of

Work & Budget

• Proposed Activities
• Who is responsible for overseeing

those Activities

• Timeframe for implementing those

activities

• Budget

10/16/2019 22

Recommended Approach to Scope

• f Work
• Begin with a summary of

your proposed project.

• You can simply copy your

Needs Overview and reuse here!

• Follow with a table that

provides the specifics

Budget Worksheet

Matching Funds Worksheet

• List all sources of match

along with their committed match $

• Total all matching funds
• Enter the amount of federal

funds requested

• Divide the match amount by

the federal request

• Do NOT round to 15% - make

sure match equals or exceeds 15%

10/16/2019 23

Things to Remember…

• Sites should be listed in the same order as site worksheet
• Sequentially list all line item expenditures associated with each site
• Provide enough detail (product name, description or part#) for the reviewers to evaluate

the associated price per unit

• Only identify line items in the match column if you are committing in-kind match!
• We discourage In-Kind match… if you have to use it, limit its use and justify!
• Work from a vendor quote (or quotes) – confirms the pricing
• 10% Rule – Training and Engineering Services are limited to 10% of the total budget
• None of the sites receiving budget can provide the services or products in the grant budget

(you can buy things from yourselves)

• No Indirect Costs! No Evaluation! No Recurring Costs!
• Up to 20% of the budget can be spent on “broadband” activities

Your turn! Let’s practice!

1. Use the budget worksheet in your hand-outs OR

• pen the DLT Worksheets on your PC or Tablet and

click on the Budget Tab 2. Refer to the Site Worksheet sample sites… use these to determine the line item order in your budget 3. Refer to the Sample Vendor Quote in your hand-outs 4. Construct your grant budget 5. Calculate the 10% Rule 6. Fill out the Match Worksheet

Grant Budget FAQs

Q: How do I know what technology and I need? A: Ask manufacturers and vendors to provide you with information and demonstrations. Ask your peers for references! Q: How do I get Pricing? A: Request one or more vendor price quotes (ask that they quote by site to make it easy to translate to your budget) Q: What if I change my mind once the grant is submitted? A: RUS has a budget modification process – permission vs forgiveness Q: When can I start making purchases? A: Purchases can be made the day after the grant due date; no reimbursement until grant is awarded and paperwork completed

10/16/2019 24

• H. Telecommunications Plan
• Unscored but arguably one of the most important sections
• The Grant Guidance is confusing… we have recommended

elements and a template for your to follow

• Start with a Geographic Map, showing all sites in your

project and their proximity to one another. This is not a network topology map (you can include one if you like but it’s not necessary).

How to Create a Geographic Map

1. Have a Screen Capture Tool on hand – you’ll need it! (SnagIt) 2. Go to a free mapping or directions program like Google Maps 3. Enter your hub site address; click directions 4. Enter the next site and hit enter. You’ll see a route 5. Add another site… hit enter and the route will extend. 6. Do this for each site. It will pinpoint each site you enter. Take a screen capture!

Example Map:

• MBHC Health Clinic

204 Edwards Ave, Mound Bayou, MS

• MB Hospital

767 South Street West, Mound Bayou, MS

• MB Dialysis Center

294 Granger Dorsey Rd, Mound Bayou, MS

• List each site, it’s physical

address, and whether it’s a hub, end user, or hub/end user

10/16/2019 25

You Can Also Provide a Longer Range View

Itemized Budget Descriptions - Example

Line items 1, 6, 11, 16 ABC Education Mobile Cart – this cart is an interactive distance learning system that has a video codec, camera, microphone, speakers and display on a rolling base. It will be used to deliver and receive distance learning courses and content between the participating sites and will be used 100% of the time for eligible activities. Line items 2, 7, 12, 17 Mandatory Annual Maintenance 3Yrs. – three years of annual support to include hardware and software on the Education Cart. Use is 100% DLT. Line items 4, 9, 14, 19 ZuDexio Cloud Infrastructure license -- this license resides with the mobile cart and will provide the video transport and bridging necessary for connections. Use is 100% DLT. Line items 5, 10, 15, 20 Instructor PC – a laptop will be digitally connected to each education cart allowing content to be shared in real time amongst sites. They will be dedicated to DL use only and used

• nly for 100% DLT activities

Telecom Plan Narrative Template

• Provide a project overview… is this DL or TM? What are you

proposing to do with your project?

• Describe the equipment or software you are requesting and how it

works in relation to your proposed project.

• document discussions with technical sources; provide cost estimates for
• perating and maintaining the end-user equipment.
• provide evidence that alternative equipment and technologies were

evaluated.

• Provide a description of each budget line item and it’s proposed % of

use as it relates to DLT important!!!

• Describe consultation with telecom providers (do you have adequate

network?)

• Address duplication, participation in past DLT awards, etc.
• Include vendor quote(s) to justify costs

10/16/2019 26

Unscored but Required

• Section F – Financial Information &

Sustainability

• Section G – Statement of Experience
• Section B – Executive Summary

F -- Financial Information & Sustainability

Unscored and brief section that addresses your ability to undertake and sustain the proposed project. This section is generally 2-3 pages maximum. Part of this section is redundant with the Statement of

• Experience. You can copy/paste

between the two sections as it pertains to having the expertise necessary to undertake and complete the project

Section F: Elements to Include

• Demonstrate that funding is available to support the project
• Describe anticipated project revenues and expenses
• Revenue might be associated with increased enrollment / tuition or increased

patient services and associated fees

• Expenses are generally associated with things like bandwidth, personnel,

installation and ongoing maintenance (installation and maintenance are covered by your grant budget in most cases). We suggest creating a table and providing an estimate of those costs… a “best guess” is fine

• Evidence of cost sharing arrangements among hub and end-user sites,

if applicable (for DL, are you sharing the cost of teachers; for telemed are you sharing the costs of clinicians). Some projects will not have any cost sharing

10/16/2019 27

The Redundant Part…

• Description of the project’s leadership, its

technical expertise, and how leadership and technical expertise is distributed or will be shared throughout all of the sites or the service territory.

• Once you write this portion, you can reuse

verbatim in the Statement of Experience section.

Section G – Statement of Experience

• This section can be 1-2 pages
• You might start with a description of the organization (historical) and their

expertise in education or healthcare

• Identify key personnel – there is no specific number you need to include.
• Provide a short summary of their background and (where applicable) relate it to

their ability to support the project

• Remember… you’ve already written much of this! Copy/Past from Section F

(Financial Info & Sustainability)

• You can follow with CVs, Resume’s and Bios (optional)

B: Executive Summary

• 1. Why Project is Needed (copy from

Needs section)

• 2. How you’ll address the Need;

Why you need financial assistance; types of services to be provided; and benefits to residents (copy from Needs)

• 3. Describe applicant eligibility &

Project costs (copy and paste bottom of budget page)

• 4. Statement that the project is

Distance Learning or Telemed

• 5. Special Consideration – identify

Opioid or STEM (or indicate if no Spec Consideration requested)

• 6. Overview of the technologies (copy

from Telecom Plan)

• 7. List of Hubs/End Users and # of

residents served (copy from Rurality Worksheet)

• 8. Non-Duplication (copy/paste from

Needs section)

• 9. List of each end user cite with

location (city/county/state) (copy from Site Worksheet)

10/16/2019 28

Publicly Releasable Information

Following the Executive Summary, provide a paragraph or two that can be used as part of a press release once awards are announced.

• 1. Title of the Project
• 2. Description of the proposed hub and end-user site(s)
• 3. A brief description of project
• 4. Total estimated population affected by proposed project

Again, you can copy/paste most of the information required. Consider reusing your Project Overview from the Needs section.

Putting It All Together

• Use the DLT Checklist as your guide – include all

elements!

• For each section, create a header/footer that

lists the applicant name, section (A-L) and page number for that section.

• PDF each section (A-L) separately – include all

back-up materials by section. If submitting a hard copy, include each section in its entirety by tab, with separators. Review your pdfs to ensure nothing was cut off by mistake!

• Fill out the SF-424 in Workspace (or fillable pdf).

If submitting via Grants.gov, attach the Site Worksheet at 14, 15 and 16. Attach ALL sections at 15 under project description.

Pre-Submission Tips

• Is your SAM Registration Active (know and extend the expiration date)
• Make sure that the budget numbers on your SF-424 match exactly with the numbers

in your Executive Summary, Match Worksheet, Match Letter and Budget Worksheet.

• Look for the show-stoppers:
• Are your match letters on letterhead, with signature block and signature of

someone with obvious fiscal authority? Do they state the match amount?

• Are all narrative sections complete and attached/included?
• Are all site tables consistent with the Site or Rurality Worksheet?
• Did you remember to include support letters, surveys and other back-up?
• Is your Budget behind the Scope of Work?
• Do you have a geographic map and vendor quote(s) included in the Telecom Plan?
• Have at least 2 sets of eyes during your review – you can get too close to your project

and not see errors!

10/16/2019 29

• How long is it between submission and a funding announcement?

It generally takes 3-4 months minimum to score and announce awards

• Can I start purchasing once I see an awards announcement?

Technically yes… but you can’t start the reimbursement process until you have completed your Legal Agreement and other paperwork and have a Release of Funds letter.

• What are the RUS purchasing requirements?

RUS asks you to follow your own internal (written) purchasing processes, and to make sure they meet the minimum OMB standard

• Do I need to go to RFP / bid?

See above! This depends on whether you can purchase from a competitively bid contract vehicle, what your award size is, etc.

Post Submission FAQs

• Do I have to wait to start the competitive process?

No! In fact, you can make this part of your application process. It may help you find the solution that’s the best fit for your project, and you can include this comparison in your Technology Plan. Start your bidding or comparison process when you are ready – just be sure to go through this process as prescribed by your Procurement Department

• If I have to go to RFP, how long does that need to be posted, and where?

RUS does not have any requirements in this area. Refer to your own internal requirements. If they are not specific, then you can decide to post info on your website, in a local paper, etc. Just make sure all potential vendors have access to the same information / criteria.

• If awarded, when will we get our check?

There is no check per se. You draw down funds at the rate at which you match. You can submit paid or unpaid invoices to document what you are purchasing (aligns with approved budget)

• Besides drawing down funds, are there other reporting requirements?

Yes, an annual report updating RUS on how your project is going, funds spent, implementation progress, etc. is required once per year, with a final close out report. No evaluation or data submission is required.