Date: 2 October 2015

Subject: Addendum No.3 to the Competitive Aid Grant Guideline Request for Tender for Australia Middle East NGO Cooperation Agreement Program Phase 3 (AMENCA 3): Palestinian Farmers Connecting to Markets of 3 September 2015 prior to its publication on DFAT Website.

Tenderers are advised of the following:

Q1. Can proposals be submitted including additional annexes to those requested by the AMENCA 3 Competitive Aid Grant Guidelines?

A1. No. Only those annexes requested in the Grant Guidelines should be submitted to ensure DFAT assesses all proposals equally against the selection criteria. If a proposal contains additional annexes, DFAT may remove those from assessment, or find the submission non-conforming and not assess it.

Q2. How should administration and overhead costs to ANGOs/consortia be reflected in the budget?

A2. Administration and overhead costs should be reflected as separate line items for both the ANGO and consortia members. Consortia partner costs should be included in the budget table in as much detail as possible. Competitive Aid Grant Guideline page 22 notes the budget template should be amended as required to provide detailed information on planned expenditure.

Q3. Is it possible to use a 'payment by results framework' for costing private sector engagement in the budget?

A3. Yes. 'Payments by result', where payment is subject to results against agreed outcomes, is an acceptable mechanism for private sector partnerships. This should be detailed in the 'Budget Narrative' at Annex 5 and elsewhere as appropriate.

Q4.What exchange rate should proposals use?

A4. Budget proposals must be provided in Australian Dollars (AUD), and in line with budget guidance for the 3- and 5-year periods in Section 2.2 of the 'Competitive Aid Grant Guideline, Annex 1 Proposal Template'.

Bidders should outline how they propose to manage exchange rate fluctuations if it presents a risk to program delivery. This may be reflected within the proposal approach, budget and/or risk assessment, as determined by the bidders. Proposals should reflect as much clarity regarding budgets and costs as possible ('other costs' for example, are not an appropriate final line item. All items should be identified).

Q5. Can Past Experience Forms include a current project?

A5. Yes, so long as it is able to demonstrate robust and substantiated results.

Q6. Small infrastructure projects sometimes call for communities to contribute part of the funding or provide inputs in kind. Will AMENCA 3 adopt this practice?

A6. There is no restriction on the use of community contributions. These should be reflected in the proposal, including the budget and budget narrative if necessary.

Q7. Can DFAT provide further guidance regarding due diligence requirements?

A7. ANCP accredited NGOs are considered to have met DFAT due diligence criteria. The ANGOs selected to participate in AMENCA 3 will be required to undertake appropriate due diligence checks of their proposed development and private sector partners, sub-contractors or sub-grantees. Due diligence will be a key responsibility for ANGOs.

While a risk based approach is used to determine the level of due diligence checks that are necessary, it is mandatory to undertake an assessment against the following criteria: organisational capacity (past performance, technical/operational capacity, financial viability, value for money and results); risk management (fraud control, anti-corruption, sanctions lists, counter-terrorism, systems integrity); safeguards (child protection, environmental safeguards) and policy requirements (transparency, branding, disability, national interest).

ANGOs should refer to the checklist at Annex 4 of the AMENCA 3 design framework for specific guidance on AMENCA 3's approach to counter terrorism due diligence. DFAT guidelines on due diligence assessments, including assessments of private sector partners, will be made available to ANGOs that are selected to implement AMENCA 3.

Q8. Should Palestinian offices of the ANGO provide a separate set of organisation documentation to the Australian-based lead ANGO?

A8. DFAT is not in a position to answer this question. The ANGO has to decide how it views its own internal arrangements and reflect that in its proposal.

Q9. Can DFAT provide an updated budget template that sets out the financial years during which AMENCA 3 will be implemented?

A9. An updated budget template showing implementation years against financial years is attached (see Attachment 1). This replaces the budget provided in the original Competitive Aid Grant Guidelines (AMENCA 3 Competitive Aid Grant Guidelines, Annex 1: Proposal Template, Section 2.2). The line items in this template should be amended to reflect a comprehensive budget proposal.

Attachment 1: Budget Proposal [DOCX 21 KB]

(Replacing AMENCA 3 Competitive Aid Grant Guidelines, Annex 1: Proposal Template, Section 2.2).

All other information set out in the AMENCA 3 CGG dated 3 September 2015, Addendum 1 dated 14 September 2015, and Addendum 2 dated 22 September 2015, remains unchanged.