RFA Questions and Answers that have been collected via email

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Questions and Answers will be posted as they are received.

Please send questions regarding the Cal-SOAP Los Angeles RFA to calsoaprfa@csac.ca.gov

Question:
Could a district or county office of education in Orange County (considered part of the greater L.A. region) be able to apply for this grant? Or could Orange County schools/districts serve on a regional Cal-SOAP consortium? Question submitted on April 2, 2018.

Response:
Yes, please see the eligibility requirements which are addressed beginning on Page 9 of the RFA. The consortium could include entities from Orange County, but a strong application will include regional Cal-SOAP partners consisting of local K-12 educational agencies (LEAs), postsecondary educational agencies, CBOs, local government entities, foundations, businesses, and at least one nonprofit agency or accredited private vocational/technical school, formed to address the academic and college preparation of disadvantaged students within the Los Angeles region. Response posted on April 4, 2018.

Question:
Will an entirely Orange County Consortium be considered for this grant? Will some of the partners need to be from Los Angeles? Is the grant really looking for a Los Angeles Consortium? Question submitted on April 3, 2018.

Response:
Given the great need for Cal-SOAP services in the Los Angeles region, the RFA is designed to serve the Los Angeles area. A strong application will include entities from Los Angeles. Please see the response to Question 1 above. Response posted on April 4, 2018.

Question:

Can an LEA be the fiscal agent on one proposal and a partner on a second proposal that has a CBO fiscal agent?

 

Response:

We do not foresee any issues with and LEA being the fiscal agent on one proposal and a partner on a second proposal.

 

Question:

Is the intention (or the preferred intention) of the Los Angeles Cal-SOAP RFP to make an award to a single, large-scale consortium that has a broad geographic scope across the Los Angeles region, or several smaller consortia serving more focused populations or areas within Los Angeles?

Response:

Depending on the applications received, the Commission reserves the right to award the full grant to one applicant or to provide smaller grants based on the applications (see page 8 of the RFA under Funding Levels).

 

Question:

Is there a target for the number of individuals served through the grant? 

 

Response:

No, we’ve left that open to the applicants.  The program should serve students who are low-income, first in their family to attend college, and from geographic areas with low college-going rates as stipulated in the law. 

 

Question:

Is this grant additive to current Cal-SOAP work already being done by the current consortium in Los Angeles? That is, is the existing project in Los Angeles being renewed, to be enhanced by any new grantee(s) selected through this RFP? Or will the new grantees potentially supplant the existing effort? 

 

Response:

This grant is not in addition to the current Cal-SOAP project serving the Los Angeles area.  While the current consortium is welcomed to compete for the funds, all applications will be scored based on the scoring matrix and the application(s) with the highest score will be awarded.

 

Question:

We are interested in incorporating a 6-month planning period into our project, as allowed for new applicants. How would we reflect the planning phase in our budget and program responses to the RFP, if we may not be certain of our project’s scope, geographic reach, and activities until after the planning phase concludes? 

 

Response:

The planning phase is designed to allow the consortium to hire and train staff.  The application needs to include the plan as to who will be served and what services will be provided when it is submitted.  We would note that this RFA for Los Angeles is a 2-year grant.  The Commission plans to have all consortia funding adhere to the competitive RFA model, including Los Angeles, after that 2-year period so there will be another opportunity to apply at that time.   

 

Question:

What evidence do we need to provide for matching funding? 

 

Response:

The awarded Los Angeles consortium will be expected to provide reports, including how they are meeting the matching funding obligation, in those reports.  The Commission has the right to perform audits to ensure program and funding compliance.   

 

Question:

Where can we access the recording from the March 28 webinar?  

 

Response:

We will be providing the questions and responses from the Los Angeles in-person workshop on our website this week.