Project Prospectus

This is the first written document submitted by a project sponsor seeking Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funding through the Grande Ronde Model Watershed (GRMW). The prospectus is intended to help a sponsor develop their project to achieve appropriate biological goals and objectives and to make GRMW aware of a pending project proposal.

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Project Sponsor should complete and submit a prospectus to the GRMW. The prospectus must be submitted electronically to projects@grmw.org.

GRMW staff will review the prospectus to determine if the proposed project would:

• Contribute to Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion habitat priorities
• Contribute to other Grande Ronde Basin biological objectives
• Support monitoring and evaluation (M & E) activities

All prospective projects will be evaluated with the priority considerations of: location, quantifiable benefits and project feasibility. The project sponsor will be notified within two weeks of submitting a prospectus whether they are invited to submit a project proposal.

Helpful links:

GRMW Prospectus Form
Prospectus Example

Draft Proposal

This step is intended to explain the proposed project. Using the GRMW proposal format the project sponsor should clearly
describe the project design, schedule, and budget. TC members should be able to understand
all aspects of the proposed project after reviewing the proposal.

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There will be two opportunities annually to submit draft proposals: April 15 and September 15.

Helpful links:

GRMW Proposal Form

Proposal Example

Site Visit & Feedback Loop

This step allows the Technical Committee (TC) and the sponsor the opportunity to discuss the technical
and biological merits of the project while on site.

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During the site visit the TC and project sponsor may identify and discuss any relevant issues such as expected biological benefits, technical designs, feasibility and/or relationship to other projects.

Within 2 weeks following the site visit, the sponsor will receive a written site visit report prepared by GRMW and reviewed by BPA and the TC. This will provide written feedback on their potential project’s likelihood of meeting goals and objectives, technical considerations and suggestions for changes to the proposed project.

GRMW and BPA staff will work with sponsor to address any TC questions, concerns or requests for additional information to assure they are included in the final proposal, after which the final proposal will be circulated to the TC for their final review. Final proposal is to be submitted within 4 weeks of the sponsor receiving TC site visit report.

The final proposal will be submitted to the GRMW Board of Directors along with recommendations from the TC, BPA and GRMW staff.

GRMW Board will make the final determination whether to implement and fund the project as proposed

Formal TC site visits will occur twice annually: within the first two weeks of October and within the first two weeks of May.

Project Acceptance

This step will provide formal electronic notification of the GRMW Board’s decision to fund or not to fund the proposed project.

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This notification will be provided to sponsor within five days of the Board decision. The approval will be addressed to the sponsor (Project leader and Supervisor) and copied to appropriate BPA staff. The letter will state the approved budget, which is to match the budget included in the final proposal.

Statement of Work (SOW) & Budget

Process requires 120 days minimum before the contract start date.

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1. Preparation:

• The BPA Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) will create a Contract Requisition (CR)
• The COTR will notify the Sponsor of their CR#, award amount, and due date for completion of Pisces information (draft SOW, budget, and attachments)
• Sponsor completes Pisces draft package

2. Negotiations:

• BPA reviews and comments on Pisces draft package
• Sponsor makes appropriate revisions
• Process iterates until both sides are in agreement

3. Environmental Compliance (EC):

• COTR sends complete Statement of Work to EC specialist
• Environmental Compliance Specialist reviews package
• Sponsor and EC Specialist address all NEPA & ESA Compliance, all Cultural Resource concerns and permiting

4. Final Submittal

• Sponsor will submit Line Item Budget
• COTR will work with Sponsor to ensure all Pisces documents meet BPA’s requirements
• SOW and Budget are finalized and submitted to BPA Contracting Officer (CO)
• BPA Contracting Officer (CO) will issue contract after submittal

Please note:

Draft contracting package must be submitted 90 days before start date

Environmental Compliance review takes up to 30 days after BPA sends draft contracting package to Environment Compliance specialist

Discussions between EC specialist and Sponsor could require from 5 to 30 days

Line Item Budget requires formulas, explanations of figures, rationale for special purchases

If the contract is delayed, a pre-award authorization letter may be issued at the Contracting Officer’s discretion, and primarily to sustain coverage during a contract renewal, rather than the hasten start-up of a new project/contract. If a COTR cannot submit a CR/CCR to the CO at least 30 days before effective date (45 days), then the remedy is to move the effective start to a later date

Implementation

Project implementation is a orchestrated effort between the project sponsor, contractor, GRMW and BPA.

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Advise GRMW staff and BPA of any issues that arise during project implementation. Site visits will be conducted during field season of the following year to as many projects as possible to highlight and document success. The Completion Report is part of the contract with BPA, guidelines can be found in Pisces.

Helpful links:

Example Completion Report

Budget Change

Budgets are expected to remain the same as submitted for Technical Committee review.

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If budget changes occur prior to the project being contracted:

• Send an updated budget and justification to BPA and GRMW
• GRMW will send decision document/email to Sponsor and BPA. Document will be attached in Pisces

If budget changes occur post project contracting:

• Follow procedure a. above, plus provide BPA COTR an updated Pisces budget
• A contract amendment will need to occur

Cost Share

BPA highly recommends cost share on all projects.

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While cost share on a project by project basis is not a requirement for BiOp or other BPA funded projects, the increased cost per project affects the ability of other beneficial projects to be implemented. Increased costs could also change the cost/benefit ratio of a project and revise the project priority ranking.

Stepwise Terms	Definitions
BiOp	Biological Opinion
BPA	Bonneville Power Administration
CCR	Contract Change Request
CO	Contracting Officer
COTR	Contracting Officer's Technical Representative
CR	Contract Request
EC	Environmental Compliance
ESA	Endangered Species Act
FCRPS	Federal Columbia River Power System
GRMW	Grande Ronde Model Watershed
M & E	Monitoring and Evaluation
NEPA	National Environmental Policy Act
PISCES	Pisces is a software tool for managing BPA's Fish and Wildlife Program. BPA created Pisces to help manage fish and wildlife projects throughout the Columbia River Basin. Pisces provides a collaborative environment, where Contractors and BPA project managers can create and manage Statements of Work based on work elements. Program partners will be able to access reports on all aspects of the program's activity. Pisces is a web-enabled software tool. After installing the Pisces application, users must have an internet connection and a Pisces account in order to access program information.
SOW	Statement of Work
TC	Technical Committee