SOP - PVO Guidance for Agreement Amendments -updated links

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
Food Assistance Division (FAD)
Standard Operating Procedure: Grant Recipient Amendment Requests
(Food for Progress, McGovern-Dole, Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement, and
416(b) agreements)
Effective Date: Immediately
Date of Last Update: 3/11/19
BACKGROUND
When significant changes need to be made to the scope, schedule, budget or key personnel for an
award, an amendment may be executed. Issues requiring an award amendment are outlined in 2
CFR 200.308. This Standard Operating Procedure outlines the process for a recipient request an
amendment for a FAD award. This Standard Operating Procedure outlines the steps a recipient
must take in order to request an amendment to its FAD award(s).
Pre-Amendment Stage
Prior to formally requesting an amendment, your organization should contact the cognizant
Program Analyst (PA) to determine whether an amendment is necessary and to agree upon the
basic parameters of the request. During these discussions, the PA will determine which
documents must be submitted in order to complete the request.
In order to determine if an amendment is necessary, the following requirements should be
considered:
1. Regulatory requirements:
For awards dated prior to December 26, 2014, review the items listed under 7 CFR
3019.25. For awards dated on and after December 26, 2014, review the items listed in 2
CFR 200.308.
2. Terms and conditions of the Agreement:
Items requiring approval under the terms of the Agreement include (but are not limited
to):
a) Changes to the commodities, tonnages, and supply period.
b) For awards with monetization, the finalized monetization funds received.

c) Adjustments to the budget, including items over the allowable amount. This
amount varies by agreement year, so please consult your preamble.
d) Change to the activity indicators, addition/removal of activities, or extension
of activity timing, as described in the award documents.
e) Change in the completion date of the award.
f) Changes to Key Personnel as stated in the award.
g) Novation (changes to your organization’s name or legal status).
Please use the Budget Realignment Template to submit requests for amendments to the budget.
The PA can send you a copy of this template.
For changes in Activities, a revised version of Attachment A should be submitted in tracked
changes.
For amendments to the performance indicators, the draft document should show what the
existing target is, what the new target being proposed is, and a justification for the change in
targets.
For amendments adding federal funding to the award, the PA will provide an amendment
NOFO in the amount to be funded. The NOFO will include a number of additional
documents which will need to be submitted as part of the amendment:
1. A revised Attachment A
2. An updated Budget Summary Attachment C-1
3. An updated Budget Narrative Attachment C-2 (Instructions for budget narrative) for
awards made FY 16 forward, and for older awards (FY 15 prior) which include
significant scope changes and/or adding significant amounts of money (>$1 million).
4. The following forms found at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424family.html
a. USDA AD-3030
b. USDA AD-1047 or USDA AD-1048 Certification Regarding Debarment,
Suspension
c. USDA AD-1049, USDA AD-1050, or USDA AD-1052 Certificate Regarding Drug
Free Workplace Requirements
d. SF-424
e. SF424B- Assurance- Non-Construction
f. Certification on Lobbying (Grants.gov Lobbying Form). If paragraph two of the
certification applies, then complete and submit the SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying
which is provided as an optional form in the application package
Please note that if the organization is an international organization (e.g., the World
Food Programme), then the only documents that will need to be included are the SF424, Budget Summary and Budget Narrative, and the Certification Regarding Lobbying
and SF-LLL if appropriate.

Formal Amendment Stage
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Having agreed on the basic changes to be made, the Recipient sends an amendment
request to the appropriate program e-mail address [email protected] for
Food for Progress; [email protected] for McGovern-Dole; or
[email protected] for Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement, with a
copy to the cognizant PA.

•

The 30 day approval process commences on the date of receipt of the formal request.

•

The amendment request will contain draft documents of all required attachments,
depending on the amendment type, as discussed with the PA. All amendment requests
must include, as part of the request letter:
1) Amendment Summary;
2) Justification Statement; and
3) Appropriate attachments, as agreed upon with PA.

After FAS has received this information to its satisfaction, it will begin the internal amendment
clearance process. This is an electronic clearance process which will be conducted through to the
level of the FAS signatory official. Please note that at any time during this process, if further
information is required, the PA will be in contact.
Recipient Signature of Amendment:
Once the amendment has been fully cleared by FAS, the PA will e-mail the entire PDF document
for countersignature. This document should be reviewed, signed, and returned to the cognizant
PA within 5 business days. The Recipient may sign either in hard copy or electronically, based
on preference. Hard copies should be scanned and returned to the PA. Upon countersignature,
the amendment will be in full effect.