Federal Register Notices
[Federal Register: March 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 61)]
[Notices]
[Page 15583-15586]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30mr07-150]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Notice of Funds Availability; Inviting
Applications for the Quality Samples Program
Announcement Type: New.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
Number: 10.605
SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
announces the availability of $2.5 million in
funding for the 2008 Quality Samples Program (QSP).
The purpose of this notice is to solicit
applications for participation in the FY 2008
QSP. QSP is administered by personnel of the
Foreign
Agricultural
Service
(FAS). This notice supercedes any prior notices
concerning QSP.
DATES: All proposals must be received by 5 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time, May 14, 2007.
Applications received after this date will be
considered only if funds are still available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Entities
wishing to apply for funding assistance should
contact the Program Policy Staff,
Foreign
Agricultural
Service,
Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024,
phone: (202) 720-4327, fax: (202) 720-9361,
e-mail:
ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. Information is also
available on the
Foreign
Agricultural
Service
Web site at
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/QSP.asp.
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Authority: QSP is authorized under Section 5(f) of the CCC
Charter
Act, 15 U.S.C. 714c(f).
Purpose: QSP is designed to encourage the development and
expansion
of export markets for U.S.
agricultural
commodities by assisting U.S.
entities in providing commodity samples to
potential foreign importers
to promote a better understanding and
appreciation for the high quality
of U.S. agricultural
commodities.
QSP participants will be responsible for procuring (or
arranging
for the procurement of) commodity samples,
exporting the samples, and
providing the technical assistance necessary to
facilitate successful
use of the samples by importers. Participants
that are funded under
this announcement may seek reimbursement for the
sample purchase price
and the costs of transporting the samples
domestically to the port of
export and then to the
foreign
port, or point, of entry. Transportation
costs from the foreign port, or
point, of entry to the final
destination will not be eligible for
reimbursement. CCC will not
reimburse the costs incidental to purchasing and
transporting samples,
for example, inspection or documentation fees.
Although providing
technical assistance is required for all
projects, CCC will not
reimburse the costs of providing technical
assistance. A QSP
participant will be reimbursed after CCC reviews
its reimbursement
claim and determines that the claim is complete.
General Scope of QSP Projects: QSP projects are the
activities
undertaken by a QSP participant to provide an
appropriate sample of a
U.S. agricultural commodity to
a foreign importer, or a group
of
foreign importers, in a given
market. The purpose of the project is to
provide information to an appropriate target
audience regarding the
attributes, characteristics, and proper use of
the U.S. commodity. A QSP project addresses a single market/commodity
combination.
As a general matter, QSP projects should conform to the
following
guidelines:
-
Projects should benefit the represented U.S. industry and
not a specific company or brand;
-
Projects should develop a new market for a U.S. product,
promote a new U.S. product, or promote a new use
for a U.S. product,
rather than promote the substitution of one
established U.S. product
for another;
-
Sample commodities provided under a QSP
project must be in sufficient supply and
available on a commercial basis;
-
The QSP project must either subject
the commodity sample to further processing
or substantial transformation in the
importing country, or the sample must be
used in technical seminars designed to
demonstrate to an appropriate target
audience the proper preparation or use of
the sample in the creation of an end
product;
-
Samples provided in a QSP project
shall not be directly used as part of a
retail promotion or supplied directly to
consumers. However, the end product, that
is, the product resulting from further
processing, substantial transformation, or a
technical seminar, may be provided to
end-use consumers to demonstrate to
importers consumer preference for that end
product; and,
-
Samples shall be in quantities less
than a typical commercial sale and limited
to the amount sufficient to achieve the
project goal (e.g., not more than a full
commercial mill run in the destination
country).
QSP projects shall target
foreign importers
and target audiences
who:
-
Have not previously purchased the U.S. commodity which
will be transported under QSP;
-
Are unfamiliar with the variety, quality attribute, or
end-use characteristic of the U.S. commodity;
-
Have been unsuccessful in previous attempts to import,
process, and market the U.S. commodity (e.g.,
because of improper
specification, blending, or formulation, or
sanitary or phytosanitary
issues);
-
Are interested in testing or
demonstrating the benefits of the U.S.
commodity; or,
-
Need technical assistance in processing or using the U.S.
commodity.
II. Award Information
Under this announcement, the number of projects per
participant will
not be limited. However, individual projects
will be limited to $75,000
of QSP reimbursement. Projects comprised of
technical preparation
seminars, that is, projects that do not include
further processing or
substantial transformation, will be limited to
$15,000 of QSP
reimbursement as these projects require smaller
samples. Financial
assistance will be made available on a
reimbursement basis only; cash
advances will not be made available to any QSP
participant.
All proposals will be reviewed against the evaluation
criteria
contained herein and funds will be awarded on a
competitive basis.
Funding for successful proposals will be
provided through specific
agreements. These agreements will incorporate
the proposal as approved
by FAS. FAS must approve in advance any
subsequent changes to the
project.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants. Any United States private or
government
entity with a demonstrated role or interest in
exporting U.S agricultural commodities may
apply to the program. Government
organizations consist of federal, state, and
local agencies. Private
organizations include non-profit trade
associations, universities,
agricultural cooperatives,
state regional trade groups, and profit-
making entities.
2. Cost Sharing. FAS considers the applicant's willingness to
contribute resources, including cash and goods
and services of the U.S.
industry and foreign third
parties, when determining which proposals
are approved for funding.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package. Organizations are
encouraged to submit applications to FAS through
the Unified Export
Strategy (UES) application Internet Web site.
Applicants also have the
option of submitting electronic versions in the
UES format (along with
two paper copies) of their applications to FAS
on diskette. However,
the UES format is not required.
Applicants planning to use the UES Internet-based system must
contact the FAS Program Policy Staff on (202)
720-4327 to obtain site
access information including a user ID and
password. The UES Internet-
based application, including a Help file
containing step-by-step
instructions for its use, may be found at the
following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/cooperators.html.
Applicants who choose to submit applications on diskette can
obtain
an application format at the following URL
address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/qsp_appl.html
.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission. To be
considered for QSP, an applicant must submit to FAS information
detailed in this
notice. In addition, in accordance with the
Office of Management and
Budget's policy directive regarding the need to
identify entities that
are receiving government
awards, all applicants must submit a Dun and
Bradstreet Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number. An applicant may
request a DUNS number
at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free
DUNS number request line
at 1-866-705-5711.
Incomplete applications and applications which do not
otherwise
conform to this announcement will not be
accepted for review.
FAS recommends that proposals contain, at a minimum, the
following:
(a) Organizational information, including:
-
Organization's name, address, Chief Executive Officer (or
designee), Federal Tax Identification Number
(TIN), and DUNS number;
-
Type of organization;
-
Name, telephone number, fax number,
and e-mail address of the primary contact
person;
-
A description of the organization
and its membership;
-
A description of the organization's
prior export promotion experience; and
-
A description of the organization's experience in
implementing an appropriate trade/technical
assistance component.
(b) Market information, including:
-
An assessment of the market;
-
A long-term strategy in the market;
and
-
U.S. export value/volume and market share (historic and
goals) for 2002-2007;
(c) Project information, including:
-
A brief project title;
-
Amount of funding requested;
-
A brief description of the specific
market development trade constraint or
opportunity to be addressed by the project,
performance measures for the years 2008-2010
which will be used to measure the
effectiveness of the project, a benchmark
performance measure for 2006, the viability
of long term sales to this market, the goals
of the project, and the expected benefits to
the represented industry;
-
A description of the activities
planned to address the constraint or
opportunity, including how the sample will
be used in the end-use performance trial,
the attributes of the sample to be
demonstrated and its end-use benefit, and
details of the trade/ technical servicing
component (including who will provide and
who will fund this component);
-
A sample description (i.e.,
commodity, quantity, quality, type, and
grade), including a justification for
selecting a sample with such characteristics
(this justification should explain in detail
why the project could not be effective with
a smaller sample);
-
An itemized list of all estimated
costs associated with the project for which
reimbursement will be sought;
-
Beginning and end dates for the
proposed project;
-
The importer's role in the project regarding handling and
processing the commodity sample; and
(d) Information indicating all funding sources and amounts to
be
contributed by each entity that will supplement
implementation of the
proposed project. This may include the
organization that submitted the
proposal, private industry entities, host
governments, foreign third
parties, CCC, FAS, or other Federal agencies.
Contributed resources may
include cash or goods and services.
3. Submission Dates and Times. All applications must be
received by
5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May 14, 2007.
Applications received after
this date will be considered only if funds are
still available.
4. Funding Restrictions. Proposals which request more than
$75,000
of CCC funding for individual projects will not
be considered. Projects
comprised of technical preparation seminars will
be limited to $15,000
in QSP funding. CCC will not reimburse
expenditures made prior to
approval of a proposal or unreasonable
expenditures.
5. Other Submission Requirements. All applications on
diskette
(with two accompanying paper copies) and any
other form of application
must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time, May 14, 2007, at one
of the following addresses:
-
Hand Delivery (including FedEx, UPS, etc.): U.S. Department
of
Agriculture, Foreign
Agricultural
Service,
Program Policy Staff,
Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250
Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20024.
-
U.S. Postal Delivery: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Foreign
Agricultural
Service,
Program Policy Staff, Stop 1042, 1400
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC
20250-1042.
V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria. FAS will use the following criteria in
evaluating
proposals:
-
The ability of the organization to provide an experienced
staff with the requisite technical and trade
experience to execute the
proposal;
-
The extent to which the proposal is targeted to a market
in which the United States is generally
competitive;
-
The potential for expanding commercial sales in the
proposed market;
-
The nature of the specific market constraint or
opportunity involved and how well it is
addressed by the proposal;
-
The extent to which the importer's contribution in terms
of handling and processing enhances the
potential outcome of the
project;
-
The amount of reimbursement requested and the
organization's willingness to contribute
resources, including cash and
goods and services of the U.S. industry and
foreign third parties; and
-
How well the proposed technical assistance component
assures that performance trials will effectively
demonstrate the
intended end-use benefit.
Highest priority for funding under this announcement will be
given
to meritorious proposals that target countries
meeting either of the
following criteria:
-
Per capita income less than $10,725 (the ceiling on upper
middle income economies as determined by the
World Bank [World
Development Indicators; July 2006]); and
population greater than 1
million. Proposals may address suitable regional
groupings, for
example, the islands of the Caribbean Basin; or
-
U.S. market share of imports of the commodity identified
in the proposal of 10 percent or less.
2. Review and Selection Process. Proposals will be evaluated
by the
applicable FAS Commodity Branches in the Market
Development and Grants
Management Division. The Commodity Branches will
review each proposal
against the factors described above. The purpose
of this review is to
identify meritorious proposals, recommend an
appropriate funding level
for each proposal based upon these factors, and
submit the proposals
and funding recommendations to the Deputy
Administrator, Office of
Trade Programs.
3. Anticipated Announcement Date. Announcements of funding
decisions for QSP are anticipated during August
2007.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices. FAS will notify each applicant in writing
of the
final disposition of its application. FAS will
send an approval letter
and agreement to each approved applicant. The
approval letter and
agreement will specify the terms and conditions
applicable to the
project, including the levels of QSP funding and
any cost-share
contribution requirements.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements. The
agreements
will incorporate the details of each project as
approved by FAS. Each
agreement will
identify terms and conditions pursuant to which CCC will reimburse
certain costs of each project. Agreements will
also outline the
responsibilities of the participant, including,
but not limited to,
procurement (or arranging for procurement) of
the commodity sample at a
fair market price, arranging for transportation
of the commodity sample
within the time limit specified in the agreement
(organizations should
endeavor to ship commodities within 6 months of
effective date of
agreement), compliance with cargo preference
requirements (shipment on
United States flag vessels, as required),
compliance with the Fly
America Act requirements (shipment on United
States air carriers, as
required), timely and effective implementation
of technical assistance,
and submission of a written evaluation report
within 90 days of
expiration of the agreement.
QSP agreements are subject to review and verification by the
FAS
Compliance, Security and Emergency Planning
Division. Upon request, a
QSP participant shall provide to CCC the
original documents which
support the participant's reimbursement claims.
CCC may deny a claim
for reimbursement if the claim is not supported
by adequate
documentation. If a participant receives a
reimbursement which is later
disallowed, the participant shall within 30 days
of such disallowance
repay CCC the amount owed by submitting a check
payable to CCC.
3. Reporting. A written evaluation report must be submitted
within
90 days of the expiration of each participant's QSP agreement.
Evaluation reports should address all
performance measures that were
presented in the proposal.
VII. Agency Contact(s)
For additional information and assistance, contact the
Program
Policy Staff, Foreign
Agricultural
Service,
U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Portals Office Building, Suite 400,
Stop 1042, 1250
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024,
phone: (202) 720-4327, fax:
(202) 720-9361, e-mail:
ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov.
W. Kirk Miller,
Administrator,
Foreign
Agricultural
Service,
and
Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.