SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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 in corporate
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, or
local agencies. Private organizations include
non-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, 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 issuance of a final
policy (68 FR 38402) 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, a 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
2007-2009 which will be used to
measure the effectiveness of the project, a
benchmark performance measure for 2005, 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;
and
The importer's rule 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 Standard Time,
February 12, 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 Standard Time,
February 12, 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 May
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.
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
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.
Signed at Washington, DC on December 28,
2006.
W. Kirk Miller,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural
Service, and Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation