[Federal Register: May 14, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 93)]
[Notices]
[Page 26167-26169]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14my03-100]
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Part III
Department of Commerce
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Economic Development Administration
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National Technical Assistance, Training, Research, and Evaluation--
Request for Grant Proposals; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
[Docket No. 991215339-3104-06]
RIN: 0610-ZA14
National Technical Assistance, Training, Research, and
Evaluation--Request for Grant Proposals
AGENCY: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of
Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Request for Grant Proposals (RFP) Upon Availability of Funds.
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SUMMARY: The role of government is to create the conditions in which
jobs are created, and in which people can find work. EDA is soliciting
proposals to develop and disseminate, on a monthly basis, information
on the reuse of former military bases for practitioners engaged in base
redevelopment and economic development.
DATES: Prospective applicants are advised that proposals for funding
under this program will be accepted through June 13, 2003, at either of
the addresses provided below. Proposals received after 4 p.m. EDT, on
June 13, 2003, will not be considered for funding.
By June 30, 2003, EDA will notify proposers whether they will be
given further funding consideration. The successful proponent will be
invited to submit an Application for Federal Assistance, OMB Control
Number 0610-0094. The project will be funded as soon as possible, but
no later than September 30, 2003.
ADDRESSES:
1. Proposals may be e-mailed to jmcnamee@eda.doc.gov, or
2. Proposals may be hand-delivered to: John J. McNamee, Director,
Research and National Technical Assistance Division, Economic
Development Administration, Room 1874, U.S. Department of Commerce,
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, or
3. Proposals may be mailed to: John J. McNamee, Director, Research
and National Technical Assistance Division, Economic Development
Administration, Room 7019, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Proponents are encouraged to submit proposals by email. Proponents
are advised that, due to mail security measures, receipt of U.S.P.S.
mail may be delayed for up to two weeks. EDA will not accept proposals
submitted by FAX.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John J. McNamee, (202) 482-4085;
email: jmcnamee@eda.doc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a previous notice published on April 9,
2003 (68 FR 17520), EDA stated that it would publish separate
announcements for its National Technical Assistance, Training,
Research, and Evaluation program. Pursuant to that notice, EDA
publishes program requirements and solicits applications for this
program.
I. Funding Availability
Funds appropriated under Pub. L. 107-248 to the Department of
Defense will be transferred to EDA under authority of 42 U.S.C. 3214(c)
for this project. In FY 2002, EDA funded a one year information
dissemination project on the reuse of military bases with a $35,000
award. This project differs significantly in that the initial
performance period is for two years and it involves substantial in-
depth analysis of aspects of base redevelopment. As a result, EDA
anticipates this project will cost more.
The award will be in the form of a cooperative agreement. In
funding cooperative agreements, a common example of substantial
involvement is collaboration between EDA program staff and the
recipient of this information dissemination award to establish an
editorial board to comment on stories and to suggest and select themes
for future feature stories.
II. Authority
The authority for the program listed above is the Public Works and
Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended (Pub. L. 89-136, 42 U.S.C.
3121 et seq.), and as further amended by Pub. L. 105-393.
III. Eligibility
Eligible recipients of EDA financial assistance are defined at 13
CFR 300.2 and eligible applicants are specified at 13 CFR 301.1. An
``area'' is an eligible recipient and is defined at 13 CFR 301.2. One
category of the areas eligible for financial assistance are those areas
meeting the ``special needs'' criteria. The special needs criteria are
published in Part XV of the Federal Register notice of April 9, 2003
(68 FR 17524).
IV. Proposal Format
Each proposal submitted must include:
1. A description of how the proposer(s) intend(s) to carry out the
scope of work (not to exceed 10 pages in length);
2. A proposed budget and accompanying explanation;
3. Resumes/qualifications of key staff (not to exceed two pages per
individual, with an additional two pages allowed for a single summary
description of all organizations/consultants named in the proposal);
and
4. A proposed schedule for completion of the project.
V. Evaluation and Selection Process
To apply for an award under this request, an eligible recipient
must submit a proposal to EDA during the specified timeframe, at one of
the addresses specified above. Proposals that do not meet all items
required or that exceed the page limitations of Section IV of this RFP,
will be considered nonresponsive, and will not be considered. Proposals
that meet all the requirements will be evaluated by a review panel
comprised of at least three members all of whom will be full-time
federal employees. The panel first evaluates the proposals using the
general evaluation criteria set forth in 13 CFR 304.1 and 304.2 as
further defined by the supplemental evaluation criteria set forth in
Part VI of the Federal Register notice published on April 9, 2003 (68
FR 17521). Proposals that meet these threshold criteria will then be
evaluated by the panel using the following three criteria of
approximate equal weight:
(1) The quality of a proposal's response to the Scope of Work and
other requirements described in Section VI below;
(2) The ability of the prospective applicant to successfully carry
out the proposed activities. This will include an evaluation of the
qualifications of the proposed staff, the use and cost of travel, how
applicant expertise will be supplemented through the use of contractors
or consultants, how the potential applicant plans to work cooperatively
with economic development organizations, how the target audience will
be identified and reached, and both the quality of the potential
applicant's suggestions for feature story topics and the methodology
that will be used to identify future topics; and
(3) Cost to the federal government.
The Assistant Secretary for Economic Development is the Selecting
Official. He may not make any selection, or he may substitute one of
the lower rated proposals, if he determines that it better meets the
overall objectives of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of
1965, as amended (Pub. L. 89-136, 42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.), and as
further amended by Pub. L. 105-393.
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If a proposal is selected, EDA will provide the proponent with an
Application for Federal Assistance (OMB Control Number 0610-0094).
VI. Areas of Special Interest
EDA is inviting proposals for National Technical Assistance,
Training, Research, and Evaluation as described below.
Program: National Technical Assistance--(Pub. L. 89-136, as Amended by
Pub. L. 105-393, 42 U.S.C. 3147)
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 11.303 Economic Development
Technical Assistance)
Background: As part of its ongoing mission to assist communities in
reusing former military bases, EDA supports the dissemination of
information to economic development practitioners engaged in base
reuse. The intent of disseminating this information is to broadly
convey how reuse works successfully, to increase the knowledge of
practitioners, and to attract innovative practitioners into the field
of redeveloping former military bases.
Scope of Work:
The successful applicant will:
(1) Develop and disseminate, on alternate months,
(a) Three to five ``news'' stories reporting on activities at
former military bases. The 300-1,000 word news stories will answer, for
example, why particular end-users chose a particular base, rather than
just announcing that they did; and
(b) ``Feature'' stories on major base-reuse topics. The 2,000-5,000
word (with a few appropriate charts or diagrams) feature stories will
show how practitioners engaged in base redevelopment solved specific
challenges in reusing the former military bases that closed in the
1990s. They will not be ``policy studies'' that address the strengths
or weaknesses of federal base closure programs and legislation. Rather,
feature stories will analyze in-depth one particular aspect of base
redevelopment at one to three former bases; for example, how did
redevelopers structure environmental service cooperative agreements to
facilitate redevelopment, and reduce the cost of site preparation and
regulatory burden. Issues with news and feature stories will alternate
each month, six each per year.
(2) Disseminate news and feature stories widely, using existing
electronic networks for economic development practitioners engaged in
the reuse of both military bases and non-military facilities.
(3) Establish with the grantor a 3-5 member editorial board to
comment on stories and to suggest and select themes for future feature
stories. Topics for initial feature stories on base redevelopment will
include: how to blend grant, municipal debt, asset sales, and private
equity to finance infrastructure; how environmental service cooperative
agreements can become a redevelopment tool; when planning and zoning
alone are sufficient to direct redevelopment. Other topics may be
proposed in the application, but must then be adopted by the editorial
board.
Timing: The initial award and funding periods will be for two years
from the date of approval. However, those periods may be amended to
cover an additional two-year period resulting in four-year award and
funding periods, subject to funding availability, satisfactory
performance under the initial award, and at the sole discretion of EDA.
Additional Requirement: The proposed information dissemination
should not be primarily for the benefit of the grantee or the grantee's
members, or a localized geographic area.
VII. Other Information and Requirements
EDA regulations at 13 CFR Chapter III are available on the EDA Web
site at http://www.doc.gov/eda. The Department of Commerce Pre-Award
Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
contained in the Federal Register notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR
49917), as amended by the Federal Register notice published on October
30, 2002 (67 FR 66109), are applicable to this solicitation and can be
found on EDA's Web site http://www.doc.gov/eda.
A. Ordinarily, the applicant is expected to provide a 50% non-
federal share of project costs. However, EDA may reduce or waive the
required 50% matching share of the total project costs, provided the
applicant demonstrates: (1) The project is not feasible without a
reduction or waiver and the project merits a reduction or waiver, or
(2) the requirements of 13 CFR 301.4(b) are satisfied.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) unless that
collection of information displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control number. This notice involves a
collection of information requirement subject to the provisions of the
PRA and has been approved by OMB under Control Number 0610-0094. The
EDA application (ED-900A), which incorporates the SF-424, are the forms
in the EDA application kit, approved under the aforementioned OMB
control number.
C. If an application is selected for funding, EDA has no obligation
to provide any additional future funding in connection with an award.
Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of
performance is at the sole discretion of EDA.
D. EDA is committed to a policy of non-discrimination in the
administration of all its programs.
E. EDA will notify unsuccessful proposers in writing and
unsuccessful proposals will be maintained for not more than three years
from the date of receipt.
F. This Notice has been determined to be ``not significant'' for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
G. It has been determined that this notice does not contain
policies with Federalism implications as that term is defined in
Executive Order 13132.
H. The rulemaking requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553 are not applicable
to this notice relating to public property, loans, grants, benefits or
contracts (5 U.S.C. 5553(a)(2)). Because notice and comment are not
required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law for this rule, the
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
601) are not applicable. Thus, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not
required and has not been prepared for this rule.
Dated: May 6, 2003.
David A. Sampson,
Assistant Secretary for Economic Development.
[FR Doc. 03-11953 Filed 5-13-03; 8:45 am]
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