[Federal Register: August 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 49469-49472]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21au08-55]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5237-N-01]
Notice of HUD's Policy on Quality Assurance Review (QAR) of
Electronic Application Submission Difficulties
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.
ACTION: Notice for HUD's procedure on quality control review of
electronic application submission difficulties.
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SUMMARY: Since 2005, HUD has required that applicants for HUD's
discretionary funding submit their applications electronically through
Grants.gov, unless the applicant previously received a waiver of this
requirement. Since July 2, 2008, however, applicants for HUD assistance
have indicated that they have encountered technical difficulties in
their electronic application submissions. Today's notice announces that
HUD is taking action to respond to these concerns and is conducting a
Quality Assurance Review (QAR) to identify applicants that correctly
followed all electronic application submission instructions, including
registration for electronic submission, but were unable to submit an
application because of technical problems related to the use of the
Adobe Acrobat forms and Grants.gov error messages.
DATES: Applicants that had difficulties submitting an electronic
application for assistance in response to a notice of funding
availability (NOFA), for which the deadline date has passed, may submit
a request for QAR by September 5, 2008. Applicants having difficulties
submitting an electronic application for assistance, in response to a
NOFA for which the deadline date has not passed, may submit a request
for QAR, beginning at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on the day following the
deadline date, and must do so by 12:01 a.m. 15 days later. Requests for
QAR must be submitted by e-mail to the appropriate program contact
listed in the appendix to this notice to facilitate timely receipt.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about each
funded program, or to submit your QAR appeal, please contact the
individual listed in the appendix to this notice. Appeals must be
submitted by e-mail. When submitting the appeal, please place in the
subject line the program name, applicant name, and any Grants.gov Call-
Center ticket number(s).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since 2005, HUD has required that applicants
for HUD's discretionary funding submit their applications
electronically through Grants.gov, unless the applicant previously
received a waiver of the requirement. Since January 2008, HUD has
published a number of documents that provided instructions to meet the
requirement, including HUD's Early Registration Notice, published on
March 10, 2008 (73 FR 12751); HUD's Notice of FY2008 Funding
Availability, Policy Requirements and General Section to HUD's FY2008
Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) for HUD's Discretionary
Programs (General Section), published on March 19, 2008 (73 FR 14882);
and the Introduction to the SuperNOFA published on May 12, 2008 (73 FR
27032) (collectively referred to as ``electronic submission
instructions''). Since July 2, 2008, however, applicants for HUD
assistance have indicated that they have encountered technical
difficulties in their electronic application
[[Page 49470]]
submissions. Today's notice announces that HUD is taking action to
respond to these concerns and is conducting a QAR to identify
applicants that correctly followed all of HUD's electronic submission
instructions, including registration for electronic submission, but
were unable to submit an application because of technical problems
related to the use of the Adobe Acrobat forms and Grants.gov error
messages. Today's notice also provides HUD's QAR procedures, as well as
outlines the application submission procedures an applicant must follow
if HUD determines that the applicant complied with all electronic
submission instructions but was unable to submit an application because
of technical difficulties. If HUD makes this determination, the
applicant will be contacted by HUD and invited to resubmit an
application. Applicants planning to apply for assistance for which the
deadline date remains open are encouraged to apply early, when the
Grants.gov help desk is open, or when HUD staff and program offices are
available to help overcome any electronic submission issues. Applicants
are also reminded that validation can take 24 to 48 hours to complete
and that time should be allotted for that process to occur. In
addition, applicants using the facsimile solution to submit portions of
their applications must use the form HUD-96011, Transmittal Cover
Sheet, on each facsimile submitted. If a facsimile transmission fails,
each attempt to fax the information must contain the HUD-96011 cover
sheet.
This QAR procedure is in effect for all funding opportunities
announced by HUD, except for the Continuum of Care program, for which
the deadline date was July 2, 2008, or later. Specifically, this
excludes from the QAR those applicants submitting electronic
applications in response to HUD's HOPE VI Revitalization Program NOFA
published on March 26, 2008 (73 FR 16134) and HUD's Rural Housing and
Economic Development NOFA published on April 28, 2008 (73 FR 23051).
HUD is making this procedure available to applicants experiencing
difficulty submitting an application electronically in response to
NOFAs that HUD will publish in the Federal Register until the end of
this fiscal year. If HUD determines that an applicant met HUD's
electronic submission instructions, but was unable to submit its
application because of unanticipated technical difficulties, HUD will
contact the applicant and invite the applicant to resubmit the
application. The following describes HUD's procedures with respect to
2008 applications covered by this QAR.
Policy and Procedures on Quality Assurance Review of Unsuccessful
Electronic Applications
HUD's QAR will focus on those electronic application submissions
where HUD's records and those of Grants.gov document that the applicant
followed all of the electronic submission instructions published in the
Federal Register.
HUD's records and those of Grants.gov indicate that, of the group
of applicants that were unable to submit an application electronically
through Grants.gov, some were unable to do so because they failed to
register for electronic application submission or failed to allow
sufficient time to complete the registration process. As detailed in
HUD's Federal Register publications, which provide instructions for
submitting an application electronically, the registration process
required applicants to obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Data
(DUNS) number (the DUNS number is a governmentwide and regulatory
requirement for all grant applications), register with the Federal
Central Contractor Registration, obtain and register credentials from a
credential provider for E-Authentication, and, then, have the eBusiness
Point of Contact grant authority to submit on behalf of the applicant
organization. As HUD has explained in its electronic submission
instructions, this registration process is necessary to ensure that the
electronically submitted application is that of the applicant, and that
the individual or organization that submitted the application is
authorized to submit it on behalf of the applicant.\1\ HUD has also
advised applicants to allow at least 2 weeks to 4 weeks to complete the
registration process. Applicants that failed to complete the
registration process will not be considered for review.
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\1\ In addition to the General Section to HUD's 2008 NOFAs and
Early Registration Notice, HUD's Internet Web broadcasts discussed
the electronic application submission procedures.
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Similarly, if HUD's records and those of Grants.gov reflect that
applicants were unable to submit an electronic application because of
the following applicant errors, the applicant will not be considered
under the QAR:
The applicant typed in a wrong DUNS number;
The applicant provided a password and ID that were not
associated to the DUNS number used in the application;
The applicant used a password and ID that were not
authorized for submission by submitting entity's eBusiness Point of
Contact.
These aforesaid applicant submission problems will not be reviewed
under the QAR, because it is HUD's position that it is the applicant's
responsibility to manage its passwords, IDs, and DUNS numbers, and to
ensure that the authorization process is accurately completed.
HUD's quality assurance review for application submission will
focus on circumstances where an applicant met the electronic
application instructions, but was unable to submit an application
because of unanticipated technical problems due to use of the Adobe
Acrobat forms package and/or error messages emanating from the
Grants.gov system. In these cases, HUD will hold the applicant harmless
and permit the applicant to resubmit the application.
Examples of unanticipated technical difficulties that may have
resulted in an applicant's failure to submit an electronic application
include:
Grants.gov system records, Call Center records, or e-mail
records from the applicant to Support@Grants.gov or to HUD staff
demonstrate that the applicant attempted submission in accordance with
HUD instructions with time allowed for the validation process to occur
prior to the deadline date, but the applicant was unable to
successfully submit its application prior to the deadline due to
difficulties uploading its application or due to error messages by the
Grants.gov system. HUD acknowledges that numerous attempts to overcome
the ``broken pipe'' and other error messages emanating from Grants.gov
can result in confusion on the part of the applicant and while initial
attempts to submit allowed time for validation to occur as documented
by calls or e-mails to the Grants.gov help desk, the Grants.gov help
desk did not provide guidance to resolve the applicant's submission
issues;
The records demonstrate the Grants.gov Call Center's help
desk advised the applicant to leave the application processing for a
period of time longer than 1 hour; or advised the applicant that the
Call Center representative was submitting a research ticket to get
further assistance for the applicant, even though the Call Center could
not provide a response to the research ticket prior to the deadline
date. In such cases, where the applicant fully followed the directions
provided in HUD's instructions for registration and submission, and due
to processing errors or lack of accurate or timely assistance on the
part of Grants.gov, the
[[Page 49471]]
applicant was unable to have the application successfully received and
validated by Grants.gov by the deadline date and time; or
Other unique situations brought to HUD's attention that
may lead HUD to conclude that an applicant's failure to submit was
based on misleading technical advice or other such technology-related
problems.
As noted in today's Federal Register notice, HUD will base its
review on its records; those of Grants.gov, including records from the
Grants.gov Call Center; and records submitted by the applicant. HUD's
review will be completed when HUD believes that the information
provided it by the applicant and, as appropriate Grants.gov, contains
sufficient information to determine whether an applicant's failure to
submit was because of problems with technology or a failure on the part
of the applicant to follow HUD's directions.
Applicants that believe they meet the conditions described in this
notice may contact the individuals identified in the appendix to
request that HUD review its application submission to determine whether
the applicant is eligible to resubmit the application. Applicants
seeking to benefit from the QAR must provide HUD with the:
1. Applicant's DUNS number;
2. Authorized Organization Representative's (AOR) ID and password;
3. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number and name of
the program for which the applicant is seeking funding;
4. Grants.gov Help Desk Ticket Number;
5. Statement of the problem including dates and times, with whom
the applicant spoke, and advice provided, if available;
6. Copies of any error messages received from Grants.gov or
responses from the help desk received from the customer service
representative or by e-mail;
7. Application submission tracking number(s) received from
Grants.gov, if applicable, and date and approximate times of
transmission upload attempts; and
8. Applicant contact information, including office and cell phone
as well as e-mail information.
Applicants may submit this information by e-mail message to the
appropriate program contact listed in the appendix. In the ``subject''
line of the e-mail message include the program name, the applicant
name, and any Grants.gov ticket numbers.
Failure to provide the information listed in items 1, 2, and 3 will
result in an applicant being ineligible for the quality assurance
review procedures outlined in this notice. Applicants that believe they
meet the requirements described in today's notice should provide this
information to the appropriate program office contact listed in the
appendix to today's notice by the deadlines established in the Dates
section of today's notice. Applicants that have already provided this
information to HUD do not need to resubmit the information. HUD will
not review requests for QAR if it has already conducted a review and
determined that the applicant did not follow HUD's electronic
submission instructions.
Procedures for Submitting Applications
Upon the conclusion of HUD's review, applicants will be notified of
HUD's determination through means that provide for confirmation that
the applicant has received notification. If HUD determines that the
applicant correctly followed its electronic application submission
instructions and advice from the Grants.gov help desk but was unable to
submit an application because of technical problems, the applicant will
be contacted and provided assistance in electronically resubmitting its
application. It is HUD's hope that with one-on-one assistance, all
applicants will be able to successfully submit an electronic
application.
If electronic application submission cannot be accomplished,
applicants will be requested to submit their applications on a CD-ROM,
with a hard copy, via overnight delivery (United States Postal Service,
Federal Express, or UPS) to the applicable addressee(s) listed in the
appendix to this notice. HUD will provide e-mail notification to the
applicant confirming the need to submit a CD-ROM and hard copy of the
application. Applications must be received by HUD within 4 business
days after the date of HUD's e-mail notification. Should discrepancies
be found between the CD-ROM and the hard copy, HUD will use the
application on the CD-ROM as the official submission and incorporate it
into HUD's official system of records. Applicants may not submit
applications using overnight delivery, unless prior approval has been
received from HUD. Hand deliveries will not be accepted.
Dated: August 13, 2008.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Deputy Secretary.
Appendix
Quality Assurance Review Request Contact List
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Program name Program contact e-Mail address Address
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Community Development Technical Mark A. Horwath... Mark.A.Horwath@hud.gov. U.S. Department of Housing and
Assistance. Urban Development, Room 7218,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Community Development Block Roberta Youmans... Roberta.L.Youmans@hud.g U.S. Department of Housing and
Grant for Indian Tribes and ov. Urban Development, Room 5156,
Alaskan Native Villages. 451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Historically Black Colleges and Susan Brunson..... Susan.S.Brunson@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Universities. Urban Development, Room 8106,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Hispanic Serving Institutions Susan Brunson..... Susan.S.Brunson@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Assisting Communities. Urban Development, Room 8106,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Alaskan Native/Native Hawaiian Susan Brunson..... Susan.S.Brunson@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Institutions Assisting Urban Development, Room 8106,
Communities. 451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Tribal Colleges and Universities Susan Brunson..... Susan.S.Brunson@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 8106,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Fair Housing Initiatives Program Denise L. Brooks.. Denise.L.Brooks@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 5222,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
[[Page 49472]]
Housing Counseling Program...... Brian N. Brian.N.Siebenlist@hud. U.S. Department of Housing and
Siebenlist. gov. Urban Development, Room 9274,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Housing Counseling Training..... Brian N. Brian.N.Siebenlist@hud. U.S. Department of Housing and
Siebenlist. gov. Urban Development, Room 9274,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Healthy Homes Demonstration Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Program. Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Lead Outreach Grant Program..... Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Lead Technical Studies.......... Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Healthy Homes Technical Studies. Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Lead Hazard Control Program..... Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Lead Hazard Reduction Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Demonstration. Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Operation Lead Elimination Warren Friedman... Warren.Friedman@hud.gov U.S. Department of Housing and
Action Program (LEAP). Urban Development, Room 8236,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Housing Choice Voucher Family James D. Reeves... James.D.Reeves@hud.gov. U.S. Department of Housing and
Self-Sufficiency. Urban Development Grants
Management Center, 3rd Floor,
550 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20024.
Resident Opportunities and Self- James D. Reeves... James.D.Reeves@hud.gov. U.S. Department of Housing and
Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Urban Development Grants
Coordinators. Management Center, 3rd Floor,
550 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20024.
Housing Opportunities for Benjamin L. Ayers. Benjamin.L.Ayers@hud.go U.S. Department of Housing and
Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). v. Urban Development, Room 7212,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Public Housing Family Self- James D. Reeves... James.D.Reeves@hud.gov. U.S. Department of Housing and
Sufficiency (PHFSS). Urban Development Grants
Management Center, 3rd Floor,
550 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20024.
Self-Help Homeownership Louise Thompson... Louise.D.Thompson@hud.g U.S. Department of Housing and
Opportunity Program (SHOP). ov. Urban Development, Room 7162,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Assisted Living Conversion Aretha Williams... Aretha.M.Williams@hud.g U.S. Department of Housing and
Program. ov. Urban Development, Room 6142,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Section 202 Supportive Housing Aretha Williams... Aretha.M.Williams@hud.g U.S. Department of Housing and
for the Elderly. ov. Urban Development, Room 6142,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Section 811 Supportive Housing Aretha Williams... Aretha.M.Williams@hud.g U.S. Department of Housing and
for Persons with Disabilities. ov. Urban Development, Room 6142,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Demonstration Program for Aretha Williams... Aretha.M.Williams@hud.g U.S. Department of Housing and
Elderly Housing for ov. Urban Development, Room 6142,
Intergenerational Families. 451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
Capacity Building Program....... Karen Daly........ Karen.E.Daly@hud.gov... U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Room 7340,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410.
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[FR Doc. E8-19349 Filed 8-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P