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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research

Broad Agency Announcement for Conferences, Workshops, and/or Meetings

Special Announcements

This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.

Funding Opportunity Number:

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.510

Solicitation Opening Date: December 4, 2007
Solicitation Closing Date: Cycle 1: January 7, 2008, 4:00 pm Eastern Time
Cycle 3: December 9, 2008, 4:00 pm Eastern Time

Eligibility Contact: Bernice Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766
Electronic Submissions: Thomas O’Farrell (O’Farrell.Thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
Technical Contact: Bernice L. Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.

Table of Contents:
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Synopsis of Program
Award Information
Eligibility Information
Application Materials
Agency Contacts
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. Introduction
B. Background
C. Authority and Regulations
D. Specific Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes
E. References
F. Special Requirements
II. AWARD INFORMATION
III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
A. Eligible Applicants
B. Cost Sharing and Leveraging
C. Other
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
A. Internet Address to Request Application Package
B. Content and Form of Application Submission
C. Submission Dates and Times
D. Funding Restrictions
E. Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements
V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
A. Threshold Programmatic Review
B. Peer Review
C. Application Ranking Based on Peer Review Evaluation
D. Funding Decisions
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
A. Award Notices
B. Disputes
C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

Access Standard ORD Forms (http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms/)

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Synopsis of Program:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) soliciting applications from eligible applicants for the planning, arranging, administering and/or conducting of conferences, workshops, and/or meetings (hereinafter referred to as “conferences”) that focus on research to protect human health and safeguard the environment. Specifically, EPA is interested in supporting scientific and technical research conferences that address the following research program areas: (1) human health; (2) ecosystems; water and security; (3) economics and sustainability; (4) air and global climate change; and (5) technology. This BAA is open from December 10, 2007 through December 9, 2008. Applications must be received by January 7, 2008 and December 9, 2008 depending upon the cycle (as identified in Section II of this BAA) for which the applicant is requesting funding.

Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Grant or Cooperative Agreement
Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 15 Awards
Anticipated Funding Amount: The EPA Office of Research and Development has approximately $500,000 for Awards

Potential Funding per Award:

EPA may award funding under this BAA in the following two categories:

  1. Meeting and workshop support up to $25,000 per award including direct and indirect costs. This category is for major support of small scale, focused meetings and workshops on a specific subject or subjects relating to environmental research.
  2. Large conference support up to $75,000 per award including direct and indirect costs. This category is for major support of broad national conferences that include a wide range of subjects relating to environmental research.

EPA will not consider applications for less than $15,000 or more than $75,000. All grants and cooperative agreements will have duration of up to 1-year to provide for follow-up activities such as the publication of reports and proceedings. Cost-sharing is not required for awards under this BAA.

Eligibility Information:
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes private institutions of higher education and hospitals) located in the U.S., state and local governments, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, and U.S. territories or possessions are eligible to apply. For profit organizations are not eligible for funding under this BAA. See full announcement, including Section III. A for more details.

Application Materials:
See Section IV, Application and Submission Information.

Agency Contacts:
Eligibility Contact: Bernice Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766
Electronic Submissions: Thomas O’Farrell (O’Farrell.Thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
Technical Contact: Bernice L. Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Introduction
The EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) supports leading-edge research to stimulate the sound use of science and technology that fulfills EPA's mission to protect human health and safeguard the natural environment. One way to accomplish this mission is to provide financial support for conferences that further environmental research by communicating ideas, knowledge, expertise, innovation and creativity in solving complex environmental issues.

B. Background

  1. EPA’s mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment-air, water, and land upon which life depends. "Science is the foundation that supports all of EPA's work, providing us with the knowledge and technologies to detect, abate, and avoid environmental problems”. (EPA Strategic Plan, 2006 (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 MB)).

EPA has sought to support its strategic goal of sound science and improved understanding and innovation by establishing a research program encompassing both human health and environmental disciplines. As the scientific research arm of EPA, ORD conducts and sponsors leading-edge non-federal research that helps provide the solid underpinning of science and technology for the nation. Details on ORD’s mission, its research programs, plans and strategies can be found at www.epa.gov/ord. The specific Strategic Goals and Objectives from EPA’s Strategic Plan that relate to this BAA are:

Goal 1: Clean Air and Global Climate Change, Objective 1.6: Enhance Science and Research
Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water, Objective 2.3: Enhance Science and Research
Goal 3: Land Preservation and Restoration, Objective 3.3: Enhance Science and Research,
Goal 4: Healthy Communities and Ecosystems, Objective 4.4: Enhance Science and Research
Goal 5: Compliance and Environmental Stewardship, Objective 5.4: Enhance Society’s Capacity for Sustainability through Science and Research

The EPA’s Strategic Plan can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 MB)

C. Authority and Regulations
The authority for this BAA and resulting awards are contained in:

Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442, 42 U.S.C. 30 j-1
Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10, 15 U.S.C. 2609
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20, 7 U.S.C. 136r
Clean Air Act, Section 103, 42 U.S.C. 7403
Clean Water Act, Section 104, 33 U.S.C.
Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001, 42 U.S.C. 6981]
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Section 311, 42 U.S.C. 9660

For conferences with an international aspect, the above statutes are supplemented, as appropriate, by the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 102 (2) (F).

Applicable regulations include: 40 CFR Part 30 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations), 40 CFR Part 31 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments) and 40 CFR Part 40 (Research and Demonstration Grants). Applicable OMB Circulars include: OMB Circular A-21 (Cost Principles for Educational Institutions) relocated to 2 CFR Part 220, OMB Circular A-87 (Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments) relocated to 2 CFR Part 225, OMB Circular A-102 (Grants and Cooperative Agreements With State and Local Governments), OMB Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 215, and OMB Circular A-122, (Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 230.

D. Specific Research Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes
EPA’s ORD is soliciting applications from eligible applicants for the planning, arranging, administering, and/or conducting of conferences focusing on research that protects human health and safeguards the natural environment in the areas described below. ORD may support scientific and technical research conferences that address one or more of the following research program areas: (1) human health; (2) ecosystems, water and security; (3) economics and sustainability; (4) air and global climate change; and (5) technology. These five research program areas are represented as funding opportunity numbers for which to specify proposed conference funding. Information on these research program areas that describe ORD’s priorities for upcoming years can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2008/compilation_of_epa_ord_res_prog_descrip.pdf (PDF) (92 pp, 856 K). Additional information is provided in ORD’s Multi-Year Plans at http://www.epa.gov/osp/myp.htm. Conferences must: (a) discuss topics addressed in the EPA Strategic Plan, ORD Research Program Areas and ORD Multi-Year Plans, (b) advance environmental protection; (c) explore new and cutting edge scientific issues of importance to environmental protection; and (d) encourage collaboration among the nation’s (and if appropriate, the world’s) best scientists and engineers in academia, business and nonprofit research institutes.

ORD’s mission includes supporting non-federal conferences addressing scientific research issues of international, national or large regional importance. Applicants must demonstrate the applicability of the proposed scientific and technical research conference to the United States and its territories. ORD will not fund workshops or conferences that provide course work for professional certification, or otherwise primarily address implementation of regulations.

Applicants must identify in their application the type of conference for which they are seeking funding by selecting one of the categories below:

The expected outputs for awards under this BAA include but are not limited to:

The specific expected outputs will be addressed in all awards made under this BAA regardless of the type of conference. In addition, the applicant must include a plan (see Section IV.B.5.) to make available to the scientific community all papers, articles and similar publications (e.g., Conference Proceedings) from conferences supported by financial assistance awarded under this BAA.

The materials must be available in a format and with documentation such that they may be used by others in the scientific community. Posting on a publicly available web site is an acceptable means of meeting this requirement.

Finally, the expected outcomes of awards under this BAA include but are not limited to:

E. References
2006-2011 EPA Strategic Plan, http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 MB)

F. Special Requirements
Agency policy prevents EPA technical staff and managers from providing individual applicants information that may create an unfair competitive advantage. Consequently, EPA employees will not review, comment, advise, and/or provide technical assistance to applicants preparing applications in response to this BAA, nor will they endorse an application or discuss in any manner how the Agency will apply the published evaluation criteria for this competition.

Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a consortium and submit a single application for this assistance agreement. The application must identify which organization will be the recipient of the assistance agreement and which organizations(s) will be sub-awardees of the recipient.

See Section V of the BAA which addresses the evaluation of an applicant’s proposed contractors and subawardees. These instruments must be in compliance with the competitive Procurement Standards in 40 CFR Part 30 or 40 CFR 31.36 as appropriate.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

ORD has approximately $500,000 for awards under this BAA and expects to make approximately 15 awards. Applications under this BAA will be reviewed by approximately February 8, 2008 and January 12, 2009, based on when they are received by the Agency as described in Table 1 “Application Submission, Review and Award Schedule” below. The BAA will remain open until December 9, 2008, 4:00 pm., EST. Applicants must submit applications so that the “Estimated Earliest Grant Award Date” (See Table 1 below) precedes the conference for which they are proposing.

TABLE 1. Application Submission, Review and Award Schedule
Application Receipt
Closing Date:		 Application Review
Date:		 Estimated Earliest Grant
Award Date:
Cycle 1 January 7, 2008 February 8, 2008 July 11, 2008
Cycle 3 December 9, 2008 January 12, 2009 June 15, 2009

EPA will not consider BAA applications for less than $15,000 or greater than $75,000. Any such application will be rejected without review.

Awards may not be made in all research program areas described in Section I and multiple awards may be made in the same research program area. EPA reserves the right to either award less than 15 grants or to make no awards under this BAA.

EPA may award both grants and cooperative agreements under this announcement. Under a grant, EPA employees are not permitted to be substantially involved in the planning and execution of the conference.

Where appropriate, EPA may award cooperative agreements when substantial involvement between EPA employees and grant recipients is anticipated. These collaborations may include data and information exchange, providing technical input to the conference agenda, selecting speakers, panelists, and/or attendees, and joint authorship of conference proceedings and/or journal articles on these activities. To ensure that all applications receive fair consideration, applicants may not identify these specific interactions in their application.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes private institutions of higher education and hospitals) located in the U.S., state and local governments, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, and U.S. territories or possessions are eligible to apply. Profit-making firms are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from the EPA under this program.

Eligible nonprofit organizations include any organizations that meet the definition of nonprofit in OMB Circular A-122. However, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible to apply.

National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply. FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization. The institution, organization, or governance receiving the award may contract with or provide subawards to FFRDC’s with funds through its grant from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research. (See Section IV.) However, salaries for permanent FFRDC employees may not be provided through this mechanism.

Federal Agencies may not apply. Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on an assistance agreement, and may not receive salaries or augment their Agency’s appropriations in other ways (e.g., travel funds) through grants made by this program. In addition, EPA employees may not serve on the planning committee of an organization submitting an application. However, EPA employees may serve on planning committees after EPA has awarded funding.

Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact Bernice Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766.

B. Cost Sharing and Leveraging
Institutional cost-sharing is not required. However, please be aware that leveraging is an evaluation factor as described in Section V. A discussion on leveraging must be included in the application and the application must describe how the applicant will obtain the leveraged resources and what role EPA funding will play in the overall project. See the instructions in Section IV on what to include about leveraging in the application.

Leveraged funding or other resources need not be for eligible and allowable costs under the EPA assistance agreement unless the applicant proposes to provide a voluntary cost share or match.

If EPA accepts an offer for a voluntary cost share/match, applicants must meet their matching/sharing commitment as a condition of receiving EPA funding. Applicants may use their own funds or other resources for a voluntary match or cost share if the standards at 40 CFR 30.23 or 40 CFR 31.24, as applicable, are met. Only eligible and allowable costs may be used for voluntary matches or cost shares. Other Federal grants may not be used as matches or cost shares without specific statutory authority (e.g., Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grants). Voluntary cost shares or matches must be included in the budget as a planned cost.

Applicants who will seek funding from other sources but do not intend to include these funds as a voluntary match or cost share in the budget must explain how these other funds will be used. Applicants relying on additional funding from other sources should support their expectations (e.g., based on past successes in obtaining multiple funding sources). Fund-raising costs are not allowable costs under EPA grants.

C. Other
All of the following threshold criteria must be met by the time of application submission in order for an application to receive BAA funding consideration. Only those applications that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking criteria in Section V of this BAA. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

  1. The applicant must demonstrate that it is eligible to apply for financial assistance under this BAA.

  2. Applications that fail to demonstrate a public purpose of support or stimulation will not be funded. For example, applications that request funding for a research conference which primarily benefits a Federal program or provides a service for a Federal agency are not eligible.

  3. To be eligible for funding consideration, a proposed conference’s focus must consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed in Section I.C. above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed in I.C. above.

    These activities should relate to the gathering or transferring of information or advancing the state of knowledge. Applications should emphasize this “learning” concept, as opposed to “fixing” an environmental problem via a well-established method. Applications relating to other topics which are sometimes included within the term “environment” such as recreation, conservation, restoration, protection of wildlife habitats, etc., must describe the relationship of these topics to the statutorily required purpose of pollution prevention and/or control.

  4. EPA will not consider applications for less than $15,000 or more than $75,000.

  5. EPA will reject applications seeking funds for workshops/conferences that provide course work for professional certifications or those which primarily address implementation of regulations.

  6. Applicants may submit applications during more than one cycle only if the conference proposed for funding is different from the ones covered by any previous applications.

  7. Proposed conferences must address one or more of the following research program areas (1) human health; (2) ecosystems, water and security; (3) economics and sustainability; (4) air and global climate change; and (5) technology. (See also Section IV.B on what Funding Opportunity Number to use to apply).

  8. Applicants may submit separate applications for funding consideration in different program areas.

  9. The applicant’s proposed conference, or the component of it to which the application for EPA funding applies, must focus on EPA mission related issues connected to protecting human health and safeguarding the natural environment as specified in Section I.B. which addresses the relationship to EPA’s Strategic Plan. Conference topics must also: (a) advance the scientific and technical research that promotes environmental protection; (b) explore current and emerging scientific or research issues of importance to environmental protection and (c) encourage collaboration among the nation’s and possibly the world’s best scientists and engineers in academia, business and nonprofit research institutes.

  10. The applicant must include a plan (see Section IV.B.5.) in the application to make available to the scientific community all papers, articles and similar publications (e.g., proceedings) from conferences supported through this BAA. The materials must be available in a format and with documentation such that they may be used by others in the scientific community. Posting on a publicly available web site is an acceptable means of meeting this requirement.

  11. Applicants must not identify EPA personnel that they intend to cooperate with in the application. This will ensure that all applications receive fair consideration.

  12. Applicants must submit applications so that the “Estimated Earliest Grant Award Date” precedes the proposed conference (See Table 1 in Section II).

  13. Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement. In addition, where a page limitation is expressed in Section IV with respect to parts of the application, pages in excess of the page limit will not be reviewed.

  14. Applications must be received by the EPA, or Grants.gov, on or before December 9, 2008 or they will be returned to the sender without further consideration.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Internet Address to Request Application Package
Electronic applications submitted thru grants.gov are encouraged and recommended for this announcement.

See Section IV. E. Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements for instructions. Applicants who are unable to submit electronically through Grants.gov must contact Bernice L. Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov), phone: 202-343-9766 for alternative application submission instructions. The application deadlines and other requirements of this BAA still apply to individuals that use alternative submission methods

B. Content and Form of Application Submission
The application is made by submitting the materials described below. It is essential that the application contain all information requested and be submitted in the described formats.

  1. Standard Form 424

    Standard Form 424 is available in the electronic application package. See Section IV.E. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for accessing this package. Applicants must provide a “Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System” (DUNS) number in Item 5 when applying for federal grants or cooperative agreements. Organizations may receive a DUNS number by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by visiting the web site at http://www.dnb.com exit EPA.

  2. Key Contacts

    The applicant must complete the “Key Contacts” form as the second page of the application: a Key Contacts continuation page is also available at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms. The Key Contacts form should also be completed for major sub-agreements (i.e., primary co-investigators). Please make certain that all contact information is accurate.

  3. Table of Contents

    Provide a list of the major subdivisions of the application indicating the page number on which each section begins.

  4. Abstract (1 page)

    The abstract is a very important document. Therefore, it is critical that the abstract accurately identifies the research program areas described in Section I that will be covered by the conference, discusses the conference information being proposed, and conveys all the essential elements. The abstract must include the information described below (a-g).

    1. Funding Opportunity Number and Title for the application.
    2. Conference Title: Use the exact title of your conference; it should match the title on Standard Form 424.
    3. Organizers: List the individuals responsible for the content of the area(s) of your conference, workshop, or meeting for which you are seeking EPA funding. Provide a web site URL or an email contact address for additional information.
    4. Description of applicant: The organization applying for assistance must be clearly identified, and provide information demonstrating that the organization is an eligible applicant in accordance with Section III. of this BAA.
    5. Project Period: Show the proposed project beginning and ending dates. Identify the date(s) of the conference, workshop or meeting, as well as the date(s) that your organization would begin expending EPA funds for planning and other pre-conference activities. The ending date for the EPA grant is the date your organization will submit the conference proceedings and final report(s) for the grant to EPA.
    6. Project Cost: Show the total dollars requested from the EPA (include direct and indirect costs for the entire grant duration).
    7. Project Summary: Identify the research program area(s) listed in Section I.D that will be covered by the conference and describe the conference activities (e.g., panel or paper presentation(s)) for which you are seeking EPA funding. Please note that EPA can only fund activities that fall under the environmental research grant authorities described in Section I of this BAA.

  5. Conference Plan (10 pages)

    This plan must not exceed ten (10) consecutively numbered 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins. Excess pages will not be reviewed.

    Proposals should focus on a limited number of objectives that adequately and clearly demonstrate that they meet the requirements of this BAA. State the results you expect to achieve. The plan must provide the following information:

    1. Objectives - List the objectives of the proposed conference. State why the intended effort is of regional, national or international importance and how the conference advances environmental and human health protection. Include any background or introductory information that would help explain the objectives of the effort.

    2. Responses to Section III.C threshold criteria. Provide information relating to the following threshold eligibility criteria stated in Section III.C.
      1. The applicant must demonstrate that it is eligible to apply for financial assistance under this BAA.
      2. The application must demonstrate that the proposed conference’s focus consists of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed in Section I.C. above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed in Section I.C. of the BAA.

        These activities should relate to the gathering or transferring of information or advancing the state of knowledge. Applications should emphasize this “learning” concept, as opposed to “fixing” an environmental problem via a well-established method. Applications relating to other topics which are sometimes included within the term “environment” such as recreation, conservation, restoration, protection of wildlife habitats, etc., must describe the relationship of these topics to the statutorily required purpose of pollution prevention and/or control.

      3. The applicant’s proposed conference, or the component of it to which the application for EPA funding applies, must focus on EPA mission related issues connected to protecting human health and safeguarding the natural environment as specified in Section I.B. which addresses the relationship to EPA’s Strategic Plan. Conference topics must also: (a) advance the scientific and technical research that promotes environmental protection; (b) explore current and emerging scientific or research issues of importance to environmental protection and (c) encourage collaboration among the nation’s and possibly the world’s best scientists and engineers in academia, business and nonprofit research institutes.

    3. Responses to Evaluation Criteria - Provide information relating to each of the evaluation criteria contained in Section V.B. of this BAA and as described below.
      1. Scientific and technical research conference criteria:
        1. Describe the scientific research issue(s) of international, national or regional importance that the conference will address.
        2. Discuss how the conference will advance environmental sciences and engineering.
        3. What are the new and cutting edge scientific environmental protection issues that will be discussed?
        4. How will the nation’s and possibly the world’s best scientists and engineers in academia, business and nonprofit research institutes be engaged?
        5. How will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?

      2. Environmental Research Expertise - Describe the applicant’s skills and the qualities of the institution of affiliation, as appropriate:
        1. Academic publications and other academic work related to the subject matter of the conference.
        2. Expertise of speakers and panelists in the specific topics for the proposed conference. If applicants propose conferences whose specific topics will be determined annually by a committee, then they should demonstrate their ability to attract key experts.
        3. Why the applicant is: (a) an appropriate representative for the research issue(s) addressed in the application, (b) likely to be viewed as an authority on the subject, or (c) able to establish linkages with an organization that is an appropriate representative or authority on the subject.

      3. Leveraging – Discuss the level of interest indicated by other entities in funding the conference. Provide a total conference cost estimate, explain how conference expenses will be covered and identify the source of funding. Applicants must also demonstrate: (1) how they will coordinate the use of EPA funding with other Federal and/or non-Federal sources of funds to carry out the proposed conference(s) and/or (2) how EPA funding will complement activities relevant to the proposed conference with other sources of funding.

        Examples of funds leveraging include: 1) additional funding from other sources (including other federal agencies), 2) in-kind contributions from key personnel, and 3) collaborations with other institutions to achieve cost effectiveness. Applicants who will seek funding from other sources but do not intend to include these funds as a voluntary match or cost share in the budget must explain how these other funds will be used. Applicants relying on additional funding from other sources should support their expectations (e.g., based on past successes in obtaining multiple funding sources). Fund-raising costs are not allowable costs under EPA grants.

        Note: Applicants interested in support for multiple conferences, large conferences, and two or three-day conferences must justify the benefits of EPA funding the series, size or duration of the conferences.

      4. Past Performance - The capability of the applicant to successfully carry out the proposed effort taking into account the following factors:
        1. Extent to which the applicant demonstrates the technical ability to successfully carry out the proposed project based on its: a) past performance (in the last 3 years) in successfully completing and managing federally funded assistance agreements (an assistance agreement is a grant or cooperative agreement not a procurement contract) of similar size, scope, and relevance to the proposed conference/meeting/workshop; b) history of meeting reporting requirements (in the last 3 years), including submitting acceptable final technical reports, under federally funded assistance agreements (an assistance agreement is a grant or cooperative agreement not a procurement contract) of similar size, scope, and relevance to the proposed conference/meeting/workshop; c) past performance (in the last 3 years) in reporting on progress towards achieving the expected results under federally funded assistance agreements (an assistance agreement is a grant or cooperative agreement and not a procurement contract) similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed conference; d) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed conference/meeting/workshop; and e) staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge and resources or the ability to obtain them in order to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed conference/meeting/workshop.
        2. Applicants must identify contacts for each of the assistance agreements they reference above.
        3. The Agency may contact the sponsor of the applicant’s past assistance agreements awards to corroborate the information and may review other relevant data in agency files.
        4. Applicants who have not received Federal financial assistance may discuss their experience with managing funds from private foundations, private companies, state or local governments or other sources. Applicants must provide contacts from these sources for EPA to obtain additional information.

      5. Expected Results, Benefits, Outputs, and Outcomes - Articulate the results expected to be achieved during the conference (outputs) and the benefits of the results (outcomes). Applicants must also discuss the public interest values and environmental benefits the proposed conference will provide to the non-Federal scientific community and how the topics presented meet the needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Applicants must also concisely describe how progress toward achieving the outputs/outcomes will be tracked and measured. This factor will assess how the results link to EPA’s Strategic Plan/GPRA architecture, and lead to solutions to environmental problems and improve the public’s ability to protect the environment and human health.

      6. Important Attachments – (1) References cited are in addition to the 10-page Conference Plan (See IV.B.5.) and (2) Appendices (e.g., additional useful information, web sites, abbreviations and acronyms) may be included, but must remain within the 10 page Conference Plan limit.

    4. Data Statement (in addition to the 10 page Conference Plan)

      The applicant must include a statement articulating plans to make publicly available the citations for all environmental data discussed at the conference. (See Section III.C (10).

  6. Budget
    1. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)

      Complete the SF-424A to indicate how you plan to expend the funds provided by EPA. There are no attachments. At a minimum, complete Section B- Budget Information and Section F-Other Budget Information. The total amount of EPA funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A. If indirect costs are included, the amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j). The indirect cost rate (i.e., a percentage), the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should also be indicated on line 22.

      If a subaward, such as a subgrant with an educational institution, is included in the application, provide a separate budget and budget justification for the subaward. Include the total amount for the subaward under “Other” in the master budget. Any project containing sub awards or procurement contracts that constitute more than 40% of the total direct cost of the application will be subject to special review. Additional justification for use of these must be provided, discussing the need for the sub award/procurement contract to accomplish the objectives of the research project.

      Please note that institutional cost-sharing is not required. However, if cost-sharing is proposed, a brief statement concerning cost-sharing should be added to the budget justification, and estimated dollar amounts must be included in the appropriate categories in the budget table.

    2. Management Fees

      When formulating a conference budget, applicants must not include management fees or similar charges in excess of the direct costs and indirect costs at the rate approved by the applicant’s cognizant audit agency, or at the rate provided for by the terms of the agreement negotiated with EPA. The term "management fees or similar charges" refers to expenses added to the direct costs in order to accumulate and reserve funds for ongoing business expenses, unforeseen liabilities, or for other similar costs that are not allowable under EPA assistance agreements. Management fees or similar charges may not be used to improve or expand the project funded under this agreement, except to the extent authorized as a direct cost of carrying out the scope of work.

  7. Resumes

    Provide resumes for conference organizers, panel chairs or others responsible for determining the content of the conference. The resume for each individual must not exceed two consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins.

  8. Guidelines, Limitations, and Additional Requirements
    1. Letters of Intent/Letters of Support

      Letters of intent to provide resources for the proposed research or to document intended interactions are limited to one brief paragraph committing the availability of a resource (e.g., use of a person's time or equipment) or intended interaction (e.g., sharing of data, as-needed consultation) that is described in the Conference Plan. Letters of intent are to be included as an addition to the budget justification documents.

      All letters that do not commit a resource vital to the success of the application are considered letters of support. Letters of support, and letters of intent that exceed one brief paragraph are considered part of the Conference Plan and are included in the 10 page limit.

      Note: Letters of intent or support must be part of the application; letters submitted separately will not be accepted. Any transactions between the successful applicant and parties providing letters of support or intent financed with EPA grant funds are subject to the funding restrictions described in Section IV. D.

    2. Funding Opportunity Number(s) (FON)

      Applicants must select the FON corresponding to their proposed conference research topic area. It is the responsibility of the applicant to identify the proper FON based on the nature of the proposed conference. Failure to do so could result in an inappropriate peer review assignment. If your conference seems to fit under more than one FON or will focus on more than one program research area, choose the one most appropriate. Be sure to use the appropriate electronic application package for the chosen FON (see “Submission Instructions for Electronic Applications”, Section IV.E.). Each application must be submitted using a single FON.

      3. The Funding Opportunity Numbers for this RFA are:

        EPA-C2008-BAA- C1: Human Health (HH)
        EPA-C2008-BAA-C2: Ecosystems, Water and Security (EWS)
        EPA-C2008-BAA-C3: Economics and Sustainability (ES)
        EPA-C2008-BAA-C4: Air Quality and Global Climate Change (AGC)
        EPA-C2008-BAA-C5: Technology (T)
    3. Confidentiality

      By submitting an application in response to this BAA, the applicant grants the EPA permission to make limited disclosures of the application to technical reviewers both within and outside the Agency for the express purpose of assisting the Agency with evaluating the application. Information from a pending or unsuccessful application will be kept confidential to the fullest extent allowed under law; information from a successful application may be publicly disclosed to the extent permitted by law.

      In accordance with 40 CFR 2.203, applicants may claim all or a portion of the application as confidential business information (e.g., intellectual property). EPA will evaluate confidentiality claims in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2. Applicants must clearly mark applications or portions of applications they claim as confidential. If no claim of confidentiality is made, the EPA is not required to make an inquiry to the applicant otherwise required by 40 CFR 2.204(c) (2) prior to disclosure.

C. Submission Dates and Times
This BAA closes at 4:00 pm., Eastern Time on December 9, 2008. Applications submitted after 4:00 pm., Eastern Time on December 9, 2008 will be rejected without review. However, applicants must consult Table 1 in Section II for the relevant cycle submission deadlines. Applications for a specific conference may only be submitted once. Applications that are resubmitted for the same conference will be rejected and will not undergo review. Applicants may however submit more than one application if they are proposing different conferences.

It should be noted that this schedule may be changed without prior notification because of factors not anticipated at the time of announcement. In the case of a change in the solicitation closing date, a new date will be posted on the NCER web site (http://www.epa.gov/ncer/) and a modification posted on www.grants.gov.

D. Funding Restrictions
The funding mechanism for all awards issued under this BAA will consist of assistance agreements from the EPA. All award decisions are subject to the availability of funds.

In accordance with the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act, 31 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., the primary purpose of an assistance agreement is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute, rather than acquisition for the direct benefit or use of the Agency. EPA will not fund conferences with subject matter primarily directed toward federal scientists.

In issuing a grant, the EPA anticipates that there will be no substantial EPA involvement in the design, implementation, or conduct of the research. However, the EPA will monitor research progress through annual reports provided by grantees and other contacts, including site visits, with the Principal Investigator.

Collaborative applications involving more than one institution must be submitted as a single administrative package from one of the institutions involved. Each proposed project must be able to be completed within the project period and with the initial award of funds. Applicants should request the entire amount of money needed to complete the project. Recipients should not anticipate additional funding beyond the initial award of funds for a specific project.

EPA awards funds to one eligible applicant as the recipient even if other eligible applicants are named as partners or co-applicants or members of a coalition or consortium. The recipient is accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

Funding may be used to provide subgrants or subawards of financial assistance, which includes using sub awards or sub grants to fund partnerships, provided the recipient complies with applicable requirements for sub awards or sub grants including those contained in 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31, as appropriate. Applicants must compete contracts for services and products, including consultant contracts, and conduct cost and price analyses, to the extent required by the procurement provisions of the regulations at 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31, as appropriate. The regulations also contain limitations on consultant compensation. Applicants are not required to identify subawardees/subgrantees and/or contractors (including consultants) in their application. However, if they do, the fact that an applicant selected for award has named a specific subawardee/subgrantee, contractor, or consultant in the application EPA selects for funding does not relieve the applicant of its obligations to comply with subaward/subgrant and/or competitive procurement requirements as appropriate. Please note that applicants may not award sole source contracts to consulting, engineering or other firms assisting applicants with the application solely based on the firm's role in preparing the application.

Successful applicants cannot use sub grants or sub awards to avoid requirements in EPA grant regulations for competitive procurement by using these instruments to acquire commercial services or products from for-profit organizations to carry out its assistance agreement. The nature of the transaction between the recipient and the subawardee or sub grantee must be consistent with the standards for distinguishing between vendor transactions and sub recipient assistance under Subpart B Section .210 of OMB Circular A-133, and the definitions of sub award at 40 CFR 30.2(ff) or sub grant at 40 CFR 31.3, as applicable. EPA will not be a party to these transactions. Applicants acquiring commercial goods or services must comply with the competitive procurement standards in 40 CFR Part 30 or 40 CFR Part 31.36 and cannot use a subaward/subgrant as the funding mechanism.

Each proposed project must be able to be completed within the project period. Applicants should request the entire amount of money needed to complete the project. Recipients should not anticipate additional funding beyond the initial award of funds for a specific project.

E. Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements

Please read this entire section before attempting an electronic submission through Grants.gov. Note: Submission instructions are updated on an as-needed basis. Please provide your Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) with a copy of the following instructions to avoid submission delays that may occur from the use of outdated instructions.

  1. Preparing for Submission. The appropriate electronic application package available through the http://www.grants.gov site must be used for electronic submissions. To begin the application process, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on the “Apply for Grants” tab on the left side of the page. Then click on “Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package” to download the compatible Adobe viewer and obtain the application package. (Note: The PureEdge viewer is not needed to submit an application to this funding opportunity.) For more information on Adobe Reader please go to http://www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp.

    Note: Grants.gov is aware of a corruption issue when Adobe Reader application packages are saved in different versions of Adobe Reader. It is recommended that applicants uninstall earlier versions of Adobe Reader, then install the version available and compatible through Grants.gov.

    The application package may be quickly accessed from https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms_apps_idx.html using the appropriate FON. Be sure to download the electronic application package for the appropriate FON. Please register for announcement change notification emails. Note: With the exception of the current and pending support form (available at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package.

    The electronic submission of your application package must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and authorized to sign for Federal assistance. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on “Get Registered”. Note that the registration process may take a week or longer to complete. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an AOR and begin the registration process as soon as possible. Most submission problems can be avoided by communicating with the AOR well before the solicitation closing date and allowing sufficient time for following the guidance provided below.

  2. Acknowledgement of Receipt. The closing date for submission of applications under this BAA is 4:00 pm., Eastern Time on December 9, 2008. However, applicants must consult with Table 1 in Section II for the relevant cycle submission deadlines. Grants.gov provides acknowledgements of application receipt that include an on-screen notification of successful initial transfer as well as an e-mail notification of successful transfer from Grants.gov to EPA. While it is advisable to retain copies of these Grants.gov acknowledgements to document submission, the only official documentation that the application has been received is the e-mail acknowledgement sent to the Principal Investigator and the Administrative Contact. This email will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov; emails to this address will not be accepted. If an email acknowledgment from receipt.application@epa.gov, (not support@grants.gov) has not been received within 30 days of application submittal, immediately inform the Electronic Submissions Contact shown in this solicitation. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.

  3. Application Package Preparation. The application package consists of A though D below.
    1. On the initial electronic Grant Application Package page, complete the “Application Filing Name” field by entering the Principal Investigator’s name, starting with the last name. Note: Applicants do not need to complete the “Competition ID” field.
    2. Complete Application for Federal Assistance forms SF 424 & SF 424A.
    3. Complete EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54. If additional pages are needed, see (d) below.
    4. Attach Project Narrative Form by clicking on "Add Mandatory Project Narrative": Attach a single electronic file labeled “Application” that contains the items described in Section IV.B.3. through IV.B.8. (Table on Contents, Abstract, Conference Plan, References, Budget and Budget Justification, Resumes, and Letters of Intent/Support) of this BAA. In order to maintain format integrity, this file must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat PDF. Please review the PDF file for conversion errors prior to including it in the electronic application package; requests to rectify conversion errors will not be accepted if made after the solicitation closing date and time. If Key Contacts Continuation pages (see http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms) are needed, place them before the Abstract (IV.B.4.).

      Once the application package has been completed, the “Submit” button should be enabled. If the “Submit” button is not active, call Grants.gov for assistance (Telephone: 1-800-518-4726). Investigators should save the completed application package with two different file names before providing it to the AOR to avoid having to re-create the package should submission problems be experienced or a revised application needs to be submitted. Note: Revised applications must be submitted before the solicitation closing date and time.

  4. Submitting the application. The application package must be transferred to Grants.gov by an AOR. The AOR should close all other software before attempting to submit the application package. Click the “submit” button of the application package. Your Internet browser will launch and a sign-in page will appear. Note: Minor problems are not uncommon with transfers to Grants.gov. It is essential to allow sufficient time to follow all trouble-shooting instructions, including contacting Grants.gov, before the submission deadline.

    A successful transfer will end with an on-screen acknowledgement. For documentation purposes, print or screen capture this acknowledgement. If a submission problem occurs, reboot the computer – turning the power off may be necessary – and re-attempt the submission. If submission problems continue, call Grants.gov for assistance (Telephone: 1-800-518-4726).

    Note: Grants.gov issues a “case number” upon a request for assistance.

  5. Transmission Difficulties. If transmission difficulties that result in a late transmission, no transmission, or rejection of the transmitted application are experienced, and following the above instructions do not resolve the problem so that the application is submitted to Grants.gov by the deadline date and time, follow the guidance below. EPA may decide to review the application in the intended review cycle if it is clearly demonstrated that transmission difficulties were due solely as a result of problems associated with the transfer to Grants.gov and documentation that these instructions were followed is provided. The decision regarding acceptance of the application for review will be made by NCER management and provided to the applicant within ten working days of the request. All e-mails, as described below, are to be sent to Thomas O'Farrell (O'Farrell.Thomas@epa.gov) with the FON in the subject line.
    1. Late transfer due to electronic submission problems: Should electronic submission problems result in the application being transferred to Grants.gov after 4:00 pm but before 5:00 pm EST on the solicitation closing date, send an e-mail before 5:00 pm EST on the deadline date. The email must document the problem and include the Grants.gov case number.
    2. Unsuccessful transfer of application package: If a successful transfer of the application cannot be accomplished even with assistance from Grants.gov due to electronic submission issues, send an e-mail before 5:00 pm EST on the solicitation closing date. The email must document the problem, include the Grants.gov “case number,” and have the entire application attached.
    3. Grants.gov rejection of the application package: If a notification is received from Grants.gov stating that the application has been rejected for reasons other than late submittal, promptly send an email which includes any materials provided by Grants.gov and attached the entire application.

    NOTE: These instructions are to be used should you experience transmission difficulties that result in your application being late for the relevant deadline (See Table 1).

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Application reviews will be conducted on approximately February 8, 2008 and January 12, 2009 consistent with the schedule described in Table I in Section II “Award Information” of the BAA. Successful applicants may expect to be funded within four months from award recommendation notification. In addition, applications that have been previously submitted under this BAA that are resubmitted will be rejected and will not undergo review. Applications for a specific conference may only be submitted once. Applications that are resubmitted for the same conference will be rejected and will not undergo review. Applicants may however submit more than one application if they are proposing different conferences.

A. Threshold Programmatic Review
All timely submitted applications will undergo a threshold programmatic review based on the factors in Section III.C of the BAA. The purpose of the threshold programmatic review is to assess the programmatic merit of the proposed conference/workshop/meeting as related to EPA research priorities and ensure the application meets the threshold requirements in Section III.C of the BAA. EPA personnel will review the relevant portions of timely submitted BAA applications for purposes of the threshold programmatic review and will recommend the peer review of the full applications from those applicants that pass the threshold programmatic review. The peer review will be conducted in accordance with paragraph B below. Applicants that do not pass the Threshold Programmatic Review will be notified as stated in Section III.C of the BAA.

B. Peer Review

Those applications that pass the Threshold Programmatic Review will be peer reviewed by EPA reviewers. The peer review process involves an evaluation of an application’s scientific merit. In addition to information provided by the applicant, information from other sources, including prior and current grantors and agency files, may also be considered where relevant. EPA peer reviewers will include environmental scientists, engineers, social scientists, and/or economists who are accomplished in their respective discipline and proficient in the technical subject of review and may differ per research program area.

There is no guarantee about the number of awards that will be made in each research program area. For example, no awards may be made in some research program areas while multiple awards may be made in some research program areas.

Peer reviewers will evaluate an applications merit based upon the following (5) criteria categories:

  1. Scientific and technical research conference agenda:
    1. Are the scientific research issues of international, national or regional importance?
    2. How will the conference advance the fields of environmental and engineering sciences?
    3. Are new and cutting edge scientific environmental protection issues planned for discussion?
    4. How will the nation’s and possibly the world’s best scientists and engineers in academia, business and nonprofit research institutes be engaged?
    5. How will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?

  2. Environmental Research Expertise: The applicants' skills and the qualities of the institution they are associated with, including, as appropriate:
    1. Academic publications and other academic work related to the subject matter of the Conference;
    2. Expertise of speakers and panelists in the specific topics proposed for conferences. If applicants propose conferences whose specific topics will be determined annually by a committee, then they should demonstrate their ability to attract key experts; and
    3. Discuss how the applicant is: (1) an appropriate representative for the research issue(s) addressed in the application, (2) likely to be viewed as an authority on the subject, or (3) able to establish linkages with an organization that is an appropriate representative or authority on the subject.

  3. Leveraging and Budget: Did the applicant discuss the level of interest indicated by other entities in funding the conference? Are the following provided: (a) a total conference cost estimate and (b) a description of how conference expenses will be covered and the source of funding?

    In addition, how will the applicant coordinate the use of EPA funding with other Federal and/or non Federal sources of funds to leverage additional resources to carry out the proposed conference(s) and/or how will EPA funding complement activities relevant to the proposed conference with other sources of funds or resources?

    Note: Although budget information does not reflect on the application’s scientific merit, the reviewers are asked to provide their view on the appropriateness and/or adequacy of the proposed budget. Review the estimated total conference cost and the source of funds to be used to meet those costs.

  4. Past Performance: The extent to which the applicant demonstrates the technical ability to successfully carry out the proposed project based on its: a) past performance (in the last 3 years) in successfully completing and managing federally funded assistance agreements (an assistance agreement is a grant or cooperative agreement not a procurement contract) of similar size, scope, and relevance to the proposed conference/meeting/workshop; b) history of meeting reporting requirements (in the last 3 years), including submitting acceptable final technical reports, under federally funded assistance agreements (an assistance agreement is a grant or cooperative agreement not a procurement contract) of similar size, scope, and relevance to the proposed conference/meeting/workshop; c) extent and quality to which it adequately documented and/or reported on its progress towards achieving the expected results (e.g., outcomes and outputs) under Federal agency assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) performed within the last three years, and if such progress was not being made whether the applicant adequately documented and/or reported why not; d) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed conference/meeting/workshop; and, e) staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge and resources or the ability to obtain them in order to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed conference/meeting/workshop.

    The Agency may contact the sponsor of the applicant’s past grant awards to corroborate the information and may review other relevant data in Agency files. Any explanation of why reporting requirements were not met or why a prior agreement was not successfully performed will be considered. Applicants with no relevant past performance and/or reporting history, or for whom this information is not available, will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably on these elements.

  5. Expected Results, Benefits, Outputs, and Outcomes: Assess the expected results to be achieved during the conference (outputs) and the benefits of the results (outcomes). What are the proposed environmental benefits that will be provided to the non-Federal scientific community and how will the conference topics meet the needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Finally, how will the applicant track and measure progress toward achieving the expected conference outputs/outcomes including those identified in Section I.

NOTE ON THE EVALUATION OF AN APPLICANT’S PROPOSED SUBAWARDEES AND/OR CONTRACTORS:

The evaluation criteria that will be used by EPA to review applications is described above. During this evaluation, except for those criteria that relate to the applicant's own qualifications, past performance, and reporting history, the review panel will consider, as appropriate and relevant, the qualifications, expertise, and experience of:

  1. An applicant's proposed subawardees/subgrantees identified in the application if the applicant demonstrates in the application that subaward/subgrant will be properly awarded consistent with the applicable regulations in 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31. For example, applicants must not use subawards/subgrants to obtain commercial services or products from for profit firms or individual consultants.
  2. An applicant's named contractor(s), including consultants, identified in the application if the applicant demonstrates in its application that the contractor(s) was selected in compliance with the competitive Procurement Standards in 40 CFR Part 30 or 40 CFR 31.36 as appropriate. For example, an applicant must demonstrate that it selected the contractor(s) competitively or that a proper non-competitive sole-source award consistent with the regulations will be made to the contractor(s), that efforts were made to provide small and disadvantaged businesses with opportunities to compete, and that some form of cost or price analysis was conducted. EPA may not accept sole source justifications for contracts for services or products that are otherwise readily available in the commercial marketplace.

EPA will not consider the qualifications, experience, and expertise of proposed subawardees /subgrantees and/or contractors during the evaluation process unless the applicant complies with these requirements.

C. Application Ranking Based on Peer Review Evaluation
Each peer reviewer will evaluate applications based upon the criteria in B above using a (5) point Likert scale (i.e., 1=poor, 2= fair, 3= good, 4= very good and 5= excellent) for each criteria to arrive at a total score for the application. An overall total score for each application will then be determined by averaging the scores of all of the reviewers. Applications that receive an overall averaged excellent or very good score from the reviewers will be forwarded to the selection official for the specific research program area. Applications that receive a good, fair or poor score will not be forwarded to the selection official for funding consideration.

D. Funding Decisions
Final funding decisions will be made by the appropriate selection official based upon the peer review evaluation results and may also take into account program priorities. Applicants selected for funding will be required to provide additional information listed below under “Award Notices.” The application will then be forwarded to EPA’s Grants and Interagency Agreements Management Division for award in accordance with the EPA’s procedures.

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices
Applicants will be notified by mail about evaluation decisions and the prospect of a grant award based upon the relevant application review cycle date identified in Section II. A summary statement of the scientific review by the peer panel will be provided to each applicant with an award or declination letter.

Applicants recommended for funding will be required to submit additional certifications and an electronic version of the revised project abstract. They may also be asked to provide responses to comments or suggestions offered by the peer reviewers, a revised budget, and/or to resubmit their application. EPA Project Officers will contact Principal Investigators to obtain these materials.

Non-profit applicants that are recommended for funding under this announcement are subject to pre-award administrative capability reviews consistent with Section 8b, 8c and 9d. of EPA Order 5700.8 - Policy on Assessing Capabilities of Non-Profit Applicants for Managing Assistance Awards (http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/award/5700_8.pdf (9 pp, 31 K)). In addition, non-profit applicants that qualify for funding may depending on the size of the award, be required to fill out and submit to the Grants Management Office the Administrative Capabilities Form with supporting documents contained in Appendix A of EPA Order 5700.8.

The official notification of an award will be made by the Agency’s Grants and Interagency Agreement Management Division. Applicants are cautioned that only a grants officer is authorized to bind the Government to the expenditure of funds; a preliminary selection does not guarantee an award.

B. Disputes
Disputes related to this assistance agreement competition will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures set forth in 70 FR 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005) which can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/resolution.htm. Questions regarding disputes may be referred to the Eligibility Contact identified below.

C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
Expectations and responsibilities of grantees and cooperative agreement holders are summarized in this section, although the terms grant and grantee are used. See http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance for the full terms and conditions associated with an award, including which activities require prior approval from the EPA.

  1. Meetings: Conference organizers will be expected to budget for, and participate in, all planning meetings with other organizers to provide conference planning updates, address outstanding planning issues and to discuss the proceedings document.

  2. Approval of Changes after Award: Prior written approval is required from the EPA if there will be a significant change from the work described in the application. Examples of these changes are contained in 40 C.F.R. 30.25. Note: Prior written approval is also required from the EPA for incurring costs more than 90 calendar days prior to award.

  3. Reporting: EPA is waiving the final technical report requirement as authorized by 40 CFR 30.51 (c). However, a grant recipient must agree to provide a proceedings document that will be posted on the ORD website.

    A grant recipient must also agree to provide copies of any peer reviewed journal article(s) resulting from the conference during the project period. In addition, the recipient should notify the EPA Project Officer of any papers published after completion of the grant that were based on research supported by the grant. ORD posts references to all publications resulting from a grant on the ORD web site.

  4. Acknowledgement of EPA Support: EPA’s full or partial support must be acknowledged in the proceedings document, journal articles, oral or poster presentations, news releases, interviews with reporters and other communications. Any documents developed under this agreement that are intended for distribution to the public or inclusion in a scientific, technical, or other journal shall include the following statement:
    This proceedings document [or article] was developed under BAA Assistance Agreement No. __________ awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has not been formally reviewed by the EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of [name of recipient] and the EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

Further information, if needed, may be obtained from the EPA officials indicated below. Email inquiries are preferred. Information regarding this BAA obtained from sources other than these Agency Contacts may not be accurate.

Eligibility Contact: Bernice Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766
Electronic Submissions: Thomas O’Farrell (O’Farrell.Thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
Technical Contact: Bernice L. Smith (smith.bernicel@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9766

In accordance with EPA's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy (EPA Order 5700.5A1), EPA staff will not meet with individual applicants to discuss draft applications, provide informal comments on draft applications, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to ranking criteria. Applicants are responsible for the contents of their applications. However, consistent with the provisions in the announcement, EPA will respond to questions from individual applicants regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the application, and requests for clarification about the announcement.

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