[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR413.21]

[Page 91-92]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
  CHAPTER IV--OFFICE OF VOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
                                EDUCATION
 
PART 413--NATIONAL CENTER OR CENTERS FOR RESEARCH IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart C--How Does the Secretary Make an Award?
 
Sec. 413.21  What selection criteria does the Secretary use to evaluate an application proposing research and development activities?

    The Secretary uses the following selection criteria in evaluating 
each research and development application:
    (a) Program factors. (20 points) The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine the extent to which each of the required 
research and development activities described in Sec. 413.3(a)(2) will 
be of high quality and effective.
    (b) Plan of operation. (35 points) The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine the quality of the plan of operation for the 
proposed center, including--
    (1) The applicant's plan for managing the National Center;
    (2) The procedures the applicant will use to implement the National 
Center particularly with regard to the public or private nonprofit 
institution of higher education with which it is associated and, in the 
case of a consortium, with the other member institutions of the 
consortium;
    (3) The applicant's plan for managing the National Center's 
activities and personnel, including--
    (i) Quality control procedures for its activities;

[[Page 92]]

    (ii) Procedures for assuring compliance with timelines;
    (iii) Coordination procedures for communicating among staff, 
subcontractors, members of the consortium, if any, and the Department of 
Education;
    (iv) Procedures for ensuring that adequate progress is being made 
toward achieving the goals of the grantee by subcontractors, and members 
of a consortium; and
    (v) Procedures for ensuring that adequate budget, accounting, and 
recordkeeping procedures will be used;
    (4) The quality of the applicant's detailed plans for year one of 
the National Center, including--
    (i) Methodology and plan of operation;
    (ii) Tasks and timelines;
    (iii) Deliverables; and
    (iv) Dissemination plans for each project; and
    (5) The quality of the applicant's general plans for developing 
appropriate, coherent, and effective vocational education research and 
development activities, or dissemination and training activities, or 
both, for years two through five.
    (c) Key personnel. (10 points) The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine the qualifications of the key personnel the 
applicant plans to use for the National Center, including--
    (1) The extent to which the Director of the National Center has--
    (i) Appropriate professional qualifications, relevant project 
management experience, and administrative skills;
    (ii) A commitment to work full-time at the National Center;
    (iii) A clear commitment to the goals of the project; and
    (iv) Sufficient authority to effectively manage the activities of 
the National Center;
    (2) How the applicant, as part of its nondiscriminatory employment 
practices, will ensure that its personnel are selected for employment 
without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or 
disability; and
    (3) The extent to which other key personnel to be used for the 
National Center--
    (i) Have experience and training in project management and in fields 
related to the proposed activities they will be carrying out; and
    (ii) Will commit sufficient time to the project.
    (d) Vocational education experience. (10 points) The Secretary 
reviews each application to determine the extent to which the applicant 
understands the state of knowledge and practice related to vocational 
education, including--
    (1) The applicant's experience in conducting applied research and 
development activities, dissemination and training activities, or both, 
in the field of vocational education of the type described in 
Sec. 413.3;
    (2) The applicant's capacity for conducting applied research and 
development activities, dissemination and training activities, or both, 
in the field of vocational education of the type described in 
Sec. 413.3; and
    (3) How the activities of the National Center will contribute to the 
advancement of relevant theory and practice in vocational education.
    (e) Budget and cost effectiveness. (10 points) The Secretary reviews 
each application to determine the extent to which--
    (1) The Center has an adequate budget that is cost effective;
    (2) The budget is adequate to support the Center's activities; and
    (3) Costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives of the 
Center.
    (f) Coordination activities. (5 points) The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine the extent to which there is an effective plan 
for the coordination of activities described in Sec. 413.3 (a) and (b), 
and whether these activities are carried out between two institutions or 
within one institution.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under Control No. 1830-
0013)

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2404)