SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Authority: The TASC Program is authorized by section 3205 of
Pub. L. 107-171. TASC regulations appear at 7
CFR part 1487.
Purpose: The TASC program is designed to assist U.S.
organizations by providing funding for projects
that address sanitary, phytosanitary, and
technical barriers that prohibit or threaten the
export of U.S. specialty crops. U.S. specialty
crops, for the purpose of the TASC Program, are
defined to include all cultivated plants, or the
products thereof, produced in the U.S., except
wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice,
peanuts, sugar, and tobacco.
As a general matter, TASC Program projects should be designed
to accomplish the following goals:
Projects should address a sanitary, phytosanitary, or related
technical barrier that prohibits or threatens
the export of U.S. specialty crops;
Projects should demonstrably benefit the represented industry
and not a specific company or brand; and,
Projects must address barriers to U.S. specialty crops that
are currently available on a commercial basis
and for which barrier removal would
predominately benefit U.S. exports.
Examples of expenses that the CCC may agree to reimburse
under the TASC Program include, but are not
limited to: Initial pre-clearance programs,
export protocol and work plan support, seminars
and workshops, study tours, field surveys,
development of pest lists, pest and disease
research, database development, reasonable
logistical and administrative support, and
travel and per diem expenses.
II. Award Information
In general, all qualified proposals received before the
specified application deadlines will compete for
funding. The limited funds and the range of
barriers affecting the exports of U.S. specialty
crops worldwide preclude CCC from approving
large budgets for individual projects. In prior
years, the amount of funding per proposal has
ranged from $13,000 to $250,000, the maximum
allowed.
Applicants may submit multiple proposals, and applicants with
previously approved TASC proposals may apply for
additional funding.
However, no TASC participant may have more than
three approved projects underway at any given
time.
FAS will consider providing either grant funds as direct
assistance to U.S. organizations or providing
technical assistance on behalf of U.S.
organizations, provided that the organization
submits timely and qualified proposals. FAS will
review all proposals against the evaluation
criteria contained in the program regulations.
Funding for successful proposals will be provided through
specific agreements. These agreements will
incorporate the proposal as approved by FAS. FAS
must approve in advance any subsequent changes
to the project. FAS or another Federal agency
may be involved in the
implementation of approved projects.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Any United States organization,
private or government, may apply to the program.
Government organizations consist of federal,
state, and local agencies. Private organizations
include non-profit trade associations,
universities, agricultural cooperatives, state
regional trade groups, and private companies.
Foreign organizations, whether government or private, may
participate as third parties in activities
carried out by U.S. organizations, but are not
eligible for funding assistance from the
program.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Applicants are very strongly
encouraged to provide matching funds or cost
sharing support in this highly competitive
program. Such support may be in the form of
cash, goods, or in-kind services which are
dedicated to the project by the organization
that submitted the proposal, private industry
entities, host governments, or foreign third
parties.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Application through the UES: Organizations are strongly
encouraged to submit applications to FAS through
the Unified Export Strategy (UES) application
Internet Web site. Using the UES application
process reduces paperwork and expedites FAS
processing and review cycle. Applicants planning
to use the UES Internet-based system must
contact FAS Program Policy Staff on (202)
720-4327 to obtain site access information
including a user ID and password. The UES
Internet-
based application, including a Help file
containing step-by-step instructions for its
use, may be found at the following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/cooperators.html.
2. Application through electronic and hard copies: Applicants
also have the option of submitting electronic
versions in the UES format (along with two paper
copies) of their applications to FAS on
diskette. Applicants who choose to submit
applications on diskette can obtain an
application format at the following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/tasc/proposals.html.
3. Content and Form of Application Submission: All TASC
proposals must contain complete information
about the proposed projects as described in Sec.
1487.5(b) of the TASC Program regulations. In
addition, in accordance with the Office of
Management and Budget's issuance of a final
policy (68 FR 38402) regarding the use of a
universal identifier for all Federal grants and
cooperative agreements, all applicants must
submit a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number. An applicant may
request a DUNS number at no cost by calling the
dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line on
1-866-705-5711. Incomplete applications and
applications which do not otherwise conform to
this announcement will not be accepted for
review.
4. Submission Dates and Times: TASC funding is limited, and
in order to assure sufficient resources are
available to meet unanticipated needs during the
fiscal year, TASC proposals will,
generally, only be evaluated on a semi-annual
basis. That is:
Proposals received prior to, but not later than, 5 p.m.
(local time Washington, DC) February 12, 2007,
will be considered for funding with other
proposals received by that date;
Proposals not approved for funding during the review period
will be reconsidered for funding after the
review period only if the applicant specifically
requests such reconsideration in writing,
and only if funding remains available;
Proposals received after 5 p.m. (local time, Washington, DC)
February 12, 2007, will be considered for
funding only if funding remains available.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a proposal may be submitted
for expedited consideration under the TASC Quick
Response process if, in addition to meeting all
requirements of the TASC program, a proposal
clearly identifies a time-sensitive activity. In
these cases, a proposal may be submitted at any
time for an immediate evaluation.
FAS will track the time and date of receipt of all proposals.
5. Funding Restrictions: Proposals which request more than
$250,000 of CCC funding in a given year will not
be considered. Proposals to fund projects that
exceed three years in duration will not be
considered. No TASC participant may have more
than three approved projects underway at any
given time. Although funded projects may take
place in the United States, all eligible
projects must specifically address sanitary,
phytosanitary, or technical barriers to the
export of U.S. specialty crops.
Certain types of expenses are not eligible for reimbursement
by the program, including the costs of market
research, advertising, or other promotional
expenses. CCC will not reimburse unreasonable
expenditures or any expenditure made prior to
approval of a proposal.
6. Other Submission Requirements: All Internet-based
applications must be properly submitted to 5
p.m. (local time in Washington, DC) on February
12, 2007, to be considered.
All applications on diskette (with two accompanying paper
copies) and any other applications must be
received by 5 p.m. (local time in Washington,
DC) on February 12, 2007, at one of the
following addresses:
Hand Delivery (including FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.): U.S.
Department of Agriculture,
Foreign Agricultural Service, Program Policy
Staff, Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024.
U.S. Postal Delivery: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Foreign Agricultural Service, Program Policy
Staff, 1400 Independence Avenue, SE, Stop Code
1042 South Building, Washington, DC 20250-1042.
V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria: FAS follows the evaluation criteria set forth in
Sec. 1487.6 of the TASC regulations.
2. Review and Selection Process: FAS will review proposals
for eligibility and will evaluate each proposal
against the factors described above. The purpose
of this review is to identify meritorious
proposals, recommend an appropriate funding
level for each proposal based upon these
factors, and submit the proposals and funding
recommendations to the Deputy Administrator,
Office of Trade Programs. FAS may, when
appropriate, request the assistance of other
U.S. government subject area experts in
evaluating the merits of a proposal.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: FAS will notify each applicant in writing
of the final disposition of its application. FAS
will send an approval letter and agreement to
each approved applicant. The approval letter and
agreement will specify the terms and conditions
applicable to the project, including levels of
funding, timelines for implementation, and
written evaluation requirements.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: The
agreements will incorporate the details of each
project as approved by FAS. Each agreement will
identify terms and conditions pursuant to which
CCC will reimburse certain costs of each
project. Agreements will also outline the
responsibilities of the participant. Interested
parties should review the TASC Program
regulations found at 7 CFR part 1487 in addition
to this announcement.
3. Reporting: TASC participants are subject to the reporting
and recordkeeping requirements described in 7
CFR part 3019. In addition, participants are
required to submit a written report(s), on no
less than an annual basis, and a final report,
each of which evaluates their TASC project using
the performance measures presented in the
approved proposal.
VII. Agency Contact
For additional information or assistance, contact the Program
Policy Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture,
Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024,
phone: (202) 720-4327, fax: (202) 720-9361,
e-mail:
ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov.
Signed at Washington, DC on December 28,
2006.
W. Kirk Miller,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and
Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation