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Federal Register Notices
[Federal Register: July 16, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 137)]
[Notices]
[Page 40839-40841]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16jy08-41]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Notice of Funds Availability; Inviting
Applications for the Quality
Samples Program
Announcement Type: New.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.605
SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
announces it is inviting proposals for the 2009
Quality Samples
Program (QSP). The intended
effect of this notice is to solicit applications
from eligible applicants and award funds in
October 2008. QSP is administered by personnel
of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
DATES: All proposals must be received by 5 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time, August 15, 2008.
Applications received after this date will be
considered only if funds are still available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Entities
wishing to apply for funding assistance should
contact the Grants Management Branch, Foreign
Agricultural Service, phone: (202) 690-4058,
fax: (202) 690-0193, e-mail:
emo@fas.usda.gov. Information is also
available on the Foreign Agricultural Service
Web site at
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/QSP.asp.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Authority: QSP is authorized under Section 5(f) of the CCC
Charter Act, 15 U.S.C. 714c(f).
Purpose: QSP is designed to encourage the development and
expansion of export markets for U.S.
agricultural commodities by assisting U.S.
entities in providing commodity samples
to potential foreign importers to promote a
better understanding and appreciation for the
high quality of U.S.
agricultural commodities.
QSP participants will be responsible for procuring (or
arranging for the procurement of) commodity
samples, exporting the
samples, and providing the technical
assistance necessary to facilitate successful
use of the samples by
importers. Participants that are funded under
this announcement may seek reimbursement for the
sample purchase price, the cost of transporting
the samples domestically to the
port of export, and then to the foreign port or
point of entry. Transportation costs from the
foreign port or point of entry to the final
destination will not be eligible for
reimbursement. CCC will not reimburse the costs
incidental to purchasing and transporting
samples, for example,
inspection or documentation fees. Although
providing technical assistance is required for
all projects, CCC will not reimburse the costs
of providing technical assistance. A QSP
participant will be reimbursed after CCC reviews
its reimbursement claim and determines that the
claim is complete.
General Scope of QSP Projects: QSP projects are the
activities undertaken by a QSP participant to
provide an appropriate sample of a U.S.
agricultural commodity to a foreign importer, or
a group of foreign importers, in a given market.
The purpose of the project is to provide
information to an appropriate target audience
regarding the attributes, characteristics, and
proper use of the U.S. commodity. A QSP project
addresses a single market/commodity combination.
As a general matter, QSP projects should conform to the
following guidelines:
Projects should benefit the represented U.S. industry and not
a specific company or brand;
Projects should develop a new market for a U.S. product,
promote a new U.S. product, or promote a new use
for a U.S. product, rather than promote the
substitution of one established U.S. product for
another;
Sample commodities provided under a QSP project must be in
sufficient supply and available on a commercial
basis;
The QSP project must either subject the commodity sample to
further processing or substantial transformation
in the importing country, or the sample must be
used in technical seminars designed to
demonstrate to an appropriate target audience
the proper preparation or use of the sample in
the creation of an end product;
Samples provided in a QSP project shall not
be directly used as part of a retail promotion
or supplied directly to consumers. However, the
end product, that is, the product resulting from
further processing, substantial transformation,
or a technical seminar, may be provided to
end-use consumers to demonstrate to importers
consumer preference for that end product; and
Samples shall be in quantities less than a
typical commercial sale and limited to the
amount sufficient to achieve the project goal
(e.g., not more than a full commercial mill run
in the
destination country).
QSP projects shall target foreign importers and audiences
who:
Have not previously purchased the U.S. commodity which will
be transported under QSP;
Are unfamiliar with the variety, quality
attribute, or end-use characteristic of the U.S.
commodity;
Have been unsuccessful in previous attempts to import,
process, and market the U.S. commodity (e.g.,
because of improper specification, blending,
formulation, sanitary, or phytosanitary issues);
Are interested in testing or demonstrating the benefits of
the U.S. commodity; or
Need technical assistance in processing or using the U.S.
commodity.
II. Award Information
Under this announcement, the number of projects per
participant will not be limited. However,
individual projects will be limited to $75,000
of QSP reimbursement. Projects comprised of
technical preparation seminars, that is,
projects that do not include further processing
or substantial transformation, will be limited
to $15,000 of QSP reimbursement as these
projects require smaller samples.
Financial assistance will be made available on a
reimbursement basis only; and cash advances will
not be made available to any QSP participant.
All proposals will be reviewed against the evaluation
criteria contained herein and funds will be
awarded on a competitive basis. 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.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Applicants: Any United States private or Government entity
with a demonstrated role or interest in
exporting U.S. agricultural commodities 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 (SRTGs), and profit-making entities.
2. Cost Sharing: FAS considers the applicant's willingness to
contribute resources, including cash, goods, and
services of the U.S. industry and foreign third
parties, when determining which proposals are
approved for funding.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Organizations are
encouraged to submit applications to FAS through
the Unified Export Strategy (UES) application
Internet Web site. The UES allows interested
entities to submit a consolidated and
strategically coordinated single
proposal, which incorporates requests for
funding and recommendations, for virtually all
the FAS marketing programs, financial assistance
programs, and market access programs. Applicants
are not required, however, to use the UES
format. Organizations can submit applications in
the UES format by two methods. The first allows
an applicant to submit information directly to
the FAS through the UES application Internet Web
site. The FAS highly recommends applying via the
Internet, as this format virtually eliminates
paperwork, and expedites the FAS processing and
review cycle. Applicants also have the option of
submitting electronic versions (along with two
paper copies) of their applications to the FAS
on compact disc.
Applicants planning to use the UES Internet-based system must
contact the FAS Program Policy
Staff at (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.
Applicants who choose to submit applications on compact disc
can obtain an application format at the
following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/qsp_appl.html
.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: To be
considered for QSP, an applicant must submit to
FAS information detailed in this notice.
Additionally, in accordance with the Office of
Management and Budget's policy directive
regarding the need to identify entities that are
receiving government awards, 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 at
1-866-705-5711.
Incomplete applications and applications which do not
otherwise conform to this announcement will not
be accepted for review.
FAS recommends that proposals contain, at a minimum, the
following:
(a) Organizational information, including:
Organization's name, address, Chief Executive Officer (or
designee), Federal Tax Identification Number
(TIN), and DUNS number;
Type of organization;
Name, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the
primary contact person;
A description of the organization and its membership;
A description of the organization's prior export promotion
experience; and
A description of the organization's experience in
implementing an appropriate trade/technical
assistance component.
(b) Market information, including:
An assessment of the market;
A long-term strategy in the market; and
U.S. export value/volume and market share (historic and
goals) for 2002-2008;
(c) Project information, including:
A brief project title;
Amount of funding requested;
A brief description of the specific market development trade
constraint or opportunity to be addressed by the
project, performance measures for the years
2009-2011, which will be used to
measure the effectiveness of the project, a
benchmark performance measure for 2007, the
viability of long-term sales to this market, the
goals of the project, and the expected benefits
to the represented industry;
A description of the activities planned to address the
constraint or opportunity, including how the
sample will be used in the end-use performance
trial, the attributes of the sample to be
demonstrated and its end-use benefit, and
details of the trade/technical servicing
component (including who will provide and who
will fund this component);
A sample description (i.e. , commodity, quantity,
quality, type, and grade), including a
justification for selecting a sample with such
characteristics (this justification should
explain in detail why the project could not be
effective with a smaller sample);
An itemized list of all estimated costs associated with the
project for which reimbursement will be sought;
Beginning and end dates for the proposed project; and
The importer's role in the project regarding handling and
processing the commodity sample;
(d) Information indicating all funding sources and amounts to
be contributed by each entity that will
supplement implementation of the proposed
project. This may include the organization that
submitted the proposal, private industry
entities, host governments, foreign third
parties, CCC, FAS, or other Federal agencies.
Contributed resources may include cash and goods
and services.
3. Submission Dates and Times: All applications must be
received by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, August
15, 2008. Applications received after this date
will be considered only if funds are still
available.
4. Funding Restrictions: Proposals which request more than
$75,000 of CCC funding for individual projects
will not be considered. Projects comprised of
technical preparation seminars will be limited
to $15,000 in QSP funding. CCC will not
reimburse expenditures made prior to
approval of a proposal or unreasonable
expenditures.
5. Other Submission Requirements: All Internet-based
applications must be properly submitted by 5
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, August 15, 2008.
All applications on compact disc (with two accompanying paper
copies) and any other form of application must
be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time,
August 15, 2008, at the following address:
Hand Delivery (including FedEx, 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.
V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria and Review Process: Following is a description of
the FAS process for reviewing applications and
the criteria for allocating available QSP funds.
FAS will use the following criteria in evaluating proposals:
The ability of the organization to provide an experienced
staff with the requisite technical and trade
experience to execute the proposal;
The extent to which the proposal is targeted to a market in
which the United States is generally
competitive;
The potential for expanding commercial sales in the proposed
market;
The nature of the specific market constraint or opportunity
involved and how well it is addressed by the
proposal;
The extent to which the importer's contribution in terms of
handling and processing enhances the potential
outcome of the project;
The amount of reimbursement requested and the organization's
willingness to contribute resources, including
cash and goods and services of the U.S.
industry, and foreign third parties; and
How well the proposed technical assistance component assures
that performance trials will effectively
demonstrate the intended end-use benefit.
Highest priority for funding under this announcement will be
given to meritorious proposals that target
countries meeting either of the following
criteria:
Per capita income less than $11,115 (the ceiling on upper
middle income economies as determined by the
World Bank [World Development Indicators, July
2007]); and population greater than 1 million.
Proposals may address suitable regional
groupings, for example, the islands of the
Caribbean Basin; or
U.S. market share of imports of the commodity identified in
the proposal of 10 percent or less.
Proposals will be evaluated by the applicable FAS Commodity
Branches in the Market Development and Grants
Management Division. The Commodity Branches will
review 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 proposals and funding
recommendations to the Deputy Administrator,
Office of Trade Programs.
2. Anticipated Announcement Date: Announcements of funding
decisions for QSP are anticipated during October
2008.
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 the levels
of QSP funding, and any cost-share contribution
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, including,
but not limited to, procurement (or arranging
for procurement) of the commodity sample at a
fair market price, arranging for transportation
of the commodity sample within the time limit
specified in the agreement (organizations should
endeavor to ship commodities within 6 months of
the effective date of agreement), compliance
with cargo preference requirements (shipment on
United States flag vessels, as required),
compliance with the Fly America Act requirements
(shipment on United States air carriers, as
required), timely and effective implementation
of technical assistance, and submission of a
written evaluation report within 90 days of
expiration of the agreement.
QSP agreements are subject to review and verification by the
FAS Compliance, Security and Emergency Planning
Division. Upon request, a QSP participant shall
provide to CCC the original documents which
support the participant's reimbursement claims.
CCC may deny a claim for reimbursement if the
claim is not supported by adequate
documentation.
3. Reporting: A written evaluation report must be submitted
within 90 days of the expiration of each
participant's QSP agreement. Evaluation reports
should address all performance measures that
were presented in the proposal.
VII. Agency Contact(s)
For additional information and assistance, contact the Grants
Management Branch, Foreign Agricultural Service,
phone: (202) 690-4058, fax: (202) 690-0193,
e-mail:
emo@fas.usda.gov.
Signed at Washington, DC on the 2nd of July,
2008.
Michael W. Yost,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and
Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. E8-16368 Filed 7-15-08; 8:45 am]
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