**[Comprehensive Centers Competition]{.underline}**

# Questions and Answers

Below is a compilation of frequently asked questions submitted to the
U.S. Department of Education by prospective applicants for the new
Comprehensive Center Program. The Q&As below are intended to help
applicants prepare their applications for the competition.

How are the regional needs identified by the Regional Advisory
Committees (RACs) to be addressed if the regions for the Regional
Centers are different from those used by the RACs?

The primary purpose and use of the RAC reports was to help inform the
Secretary as the Department determined its priorities for the Centers.
Many of the RAC report findings crosscut RAC regions. Those crosscutting
findings are highlighted in the application package and applicants are
encouraged to review.

As part of the competition, the Department has also encouraged
applicants to consider the RAC reports, to the extent possible, for
useful and important needs assessment information on particular States
and regions.

However, we consider the collection of RAC reports to be one source, but
not the only source, of needs assessment information for applicants to
consider as they devise technical assistance proposals for particular
States and regions for this competition.

The statute gives the Department discretion in determining the Center
regions and we did not bind itself to the structure of the RAC advisory
committees in determining the regions for the new Centers.

The Note starting on the first page of the announcement states:  "The
Secretary will consider the location of the proposed Regional Centers in
the selection and negotiation of cooperative agreements..."  If the
highest rated proposal is from an applicant whose office location
results in a REL region not having a Center in it, will the applicant be
given the opportunity to relocate the center to meet this need or be
rejected? 

Yes, if the highest rated proposal is from an application whose location
results in an REL region not having a Center, the applicant will be
given the opportunity to work with the Department to resolve/relocate.
Applications will not be withheld from the rating panels on that basis.

**Can an applicant that is not located in a region, bid for a Center in
that region?**

The Department expects that Regional Centers will be based within the
States in the defined region. If an applicant has no physical presence
in any State in the region (office, staff, etc.) the applicant would
need to propose a plan for locating service providers physically within
the region.

 

If a Content Center is located in a REL region which does not have a
Regional Center, will that still satisfy the statute requirement for at
least one center established in each REL region.

Yes. 

Page 6 of the Application Package (\"e\" under Cooperative Agreements)
says that the Department will \"review and approve any personnel to be
hired by the Centers under this agreement.  What does this mean?  How
does the Department intend to do this?

Examining the quality of project personnel is part of the review
criteria for the Centers competition. Also, see EDGAR 75.517 and 74.25
(c)(2) re: key staff members.

**Is there a recommended percentage FTE for director?**

No.

Is the nine-month budget period for the first year to begin in October
of 2005 and end in June 2006?

 

As the [Federal Register]{.underline} notice mentions, FY 2005 funds
will support awards for the first budget period of the project, which is
the first nine months of the project period. Grant awards must be made
not later than September 30, 2005. The Department anticipates that FY
2005 funds will cover a period of nine months from the date of the
award.

**What is the recommended amount to devote to evaluation?**

The Department recommends that the applicant reserve funds sufficient to
cover the evaluation plan proposed in the application.

No FY 2005 program funds are reserved for national evaluation. We
anticipate that approximately \$3 million in FY 2006 funds will be used
to begin a national evaluation of the new Comprehensive Centers program
and also to implement the performance measures established described in
section VI-4 of the Federal Register notice.

 

If the Regional Centers are to disseminate information/interventions
provided by the Content Centers, will there be special protocols
established to guide this process?

The Department expects to address this issue with grantees after grant
awards have been made. Applicants, however, are welcome to propose
specific strategies as part of their applications.

** **

**Under Section III of the RFP states that eligible applicants are "
Research organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher
education, or partnerships among such entities, or individuals, with the
demonstrated ability or capacity to carry out the activities
described..."  Does the word "research" refer to "organizations,
institutions and agencies", or just to "organizations".  Specifically,
would a school district or intermediate or state education agency be an
eligible applicant?  Are for profit companies eligible?**

** **

Since the activities required by the statute are the delivery of
technical assistance based on research rather than actually conducting
research, we believe the best interpretation of the statute is read
research as modifying organization only. Therefore an LEA or
intermediate agency, SEA or for profit company may be eligible if the
entity has the demonstrated capacity or ability to carry out the
activities described in section 203(f).

While the authorizing statute requires the board to be jointly selected
by the Governor and chief state school officer in each state, the RFP
instructs the applicant to propose the membership with letters of
commitments. Is there a discrepancy between the statute and RFP?  If a
state has an approval process for such appointments that extends beyond
the time available before July 18, 2005, is a list of proposed advisors
an acceptable alternative to the final list of advisors?

The Department has published a correction notice in the [Federal
Register]{.underline} to allow applicants, as an alternative to
detailing the composition of the board by name and affiliation as part
of the application, to include in their plan a statement of commitment
to comply with section 203(g) of the TA Act and a narrative statement of
how the board would operate.

How should the composition and appointment process of the advisory board
be addressed in a proposal for a Content Center?  

 

See previous question/answer. As an alternative to detailing the
composition of the board by name and affiliation as part of the
application, applicants may include in their plan a statement of
commitment to comply with section 203(g) of the TA Act and a narrative
statement of how the board would operate.

If applicants choose this alternative approach and do not obtain and
submit all letters of commitment at the time of the application
deadline, will there be any sort of penalty? Will applicants who do
adhere to the original guidelines be given a scoring preference?

No. There will be no scoring preferences or penalties given to
applicants based on their compliance with detailing the composition of
their advisory boards at the time of the application deadline.

When the RFP says the primary focus of the Regional Centers will be to
build the capacity of the States and to work with States, does this mean
SEAs or the entire system within a state? 

Primarily with SEAs, but it is not clear what "the entire system" means
in this question. If "entire system" is referencing entire education
system -- including LEAs and schools -- the application suggests
conditions under which direct assistance to LEAs and schools may be
appropriate.

 

**If a bidder has one partner (versus a consortium of multiple partners)
is a \"subcontract\" the same as a \"consortium agreement\".**

 

The answer depends on the nature of the relationship between entities.
If the entities are, in partnership, jointly undertaking responsibility
for performing the grant, there is a consortium. On the other hand, if
one entity takes primary responsibility as grantee and subcontracts for
certain services from another entity, there is a subcontract
relationship.  

 

What are the program performance indicators for the new Comprehensive
Center Program?

To evaluate the overall success of the Comprehensive Center Program,
beginning in fiscal year 2006 the Department will implement three
performance measures to assess the quality, relevance, and usefulness of
center activities. These new measures are adapted from a set of common
measures developed by the Department to help assess performance across
technical assistance programs. The measures are: (1) the percentage of
technical assistance services rendered that are deemed to be of high
quality by an independent review panel of expert stakeholders; (2) the
percentage of technical assistance services rendered that are deemed to
be of high relevance to educational policy or practice by an independent
review panel of qualified practitioners; and (3) the percentage of
technical assistance services rendered that are deemed to be of high
usefulness to educational policy or practice by target audiences.

The Department will provide information to grantees about the
independent panels conducting the review, the review process, and the
definitions and criteria that will be used to evaluate quality,
relevance and usefulness.

**How do applicants access the Department's E-Grant system?**

Applicants should go to
[http://e-grants.ed.gov](http://e-grants.ed.gov/) in order to access the
application for the new Comprehensive Center Program. Please note that
first time users must register to enter to system and access the
application. Previous users must log in.

**On the application for the Comprehensive Center Program do
subcontractors also need to complete a Budget Form 524 and provide a
detailed budget breakdown and narrative or are these only required of
the prime? **

Complete the Budget Form 524 for the entire project. In your budget
narrative, using charts, delineate the budget for each of the partners,
including the lead agency, for each budget year. 

The application package states that for paper submissions of the
application, all illustrations, including charts, tables, graphs and
pictures, must be in black and white. Does this same stipulation apply
to applications submitted through e-grants?

We recommend that all illustrations for all applications be in black and
white. The most important thing is that the applications, especially
once they\'ve been printed onto paper, are easy for the reviewers to
read and understand.

**Does the 150-page limit apply to the entire application?**

No. The 150-page limit applies to Part III- the Narrative section.

Will there be a penalty if applicants submit the resumes for more than
five key personnel?

This is a Department recommendation. There will not be a penalty for
exceeding this recommended number of resumes.