This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

30051

Vol. 65, No. 91

Wednesday, May 10, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Northwest Sacramento Provincial

Advisory Committee (PAC)

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Northwest Sacramento

Provincial Advisory Committee (PAC)

will meet on Thursday, May 18, 2000,

at the Mt. Shasta Community Center,

629 Alder Street, Mt. Shasta, California.

The meeting will start at 9 a.m. and

adjourn at 3 p.m. Topics for the meeting

are: (1) An update on the High Complex

Fire; (2) update on the Clear Creek/

Resource Conservation District

proposal; (3) update on the Story Creek

Coordinated Resource Management

Plan; and (4) public comment periods.

All PAC meetings are open to the

public. Interested citizens are

encouraged to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Hendryx, USDA, Klamath

National Forest, 11263 N. Highway 3,

Fort Jones, California 96032; telephone

530–468–1281; TDD (530) 468–2783;

email: chendryx@fs.fed.us.

Dated: May 4, 2000.

Constance J. Hendryx,

PAC Support Staff.

[FR Doc. 00–11646 Filed 5–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Request for Proposals: Fiscal Year

2000 Funding Opportunity for

Research on Rural Cooperative

Opportunities and Problems

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBS) announces

the availability of approximately

$300,000 in competitive cooperative

agreement funds allocated from FY 2000

appropriations. RBS hereby requests

proposals from institutions of higher

education or nonprofit organizations

interested in applying for competitively

awarded cooperative agreements for

research related to agricultural and

nonagricultural cooperatives serving

rural communities. The intent of the

funding is to encourage research on

critical issues vital to the development

and sustainability of cooperatives as a

means of improving the quality of life in

America’s rural communities.

DATES: Cooperative agreement

applications must be postmarked no

later than June 30, 2000. Proposals

postmarked after June 30, 2000, will not

be considered for funding.

ADDRESSES: Send Proposals and other

required materials to Dr. Thomas H.

Stafford, Director, Cooperative

Marketing Division, Rural BusinessCooperative Service, USDA, Stop 3252,

Room 4204, 1400 Independence Avenue

SW, Washington, DC 20250–3252.

Telephone: (202) 690–0368.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Thomas H. Stafford, Director,

Cooperative Marketing Division, Rural

Business-Cooperative Service, USDA,

Stop 3252, Room 4204, 1400

Independence Avenue SW, Washington,

DC 20250–3252. Telephone: (202) 690–

0368.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General Information

This solicitation is issued pursuant to

the Agriculture, Rural Development,

Food and Drug Administration, and

Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

2000 making appropriations for

programs administered by USDA’s RBS

for the fiscal year ending September 30,

2000. The mission of RBS is to improve

the quality of life in rural America by

financing community facilities and

businesses, providing technical

assistance and creating effective

strategies for rural development. RBS

has authority to enter into cooperative

agreements pursuant to section 607(b)(4)

of the Rural Development Act of 1972,

as amended by section 759A of the

Federal Agriculture Improvement and

Reform Act of 1996.

The primary objective of this funding

is to encourage research through

cooperative agreements on critical

issues vital to the development and

sustainability of user-owned

cooperatives as a means of improving

the quality of life in America’s rural

communities. Issue areas on which

proposals should focus are:

(1) Equity management issues in new

generation cooperatives including

alternatives to appreciated delivery

rights: the challenges, benefits, and

pitfalls;

(2) Cooperatives and e-commerce:

how the internet is changing the

competitive landscape for farmer-owned

businesses and their adaptation to it;

(3) Marketing-agencies-in-common: a

case-study examination of successes and

failures;

(4) The role of social capital in

generating positive market outcomes for

cooperatively owned agribusinesses;

(5) Governance and control issues in

evolving cooperative structures and

environments;

(6) Cooperatives as a means of putting

global markets within reach of small

farmers;

(7) The roles of cooperatives

contracting and helping producers of

identity-preserved crops match the

needs of end-users and negotiate

acceptable terms of trade; and

(8) Evaluation of cooperatives’ roles in

the changing market structure of the

food and fiber system.

A cooperative agreement reflects a

relationship between the United States

Government and an eligible recipient

where (1) The principal purpose of the

relationship is the transfer of money,

property, services, or anything of value

to the eligible recipient to carry out

research related to rural cooperatives;

and (2) substantial involvement is

anticipated between RBS acting for the

United States Government, and the

eligible recipient during the

performance of the research in the

agreement. A cooperative agreement is

not a grant. Cooperative agreements are

to be awarded on the basis of merit,

quality, and relevance to advancing the

purpose of federally-supported rural

development programs that increase

economic opportunities in farming and

rural communities.

All forms required to apply are

available from the Cooperative Services

Program web-site at www.usda.gov/rbs/

30052 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Notices

coops/rrcop.htm, by calling (202) 690–

0368, or faxing (202) 690–2723. Forms

may also be requested via Internet by

sending a message with your name,

mailing address (not E-mail), and phone

number to ‘‘thomas.stafford@usda.gov’’.

When calling or e-mailing Cooperative

Services, please indicate that you are

requesting forms for Fiscal Year 2000

(FY 2000) Research on Rural

Cooperative Opportunities and

Problems (RRCOP). Forms will be

mailed to you (not e-mailed or faxed) as

quickly as possible. Forms are also

usually available from the local

university grants office.

Use of Funds

Funds may be used to pay up to 75

percent of the total cost (Federal plus

non-Federal) for carrying out relevant

projects. Applicants’ contributions may

be in cash or in-kind contribution and

must be from nonfederal funds. Funds

may not be used to: (1) Pay more than

75 percent of relevant project or

administrative costs; (2) pay costs of

preparing the application package; (3)

fund political activities; or (4) pay costs

incurred prior to the effective date of the

cooperative agreement. Indirect costs

may not exceed 10 percent of direct

costs.

Available Funds and Award

Limitations

The amount of funds available for

cooperative agreements in FY 2000 is

approximately $300,000. The actual

number of cooperative agreements

funded will depend on the quality of

proposals received and the amount of

funding requested. Maximum amount of

Federal funds awarded for any one

proposal will be $100,000. In 1999, the

15 awards may ranged from $15,000 to

$100,000, with an average award of

$59,000.

Eligible Applicants

Proposals may be submitted by public

or private colleges or universities,

research foundations maintained by a

college or university, or private

nonprofit organizations. Under the

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an

organization described in section

501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code

of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4)), which

engages in lobbying activities, is not

eligible to apply.

Methods for Evaluating and Ranking

Applications

Applications will be evaluated by a

panel of RBS technical experts.

Applications also will be evaluated

competitively and points awarded as

specified in the Evaluation Criteria and

Weights section of this notice. After

assigning points upon those criteria,

applications will be listed in rank order

and presented, along with funding level

recommendations, to the Administrator

of RBS, who will make the final

decision on awarding of agreements.

Applications will then be funded in

rank order until all available funds have

been expended. RBS reserves the right

to make selections out of rank order to

provide for a geographic or subject

matter distribution of funded projects.

In addition, timely completion of past

cooperative agreements with RBS may

be considered in awarding funds. With

respect to any approved proposal, the

amount of funding and the project

period during which the project may be

funded and will be completed, are

subject to negotiation prior to

finalization of the cooperative

agreement.

Evaluation Criteria and Weights

RBS will initially determine whether

the submitting organization is eligible

and whether the application contains

the information required by this notice.

Prior to technical examination, each

proposal will be reviewed for

responsiveness to the funding

solicitation. Proposals focusing on

technical assistance, consulting, or

problem solving for the benefit of a

single cooperative are not encouraged.

Submissions that do not fall within the

guidelines as stated in the solicitation

will be eliminated from the competition

and will be returned to the applicant.

After this initial screening, RBS will

use the following criteria to rate and

rank proposals received in response to

this notice of funding availability. The

maximum number of points is 100.

Failure to address any of the following

criteria will disqualify the proposal:

(1) Relevance: Focuses on

cooperatives serving rural areas and

demonstrates a clear relationship with

the research topics contained in this

notice (maximum 20 points);

(2) Demonstrates potential to

contribute innovative ideas or solutions

to identified problems or issues

(maximum 20 points);

(3) Shows capacity for broad

applicability in facilitating new or

improved cooperative development or

new or improved cooperative

approaches (maximum 15 points);

(4) Outlines a sound plan of work and

appropriate methodology to accomplish

the stated objective of the research

(maximum 15 points);

(5) Adequately documents the need

for and clearly defines the objectives of

the research (maximum 10 points);

(6) Demonstrates cost effectiveness

(maximum 10 points); and

(7) Identifies qualified resources and

personnel, including a demonstrated

track record of similar research

(maximum 10 points).

Deliverables

Upon completion of the project,

recipients will deliver the results of the

research to RBS, in the form of a

document of publishable quality,

accompanied by all applicable

supporting data. Publishable documents

include, but are not limited to,

manuscripts, videotapes, or software, or

other media, as may be identified in

approved proposals. RBS retains

publishing rights to such documents, as

well as rights to any raw or preliminary

data collected as part of the project.

Content of a Proposal

A proposal should contain the

following:

(1) Form SF–424, ‘‘Application for

Federal Assistance.’’

(2) Form SF–424A, ‘‘Budget

Information—Non-Construction

Programs.’’

(3) Form SF–424B, ‘‘Assurances—

Non-Construction Programs.’’

(4) Form AD–1047, ‘‘Certification

Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and

Other Responsibility Matters.’’

(5) Form AD–1049, ‘‘Certification

Regarding Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements.’’

(6) Table of Contents: For ease of

locating information, each proposal

must contain a detailed Table of

Contents immediately following the

required forms. The Table of Contents

should include page numbers for each

component of the proposal. Pagination

should begin immediately following the

Table of Contents.

(7) Project Summary. A summary of

the Project Proposal, not to exceed onepage, should include the following: title

of the project; names of principal

investigators and applicant

organization; and a description of the

overall goals and relevance of the

project.

(8) Project Proposal: The application

must contain a narrative statement

describing the nature of the proposed

research. The proposal must include at

least the following:

(i) Project Title. The title of the

proposed project must be brief, yet

represent the major thrust of the project.

(ii) Project Leaders. List the names

and contact information for the

principal investigators. Minor

collaborators or consultants should be

so designated and not listed as principal

investigators.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Notices 30053

(iii) Need for the Project. A concisely

worded rationale for the research must

be presented. Included should be a

summarization of the body of

knowledge (literature review) which

substantiates the need for the research.

The need for the proposed research

must be clearly and directly related to

the facilitation of new or improved

cooperative approaches.

(iv) Objectives of the Project. Discuss

the specific objectives of the project and

the impact of the research on end-users.

(v) Procedures. Discuss the

hypotheses or questions being asked

and the methodology or approach to be

used in carrying out the proposed

research and accomplishing the

objectives. A description of any

subcontracting arrangements to be used

in carrying out the project must be

included.

(vi) Time Table. A tentative schedule

for conducting the major steps of the

research must be included.

(vii) Expected Output. Describe how

the results will be presented and

disseminated. Include who will be

responsible for any published output.

(viii) Coordination and Management

Plan. Describe how the project will be

coordinated among various participants

and the nature of the collaborations.

Describe plans for management of the

project to ensure its proper and efficient

administration. Describe scope of RBS

involvement in the project.

(9) Personnel Support. To assist

reviewers in assessing the competence

and experience of proposed principal

investigators, the following must be

included for each:

(i) Estimated time commitment to the

project;

(ii) A one-page curriculum-vitae;

(iii) A chronological list of all

publications during the past 5 years.

What To Submit

An original and two copies must be

submitted in one package.

When and Where To Submit

Proposals must be postmarked no

later than June 30, 2000. Proposals must

be sent to Dr. Thomas H. Stafford,

Director, Cooperative Marketing

Division, Rural Business-Cooperative

Service, USDA, Stop 3252, Room 4204,

1400 Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–3252.

Other Federal Statutes and Regulations

That Apply

Several other Federal statutes and

regulations apply to proposals

considered for review and to

cooperative agreements awarded. These

include but are not limited to:

7 CFR part 15, subpart A—

Nondiscrimination in FederallyAssisted Programs of the Department of

Agricultureu—Effectuation of Title VI of

the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

7 CFR part 3015—Uniform Federal

Assistance Regulations.

7 CFR part 3017—Governmentwide

Debarment and Suspension

(Nonprocurement) and

Governmentwide Requirements for

Drug-Free Workplace (Grants).

7 CFR part 3018—New Restrictions on

Lobbying.

7 CFR part 3019—Uniform

Administrative Requirements for Grants

and Agreements with Institutions of

Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other

Nonprofit Organizations.

7 CFR part 3052—Audits of States,

Local Governments, and Non-Profit

Organizations.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The collection information in this

notice have received temporary

emergency clearance by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

Control Number 0570–0028. However,

in accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, RBS will seek

standard OMB approval of the reporting

requirements contained in the Notice

and hereby opens a 60-day comment

period.

Abstract: Approximately $300,000 in

cooperative agreement funds has been

allocated from the FY 2000

appropriations for programs

administered by USDA’s Rural

Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) to

encourage research related to rural

cooperatives. The funds will be

available to institutions of higher

education and nonprofit organizations

for research on issues vital to the

development and sustainability of

cooperatives as a means of improving

the quality of life in America’s rural

communities. These issues include:

(1) Equity management issues in new

generation cooperatives including

alternatives to appreciated delivery

rights: the challenges, benefits, and

pitfalls;

(2) Cooperatives and e-commerce:

how the internet is changing the

competitive landscape for farmer-owned

businesses and their adaptation to it;

(3) Marketing-agencies-in-common: a

case-study examination of successes and

failures;

(4) Roles of social capital in

generating positive market outcomes for

cooperatively owned agribusinesses;

(5) Governance and control issues in

evolving cooperative structures and

environments;

(6) Cooperatives as a means of putting

global markets within reach of small

farmers;

(7) Roles of cooperatives contracting

and helping producers of identitypreserved crops match the needs of endusers and negotiate acceptable terms of

trade; and

(8) Evaluation of cooperatives’ roles in

the changing market structure of the

food and fiber system.

The funds will be awarded on a

competitive basis using specific

selection criteria.

Public Burden in This Notice

Form SF–424, ‘‘Application for Federal

Assistance’’

This application is used by applicants

as a required face sheet for applications

for Federal funding.

Form SF–424A, ‘‘Budget InformationNon-Construction Programs’’

This form must be completed by

applicants to show the project’s

anticipated budget breakdown in terms

of expense categories and division of

Federal and non-Federal sources of

funds. Identifying the project’s

requested funding by expense category

is necessary to assure that the expense

is necessary for successful conduct of

the project, is allowable under

applicable Federal cost principles, and

is not prohibited under any applicable

Federal statute or regulation.

SF–424B, ‘‘Assurances-NonConstruction Programs’’

This form must be completed by the

applicant to provide the Federal

government certain assurances of the

applicant’s legal authority to apply for

Federal assistance and financial

capability to pay the non-Federal share

of project costs. The applicant also

assures compliance with various legal

and regulatory requirements as

described in the form.

Project Proposal

All applicants must submit a project

proposal containing the elements

described in the notice and in the

format prescribed. This allows for indepth evaluation, as well as for

consistency, organization, and clarity.

The elements of the proposal are:

Reporting Requirements

Funding recipients will be required to

submit written project performance

reports on a quarterly basis. The project

performance reports will include, but

are not limited to: (1) A comparison of

actual accomplishments to established

objectives; (2) reasons established

objectives were not met; (3) problems,

30054 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Notices

delays, or adverse conditions which will

materially affect attainment of planned

project objectives; (4) objectives for the

next reporting period; and (5) status of

compliance with any special conditions

on the use of awarded funds.

Record-Keeping Requirements

Regulations require that financial

records, supporting documents,

statistical records, and all other records

pertinent to the award will be retained

for a period of at least 3 years after the

agreement closing. The exception that

records will be retained beyond 3 years

is if audit findings have not been

resolved.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection is estimated to

range from 15 minutes to 15 hours per

response.

Respondents: Not-for-profit

institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

50.

Estimated Number of Responses per

Respondent: 5.

Estimated Number of Responses: 240.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: Roman 1,140.

Copies of this information collection

can be obtained from Cheryl Thompson,

Regulations and Paperwork

Management Branch, Support Services

Division, (202) 692–0043.

Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the Agency,

including whether the information will

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of

the Agency’s estimate of the burden to

collect the required information,

including the validity of the strategy

used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,

utility, and clarity of the information to

be collected; and (d) ways to minimize

the burden of the collection of

information on those who are to

respond, including through the use of

appropriate automated, electronic,

mechanical, or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

All responses to this notice will be

summarized, included in the request for

OMB approval, and will become a

matter of public record. Comments on

the paperwork burden may be sent to

Cheryl Thompson, Regulations and

Paperwork Management Branch, Rural

Development, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Stop 0742, 1400

Independence Avenue SW, Washington,

DC 20250–0742.

Dated: May 4, 2000.

Wilbur T. Peer,

Acting Administrator, Rural BusinessCooperative Service.

[FR Doc. 00–11639 Filed 5–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.

Title: National Employers Survey

2000.

Form Number(s): None.

Agency Approval Number: 0607–

0787.

Type of Request: Reinstatement, with

change, of an expired collection.

Burden: 6,500 hours.

Number of Respondents: 18,000.

Avg Hours Per Response: 21 and one

half minutes.

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau

requests approval to conduct the 2000

National Employers Survey (NES–2000)

which includes a linked Employee

Survey. The Census Bureau conducted

two earlier National Employers Surveys

(1994 and 1997) and two supplemental

Employer surveys (1996 and 1998). As

with the previous surveys, NES 2000

will be conducted on a reimbursable

basis through the Department of

Education’s Office of Educational

Research and Improvement (OERI), and

the National Center for Postsecondary

Improvement (NCPI). Funding will be

provided by the National Center for

Education Statistics and the National

School-to-Work Office.

The NES 2000 will provide specific

and unique information on employers’

recruiting, hiring, training, and other

work environment and human resources

practices from both the employer and

employee perspectives. The NES 2000

will provide the Census Bureau with

information on formal and informal

training programs and participation by

establishments in school-to-work

programs of various types.

This data collection effort will

provide, for the first-time, information

collected from employees of a sample of

the employer establishments. Employee

histories and employee perceptions of

training programs and their working

environment will be collected directly

from employees. The information from

these employees will be linked to the

employer information enabling analysts

to identify those areas where employee

and employer views are similar and

where they are different.

The information from the linked

surveys will help the sponsors and other

concerned organizations to determine

how our Nation’s firms and schools can

improve their effectiveness through

improved education, recruiting and

hiring, training, and school-to-work

programs.

The NES 2000 will incorporate a

telephone survey of 3,000 business

establishments that completed the

telephone interview for NES–III, the

1997 survey. As we conduct the

telephone survey, we will ask

employers to volunteer to participate in

the employee survey. The survey of

employees will cover up to 15,000

employees. Employers who volunteer to

participate in the employee survey will

receive 30 employee questionnaires and

simple instructions on how to forward

the questionnaires to a sample of their

employees. The employees will then

complete the questionnaires and mail

them back to the Census Bureau.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profit organizations.

Frequency: One-time.

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Title 13 USC, Section

182; National Education Statistics Act,

Chapter 71, Title 20.

OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter,

(202) 395–5103.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing Linda Engelmeier,

DOC Forms Clearance Officer, (202)

482–3272, Department of Commerce,

room 5033, 14th and Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230

(or via the Internet at

LEngelme@doc.gov).

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent

within 30 days of publication of this

notice to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk

Officer, room 10201, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: May 5, 2000.

Madeleine Clayton,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–11699 Filed 5–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission For OMB Review;

Comment Request

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for