3772 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration

[Docket No. 991215337–9337–01]

RIN 0610–ZA13

National Technical Assistance,

Training, Research, and Evaluation—

Request for Grant Proposals

AGENCY: Economic Development

Administration (EDA), Department of

Commerce (DoC).

ACTION: Request for Grant Proposals

(RFP) Upon Availability of Funds.

SUMMARY: A total of $361,879,000 is

available to EDA for all its programs in

FY 2000, of which approximately

$1,601,000 will be available for National

Technical Assistance, Training,

Research, and Evaluation. EDA is

soliciting proposals for the specific

projects described herein: (1) Evaluation

of EDA’s Planning Program; (2)

Evaluation of EDA’s Local Technical

Assistance Program; (3) Economic

Assessment of Sustainable Development

Projects; (4) Improving Technology-Led

Economic Development Strategies; and

(5) Reviews of Economic Development

Literature and Practice. These projects

will be funded if acceptable proposals

are received. Remaining funding, if any,

may be used to fund additional projects.

EDA issues this Notice to describe the

conditions under which eligible

applications for these National

Technical Assistance, Training,

Research, and Evaluation projects under

13 CFR Part 307, Subpart C (64 FR 5347,

5428–5429; 64 FR 69878–879) will be

accepted and selected for funding.

DATES: Prospective applicants are

advised that EDA will conduct a preproposal conference on February 16,

2000, at 10:00 a.m. EDT in the

Department of Commerce, Herbert C.

Hoover Building, 14th and Constitution

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230,

Room 1414, at which time questions on

these projects can be answered.

Potential applicants are encouraged to

provide written questions (See ADDRESS

section below) by February 14, 2000.

Prospective applicants unable to attend

this pre-proposal conference may

participate by teleconference.

Teleconference information may be

obtained by calling (202) 482–4085

between 8:30–5:00 EDT on February 15,

2000.

Proposals for funding under this

program will be accepted through

March 9, 2000, at the address provided

below. Proposals received after 5:00

p.m. EDT, on March 9, 2000, will not be

considered for funding.

By March 30, 2000, EDA will advise

successful proponents to submit full

applications. OMB has assigned

application forms Control Number

0610–0094.

Completed applications must be

submitted to EDA by April 19, 2000, at

the address below. EDA anticipates that

these projects will be funded about June

15, 2000, but will make the awards no

later than September 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send proposals to John J.

McNamee, Director, Research and

National Technical Assistance Division,

Economic Development Administration,

Room 7019, U.S. Department of

Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

J. McNamee (202) 482–4085.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Areas of Special Emphasis

• Evaluation of EDA’s Planning

Program

EDA invites proposals to evaluate the

impact of its Economic Development

District (EDD) Planning Program.

Background: Under its Planning

Program, EDA provides ongoing

funding, on an annual basis, to

approximately 320 Economic

Development Districts (EDD) to help in

designing and implementing strategies

and to build and maintain local

institutional capacity for the economic

development of the communities they

serve. EDA planning grants fund a

number of activities. These include

developing and maintaining the

Comprehensive Economic Development

Strategy (CEDS) process, developing

projects, coordinating local and regional

economic development efforts in

implementing the CEDS, identifying/

attracting sources of funding and

investment, and providing technical

assistance to its member jurisdictions.

The EDA grants provide communities

with the critical resources to assist in

organizing and carrying out long-and

short-term strategies tailored to the their

particular economic problems and

opportunities. However, the

fundamental impact of the program

should be the sustainable economic

development of the areas served.

EDA’s Planning Program and the

network of local partnerships it has

supported have been critical to the

effectiveness of economic development

efforts at the local and regional level for

more than 30 years. In 1998, EDA

commissioned an independent

evaluation of its regional planning

process in order to increase the benefits

of the process and enhance economic

development capacity at the local level.

That evaluation was completed in 1999.

The current evaluation will complement

this earlier evaluation by measuring the

impact of EDA’s assistance under the

EDD Planning Program.

Scope of Work: The successful

applicant will: (1) evaluate the impact of

EDA funding of EDDs under its

Planning Program, including (a) how

well the program helps communities

build long-term economic development

capacity, (b) whether the strategies

developed are realistic and responsive

to the specific economic development

needs of the areas served, (c) how

effective the technical assistance

provided by the EDD organization is to

the member jurisdictions, and (d) how

effectively EDDs implement the CEDS;

(2) select a representative sample of

EDD grantees, including a rural, urban

and regional balance; (3) make site visits

as necessary; (4) convene a panel of

stakeholders; (5) as appropriate, make

recommendations for improving the

program; (6) prepare a final report; and

(7) conduct briefings and/or training

workshops as set forth in IV.E. below.

Cost: The total EDA share of the cost

of this project may not exceed $249,000.

Timing: The project should be

completed and the final report

submitted within one year of project

approval.

• Evaluation of EDA’s Local Technical

Assistance Program

Background: EDA’s Local Technical

Assistance Program provides funding to

help communities solve specific

economic development problems,

respond to development opportunities,

and build and expand local

organizational capacity in distressed

areas. Often, Local Technical Assistance

projects consist of feasibility studies,

support for other economic

development providers, or similar

projects necessary to prepare a

community for further EDA support. In

recent years, funding for the program

has been approximately $1.5 million per

year, with the average grant size

approximately $25,000. The program

was last evaluated in 1989.

Scope of Work: The successful

applicant will: (1) examine selected

projects funded in FY’s 1996-1997,

provided they have been completed no

later than September 30, 1999, to

identify common and variable features

of representative projects; (2) where

appropriate, make site visits to obtain

more detailed project information; (3)

evaluate the effectiveness of the Local

Technical Assistance Program; (4) make

recommendations as needed for

improving the program; and (5) conduct

briefings and/or training workshops as

set forth in IV.E. below. In evaluating

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices 3773

program effectiveness, relevant

questions include (but are not restricted

to):

• Has the program influenced the

design, implementation, or timing of

local economic development projects?

• Has the program helped distressed

communities undertake or eliminate

specific economic development projects

from their overall strategy?

• Has the program helped distressed

communities build and expand local

organizational economic development

capacity?

• Has the program supported

innovative economic development

approaches and/or given local officials

needed technical expertise?

•To what extent have the projects

and/or the program targeted distressed

areas?

•Were projects completed in a timely

and cost-effective fashion?

•Were there common features that

contributed to project success or failure?

•Could specific outcomes be tracked

back to the completed Local Technical

Assistance projects?

Cost: The total EDA share of the cost

of this project may not exceed $149,000.

Timing: The project should be

completed and the final report

submitted within one year of project

approval.

• Economic Assessment of Sustainable

Development Projects

EDA invites proposals to assess the

economic impacts of sustainable

development projects in distressed

communities.

Background: In recent years, EDA has

funded many local projects to support

sustainable development, including

brownfields redevelopment, ecoindustrial parks, aquaculture, and

projects to support diversification of

natural resource based economies (e.g.,

timber, fisheries, etc.). The agency also

has funded several national studies of

sustainable economic development

strategies and collections of case studies

describing strategies available to

practitioners at the state and local level.

This cumulative experience suggests

that a significant barrier to sustainable

economic development is the inability

of prospective projects to demonstrate

economic viability to potential investors

and funding agencies.

This project is designed to assist

individuals and organization that are

undertaking sustainable development

activities to collect data and develop

methods for assessing the economic

benefits and costs of their projects. EDA

is primarily interested in assessments of

direct economic impacts. Simulations

that assess secondary, indirect, and

induced impacts without generating

original research of direct benefits and

costs will not be considered. Utility of

the research to economic development

practitioners is essential. EDA seeks

economic impact assessments that are

replicable in other contexts, in order to

help future sustainable development

efforts. Impacts considered may be

either on the supply side or the demand

side of the market. However, the

economic impacts described must be

quantifiable and derived from real

economic development projects. It is not

necessary to assess all economic

impacts for a given sustainable

development activity, but those impacts

that are considered should be

researched as completely as possible.

Given the time frame of this study, EDA

anticipates that most proposals will

relate to projects already underway.

EDA is especially interested in studies

that assess impacts that have not

previously been described well (e.g.,

product quality impacts, equity impacts,

etc.), studies that improve existing

assessment methods, and/or studies that

utilize new assessment methods.

Scope of Work: The successful

applicant will: (1) quantitative describe

the anticipated economic benefits and

costs of one or more sustainable

development project(s); (2) review prior

economic assessments and literature

relevant to assessing those impacts; (3)

assess the direct economic benefits and

costs of the project(s) as completely as

possible, using methods deemed sound

by mainstream professional economists;

(4) place those economic benefits and

costs in the context of the community

the project is designed to serve; (5)

prepare a final report that summarizes

the research findings; and (6) conduct

briefings and/or training workshops as

set forth in IV.E. below.

Cost: EDA may provide funding up to

$145,000 for all projects funded under

this RFP. EDA anticipates making

multiple awards from this total funding

available.

Timing: The projects should be

completed and the final reports

submitted within nine months of project

approval.

Improving Technology-Led Economic

Development Strategies

EDA seeks proposals to improve the

technology-led strategies for economic

development in distressed communities.

Background: The current era of rapid

technological change offers both

promise and challenges to America’s

distressed communities. On the one

hand, new technologies can help these

communities enter and succeed in the

economic mainstream by allowing them

to engage in activities such as ecommerce, telemedicine, distance

learning, and modernization of

manufacturing. On the other hand, the

speed of technological advance and the

scale of investment and training needed

threatens to leave behind those

communities that lack a diverse

economic base and solid infrastructure.

EDA assists distressed communities to

design and implement their own

technology-led economic development

strategies. The agency also funds

research to support its investment

strategy by identifying areas where

further investment is most needed,

methods to improve the effectiveness of

the agency’s investments, and ways to

leverage available funding, EDA

research also assists local economic

development practitioners by

disseminating lessons learned by others

in the field. To give some examples,

EDA is presently funding an assessment

of the technology infrastructure needs of

America’s distressed communities, and

recently completed a similar needs

assessment in Native communities. EDA

is also funding the preparation of a

handbook to help local practitioners

prepare technology strategic plans.

Other recent EDA research projects in

this area include a collection of best

practices in technology transfer and

commercialization (underway); a review

of state science and technology strategic

plans (1997); and a comprehensive

guide to business incubators (1996).

This project is designed to support

EDA investments in technology-led

economic development in distressed

areas. Examples of acceptable projects

include (but are not limited to):

• Assessments of past and current

EDA technology investments;

• Research that identifies, describes,

and evaluates specific strategies for

technology-led economic development;

• Research that identifies national

investment needs to support specific

types of technology-led economic

development; and

• Exploration of methods to enhance

the effectiveness of existing technologyled strategies, including ways to expand

available funding in a responsible

fashion.

Projects must have significance to

practitioners nationally. Local feasibility

studies, needs assessments, and project

implementation will generally not be

funded unless the projects have

compelling demonstration value and

include a careful assessment of the

strategy’s replicability elsewhere.

Likewise, purely theoretical research

will not be funded without a convincing

demonstration of its utility to

practitioners.

3774 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices

Scope of Work: The successful

applicant will: (1) describe specific

strategies, needs, and/or methods to

promote economically-important

technological advance in distressed

areas; (2) critically review relevant

literature from academics, practitioners,

and other sources and describe the

contribution of the project to that field

of knowledge; (3) evaluate the

significance of the strategy to

technology-led economic development,

using methodologies generally accepted

by scholars and experts in the field; (4)

prepare a final written report of findings

designed to improve economic

development efforts by EDA and state

and local practitioners; and (5) conduct

briefings and/or training workshops as

set forth in IV.E. below.

Cost: EDA may provide funding up to

$145,000 for all projects funded under

this RFP. EDA may make multiple

awards from this total funding available.

Timing: The project should be

completed and the final report

submitted within one year of project

approval.

• Reviews of Economic Development

Literature and Practice

EDA invites proposals to review the

literature and practical experience

regarding issues of critical importance

to economic development practitioners

nationally.

Background: One of EDA’s main

functions is to disseminate high quality

information about economic

development policies, issues, strategies,

and techniques to practitioners. EDA

fulfills this function by a number of

means, including newsletters,

conferences, use of the Internet, and

targeted research. This project would

help present important and emerging

theoretical issues to practitioners and

policy makers.

EDA is especially interested in

reviews supporting EDA’s core

programs and initiatives. Examples

include: technology-led economic

development; productivity

enhancement through infrastructure

investment; e-commerce; strategies and

policies for dealing with sprawl;

strategies that promote regional growth;

counter-cyclical spending strategies;

microenterprise development; economic

development in Native communities;

and support for regions harmed by

international trade. EDA, however,

welcomes other topics of importance to

domestic economic development.

Completed reviews must be analytical,

and should identify important policy

implications. They must also be

prepared for practitioners rather than an

academic audience.

EDA expects researchers to

demonstrate familiarity with the

proposed topic and ability to conduct a

timely, thorough, and objective review.

EDA welcomes strong graduate student

participation in these projects,

contingent on the student’s ability to

demonstrate expertise in the field of

study. Where a student is to be a

primary participant in the research, a

faculty letter in support of the student’s

participation may be included in the

proposal. This letter, not to exceed two

pages, shall not be subject to the other

page limits specified in Part III. B. EDA

anticipates making multiple awards, but

will not make multiple awards to any

individual researcher. Authors are

encouraged to submit the final review

paper for publication.

Scope of Work: Successful applicants

will:

(1) Prepare a review paper that: a)

describes and analyzes critically key

debates in the literature, analytical

techniques of broad importance to

practitioners; and/or the range of

experience with specific economic

development strategies; b) identifies

important policy implications of the

research; c) represents original research

not previously submitted for publication

elsewhere; d) is of length and quality

suitable for publication in a peer

reviewed journal; and e) is written in a

style appropriate for practitioners.

(2) Conduct up to three presentations

as described in IV.E below.

Cost: EDA may provide funding up to

$72,500 for all reviews funded under

this RFP. The total EDA share of the cost

for any single review may not exceed

$20,000. EDA anticipates that most

proposals will be in the range of $10,000

to $15,000.

Timing: EDA anticipates that most

reviews will take 6 months or less, but

recognizes that this will vary with the

nature of the research. Presentations

may take place up to one year after the

paper is submitted. All projects should

be completed within nine months of

project approval.

II. How To Apply

A. Eligible Applicants

See EDA’s interim final rule at 13 CFR

§ 300.2 (64 F.R. 5347). Eligible

applicants are as follows: institutions of

higher education, consortiums of

institutions of higher education; public

or private nonprofit organizations or

associations acting in cooperation with

officials of a political subdivision of a

state, for-profit organizations, and

private individuals; areas meeting

requirements under 13 CFR 301.2;

Economic Development Districts; Indian

tribes; consortiums of Indian Tribes;

states, cities or other political

subdivisions of a state; consortiums of

political subdivisions of states.

B. Proposal Submission Procedures

Proposals submitted should include:

(1) a description of how the

researcher(s) intend(s) to carry out the

scope of work (not to exceed 10 pages

in length); (2) a proposed budget and

accompanying explanation; (3) resumes/

qualifications of key staff (not to exceed

two pages per individual or

organization), and (4) a proposed time

line for completion of the project. EDA

will not accept proposals submitted by

FAX or email. Proposals received after

5:00 p.m. EST on March 9, 2000, at the

address provided above, will not be

considered.

III. Selection Process and Evaluation

Criteria

All proposals must meet EDA’s

statutory and regulatory requirements.

Proposals will receive initial review by

EDA to assure that they meet all

requirements of this announcement and

13 CFR Chapter III (64 FR 5347),

including eligibility and relevance to

the specified project as described

herein. EDA’s general selection process

and criteria are set out in 13 CFR

§§ 304.1 and 304.2 (64 FR 5347–5348;

64 FR 69874–69875). Proposals that

meet these requirements will then be

evaluated by a review panel composed

of at least three members. EDA will

carry out its selection of proposals to be

funded under the specific projects

described in this RFP using the

following criteria:

• The quality of a proposal’s response

to the scope of work proposed; and

• The ability of the prospective

applicant to successfully carry out the

proposed activities.

If a proposal is selected, EDA will

provide the proponent with an

Application for Federal Assistance

(OMB Control Number 0610–0094).

Notwithstanding any other provision of

law, no person is required to respond to

nor shall a person be subject to a

penalty for failure to comply with a

collection of information subject to the

requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act unless that collection of

information displays a currently valid

OMB Control Number.

IV. Additional Information and

Requirements

A. Authority

The Public Works and Economic

Development Act of 1965, as amended

(Pub. L. 89–136, 42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.),

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices 3775

including the comprehensive

amendments by the Economic

Development Administration Reform

Act of 1998 (Pub.L. 105–393) (PWEDA)

authorizes EDA to make grants for

training, research, and technical

assistance, including grants for program

evaluation and project impact analyses,

that would be useful in alleviating or

preventing conditions of excessive

unemployment or underemployment

(42 U.S.C. 3147, § 207). This RFP is

dependent upon the availability of

funds in FY 2000 for this program.

Public Law 106–113 makes funds

available for this program.

B. Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance

11.303 Economic Development

Technical Assistance.

11.312 Research and Evaluation

C. Program Description

For a description of this program see

PWEDA and 13 CFR Chapter III, Part

307 (64 FR 5347).

EDA assistance is focused on areas

experiencing significant economic

distress, defined principally as per

capita income of 80 percent or less of

the national average, or an

unemployment rate that is, for the most

recent 24-month period for which data

are available, at least one percent greater

than the national average.

D. Costs

Ordinarily, the applicant is expected

to provide a 50 percent non-federal

share of project costs. However, the

Assistant Secretary may waive the

required 50 percent matching share of

the total project costs, provided the

applicant can demonstrate: (1) the

project is not feasible without, and the

project merits such a waiver, or (2) the

project is addressing major causes of

distress in the area serviced and

requires the unique characteristics of

the applicant, which will not participate

if it must provide all or part of a 50

percent non-federal share, or (3) the

project is for the benefit of local, state,

regional, or national economic

development efforts, and will be of no

or only incidental benefit to the

recipient (See 13 CFR § 307.9; 64 FR

5429).

E. Briefings and Reports

Unless otherwise noted, each award

includes a requirement that the

applicant conduct a total of up to seven

briefings and/or training workshops for

individuals and organizations interested

in the results of this project. Potential

applicants should be aware that the

completion dates set forth above are for

completion of the project and

submission of the final written report.

Briefings/workshops will take place no

later than one year after submission of

the final report. Locations and dates of

the briefings/workshops are at EDA’s

discretion. Usually, these consist of at

least one briefing in Washington, DC,

with the other briefings/workshops held

in conjunction with one or more of

EDA’s regional conferences.

Unless otherwise noted, each award

includes a requirement that the

applicant submit an electronic version

and 200 hard copies of the final report

in formats acceptable to EDA.

F. Website

See 64 FR 9221–9226, Part II for

additional information and

requirements (available on the Internet

at http://www.doc.gov/eda/html/

notice.htm, under the heading

‘‘Economic Development Assistance

Programs-Availability of Funds’’).

Dated: January 18, 2000.

Chester J. Straub, Jr.,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic

Development.

[FR Doc. 00–1628 Filed 1–21–00; 8:45 am]

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