Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices 4973 

seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of 

October 1, 1999, and Delegation of 

Authority No. 236–3 of August 28, 2000 

(and, as appropriate, Delegation of 

Authority No. 257 of April 15, 2003), I 

hereby determine that the additional 

objects to be included in the exhibition 

‘‘Nicolai Fechin,’’ imported from abroad 

for temporary exhibition within the 

United States, are of cultural 

significance. The additional objects are 

imported pursuant to loan agreements 

with the foreign owners or custodians. 

I also determine that the exhibition or 

display of the additional exhibit objects 

at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, 

Washington, from on or about February 

9, 2013, until on or about May 16, 2013, 

and at possible additional exhibitions or 

venues yet to be determined, is in the 

national interest. I have ordered that 

Public Notice of these Determinations 

be published in the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, including a list of 

the additional objects, contact Paul W. 

Manning, Attorney-Adviser, Office of 

the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of 

State (telephone: 202–632–6469). The 

mailing address is U.S. Department of 

State, SA–5, L/PD, Fifth Floor (Suite 

5H03), Washington, DC 20522–0505. 

Dated: January 16, 2013. 

J. Adam Ereli, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau 

of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2013–01298 Filed 1–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

Notice of Funding Availability for the 

Small Business Transportation 

Resource Center Program 

AGENCY: Department of Transportation 

(DOT), Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation (OST), Office of Small 

and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Transportation (DOT), Office of the 

Secretary (OST), Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU) announces the opportunity 

for: (1) Business centered communitybased organizations; (2) transportationrelated trade associations; (3) colleges 

and universities; (4) community 

colleges; or (5) chambers of commerce, 

registered with the Internal Revenue 

Service as 501 C(6) or 501 C(3) taxexempt organizations, to compete for 

participation in OSDBU’s Small 

Business Transportation Resource 

Center (SBTRC) program in the South 

Atlantic Region. 

OSDBU will enter into Cooperative 

Agreements with these organizations to 

provide outreach to the small business 

community in their designated region 

and provide financial and technical 

assistance, business training programs, 

business assessment, management 

training, counseling, marketing and 

outreach, and the dissemination of 

information, to encourage and assist 

small businesses to become better 

prepared to compete for, obtain, and 

manage DOT funded transportationrelated contracts and subcontracts at the 

federal, state and local levels. 

Throughout this notice, the term ‘‘small 

business’’ will refer to: 8(a), small 

disadvantaged businesses (SDB), 

disadvantaged business enterprises 

(DBE), women owned small businesses 

(WOSB), HubZone, service disabled 

veteran owned businesses (SDVOB), and 

veteran owned small businesses 

(VOSB). Throughout this notice, 

‘‘transportation-related’’ is defined as 

the maintenance, rehabilitation, 

restructuring, improvement, or 

revitalization of any of the nation’s 

modes of transportation. 

Funding Opportunity Number: 

USDOT–OST–OSDBU–SBTRC2013–1. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 20.910 

Assistance to Small and Disadvantaged 

Businesses. 

Type of Award: Cooperative 

Agreement. 

Award Ceiling: $145,000. 

Award Floor: $125,000. 

Program Authority: DOT is authorized 

under 49 U.S.C. 332(b)(4), (5) and (7) to 

design and carry out programs to assist 

small disadvantaged businesses in 

getting transportation-related contracts 

and subcontracts; develop support 

mechanisms, including management 

and technical services, that will enable 

small disadvantaged businesses to take 

advantage of those business 

opportunities; and to make 

arrangements to carry out the above 

purposes. 

DATES: Complete Proposals must be 

electronically submitted to OSDBU via 

email on or before February 19, 2013 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). 

Proposals received after the deadline 

will be considered non-responsive and 

will not be reviewed. The applicant is 

advised to request delivery receipt 

notification for email submissions. DOT 

plans to give notice of award for the 

competed region on or before March 12, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: Applications must be 

electronically submitted to OSDBU via 

email at SBTRC@dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information concerning this 

notice, contact Ms. Patricia Martin, 

Program Analyst, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W56–462, 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 1– 

800–532–1169 or email 

patricia.martin@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

1. Introduction 

1.1 Background 

1.2 Program Description and Goals 

1.3 Description of Competition 

1.4 Duration of Agreements 

1.5 Authority 

1.6 Eligibility Requirements 

2. Program Requirements 

2.1 Recipient Responsibilities 

2.2 Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization Responsibilities 

3. Submission of Proposals 

3.1 Format for Proposals 

3.2 Address, Number of Copies, Deadline 

for Submission 

4. Selection Criteria 

4.1 General Criteria 

4.2 Scoring of Applications 

4.3 Conflicts of Interest 

Format for Proposals—Appendix A 

Full Text of Announcement 

1. Introduction 

1.1 Background 

The Department of Transportation 

(DOT) established the Office of Small 

and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU) in accordance with Public 

Law 95–507, an amendment to the 

Small Business Act and the Small 

Business Investment Act of 1958. 

The mission of OSDBU at DOT is to 

ensure that the small and disadvantaged 

business policies and goals of the 

Secretary of Transportation are 

developed and implemented in a fair, 

efficient and effective manner to serve 

small and disadvantaged businesses 

throughout the country. The OSDBU 

also administers the provisions of Title 

49, Section 332, the Minority Resource 

Center (MRC) which includes the duties 

of advocacy, outreach and financial 

services on behalf of small and 

disadvantaged business and those 

certified under CFR 49 parts 23 and or 

26 as Disadvantaged Business 

Enterprises (DBE) and the development 

of programs to encourage, stimulate, 

promote and assist small businesses to 

become better prepared to compete for, 

obtain and manage transportationrelated contracts and subcontracts. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 
4974 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices 

The Regional Assistance Division of 

OSDBU, through the SBTRC program, 

allows OSDBU to partner with local 

organizations to offer a comprehensive 

delivery system of business training, 

technical assistance and dissemination 

of information, targeted towards small 

business transportation enterprises in 

their regions. 

1.2 Program Description and Goals 

The national SBTRC program utilizes 

Cooperative Agreements with chambers 

of commerce, trade associations, 

educational institutions and businesscentered community based 

organizations to establish SBTRCs to 

provide business training, technical 

assistance and information to DOT 

grantees and recipients, prime 

contractors and subcontractors. In order 

to be effective and serve their target 

audience, the SBTRCs must be active in 

the local transportation community in 

order to identify and communicate 

opportunities and provide the required 

technical assistance. SBTRCs must 

already have, or demonstrate the ability 

to, establish working relationships with 

the state and local transportation 

agencies and technical assistance 

agencies (i.e., The U.S. Department of 

Commerce’s Minority Business 

Development Centers (MBDCs), Small 

Business Development Centers (SBDCs), 

and Procurement Technical Assistance 

Centers (PTACs), SCORE and State DOT 

highway supportive services contractors 

in their region. Utilizing these 

relationships and their own expertise, 

the SBTRCs are involved in activities 

such as information dissemination, 

small business counseling, and 

technical assistance with small 

businesses currently doing business 

with public and private entities in the 

transportation industry. 

Effective outreach is critical to the 

success of the SBTRC program. In order 

for their outreach efforts to be effective, 

SBTRCs must be familiar with DOT’s 

Operating Administrations, its funding 

sources, and how funding is awarded to 

DOT grantees, recipients, contractors, 

subcontractors, and its financial 

assistance programs. SBTRCs must 

provide outreach to the regional small 

business transportation community to 

disseminate information and distribute 

DOT-published marketing materials, 

such as Short Term Lending Program 

(STLP) Information, Bonding Education 

Program (BEP) information, SBTRC 

brochures and literature, Procurement 

Forecasts; Contracting with DOT 

booklets, Women and Girls in 

Transportation Initiative (WITI) 

information, and any other materials or 

resources that DOT or OSDBU may 

develop for this purpose. To maximize 

outreach, the SBTRC may be called 

upon to participate in regional and 

national conferences and seminars. 

Quantities of DOT publications for onhand inventory and dissemination at 

conferences and seminars will be 

available upon request from the OSDBU 

office. 

1.3 Description of Competition 

The purpose of this Request For 

Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals 

from transportation-related trade 

associations, chambers of commerce, 

community based entities, colleges and 

universities, community colleges, and 

any other qualifying transportationrelated non-profit organizations with the 

desire and ability to partner with 

OSDBU to establish and maintain an 

SBTRC. 

It is OSDBU’s intent to award a 

Cooperative Agreement to one 

organization in the South Atlantic 

Region, from herein referred to as 

‘‘region’’, in this solicitation. However, 

if warranted, OSDBU reserves the 

option to make multiple awards to 

selected partners. Proposals submitted 

for a region must contain a plan to 

service all states listed in the entire 

region, not just the SBTRC’s state or 

local geographical area. The region’s 

SBTRC headquarters must be 

established in one of the designated 

states set forth below. Submitted 

proposals must also contain justification 

for the establishment of the SBTRC 

headquarters in a particular city within 

the designated state. 

SBTRC Region Competed in This 

Solicitation 

South Atlantic Regions ...... North Carolina 

Virginia 

Kentucky 

West Virginia 

Program requirements and selection 

criteria, set forth in Sections 2 and 4 

respectively, indicate that the OSDBU 

intends for the SBTRC to be 

multidimensional; that is, the selected 

organization must have the capacity to 

effectively access and provide 

supportive services to the broad range of 

small businesses within the respective 

geographical region. To this end, the 

SBTRC must be able to demonstrate that 

they currently have established 

relationships within the geographic 

region with whom they may coordinate 

and establish effective networks with 

DOT grant recipients and local/regional 

technical assistance agencies to 

maximize resources. 

Cooperative agreement awards will be 

distributed to the region(s) as follows: 

South Atlantic Region Ceiling: $145,000 

per year 

Floor: $125,000 per 

year 

Cooperative agreement awards by 

region are based upon an analysis of 

DBEs, Certified Small Businesses, and 

US DOT transportation dollars in each 

region. 

It is OSDBU’s intent to maximize the 

benefits received by the small business 

transportation community through the 

SBTRC. Funding may be utilized to 

reimburse an on-site Project Director up 

to 100% of salary plus fringe benefits, 

an on-site Executive Director up to 20% 

of salary plus fringe benefits, up to 

100% of a Project Coordinator salary 

plus fringe benefits, the cost of 

designated SBTRC space, other direct 

costs, and all other general and 

administrative expenses. Selected 

SBTRC partners will be expected to 

provide in-kind administrative support. 

Submitted proposals must contain an 

alternative funding source with which 

the SBTRC will fund administrative 

support costs. Preference will be given 

to proposals containing in-kind 

contributions for the Project Director, 

the Executive Director, the Project 

Coordinator, cost of designated SBTRC 

space, other direct costs, and all other 

general and administrative expenses. 

1.4 Duration of Agreements 

The cooperative agreement will be 

awarded for a period of 12 months (one 

year) with options for two (2) additional 

one-year periods. OSDBU will notify the 

SBTRC of our intention to exercise an 

option year or not to exercise an option 

year 30 days in advance of expiration of 

the current year. 

1.5 Authority 

DOT is authorized under 49 U.S.C. 

332(b)(4), (5) and (7) to design and carry 

out programs to assist small 

disadvantaged businesses in getting 

transportation-related contracts and 

subcontracts; develop support 

mechanisms, including management 

and technical services, that will enable 

small disadvantaged businesses to take 

advantage of those business 

opportunities; and to make 

arrangements to carry out the above 

purposes. 

1.6 Eligibility Requirements 

To be eligible, an organization must 

be an established, nonprofit, 

community-based organization, 

transportation-related trade association, 

chamber of commerce, college or 

university, community college, and any 

other qualifying transportation-related 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices 4975 

non-profit organization which has the 

documented experience and capacity 

necessary to successfully operate and 

administer a coordinated delivery 

system that provides access for small 

businesses to prepare and compete for 

transportation-related contracts. 

In addition, to be eligible, the 

applicant organization must: 

(A) Be an established 501 C(3) or 501 

C(6) tax-exempt organization and 

provide documentation as verification. 

No application will be accepted without 

proof of tax-exempt status; 

(B) Have at least one year of 

documented and continuous experience 

prior to the date of application in 

providing advocacy, outreach, and 

technical assistance to small businesses 

within the region in which proposed 

services will be provided. Prior 

performance providing services to the 

transportation community is preferable, 

but not required; and 

(C) Have an office physically located 

within the proposed city in the 

designated headquarters state in the 

region for which they are submitting the 

proposal that is readily accessible to the 

public. 

2. Program Requirements 

2.1 Recipient Responsibilities 

(A) Assessments, Business Analyses 

1. Conduct an assessment of small 

businesses in the SBTRC region to 

determine their training and technical 

assistance needs, and use information 

that is available at no cost to structure 

programs and services that will enable 

small businesses to become better 

prepared to compete for and receive 

transportation-related contract awards. 

2. Contact other federal, state and 

local government agencies, such as the 

U.S. Small Business Administration 

(SBA), state and local highway agencies, 

state and local airport authorities, and 

transit authorities to identify relevant 

and current information that may 

support the assessment of the regional 

small business transportation 

community needs. 

(B) General Management and Technical 

Training and Assistance 

1. Utilize OSDBU’s Monthly 

Reporting Form to document each small 

business assisted by the SBTRC and 

type of service(s) provided. The 

completed form must be transmitted 

electronically to the SBTRC Program 

Analyst on a monthly basis, 

accompanied by a narrative report on 

the activities and performance results 

for that period. The data gathered must 

be supportive by the narrative and must 

relate to the numerical data on the 

monthly reports. 

2. Ensure that an array of information 

is made available for distribution to the 

small business transportation 

community that is designed to inform 

and educate the community on DOT/ 

OSDBU services and opportunities. 

3. Coordinate efforts with OSDBUs in 

order to maintain an on-hand inventory 

of DOT/OSDBU informational materials 

for general dissemination and for 

distribution at transportation-related 

conferences and other events. 

(C) Business Counseling 

1. Collaborate with agencies, such as 

the State, Regional, and Local 

Transportation Government Agencies, 

SBA, U.S. Department of Commerce’s 

Minority Business Development Centers 

(MBDCs), Service Corps of Retired 

Executives (SCORE), Procurement 

Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), 

and Small Business Development 

Centers (SBDCs), to offer a broad range 

of counseling services to transportationrelated small business enterprises. 

2. Create a technical assistance plan 

that will provide each counseled 

participant with the knowledge and 

skills necessary to improve the 

management of their own small 

business to expand their transportationrelated contracts and subcontracts 

portfolio. 

3. Provide a minimum of 20 hours of 

individual or group counseling sessions 

to small businesses per month. 

(D) Planning Committee 

1. Establish a Regional Planning 

Committee consisting of at least 7 

members that includes representatives 

from the regional community and 

federal, state, and local agencies. The 

highway, airport, and transit authorities 

for the SBTRC’s headquarters state must 

have representation on the planning 

committee. This committee shall be 

established no later than 60 days after 

the execution of the Cooperative 

agreement between the OSDBU and the 

selected SBRTC. 

2. Provide a forum for the federal, 

state, and local agencies to disseminate 

information about upcoming 

procurements. 

3. Hold either monthly or quarterly 

meetings at a time and place agreed 

upon by SBTRC and planning 

committee members. 

4. Use the initial session 

(teleconference call) by the SBTRC 

explain the mission of the committee 

and identify roles of the staff and the 

members of the group. 

5. Responsibility for the agenda and 

direction of the Planning Committee 

should be handled by the SBTRC 

Executive Director or his/her designee. 

Outreach Services/Conference 

Participation 

1. Utilize the services of the System 

for Award Management (SAM) and 

other sources to construct a database of 

regional small businesses that currently 

or may in the future participate in DOT 

direct and DOT funded transportation 

related contracts, and make this 

database available to OSDBU, upon 

request. 

2. Utilize the database of regional 

transportation-related small businesses 

to match opportunities identified 

through the planning committee forum, 

FedBiz Opps (a web-based system for 

posting solicitations and other Federal 

procurement-related documents on the 

Internet), and other sources to eligible 

small businesses and inform the small 

business community about those 

opportunities. 

3. Develop a ‘‘targeted’’ database of 

firms (100–150) that have the capacity 

and capabilities, and are ready, willing 

and able to participate in DOT contracts 

and subcontracts immediately. This 

control group will receive ample 

resources from the SBTRC, i.e., access to 

working capital, bonding assistance, 

business counseling, management 

assistance and direct referrals to DOT 

agencies at the state and local levels, 

and to prime contractors as effective 

subcontractor firms. 

4. Identify regional, state and local 

conferences where a significant number 

of small businesses, with transportation 

related capabilities, are expected to be 

in attendance. Maintain and submit a 

list of those events to the SBTRC 

Program Analyst for review and posting 

on the OSDBU Web site on a monthly 

basis. Clearly identify the events 

designated for SBTRC participation and 

include recommendations for OSDBU 

participation. 

5. Conduct outreach and disseminate 

information to small businesses at 

regional transportation-related 

conferences, seminars, and workshops. 

In the event that the SBTRC is requested 

to participate in an event, the SBTRC 

will send DOT materials, the OSDBU 

banner and other information that is 

deemed necessary for the event. 

6. Submit a conference summary 

report to OSDBU no later than 5 

business days after participation in the 

event or conference. The conference 

summary report must summarize 

activities, contacts, outreach results, and 

recommendations for continued or 

discontinued participation in future 

similar events sponsored by that 

organization. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 
4976 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices 

7. Upon request by OSDBU, 

coordinate efforts with DOT’s grantees 

and recipients at the state and/or local 

levels to sponsor or cosponsor an 

OSDBU transportation related 

conference in the region. 

8. Participate in monthly 

teleconference call with the Regional 

Assistance Division Program Manager 

and OSDBU staff. 

(F) Short Term Lending Program (STLP) 

1. Work with STLP participating 

banks and if not available, other lending 

institutions to deliver a minimum of 

five (5) seminars/workshops per year on 

the STLP financial assistance program 

to the transportation-related small 

business community. The seminar/ 

workshop must cover the entire STLP 

process, from completion of STLP loan 

applications and preparation of the loan 

package to graduation from the STLP. 

2. Provide direct support, technical 

support, and advocacy services to 

potential STLP applicants to increase 

the probability of STLP loan approval 

and generate a minimum of 7 approved 

STLP applications per year. 

(G) Bonding Education Program (BEP) 

Work with OSDBU, bonding industry 

partners, local small business 

transportation stakeholders, and local 

bond producers/agents in your region to 

deliver a minimum of 2 complete BEP 

seminars. The BEP consists of the 

following components: (1) The 

stakeholder’s meeting; (2) the 

educational workshops component; (3) 

the bond readiness component; and (4) 

follow-on assistance to BEP participants 

via technical and procurement 

assistance based on the prescriptive 

plan determined by the BEP. For each 

BEP event, work with the local bond 

producers/agents in your region and the 

disadvantaged business participants to 

deliver minimum of 10 disadvantaged 

business participants in the BEP event 

with either access to bonding or an 

increase in bonding capacity. Furnish 

all labor, facilities and equipment to 

perform the services described in this 

announcement. 

(H) Women and Girls in Transportation 

Initiative (WITI) 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13506, 

and 49 U.S.C. 332(b)(4) and (7), the 

SBTRC shall administer the WITI in 

their geographical region. The SBTRC 

shall implement the DOT WITI program 

as defined by the DOT WITI Policy. The 

WITI program is designed to identify, 

educate, attract, and retain women and 

girls from a variety of disciplines in the 

transportation industry. The SBTRC 

shall also be responsible for outreach 

activities in the implementation of this 

program and advertising the WITI 

program to all colleges and universities 

and transportation entities in their 

region. The WITI program shall be 

developed in conjunction with the skill 

needs of the USDOT, state and local 

transportation agencies and appropriate 

private sector transportation-related 

participants including, S/WOBs/DBEs, 

and women organizations involved in 

transportation. Emphasis shall be placed 

on establishing partnerships with 

transportation-related businesses. The 

SBTRC will be required to host 1 WITI 

event and attend at least 5 events where 

WITI is presented and marketed. 

2.2 Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization (OSDBU) 

Responsibilities 

(A) Provide consultation and 

technical assistance in planning, 

implementing and evaluating activities 

under this announcement. 

(B) Provide orientation and training to 

the applicant organization. 

(C) Monitor SBTRC activities, 

cooperative agreement compliance, and 

overall SBTRC performance. 

(D) Assist SBTRC to develop or 

strengthen its relationships with federal, 

state, and local transportation 

authorities, other technical assistance 

organizations, and DOT grantees. 

(E) Facilitate the exchange and 

transfer of successful program activities 

and information among all SBTRC 

regions. 

(F) Provide the SBTRC with DOT/ 

OSDBU materials and other relevant 

transportation related information for 

dissemination. 

(G) Maintain effective communication 

with the SBTRC and inform them of 

transportation news and contracting 

opportunities to share with small 

businesses in their region. 

(H) Provide all required forms to be 

used by the SBTRC for reporting 

purposes under the program. 

(I) Perform an annual performance 

evaluation of the SBTRC. Satisfactory 

performance is a condition of continued 

participation of the organization as an 

SBTRC and execution of all option 

years. 

3. Submission of Proposals 

3.1 Format for Proposals 

Each proposal must be submitted to 

DOT’s OSDBU in the format set forth in 

the application form attached as 

Appendix A to this announcement. 

3.2 Address; Number of Copies; 

Deadlines for Submission 

Any eligible organization, as defined 

in Section 1.6 of this announcement, 

will submit only one proposal per state 

for consideration by OSDBU. 

Applications must be double spaced, 

and printed in a font size not smaller 

than 12 points. Applications will not 

exceed 35 single-sided pages, not 

including any requested attachments. 

All pages should be numbered at the top 

of each page. All documentation, 

attachments, or other information 

pertinent to the application must be 

included in a single submission. 

Proposal packages must be submitted 

electronically to OSDBU at 

SBTRC@dot.gov. 

The applicant is advised to turn on 

request delivery receipt notification for 

email submission. Proposals must be 

received by DOT/OSDBU no later than 

February 19, 2013, 5:00 p.m., EST. If 

you have any problems submitting your 

proposal, please email 

patricia.martin@dot.gov or telephone 

(202) 366–5337. 

4. Selection Criteria 

4.1 General Criteria 

OSDBU will award the cooperative 

agreement on a best value basis, using 

the following criteria to rate and rank 

applications: 

Applications will be evaluated using 

a point system (maximum number of 

points = 100); 

• Approach and strategy (25 points) 

• Linkages (25 points) 

• Organizational Capability/Site visit 

(25 points) 

• Staff Capabilities and Experience 

(15 points) 

• Cost Proposal (10 points) 

(A) Approach and Strategy (25 Points) 

The applicant must describe their 

strategy to achieve the overall mission 

of the SBTRC as described in this 

solicitation and service the small 

business community in their entire 

geographic regional area. The applicant 

must also describe how the specific 

activities outlined in Section 2.1 will be 

implemented and executed in the 

organization’s regional area. OSDBU 

will consider the extent to which the 

proposed objectives are specific, 

measurable, time-specific, and 

consistent with OSDBU goals and the 

applicant organization’s overall mission. 

OSDBU will give priority consideration 

to applicants that demonstrate 

innovation and creativity in their 

approach to assist small businesses to 

become successful transportation 

contractors and increase their ability to 

access DOT contracting opportunities 

and financial assistance programs. 

Applicants must also submit the 

estimated direct costs, other than labor, 

to execute their proposed strategy. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices 4977 

OSDBU will consider the quality of the 

applicant’s plan for conducting program 

activities and the likelihood that the 

proposed methods will be successful in 

achieving proposed objectives at the 

proposed cost. 

(B) Linkages (25 Points) 

The applicant must describe their 

established relationships within their 

geographic region and demonstrate their 

ability to coordinate and establish 

effective networks with DOT grant 

recipients and local/regional technical 

assistance agencies to maximize 

resources. OSDBU will consider 

innovative aspects of the applicant’s 

approach and strategy to build upon 

their existing relationships and 

established networks with existing 

resources in their geographical area. The 

applicant should describe their strategy 

to obtain support and collaboration on 

SBTRC activities from DOT grantees and 

recipients, transportation prime 

contractors and subcontractors, the 

SBA, U.S. Department of Commerce’s 

Minority Business Development Centers 

(MBDCs), Service Corps of Retired 

Executives (SCORE), Procurement 

Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), 

Small Business Development Centers 

(SBDCs), State DOTs, and State highway 

supportive services contractors. In 

rating this factor, OSDBU will consider 

the extent to which the applicant 

demonstrates ability to be 

multidimensional. The applicant must 

demonstrate that they have the ability to 

access a broad range of supportive 

services to effectively serve a broad 

range of transportation-related small 

businesses within their respective 

geographical region. Emphasis will also 

be placed on the extent to which the 

applicant identifies a clear outreach 

strategy related to the identified needs 

that can be successfully carried out 

within the period of this agreement and 

a plan for involving the Planning 

Committee in the execution of that 

strategy. 

(C) Organizational Capability (25 

Points) 

The applicant must demonstrate that 

they have the organizational capability 

to meet the program requirements set 

forth in Section 2. The applicant 

organization must have sufficient 

resources and past performance 

experience to successfully provide 

outreach to the small business 

transportation resources in their 

geographical area and carry out the 

mission of the SBTRC. In rating this 

factor, OSDBU will consider the extent 

to which the applicant’s organization 

has recent, relevant and successful 

experience in advocating for and 

addressing the needs of small 

businesses. Applicants will be given 

points for demonstrated past 

transportation-related performance. The 

applicant must also describe technical 

and administrative resources it plans to 

use in achieving proposed objectives. In 

their description, the applicant must 

describe their facilities, computer and 

technical facilities, ability to tap into 

volunteer staff time, and a plan for 

sufficient matching alternative financial 

resources to fund the general and 

administrative costs of the SBTRC. The 

applicant must also describe their 

administrative and financial 

management staff. It will be the 

responsibility of the successful 

candidate to not only provide the 

services outlined herein to small 

businesses in the transportation 

industry, but to also successfully 

manage and maintain their internal 

financial, payment and invoicing 

process with their financial 

management offices. OSDBU will place 

an emphasis on capabilities of the 

applicant’s financial management staff. 

Additionally, a site visit will be 

required prior to award for those 

candidates that are being strongly 

considered. A member of the OSDBU 

team will contact those candidates to 

schedule the site visits prior to the 

award of the agreement. 

(D) Staff Capability and Experience (15 

Points) 

The applicant organization must 

provide a list of proposed personnel for 

the project, with salaries, fringe benefit 

burden factors, educational levels and 

previous experience clearly delineated. 

The applicant’s project team must be 

well-qualified, knowledgeable, and able 

to effectively serve the diverse and 

broad range of small businesses in their 

geographical region. The Executive 

Director and the Project Director shall 

be deemed key personnel. Detailed 

resumes must be submitted for all 

proposed key personnel and outside 

consultants and subcontractors. 

Proposed key personnel must have 

detailed demonstrated experience 

providing services similar in scope and 

nature to the proposed effort. The 

proposed Project Director will serve as 

the responsible individual for the 

program. 100% of the Project Director’s 

time must be dedicated to the SBTRC. 

Both the Executive Director and the 

Project Director must be located on-site. 

In this element, OSDBU will consider 

the extent to which the applicant’s 

proposed Staffing Plan; (a) clearly meets 

the education and experience 

requirements to accomplish the 

objectives of the cooperative agreement; 

(b) delineates staff responsibilities and 

accountability for all work required and; 

(c) presents a clear and feasible ability 

to execute the applicant’s proposed 

approach and strategy. 

(E) Cost Proposal (10 Points) 

Applicants must submit the total 

proposed cost of establishing and 

administering the SBTRC in the 

applicant’s geographical region for a 12 

month period, inclusive of costs funded 

through alternative matching resources. 

The applicant’s budget must be 

adequate to support the proposed 

strategy and costs must be reasonable in 

relation to project objectives. The 

portion of the submitted budget funded 

by OSDBU cannot exceed the ceiling 

outlined in Section 1.3: Description of 

Competition of this RFP per fiscal year. 

Applicants are encouraged to provide 

in-kind costs and other innovative cost 

approaches. 

4.2 Scoring of Applications 

A review panel will score each 

application based upon the evaluation 

criteria listed above. Points will be 

given for each evaluation criteria 

category, not to exceed the maximum 

number of points allowed for each 

category. Proposals which are deemed 

non–responsive, do not meet the 

established criteria, or incomplete at the 

time of submission will be disqualified. 

OSDBU will perform a responsibility 

determination of the prospective 

awardee in the region, which will 

include a site visit, before awarding the 

cooperative agreement. 

4.3 Conflicts of Interest 

Applicants must submit signed 

statements by key personnel and all 

organization principals indicating that 

they, or members of their immediate 

families, do not have a personal, 

business or financial interest in any 

DOT-funded transportation project, nor 

any relationships with local or state 

transportation agencies that may have 

the appearance of a conflict of interest. 

APPENDIX A 

FORMAT FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE 

DEPARTMENT OF 

TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF 

SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED 

BUSINESS UTILIZATION’S SMALL 

BUSINESS TRANSPORTATION 

RESOURCE CENTER (SBTRC) 

PROGRAM 

Submitted proposals for the DOT, Office of 

Small and Disadvantaged Business 

Utilization’s Small Business Transportation 

Resource Center Program must contain the 

following 12 sections and be organized in the 

following order: 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 
4978 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices 

1. TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Identify all parts, sections and attachments 

of the application. 

2. APPLICATION SUMMARY 

Provide a summary overview of the 

following: 

• The applicant’s proposed SBTRC region 

and city and key elements of the plan of 

action/strategy to achieve the SBTRC 

objectives. 

• The applicant’s relevant organizational 

experience and capabilities. 

3. UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK 

Provide a narrative which contains specific 

project information as follows: 

• The applicant will describe its 

understanding of the OSDBU’s SBTRC 

program mission and the role of the 

applicant’s proposed SBTRC in advancing 

the program goals. 

• The applicant will describe specific 

outreach needs of transportation-related 

small businesses in the applicant’s region 

and how the SBTRC will address the 

identified needs. 

4. APPROACH AND STRATEGY 

• Describe the applicant’s plan of action/ 

strategy for conducting the program in terms 

of the tasks to be performed. 

• Describe the specific services or 

activities to be performed and how these 

services/activities will be implemented. 

• Describe innovative and creative 

approaches to assist small businesses to 

become successful transportation contractors 

and increase their ability to access DOT 

contracting opportunities and financial 

assistance programs. 

• Estimated direct costs, other than labor, 

to execute the proposed strategy. 

5. LINKAGES 

• Describe established relationships within 

the geographic region and demonstrate the 

ability to coordinate and establish effective 

networks with DOT grant recipients and 

local/regional technical assistance agencies. 

• Describe the strategy to obtain support 

and collaboration on SBTRC activities from 

DOT grantees and recipients, transportation 

prime contractors and subcontractors, the 

SBA, U.S. Department of Commerce’s 

Minority Business Development Centers 

(MBDCs), Service Corps of Retired Executives 

(SCORE), Procurement Technical Assistance 

Centers (PTACs), Small Business 

Development Centers (SBDCs), State DOTs, 

and State highway supportive services 

contractors. 

• Describe the outreach strategy related to 

the identified needs that can be successfully 

carried out within the period of this 

agreement and a plan for involving the 

Planning Committee in the execution of that 

strategy. 

6. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITY 

• Describe recent and relevant past 

successful performance in addressing the 

needs of small businesses, particularly with 

respect to transportation-related small 

businesses. 

• Describe internal technical, financial 

management, and administrative resources. 

• Propose a plan for sufficient matching 

alternative financial resources to fund the 

general and administrative costs of the 

SBTRC. 

7. STAFF CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE 

• List proposed key personnel, their 

salaries and proposed fringe benefit factors. 

• Describe the education, qualifications 

and relevant experience of key personnel. 

Attach detailed resumes. 

• Proposed staffing plan. Describe how 

personnel are to be organized for the program 

and how they will be used to accomplish 

program objectives. Outline staff 

responsibilities, accountability and a 

schedule for conducting program tasks. 

8. COST PROPOSAL 

• Outline the total proposed cost of 

establishing and administering the SBTRC in 

the applicant’s geographical region for a 12 

month period, inclusive of costs funded 

through alternative matching resources. 

Clearly identify the portion of the costs 

funded by OSDBU. 

• Provide a brief narrative linking the cost 

proposal to the proposed strategy. 

9. PROOF OF TAX EXEMPT STATUS 

10. ASSURANCES SIGNATURE FORM 

Complete the attached Standard Form 

424B ASSURANCES-NON-CONSTRUCTION 

PROGRAMS. 

11. CERTIFICATION SIGNATURE FORMS 

Complete form DOTF2307–1 Drug-Free 

Workplace Act Certification, and Form 

DOTF2308–1 Certification Regarding 

Lobbying for Contracts, Grants, Loans, and 

Cooperative Agreements. 

SIGNED CONFLICT OF INTEREST 

STATEMENTS 

The statements must say that they, or 

members of their immediate families, do not 

have a personal, business or financial interest 

in any DOT-funded transportation projects, 

nor any relationships with local or state 

transportation agencies that may have the 

appearance of a conflict of interest. 

12. STANDARD FORM 424 

Complete Standard Form 424 Application 

for Federal Assistance. Note: All forms can be 

downloaded from U.S. Department of 

Transportation Web site at http:// 

www.dot.gov/gsearch/424%2Bform. 

PLEASE BE SURE THAT ALL FORMS HAVE 

BEEN SIGNED BY AN AUTHORIZED 

OFFICIAL WHO CAN LEGALLY 

REPRESENT THE ORGANIZATION. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 11, 

2013. 

Brandon Neal, 

Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization, Office of the Secretary, 

U.S. Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2013–01290 Filed 1–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2013–0002–N–2] 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection Activities; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

its implementing regulations, the 

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 

hereby announces that it is seeking 

renewal of the following currently 

approved information collection 

activities. Before submitting these 

information collection requirements for 

clearance by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting 

public comment on specific aspects of 

the activities identified below. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than March 25, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on any or all of the following proposed 

activities by mail to either: Mr. Robert 

Brogan, Office of Safety, Planning and 

Evaluation Division, RRS–21, Federal 

Railroad Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 25, 

Washington, DC 20590, or Ms. Kimberly 

Toone, Office of Information 

Technology, RAD–20, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 

20590. Commenters requesting FRA to 

acknowledge receipt of their respective 

comments must include a self-addressed 

stamped postcard stating, ‘‘Comments 

on OMB control number 2130–ll.’’ 

Alternatively, comments may be 

transmitted via facsimile to (202) 493– 

6216 or (202) 493–6497, or via email to 

Mr. Brogan at Robert.Brogan@dot.gov, or 

to Ms. Toone at Kim.Toone@dot.gov. 

Please refer to the assigned OMB control 

number in any correspondence 

submitted. FRA will summarize 

comments received in response to this 

notice in a subsequent notice and 

include them in its information 

collection submission to OMB for 

approval. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert Brogan, Office of Planning and 

Evaluation Division, RRS–21, Federal 

Railroad Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 25, 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 

493–6292) or Ms. Kimberly Toone, 

Office of Information Technology, RAD– 

20, Federal Railroad Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35, 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with