51454 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 190 / Wednesday, October 1, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development

Agency

Business Development Center

Applications: Orlando, FL

AGENCY: Minority Business

Development Agency; Commerce.

ACTION: Cancellation.

SUMMARY: The Minority Business

Development Agency is canceling the

announcement to solicit competitive

applications under its Minority

Business Development Center (MBDC)

program to operate the Orlando MBDC.

The solicitation was originally

published in the Federal Register on

Tuesday, December 17, 1996, Vol. 61,

No. 243, Page 66261.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance:

11.800 Minority Business Development

Center.)

Dated: September 25, 1997.

Donald L. Powers,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Minority

Business Development Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–26032 Filed 9–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development

Agency

Business Development Center

Application: Atlanta, GA

AGENCY: Minority Business

Development Agency.

ACTION: Notice

SUMMARY: In accordance with Executive

Order 11625 and 15 U.S.C. 1512, the

Minority Business Development Agency

(MBDA) is soliciting competitive

applications from organizations to

operate its Atlanta, Georgia Minority

Business Development Center (MBDC).

The purpose of the MBDC Program is

to provide business development

assistance to persons who are members

of groups determined by MBDA to be

socially or economically disadvantaged,

and to business concerns owned and

controlled by such individuals. To this

end, MBDA funds organizations to

identify and coordinate public and

private sector resources on behalf of

minority individuals and firms; to offer

a full range of client services to minority

entrepreneurs; and to serve as a conduit

of information and assistance regarding

minority business. The MBDC will

provide service in the Atlanta, Georgia

geographic service area. The award

number of the MBDC will be 04–10–

98001–01.

DATES: The closing date for applications

is October 31, 1997. Applications must

be received in the MBDA Headquarters’

Executive Secretariat on or before

October 31, 1997. A pre-application

conference will be held on October 15,

1997, at 9:00 a.m., at the following

address: U.S. Department of Commerce,

Minority Business Development

Agency, 401 West Peachtree Street,

N.W., Room 1715, Atlanta, Georgia

30308–3516.

ADDRESSES: Completed application

packages should be submitted to the

U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority

Business Development Agency, MBDA

Executive Secretariat, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 5073,

Washington, D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AN

APPLICATION PACKAGE, CONTACT: Robert

Henderson, Regional Director, at (404)

730–3300. Proper identification is

required for entrance into any Federal

building.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the

program guidelines, the Department of

Commerce will fund up to 60% of the

total cost of operating an MBDC on an

annual basis. The MBDC operator is

required to contribute at least 40% of

the total project cost (the ‘‘cost-share

requirement’’). Contingent upon the

availability of Federal funds, the cost of

performance for the first budget period

(13 months) from February 1, 1998 to

February 28, 1999, is estimated at

$283,156. The total Federal amount is

$283,156 and is composed of $276,250

plus the Audit Fee amount of $6,906.

The application must include a

minimum cost share of 40%, $188,771

in non-federal (cost-sharing)

contributions for a total project cost of

$471,927. Cost-sharing contributions

may be in the form of cash, client fees,

third party in-kind contributions, noncash applicant contributions or

combinations thereof. In addition to the

traditional sources of an MBDC’s costshare contribution, the 40% may be

contributed by local, state and private

sector organizations. It is anticipated

that some organizations may apply

jointly for an award to operate the

center.

The funding instrument for this

project will be a cooperative agreement.

If the recommended applicant is the

current incumbent organization, the

award will be for 12 months. For those

applicants who are not incumbent

organizations or who are incumbents

that have experienced closure due to a

break in service, a 30-day start-up

period will be added to their first budget

period, making it a 13-month award.

Competition is open to individuals,

non-profit and for-profit organizations,

state and local governments, American

Indian tribes and educational

institutions.

Applications will be evaluated on the

following criteria: the knowledge,

background and/or capabilities of the

firm and its staff in addressing the needs

of the business community in general

and, specifically, the special needs of

minority businesses, individuals and

organizations (45 points), the resources

available to the firm in providing

business development services (10

points); the firm’s approach (techniques

and methodologies) to performing the

work requirements included in the

application (25 points); and the firm’s

estimated cost for providing such

assistance (20 points). The scoring

system will be revised to add ten (10)

bonus points to the application of

community-based organizations. Each

qualifying application will receive the

full ten points. Community-based

applicant organizations are those

organizations whose headquarters and/

or principal place of business within the

last five years have been located within

the geographic service area designated

in the solicitation for the award. An

application must receive at least 70% of

the points assigned to each evaluation

criteria category to be considered

programmatically acceptable and

responsive. Those applications

determined to be acceptable and

responsive will then be evaluated by the

Director of MBDA. Final award

selections shall be based on the number

of points received, the demonstrated

responsibility of the applicant, and the

determination of those most likely to

further the purpose of the MBDA

program. Negative audit findings and

recommendations and unsatisfactory

performance under prior Federal awards

may result in an application not being

considered for award. The applicant

with the highest point score will not

necessarily receive the award. Periodic

reviews culminating in year-to-date

evaluations will be conducted to

determine if funding for the project

should continue. Continued funding

will be at the total discretion of MBDA

based on such factors as the MBDC’s

performance, the availability of funds

and Agency priorities.

The MBDC shall be required to

contribute at least 40% of the total

project cost through non-federal

contributions. To assist in this effort, the

MBDC may charge client fees for

services rendered. Fees may range from

$10 to $60 per hour based on the gross

receipts of the client’s business.