64886 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 1997 / Notices

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

If your have additional comments,

suggestions, or need a copy of the

proposed information collection

instrument with instructions, or

additional information, please contact

Kristen Mahoney, 202–616–2896, U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services,

1100 Vermont Avenue, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20530.

Additionally, comments and/or

suggestions regarding the item(s)

contained in this notice, especially

regarding the estimated public burden

and associated response time should be

directed to Kristen Mahoney, 202–616–

2896, U.S. Department of Justice, Office

of Community Oriented Policing

Services, 1100 Vermont Avenue, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20530.

Overview of this information

collection:

(1) Type of Information Collection:

New collection.

(2) Title of the Form/Collection:

Problem Solving Partnerships Report on

Analysis.

(3) Agency form number, if any, and

the applicable component of the

Department of Justice sponsoring the

collection: Form: None. Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services,

U.S. Department of Justice.

(4) Affected public who will be asked

or required to respond, as well as a brief

abstract: Primary: State and Local

governments, private non-profit

organizations, individuals, education

institutions, hospitals, and private

commercial organizations (if legislation

allows). Other: None.

The information collected is used to

determine grantee progress on its

Problem Solving Partnerships (PSP)

Grant. Completion of such report is a

condition of the PSP grant award. Upon

receipt and review, the agency will

notify the grantee if it is not in

compliance with the terms and

conditions of its grant award under this

program.

(5) An estimate of the total number of

respondents and the amount of time

estimated for an average respondent to

respond: 470 respondents at 8 hours per

response. The information will be

collected once from each respondent.

(6) An estimate of the total public

burden (in hours) associated with the

collection: 3,760 annual burden hours.

If additional information is required

contact: Mr. Robert B. Briggs, Clearance

Officer, United States Department of

Justice, Information Management and

Security Staff, Justice Management

Division, Suite 850, Washington Center,

1001 G Street, NW, Washington, DC

20530.

Dated: December 3, 1997.

Robert B. Briggs,

Department Clearance Officer, United States

Department of Justice.

[FR Doc. 97–32149 Filed 12–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–21–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

Notice of Availability of Funds and

Solicitation for Grant Applications

(SGA)

AGENCY: Employment and Training

Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds

and solicitation for grant applications

(SGA) for engaging employers in State

and local School-to-Work (STW)

systems through efforts undertaken by

industry groups and trade associations.

SUMMARY: This notice contains all of the

necessary information and forms

needed to apply for grant funding. The

Departments of Labor and Education

jointly invite proposals for

approximately 3—5 new awards in FY

1998, as authorized under section 403 of

the School-to-Work Opportunities Act

of 1994 (the Act). These awards will

provide support to industry groups and

trade associations to undertake

outreach, technical assistance, and other

activities to engage and to build the

capacity of employers to participate in

STW systems. As a result of the

products developed and activities

carried out, awardees will be asked to

provide clear, quantifiable evidence that

they are significantly increasing the

numbers of employers in their industry

who are participating in STW activities.

DATES: Applications for grant awards

will be accepted commencing December

9, 1997. The closing date for receipt of

applications is January 23, 1998, at 4

P.M., (Eastern Time) at the address

below. Telefacsimile (FAX) applications

will not be honored.

ADDRESSES: Applications shall be

mailed to: U.S. Department of Labor,

Employment and Training

Administration, Division of Acquisition

and Assistance, Attention: Ms. Laura

Cesario, Reference: SGA/DAA 98–003,

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room

S–4203, Washington, D.C., 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Division of Acquisition and Assistance,

telephone: (202) 219–8694 (this is not a

toll free number). This solicitation will

also be published on the Internet, on the

Employment and Training

Administration’s Home Page at http://

www.doleta.gov. Award notifications

will also be published on this Home

Page.

Industry/Trade Association Solicitation

I. Purpose

To invite proposals to support

industry and trade associations to

undertake outreach, technical

assistance, and other activities to engage

and to build the capacity of employers

to participate in STW systems.

II. Background

The School-to-Work Opportunities

Act was signed into law by the

President on May 4, 1994. Jointly

administered by the Departments of

Labor and Education, this Act is a new

approach to education that seeks to

better prepare all American youth for

careers in high skill, high wage jobs and

to strengthen the linkages between what

is learned in school with work. Under

the Act, venture capital grants are

provided to States and local

communities to undertake systemic

reform. Grants are for a limited duration

with the Federal investment declining

over time. These investments are

intended to support the one-time costs

of States and local communities to

restructure learning experiences for all

students. The Act also provides a setaside of funds for national activities to

support School-to-Work systembuilding nationwide. These funds are

used for technical assistance and

capacity building, for outreach, and for

research and evaluation. Section 403 of

the Act, relating to training and

technical assistance, specifically directs

the Secretaries to ‘‘work in cooperation

with * * * employers and their

associations * * * to increase their

capacity to develop and implement

effective School-to-Work programs.’’

III. Statement of Work

Employer Participation in STW

Changes in our economy, technology

and global competition are driving

forces behind efforts to improve the

academic performance and career

preparedness of today’s youth. Among

its purposes, the National School-toWork Opportunities Act was enacted to:

‘‘utilize workplaces as active learning

environments in the educational process

by making employers joint partners with

educators in providing opportunities for

all students to participate in highquality, work-based learning

experiences.’’ Work-based learning is

one of the three key components within
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 1997 / Notices 64887

a STW system (school-based learning

and connecting activities are the other

two). Thus, employer participation is

critical for the implementation and

sustainability of STW systems.

Employers participate in STW systems

through a number of different activities

involving students, teachers and with

State and local governing bodies. The

Employer Participation Model,

published by the National Employer

Leadership Council, outlines more than

50 different opportunities for employer

involvement in STW. States and local

communities are actively working to

engage employers in becoming partners

and active participants within their

STW systems.

Status of Employer Investments

Prior to this year, the two

Departments through the National

School-to-Work Office have made a

number of investments to support

employer knowledge and participation

in aspects of emerging STW systems. A

major investment included support for

the establishment and development of

the National Employer Leadership

Council (NELC), the mission of which

has been to enlist the leadership of

highly visible CEOs of major companies

in order to promote STW at the highest

levels of corporate business. Another

significant investment included one

through an existing ETA grant to the

National Alliance of Business (NAB).

The purpose of this project was to

promote participation in STW through

ETA’s workforce development

infrastructure featuring a partnership

comprised of NAB, NELC, the

Association of Private Industry

Councils, and the National Employer

Council. The National STW office also

invested in outreach activities and

specific publications targeted to

business entities and employers.

Additional investments have been made

in the research and evaluation area to

collect data on employer participation.

Such data has been collected from three

sources: (1) The National Employer

Survey conducted by the University of

Pennsylvania’s Center on Educational

Quality of the Workforce, (2) the School

to Work progress measure system, and

(3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics’

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

Data Collection.

There is preliminary information that

supports the notion that the investments

made to date on employer participation

are having a modest impact, and that

there is an extremely long way to go

before employer participation can be

considered at scale and sufficiently

sustainable. The recently released

evaluation of STW work systems

conducted by Mathematica Policy

Research revealed that employers are

playing an active role in local

partnerships, participating widely in

governing boards and in about a quarter

of the cases are actually chairing these

bodies. They are offering varied forms of

work based learning opportunities,

hosting teacher internships and

contributing to curriculum

development. However, according to the

Mathematica report, partnerships face

major challenges to recruit large

numbers of employers. The report

concludes that ‘‘Employer recruiting

will have to expand participation

manyfold beyond 1996 levels if the

goals States are setting for workplace

activity are to be realized.’’

Other research such as the National

Employer Leadership Survey conducted

by the Center on Educational Quality of

the Workforce suggests that employers,

under the right circumstances are more

than ready and eager to participate in

STW programs. However, as key

stakeholders, contributors to and major

beneficiaries of STW, they will require

more clear linkages and more focused

attention than has been typically

occurring. It is also clear that other

stakeholders, particularly educators,

need to be better connected and attuned

to employer perspectives.

These reports and past experience

with national employer investments

obviously suggest that stronger and

more strategic employer investments

will be necessary if the entire STW

system can really be brought to scale

and confidently sustained.

Industry Focus

On June 18, 1997, the National

Advisory Council for STW

Opportunities held its third meeting.

Advisory Council members were asked

to consider and provide their input to

the two Departments on key issues

surrounding sustainability of the STW

initiative. Employer participation was

identified as a key area of consideration.

Among the suggestions made by Council

members was for the Departments to

make strategic investments with

industry associations to conduct

outreach and develop the capacity of

employers to participate in STW

systems.

The Departments agree that engaging

employers by industry sectors and

through industry groups and trade

associations has the potential to capture

a critical mass of STW business

partners. In addition, when industries

are partners with education they can be

engaged in the design of portable,

industry recognized credentials that

certifies that a student has mastered

skills at least as challenging as skill

standards endorsed by the National

Skill Standards Board or those

developed under an approved State

plan. Through the resources of several

industry-specific business associations,

affiliate networks of national and State

trade associations can link to small and

large employers and use the

associations’ infrastructures to develop

the capacity of employers to participate

in local STW partnerships.

Industries which already have a solid

base of employer participation to build

upon, provide jobs that lead to high

wage careers for students; or are

projected to grow are considered to be

of high priority by the Departments for

making strategic investments.

The Mathematica national evaluation

report and occupational and industry

outlook data prepared by the Bureau of

Labor Statistics (BLS) data, identify

industries that show significant

potential for building employer

participation in STW. Mathematica’s

national evaluation report provides

baseline information on leading

industries in which students have paid

workplace experiences through jobs

obtained either outside of school or

through school. The data was collected

through student surveys in eight states

and identified the following industries

as the leading employers of students:

retail trade; manufacturing,

transportation, and utilities; finance,

insurance, and real estate; automotive

repair; health service; and education,

public administration and legal/social

services. BLS data on growth industries

and occupations and on industries

expected to need a high number of

replacement workers confirm that these

are the leading industries for job

opportunities and growth.

Employer Investment Categories

Reaching a critical mass of employer

participation and sustaining the effort

will require that both private and public

sector employers are knowledgeable

enough to want to participate, that there

is research—both hard evidence and

anecdotal examples—to demonstrate the

conditions under which there is return

on the investment when they

participate, that employer participation

is easily facilitated, that other

stakeholders are ready and

knowledgeable enough to partner with

employers, that employers are able to

influence other institutions for mutual

benefit, that employers help infuse STW

into other systems, and that investments

in employer participation grow and

leverage other resources. Based on

lessons learned from previous

investments, results of research and
64888 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 1997 / Notices

evaluative data gathering, and the

degree of employer participation

required for bringing STW to scale,

activities for employer engagement can

be clustered around the following broad

investment categories.

1. Products and activities that enable

employer participation and build a

knowledge base of employers. This

includes but is not limited to those

activities that address barriers to

participation, provide more information

to employers, organize employer events,

highlight effective and best practices,

and generally provide outreach to the

employer community.

2. Educating other stakeholders about

business need and business culture.

Educators especially need a better

grounding on how to work effectively in

partnership with employers. Previous

experience tells us that employer

involvement becomes tenuous when

they are in a ready posture to participate

but schools and others are not ready to

engage employers.

3. Employers influencing institutions.

There are multiple and complex

institutional entities that necessarily

interact with business in STW. Policies

and practices of these institutions are

often out of line with business and

industry need and are often

inadvertently misaligned with economic

trends that affect their own

effectiveness. Thus, there is a need for

business influence on not only

education, but other initiatives.

4. Advocating for Intermediaries. The

process of connecting schools with

employers and students with employers

can be time consuming and challenging

given the institutional and cultural

barriers described above. One successful

approach has been the use of

intermediary organizations that connect

the two. Demonstrating and researching

the features of intermediary

relationships that are particularly

effective in linking schools and

employers will be especially valuable to

bringing STW to scale. As one report

states: ‘‘Employers want a reliable

intermediary much more than they want

incentives.’’

5. Research. Anecdotal stories of

success and effectiveness are useful, but

lack wide scale generalization. Research

is needed that empirically demonstrates

the benefit of employer participation in

STW and those variables likely to

contribute to effective employer

involvement and employer return on

investment.

6. Building employer capacity. There

is a need to address industry specific

needs as well as to tie STW

participation into each industry’s

evolving skill standards. There are a

host of other ways in which to flexibly

address employer needs as agents of

STW implementation.

While the intensity and mix of

activities that will lead to scale and

sustainability of employer participation

is best determined on an industry-byindustry basis, the Departments believe

that it is beneficial to all industries

involved to coordinate efforts across

industries to share lessons learned,

discuss common issues and share

related products. The Departments

expect that successful applicants will

coordinate activities and share results.

IV. Application Process

Eligible Applicants: Any Industry or

Trade Association or a Nonprofit

Organization in Partnership Groups

Potential applicants however, should

note the Departments’ priority in

supporting industry groups that can

demonstrate that they have a strong base

of STW participation to build upon, are

in growth industries, or have high

potential for providing jobs that provide

career pathways for new job entrants.

High priority industries include: retail

trade; manufacturing, transportation and

utilities; finance, insurance and real

estate; automotive repair; health service;

and education, public administration

and legal/social services. In preparing

the proposal, please use the following

headings and respond to the

information in each of the following

categories.

1. Industry and Project. Identify the

industry, sponsoring association (or

nonprofit organization) and title of the

proposal. Provide information on the

number and percentage of industry and

mix (large and small) employers that

will be represented by this proposal.

2. Project Proposal. Provide a detailed

work plan that includes a description of

the proposed activities, with

accompanying time lines, and the target

audiences for these activities. The

offeror should demonstrate how the

proposed work plan will contribute to

bringing STW to scale and how it will

lead to sustainability. Indicators

demonstrating whether the work plan is

likely to help bring STW to scale

include:

• Showing the impact/usefulness at

the national, state, and local levels and

demonstrating an ‘‘outreach’’ effort to

enhance this impact.

• Articulating how the planned

activities will build linkages between

the business and education

communities in measurable ways,

including and especially through the

use of intermediary organizations.

• Connecting to emerging industry

recognized skill standards.

• Identifying opportunities/activities/

materials for teacher’s professional

development in the area of employer

engagement.

• Identifying innovative approaches

to work based learning that can

accommodate any student.

Indicators showing whether the plan

demonstrates sustainability after the

federal investment has ended include:

• Providing a realistic plan for

institutionalizing the endeavor beyond

merely a specific project level.

• Extracting and documenting the

common lessons applicable to other

interested entities within a targeted

industry, occupation or sector.

• Identifying both federal and nonfederal funding sources that amplify and

outlast the federal investment.

• Describing in business terms how it

is a solution to a business problem or

address a business need.

• Identifying clear roles for major

stakeholder groups such as industry,

organized labor, educators, parents and

students.

3. Connecting to related initiatives

and entities. The offeror should

demonstrate how its proposed plan of

activities will build upon existing or

create new coalitions that maximize

business involvement and participation

in STW; and/or connect with other

entities with similar experiences and

interests to identify related products,

resources, funding and interests in order

to take advantage of activities in the

larger arena of STW implementation;

and/or involve the public and private

sectors in ways that capitalize on, and

connect to, existing, infrastructures and

overall workforce development systems;

and/or connect to existing industry skill

standards development efforts,

including the work of the emerging

Voluntary Partnerships funded by the

National Skill Standards Board.

4. Results. The offeror should provide

specific and quantifiable outcomes that

are anticipated from the proposed plan

of activities. In identifying outcomes,

the offeror should also explain how it

will collect data, document results and

use these results in ongoing working

relationships with members.

5. Capability. The offeror should

demonstrate the capability of the

organization and the key staff assigned

to undertake the work plan, including

examples of prior related efforts that

demonstrate success in providing

outreach and capacity building of

member firms.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 1997 / Notices 64889

V. Application Submittal

Applicants must submit an original

and three (3) copies of their proposal.

The applications shall be divided into

two distinct parts: Part I—which

contains Standard Form (SF) 424,

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance,’’

(Appendix A) and ‘‘Budget Information

Sheet,’’ (Appendix B). All copies of the

SF 424 must have original signatures of

the designated fiscal agent. Applicants

shall indicate on the SF–424 the

organization’s IRS status. The Catalog of

Federal Domestic Assistance number is

17.249. In addition, the budget shall

include—on a separate page(s)—a

detailed cost break-out of each line item

on the Budget Information Sheet. Part II

shall contain the program narrative that

demonstrates the applicant’s plan and

capabilities in accordance with the

evaluation criteria contained in this

notice. Applicants must describe their

plan in light of each of the Evaluation

Criteria. No cost data or reference to

price shall be included in this part of

the application. Applicants must limit

the program narrative section to no

more than 30 double-spaced pages, on

one side only. This includes any

attachments. Applications that fail to

meet the page limitation requirement

will not be considered.

VI. Late Applications

Any application received after the

exact date and time specified for receipt

at the office designated in this notice

will not be considered, unless it is

received before awards are made and

it—(a) Was sent by registered or

certified mail not later than the fifth

calendar day before the date specified

for receipt of applications (e.g., an

application submitted in response to a

solicitation requiring receipt of

applications by the 20th of the month

must have been mailed/post marked by

the 15th of that month); or (b) Was sent

by the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail

Next Day Service to addresses not later

than 5:00 P.M. at the place of mailing

two working days prior to the date

specified for receipt of applications. The

term ‘‘working days’’ excludes

weekends and Federal holidays. The

term ‘‘post marked’’ means a printed,

stamped or otherwise placed impression

(exclusive of a postage meter machine

impression) that is readily identifiable,

without further action, as having been

supplied or affixed on the date of

mailing by an employee of the U.S.

Postal Service.

VII. Hand Delivered Proposals

It is preferred that applications be

mailed at least five days prior to the

closing date. To be considered for

funding, hand-delivered applications

must be received by 4:00 P.M., (Eastern

Time), on the closing date. Telegraphed

and/or faxed applications will not be

honored.

Failure to adhere to the above

instructions will be a basis for a

determination of nonresponsiveness.

Overnight express mail from carriers

other than the U.S. Postal Service will

be considered hand-delivered

applications and must be received by

the above specified date and time.

VIII. Funding Availability and Period of

Performance

The Departments expect to make up

to 5 awards with a maximum total

investment for these projects of $6

million. The period of performance will

be for 24 months from the date the grant

is awarded. The Departments may, at

their option, provide additional funds

for a third year at a lower level of

funding, depending upon fund

availability and performance of the

awardee.

IX. Review Process

A careful evaluation of applications

will be made by a technical review

panel, who will evaluate the

applications against the criteria listed

below. The panel results are advisory in

nature and not binding on the Grant

Officer. The government may elect to

award the grants with or without

discussions with the offeror. In

situations without discussions, an

award will be based on the offeror’s

signature on the SF 424, which

constitutes a binding offer. Awards will

be those in the best interest of the

Government.

Evaluation Criteria

1. The extent to which the

organization represents a critical mass

of employers within a growth industry.

(25 Points)

• Is this the lead organization for the

industry?

• Is this a growth industry?

• Is this an industry in which there is

already significant participation in work

place experiences for teachers and/or

students?

• Does the industry offer jobs that

provide pathways to high wage careers?

• Is the industry and/or lead

organization currently involved in the

development and use of skill standards

within education and training systems?

2. The extent to which the proposed

plan will leverage the infrastructure of

a national industry or trade association

in order to reach a critical mass of

employers who will participate in and

benefit from STW. ( 25 Points)

• Is the plan specific as to the

activities proposed and how these

activities will result in broad employer

participation?

• Does the proposal clearly

demonstrate how the activities proposed

will bring employer participation in

STW systems to scale?

• Does the plan clearly demonstrate

how the organization plans to build

upon existing venues for reaching

member firms?

• Are the outcomes proposed specific

and realistic?

3. The extent to which the proposal

addresses the system-building elements

of STW. (25 Points)

• Is it clear how other critical

stakeholders will be involved at the

State and local levels?

• Does the proposal address how the

activities will connect with State and

local STW system initiatives?

• Does the proposal include how this

project will relate to other industry

associations and business coalitions?

• Does the proposal address the

activities that connect employers with

schools at the local level and how these

activities will be accomplished?

• Does the proposal address how the

activities will connect and leverage

other national initiatives which promote

industry involvement in the

development and use of skill standards?

4. The extent to which the proposed

plan is likely to produce sustainable

employer engagement in STW after the

federal investment has ended. (25

Points)

• Is there evidence of non-grant

funding that amplifies the federal

investment and that is likely to

contribute to sustaining the project’s

impact?

• Is the proposal specific as to the

business needs and problems that the

proposed activities are designed to

address?

X. Reporting Requirements

Applicants selected as grantees will

be required to provide the following

information:

A. To facilitate exchange of

information, the Departments expect to

convene grantees for meetings of

approximately one-day duration on a

quarterly basis. It is anticipated that half

the meetings will be in Washington,

D.C., and the remaining at locations to

be determined.

B. Semi-annual progress reports in a

format to be determined.

C. Standard Form 269, Financial

Status Report Form, on a quarterly basis.

D. Final Project Report.
64890 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 1997 / Notices

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 2nd day

of December 1997.

Janice E. Perry,

Grant Officer.

Appendices

Appendix A: Application for Federal

Assistance, SF Form 424

Appendix B: Budget Information Sheet

BILLING CODE 4510–30–P
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[FR Doc. 97–32206 Filed 12–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–30–C