36034 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Notices 

A TransCanada hosted project Web 

site is also available at http:// 

www.transcanada.com/keystone.html. 

The Keystone XL Project toll-free 

number is 1–866–717–7473 (United 

States and Canada). 

Dated: June 13, 2012. 

Genevieve Walker, 

NEPA Director, Bureau of Oceans and 

International Environmental and Scientific 

Affairs/Office of Environmental Policy, U.S. 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2012–14803 Filed 6–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–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 Central 

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–SBTRC2012–10. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 20.910 

Assistance to small and disadvantaged 

businesses. 

Type of Award: Cooperative 

Agreement Grant. 

Award Ceiling: $150,000. 

Award Floor: $100,000. 

Program Authority: DOT is authorized 

under 49 U.S.C. 332(b)(4), (5) & (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 July 16, 2012, 5:00 

p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 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 August 13, 2012. 

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, 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. 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 DOT established 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. 

The Regional Partnerships 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 


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agencies and technical assistance 

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

Commerce’s Minority Business 

Development Centers (MBDCs), Small 

Business Development Centers (SBDCs), 

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 

Entrepreneurial Training and Technical 

Assistance Internship Program (WGP), 

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 on-hand 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 

Cooperative Agreement to one 

organization in the Central 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 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 

Central Region: Arkansas, Missouri, 

Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas. 

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: 

Central Region: Ceiling $150,000 per 

year, Floor $100,000 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) &(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 

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. 


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36036 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Notices 

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 & Technical 

Training and Assistance 

1. Utilize OSDBU’s Intake 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 OSDBU’s 

National Information Clearinghouse 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 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 

transportation-related 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. 

(E) Outreach Services/Conference 

Participation 

1. Utilize the services of the Central 

Contractor Registration (CCR) 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. 

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. 

(F) Short Term Lending Program 

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 5 approved 

STLP applications per year. 

(G) Bonding Education Program 

1. Work with OSDBU, bonding 

industry partners, local small business 

transportation stakeholders, and local 

bond producers/agents in your region to 

deliver the Bonding Education Program 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Notices 36037 

(BEP). 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. 

2. 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. 

(H) Furnish All Labor, Facilities and 

Equipment To Perform the Services 

Described in This Announcement 

(I) Women and Girls Internship Program 

1. Pursuant to Executive Order 13506, 

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

SBTRC shall administer the Women & 

Girls Internship Program in their 

geographical region. The SBTRC shall 

design and establish an internship 

program within the overall parameters 

of the program defined by USDOT/ 

OSDBU. The program must be designed 

to engage female students 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 internship program to all 

colleges and universities and 

transportation entities in their region. 

Internships 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 internships with 

transportation-related WOBs. The 

SBTRC shall also develop a student 

mentorship program in conjunction 

with the internship program. 

The student interns and the SBTRC 

shall follow the participating 

institution’s required policies and 

procedures to submit and acquire 

academic credit for students 

participating in the internship program. 

In the event academic credit is not 

awarded to the student intern by the 

participating institution, the SBTRC 

may provide a stipend to the student 

from the amount awarded for stipends 

under a separate amendment to the 

Cooperative Agreement, to students 

placed in US DOT, the public sector and 

S/WOBs/DBEs. Stipends may also be 

provided in cases of financial hardship. 

All stipends must be pre-approved by 

the USDOT/OSDBU Budget Analyst. 

The stipend may be paid at the rate 

negotiated by the SBTRC and the 

USDOT/OSDBU Program Analyst. 

In advance of student selection, the 

SBTRC shall submit to the Program 

Analyst the criteria developed to select 

student interns; describe an individual 

student formative goal; estimate student 

participation, provisions for academic 

credit, the duration of the internships in 

weeks, the names of the collaborating 

transportation-related public or private 

entity, the names of contact persons and 

their related contact information. In the 

event a stipend is requested, the SBTRC 

shall also submit to the Program Analyst 

the amount of the stipend requested and 

the basis of the request. Criteria for 

selecting interns may include, but is not 

limited to, vocational interest in 

transportation-related careers, academic 

success, work experience and 

recommendations from professors. 

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 

region 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. 

Grant application packages must be 

submitted electronically to OSDBU at 

SBTRC@dot.gov. The applicant is 

advised to turn on request delivery 

receipt notification for email 

submissions. 

Proposals must be received by DOT/ 

OSDBU no later than July 16, 2012, 5:00 

p.m., EST. 

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 (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 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
36038 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Notices 

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. 

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. OSDBU will place an 

emphasis on capabilities of the 

applicant’s financial management staff. 

(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 may 

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: 

1. Table of Contents 

Identify all parts, sections and 

attachments of the application. 

2. Application Summary 

Provide a summary overview of the 

following: 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Notices 36039 

• 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 Standard Form 424B 

ASSURANCES-NON-CONSTRUCTION 

PROGRAMS identified as Attachment 1. 

SF424B may be downloaded from 

http://www.grants.gov/techlib/SF424BV1.1.pdf. 

11. Certification Signature Forms 

Complete form DOTF2307–1 DRUGFREE WORKPLACE ACT 

CERTIFICATION FOR A GRANTEE 

OTHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL and 

Form DOTF2308–1 CERTIFICATION 

REGARDING LOBBYING FOR 

CONTRACTS, GRANTS, LOANS, AND 

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS 

identified as Attachment 2. The forms 

may be downloaded from http:// 

www.osdbu.dot.gov/financial/docs/

CertDrug-FreeDOTF2307-1.pdf and 

http://www.osdbu.dot.gov/financial/ 

docs/CertLobbyingDOTF2308-1.pdf. 

12. 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. 

13. Standard Form 424 

Complete Standard Form 424 

Application for Federal Assistance 

identified as Attachment 3. SF424 can 

be downloaded from http:// 

apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/ 

sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf. 

PLEASE BE SURE THAT ALL FORMS 

HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY AN 

AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL WHO CAN 

LEGALLY REPRESENT THE 

ORGANIZATION. 

Issued in Washington, DC on June 11, 

2012. 

Brandon Neal, 

Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization, Office of the Secretary, 

U.S. Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–14718 Filed 6–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[NHTSA Docket No. NHTSA–2012–0079] 

Federal Interagency Committee on 

Emergency Medical Services 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Meeting Notice—Federal 

Interagency Committee on Emergency 

Medical Services. 

SUMMARY: NHTSA announces a meeting 

of the Federal Interagency Committee on 

Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS) 

to be held in the Washington, DC area. 

This notice announces the date, time 

and location of the meeting, which will 

be open to the public. Pre-registration is 

required to attend. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 

25, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. EDT to 

12:00 p.m. EDT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Department of Transportation (DOT) 

Headquarters Building at 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 

20590 in the Conference Center on the 

ground floor of the West building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Drew Dawson, Director, Office of 

Emergency Medical Services, National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, Telephone 

number (202) 366–9966; Email 

Drew.Dawson@dot.gov. 

Required Registration Information: 

This meeting will be open to the public,; 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES