Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 2014 / Notices 65283 

Application scenario Number of 

respondents 

Frequency of 

response 

Average burden 

per response 

(minutes) 

Estimated total 

annual burden 

(hours) 

Authorization to SSA to obtain personal information follow-up 

cover letter ........................................................................... 500 1 15 125 

Totals ................................................................................ 13,901,900 .............................. .............................. 1,998,650 

Dated: October 29, 2014. 

Faye Lipsky, 

Reports Clearance Director, Social Security 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26015 Filed 10–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation 

Notice of Funding Availability for the 

Small Business Transportation 

Resource Center Program 

AGENCY: Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU), Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation (OST), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability 

for the Capital Region SBTRC. 

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) tax-exempt 

organizations, to compete for 

participation in OSDBU’s Small 

Business Transportation Resource 

Center (SBTRC) program in the Capital 

Region (District of Columbia, Stafford 

County (VA), Fauquier County (VA), 

Prince William County (VA), Manassas 

County (VA), Loudoun County (VA), 

Fairfax County (VA), Charles County 

(MD), Prince Georges County (MD) and 

Montgomery County (MD)). 

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–SBTRC–2014–16 

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: $135,000. 

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 December 1, 2014, 

6:00pm 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 December 

19, 2014, by 6:00pm (EST). 

ADDRESSES: Applications must be 

electronically submitted to OSDBU via 

email at SBTRC@dot.gov and the 

OSDBU Regional Assistance Division 

Manager, Michelle Harris, at Michelle.

Harris@dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further 

information concerning this notice, 

contact Mr. Mark Antoniewicz, Program 

Analyst, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 

(202) 366–1930. Email: mark.

antoniewicz@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 

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65284 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 2014 / Notices 

become better prepared to compete for, 

obtain and manage transportationrelated contracts and subcontracts. 

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, DOT 

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 Capital Region, from 

herein referred to as ‘‘region’’, in this 

solicitation. However, if warranted, 

OSDBU reserves the option to make 

multiple awards to selected partners. 

OSDBU also reserves the right to modify 

states and areas, including counties, 

covered by the Capital Region SBTRC. 

Proposals submitted for a region must 

contain a plan to service the states 

throughout the Capital Region (District 

of Columbia, Stafford County (VA), 

Fauquier County (VA), Prince William 

County (VA), Manassas County (VA), 

Loudoun County (VA), Fairfax County 

(VA), Charles County (MD), Prince 

Georges County (MD) and Montgomery 

County (MD), not just the state/territory, 

or immediate local geographical area 

where the SBTRC is headquartered. The 

SBTRC headquarters must be 

established in one of the designated 

states or counties within the Capital 

Region (District of Columbia, Stafford 

County (VA), Fauquier County (VA), 

Prince William County (VA), Manassas 

County (VA), Loudoun County (VA), 

Fairfax County (VA), Charles County 

(MD), Prince Georges County (MD) and 

Montgomery County (MD). 

SBTRC Region Competed in This 

Solicitation: 

Capital Region: District of Columbia, 

Stafford County (VA), Fauquier County, 

(VA), Prince William County (VA), 

Manassas County (VA), Loudoun 

County (VA), Fairfax County (VA), 

Charles County (MD), Prince Georges 

County (MD) and Montgomery County 

(MD). 

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 each state in 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: 

Capital Region—Ceiling: $150,000 per 

year; Floor: $135,000 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 will 

reimburse an on-site Project Director for 

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. The SBTRC 

will furnish all labor, facilities and 

equipment to perform the services 

described in this announcement. 

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. Upon exercising the 

first year option year of the Cooperative 

Agreement, OSDBU will renew the 

SBTRC with a 5% funding increase. 

Upon exercising the second option year, 

OSDBU will renew the SBTRC with a 

3% increase from the first option year. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 2014 / Notices 65285 

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. 

1.5 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. 

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. A complete list of businesses 

that have filled out the form shall be 

submitted as part of the SBTRC report, 

submitted via email to the Regional 

Assistance Division on a regular basis 

(using the SBTRC Report). This report 

will detail SBTRC activities and 

performance results. The data gathered 

must be supportive by the narrative (if 

asked). 

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 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 

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. This 

counseling includes in-person meetings 

or over the phone, and does not include 

any time taken to do email 

correspondence. 

(D) Planning Committee 

1. Establish a Regional Planning 

Committee consisting of at least 10 

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 DOT 

procurements and SBTRC activities. 

3. Hold either monthly or quarterly 

meetings at a time and place agreed 

upon by SBTRC and planning 

committee members (conference calls 

and/or video conferences are 

acceptable). 

4. Use the initial session hosted by the 

SBTRC to 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 Project 

Director or his/her designee. 

(E) 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 

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in attendance. Maintain and submit a 

list of those events to the Regional 

Assistance Division for review and 

posting on the OSDBU Web site on a 

regular basis. Clearly identify the events 

designated for SBTRC participation and 

include recommendations for OSDBU 

participation. This information can be 

submitted as part of the SBTRC Report. 

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 OSDBU 

will send DOT materials, the OSDBU 

banner and other information that is 

deemed necessary for the event. 

6. Submit a conference summary 

report within the ‘Events’ section of the 

SBTRC Report. The conference 

summary report should summarize the 

activity, contacts made, 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 (commonly 

referred to as ‘‘Small Business 

Summits’’. 

8. Participate in the SBTRC monthly 

teleconference call, hosted by the 

OSDBU Regional Assistance. 

(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, and/or other financial 

assistance programs, to the 

transportation-related small business 

community. Seminars/workshops must 

cover the entire STLP/loan process, 

from completion of STLP/loan 

applications and preparation of the loan 

package. 

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 four (4) 

completed STLP applications per year. 

3. Provide direct support, technical 

support, and advocacy services to Small 

and Disadvantaged Businesses 

interested in obtaining a loan from 

another type of Government Lending 

Program. Government Lending Programs 

include Federal, State, and Local level 

programs. The SBTRC will be required 

to generate a minimum of three (3) 

completed Government Lending 

Program 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 two (2) complete 

Bonding Education Programs. 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 a minimum of ten (10) 

disadvantaged business participants in 

the BEP with either access to bonding or 

an increase in bonding capacity. The 

programs will be funded separately and 

in addition to the amount listed in 

section 1.3 of this solicitation. 

(H) Women and Girls in Transportation 

Initiative (WITI) 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13506, 

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

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. 

Proposal packages must be submitted 

electronically to OSDBU at SBTRC@

dot.gov and to the Regional Assistance 

Division Manager, Michelle Harris, at 

Michelle.Harris@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 December 

1, 2014, 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time 

(EST). 

4. Selection Criteria 

4.1 General Criteria 

OSDBU will award the cooperative 

agreement on a best value basis, using 

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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 

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. 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 may be 

required prior to award for those 

candidates that are being strongly 

considered. If necessary, 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 

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65288 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 2014 / Notices 

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: 

• 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—NONCONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS identified as 

Attachment 1. 

11. CERTIFICATION SIGNATURE FORMS 

Complete form DOTF2307–1 DRUG-FREE 

WORKPLACE ACT CERTIFICATION FOR a 

GRANTEE OTHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL 

identified as attachment 2 and Form 

DOTF2308–1 CERTIFICATION REGARDING 

LOBBYING FOR CONTRACTS, GRANTS, 

LOANS, AND COOPERATIVE 

AGREEMENTS identified as Attachment 3. 

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 identified as 

Attachment 4. 

Please be sure that all forms have been 

signed by an authorized official who can 

legally represent the organization. 

Issued in Washington, DC, October 24, 

2014. 

Brandon Neal, 

Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization, Office of the Secretary, 

U.S. Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25979 Filed 10–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation 

Notice of Funding Availability for the 

Small Business Transportation 

Resource Center Program 

AGENCY: Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU), Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation (OST), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability 

for the Northern Plains Region SBTRC. 

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) tax-exempt 

organizations, to compete for 

participation in OSDBU’s Small 

Business Transportation Resource 

Center (SBTRC) program in the 

Northern Plains Region (Montana, North 

Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa). 

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