Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices 17863

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

Job Training Partnership Act:

Microenterprise Grants Program

AGENCY: Employment and Training

Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds

and solicitation for grant application

(SGA).

SUMMARY: All the information needed to

submit a proposal by eligible applicants

is included in this announcement. The

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment

and Training Administration (DOL/

ETA), announces the availability of

funds to implement and enhance

community based microenterprise

activities. Microenterprise activities are

authorized under Title IV, Part I of the

Job Training Partnership Act. This

program will be funded by the Job

Training Partnership Act. Section 324 of

the Job Training Partnership Act

authorizes the use of funds reserved

under Title III, Part B, for demonstration

programs of up to three years in length,

including programs dealing with selfemployment opportunity. The grants

will provide training, technical

assistance and support to

microenterprise owners or potential

owners. It is anticipated that

approximately $1.4 Million will be

disbursed. Up to six (6) awards will be

made in the range of $225,000 to

$300,000 per grant. Applications that

exceed $300,000 will not be considered.

Awards will be made on a competitive

basis. The duration of the Grants will be

for fifteen (15) months with a one (1)

year option. A 100 percent match is

required for this program. In addition,

no funds under this program shall be

used for investment in revolving loan

activities. This notice includes the

detailed Government requirement and

the process that eligible applicants must

use to apply for these funds.

DATES: The closing date for receipt of

applications shall be May 12, 1997, at

2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the address

below.

ADDRESSES: Applications shall be

mailed to the Division of Acquisition

and Assistance, Attention: Denise

Roach, Reference: SGA/DAA 97–012,

Employment and Training

Administration, U.S. Department of

Labor, Room S–4203, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Denise Roach at (202) 219–8694. (This

is not a toll free number). This

solicitation will also be announced on

the Internet at ‘‘http//www.doleta.gov’’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: U.S.

Department of Labor, Employment and

Training Administration is soliciting

proposals on a competitive basis for the

conduct of projects to implement and

enhance community based

microenterprise activities. The intent of

these grants will be to develop the

capacity to provide effective businessrelated training to persons developing a

microenterprise, and provide technical

assistance and support to owners or

potential owners of a microenterprise.

This announcement consists of three

parts. Part I discusses the procedures for

eligible applicants who wish to apply

for these funds. Part II provides the

detailed Government’s Requirement/

Statement of Work/Reporting

Requirements. Part III describes the

selection process/criteria for award.

Part I. Application Process

A. Eligible Applicants

Awards under this Solicitation will be

made to States. For the purpose of this

Solicitation, the term ‘‘State’’ includes,

in addition to those entities contained

in the definition in Section 4(22) of

JTPA:

—Grantees designated under subsection

(c) or (d) of subsection 401 to provide

services to Indian Reservations or

Alaska Native Villages, or a

consortium of such grantees and the

State; and

—Grantees designated under section

402(c) to provide services to migrant

seasonal farmworkers, or a

consortium of such grantees and the

State.

An application shall be submitted by

the Governor or, in the instance of a

grantee designated under section 401

and 402, by the grantee. In the instance

of a consortium between the State and

section 401 and 402 grantees, the

application shall be accompanied by a

letter from the Governor ratifying such

an arrangement and specifying the

agency primarily responsible for the

conduct of the project.

When the Governor submits an

application on behalf of the State, he or

she shall designate the agency that shall

be responsible for conducting the

project. No more than two applications

may be submitted per eligible applicant.

A state may specify a political

subdivision (county, city, town,

township, parish village etc.) or

economic division such as a Service

Delivery Area, an Enterprise

Community or an Empowerment Zone

as the focus of training activity in its

proposal.

States currently administering a grant

under the previous competition held

under this authority will be eligible to

apply for an award under this

Solicitation; provided, a completely

new approach to microenterprise

activities is taken from that being

conducted under their current grant.

Proposals submitted by those current

grantees will be subject to pre-screening

to assure that they propose an approach

that is clearly innovative and different

from the activity that was implemented

under the previous award. Current

grantees shall include as apart of their

application, a one (1) page description

of how proposed project differs from

current project.

Entities described in Section 501(c)(4)

of the Internal Revenue Code who

engage in lobbying activities are not

eligible to receive funds under this SGA.

The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995,

Public Law No. 104–65, 109 State. 691,

which became effective January 1, 1996,

prohibits the award of federal funds to

these entities if they engage in lobbying

activities. Applicants shall include their

IRS Status on Standard Form 424.

B. Submission of Proposals

An original and three (3) copies of the

proposal shall be submitted. The

proposal shall consist of two (2)

separate and distinct parts.

Part I shall contain the Standard Form

(SF) 424, ‘‘Application for Federal

Assistance’’ (Appendix No. 1) and

‘‘Budget Information Sheet’’ (Appendix

No. 2). Also, the budget shall include on

a separate Page(s) a detailed

enumeration of how the matching

requirement will be fulfilled. The

individual signing the SF 424 on behalf

of the State shall represent the

responsible financial and administrative

entity for the grant should that

application result in an award.

Part II shall contain a technical

proposal that demonstrates the offeror’s

capabilities in accordance with the

Statement of Work contain in this

announcement. The technical proposal

should be limited to 25 pages in length

of single spaced text. Appendices shall

not exceed ten (10) pages. Current

grantees shall include as a part of their

technical proposal, a One (1) Page

description of the current and proposed

projects and how the proposed activities

and/or approach differs from those

currently being provided. No cost data

or reference to price shall be included

in the technical proposal. In order to

assist offerors in the preparation of their

proposals and to facilitate the

expeditious evaluation by the review

panel, proposals should be organized

and presented in the same sequential
17864 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices

order as the Rating Criteria in Part III of

this announcement.

C. Hand Delivered Proposals

Proposals must be mailed at least five

(5) days prior to the closing date.

However, if proposals are hand

delivered, they must be received at the

designated place by 2:00 p.m., Eastern

Time by May 12, 1997. All overnight

mail will be considered to be hand

delivered and must be received at the

designated place by the specified

closing date. Telegraphed and/or faxed

proposals will not be honored. Failure

to adhere to the above instructions will

be a basis for a determination of

nonresponsiveness.

D. Late Proposals

Proposals received at the Office

designated in the Solicitation after the

exact time specified for receipt will not

be considered unless it is received

before award is made and it—

(1) 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 offer submitted in

response to a solicitation requiring

receipt of applications by the 20th of the

month must be mailed by the 15th);

(2) Was sent by U.S. Postal Service

Express Mail Next Day Service, Post

Office to addressee, not later than 5 p.m.

at the place of mailing two working days

prior to the date specified for receipt of

proposals. The term ‘‘working days’’

excludes weekends and U.S. 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 employees of the U.S.

Postal Service.

E. Withdrawal of Proposals

Proposals may be withdrawn by

written notice or telegram (including

mailgram) received at any time before

award. Proposals may be withdrawn in

person by an applicant or an authorized

representative thereof, if the

representative’s identity is made known

and the representative signs a receipt for

the proposal before award.

F. Period of Performance

The Period of Performance will be

fifteen (15) months from the date of

execution.

G. Option To Extend

Based on the availability of funds,

effective program operation and the

needs of the Department, the grant(s)

may be extended for one (1) additional

year.

H. Definitions

(1) Microenterprise means a

commercial enterprise with five (5) or

fewer employees, one (1) or more of

whom owns the enterprise; and each of

the owners of the enterprise is

economically disadvantaged, as defined

in Section 4(8) of JTPA.

(2) States for the purposes of this

solicitation also includes those grantees

described under Part I.A. ‘‘Eligible

Applicant.’’

(3) For the purpose of this solicitation,

eligible participants shall be

economically disadvantaged persons

who are dislocated workers as defined

by Section 301(a) of JTPA. This can

include long-term unemployed who

‘‘have limited opportunities for

employment or reemployment in the

same or similar occupations’’ and the

self-employed who are ‘‘unemployed as

a result of general economic conditions

in the community in which they reside

or because of national disasters’’.

Applicants may refer to the JTPA

regulation at 20 CFR 631.3(e) for further

guidance on self-employed in the

process of going out of business. The

applicant shall describe the process by

which it will identify individuals

eligible for assistance under this

program.

I. Matching Requirement

No State shall receive an award under

this solicitation unless the State agrees

to provide non-Federal contributions in

an amount equal to 100 percent of

Federal funds provided to carry out the

microenterprise program.

Part II—Government’s Requirement/

Statement of Work/Reporting

Requirements

Section 499 of JTPA requires that the

Secretary of Labor make grants to States

to implement and enhance communitybased microenterprise activities for the

benefit of economically disadvantaged

persons.

A. ETA intends to allocate

approximately $1.4 million of JTPA

Title III funds to States to implement

and enhance community-based

microenterprise activities. These funds

shall be used to:

(1) train program staff in such

entrepreneurial activities as business

plan development, business

management, resource inventory design,

and marketing approaches, and other

activities necessary to provide effective

training to persons developing a

microenterprise;

(2) provide to owners or potential

owners of a microenterprise such

technical assistance (including technical

assistance with respect to business

planning, securing funding, marketing,

and production of marketing materials)

and other assistance as may be

necessary to develop microenterprise

activities; and

(3) provide other microenterprise

support (such as peer support program

and counseling).

In accordance with the restriction at

Section 141(q), these funds shall not be

used to invest in revolving loan funds;

capitalization of business; investment in

contract bidding resource centers and

similar activities; or for foreign travel.

B. While it is not the intent of this

Solicitation to prescribe particular

proportions or emphasis that a proposal

should contain between the three

activities listed immediately above,

several guiding principles should be

noted:

(1) The primary goal of this initiative

is to implement and enhance

community-based microenterprise

activities, i.e., assist disadvantaged

people who are dislocated workers—as

defined by Section 301(a) of JTPA and

described in Section H of this

solicitation—in establishing and

maintaining commercial enterprises

employing five or fewer people.

(2) The staff development provided

should create new capacity in the States

to focus on the entrepreneurial training

needs of disadvantaged people. The

Department is aware that most States

already possess some organizational

capacity to assist generally in the

formation and development of small

business activity, most notably through

the Small Business Development

Centers described in the next segment.

Proposals should not attempt simply to

add to that existing capacity. It must be

clearly demonstrated in the proposal

how such staff training is necessary and

how it will assist in achieving the

primary goal stated in the preceding

paragraph.

(3) The proposal should present a

clear discussion of what activities

related to microenterprise and economic

development are already functioning

within the State and how this new

initiative will link those activities and

add a new dimension to them. Examples

of such activities include:

(a) Empowerment Zones and

Enterprise Communities as authorized

by Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1993. Their

mission is to provide favorable Federal

income tax treatment and other

incentives to encourage the conduct of

trades or businesses and general
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices 17865

economic development within

designated areas.

(b) Small Business Development

Centers (SBDC) as authorized by the

Small Business Act of 1953 as amended.

Their stated mission is to provide

management assistance to prospective

and small business owners through oneon-one counseling and specialized

training efforts.

(c) Economic Development Districts

(EDD) as authorized by the Public

Works and Economic Development Act

of 1965, as amended. EDDs serve as the

structural entities for formulating and

implementing economic development

plans and activities within boundaries.

These examples represent some of the

types of existing activities and resources

that should be considered in developing

a proposal under this solicitation.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to

be exhaustive in examining available

related resources and ongoing activities

in order to maximize the potential

impact of a microenterprise. The

proposal should also indicate what

linkages there will be to the JTPA

system.

The resources that the State will

provide to meet the 100 percent

matching requirement should be

discussed in some detail providing a

clear understanding of what is to be

provided and what the relevance/

linkage of these resources is to the

activities proposed and to successfully

meeting the primary goal of the project.

C. Examples of key services and

techniques that might be included in a

proposal are:

(1) Recruitment and screening. This is

an important element both in

identifying program staff to be trained as

trainers and in identifying and selecting

individuals who show potential for

owning a microenterprise.

(2) Case management. This would

involve assigning an individual who

provides guidance in all aspects of

program participation and other services

to microenterprise owners.

(3) Follow-up. Enrollment in and

successful completion of a

microenterprise training program may

well be only the initial challenges facing

the entrepreneur. A structured followup program involving such counseling

and supportive services as deemed

appropriate is a critical aspect of the

program.

(4) Mentoring. This could involve

assigning a volunteer businessperson

from the community to serve in a oneon-one relationship with the new

enterpreneur. Such volunteer service

may not be considered for meeting the

100 percent matching requirement.

D. Reporting requirements. The

Grantee is required to provide reports

and documents listed below:

(1) Quarterly Financial Reports. The

grantee shall submit to the Grant

Officer’s Technical Representative

(GOT) within 30 days following the end

of each quarter, three (3) copies of a

quarterly Financial Status Report (SF

269) until such time as all funds have

been expended or the period of

availability has expired.

(2) Quarterly Progress Reports. The

grantee shall submit to the GOT within

30 days following the end of each

quarter, three (3) copies of a quarterly

progress report which provides a

detailed account of services provided

during each quarter of grant

performance. Reports shall include the

following in brief narrative form:

(a) A description of overall progress of

work activities accomplished during the

reported period.

(b) An indication of current problems,

if any, which may delay performance

and any proposed corrective action.

(c) Program status and financial data/

information relative to expenditure rate

versus budget, anticipated staff changes,

etc.

(3) Annual/Final Report. Each State

that is a grant recipient shall, for each

program year for which funds are

received, submit a report that includes

at a minimum a description of:

(a) The programs that have been

established and developed with such

funds, including a description of the

persons participating and the

microenterprise developed;

(b) The quantitative and qualitative

benefits of such programs;

(c) The contributions of such

programs to economic self-sufficiency

and economic development;

(d) The types of services provided and

an assessment of how well they worked

in assisting participants to establish

their own microenterprises;

(e) The characteristics of the

individual participants served;

(f) Measures of pre- and post-program

income (e.g., wage rates, business

income, total income, etc.); and’

(g) The key lessons learned, including

significant impediments, barriers or

other problems experienced, and the

measures used to address and/or

overcome them.

These reports shall be due in draft no

later than 45 days prior to the

conclusion of the grant period for which

it is being submitted.

Three (3) copies of the final report

shall be due no later than the

conclusion of the grant period.

Part III. Rating Criteria for Award/

Selection Process

Prospective offerors are advised that

the selection of grantees for award is to

be made after careful evaluation of

proposals by a panel of specialists

within DOL. The panelists will evaluate

the proposals for acceptability, with

emphasis on factors enumerated below.

The panel results are advisory in nature

and not binding on the Grant Officer.

A. Evidence of Ability To Conduct and

Monitor the Microenterprise Activities:

(45 Points)

(1) The application must describe in

specific terms the service delivery

strategy that the applicant would utilize

to implement its ideas. (30 points)

(2) The application should also

contain a clear statement of the need for

such a project, including the degree to

which the service delivery strategy will

assist in meeting that need. (15 points)

This overall discussion will be the

measure for determining the ability to

conduct and monitor such activities.

B. Evidence of State Commitment as

Shown Through Existing or Proposed

Related Programs and Support: (25

Points)

This section should include a detailed

discussion of the coordination and

linkages between programs and

community organizations, as well as a

discussion of the organizational

capacity that the State intends to devote

to this project. The emphasis under this

criterion will be on programmatic

resources which might enhance the

training aspects of a project.

As noted earlier, it is recognized that

most States have some form of economic

development capacity already in place.

The applicant must clearly state,

particularly when discussing staff

training for implementation of proposed

microenterprise activities, how this

activity will create a new capacity for

the State to conduct such training. The

proposal must provide assurances that

resources under this grant will not be

used to substitute for an ongoing State

commitment to maintain an economic

development capacity.

C. Evidence of Linkage(s) to Private,

Community-Based Credit and Technical

Assistance Providers: (15 Points)

Discussion of what financial resources

are available to provide new

entrepreneurs with start-up capital,

such as a consortium of banks that has

pledged to assist in this process. The

primary emphasis under this criterion

will be on linkages to financial

resources.
17866 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices

D. Cost, To Include a Statement About

the Size and Nature of The Non-Federal

Match: (15 Points)

The cost effectiveness of the project as

indicated by cost per participant and

cost per activity in relation to services

provided and outcomes anticipated.

This section MUST contain a detailed

discussion of the size, nature, and

quality of the non-Federal match.

Proposals not presenting a detailed

discussion of the non-Federal match or

not meeting the requirement of a 100

percent match will be considered

nonresponsive.

Offerors are advised that discussions

may be necessary in order to clarify any

inconsistencies in their applications.

The reviewers evaluations are only

advisory to the Grant Officer. The final

decisions for grant award will be made

by the ETA Grant Officer, after

considering the panelists scoring

decisions. The Grant Officer’s decisions

will be based on what he or she

determines is most advantageous to the

Federal Government in terms of

technical quality and other factors.

Announcement of Awards: Winners of

this competition will be announced via

the Internet at http://www/doleta.gov/.

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 4th day of

April, 1997.

Janice E. Perry,

Grant Officer, Employment and Training

Administration.

Appendices

A. SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance

B. Budget Information Sheet

BILLING CODE 4510–30–M
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[FR Doc. 97–9190 Filed 4–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–30–C