Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 115 /Tuesday, June 16, 1998 / Notices 32857

• Working with African nations to

transform the African-U.S. relationship

from one of aid dependency to one of

commercial partnership for mutual

advantage;

• Achieving a more level playing

field for U.S. firms in African markets;

• Increasing trade between Africa and

the United States.

A full description of the mission is set

forth in the Mission Statement, which is

available from Lucie Naphin, Director of

the Office of Business Liaison, at the

address listed above or at the web site

listed above.

Trade Mission Participation Criteria

The recruitment and selection of

private sector participants in this

mission will be conducted according to

the Statement of Policy Governing

Department of Commerce Overseas

Trade Missions announced by Secretary

Daley on March 3, 1997. Individuals

must be at a level of executive seniority

appropriate to the goals of the mission.

Company participation will be

determined on the basis of:

• Consistency of the company’s goals

with the scope and desired outcome of

the mission as described herein;

• Relevance of a company’s business

line to the plan for the mission;

• Past, present and prospective

business activity in Africa; and

• Diversity of company size, type,

location, demographics and traditional

under-representation in business.

An applicant’s partisan political

activities (including political

contributions) are irrelevant to the

selection process. An interested party

must fill out an application to be

considered for participation in the

mission.

Endorsements/Referrals

Third parties may nominate or

endorse potential applicants, but

companies that are nominated or

endorsed must themselves submit an

application to be eligible for

consideration. Referrals from political

organizations will not be considered.

Costs

The fees to participate in the mission

have not yet been determined and will

be based on the number of participants.

The fees will not cover travel or lodging

expenses.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512.

Dated: June 12, 1998.

Robert Marro,

Regional Director, Office of Africa, Near East

and South Asia, International Trade

Administration, Department of Commerce.

[FR Doc. 98–16127 Filed 6–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–FP–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development

Agency

[Docket No. 980608150–8150–01]

RIN 0640–ZA03

Revision of the Cost-Share

Requirement and Applicability of the

Ten Bonus Points to All Future

Solicitations To Operate Minority

Business Development Centers

(MBDC)

AGENCY: Minority Business

Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Interim final policy request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In order to attract and retain

a greater number of qualified firms to

operate its MBDC program, MBDA is

revising its cost-share requirement for

financial award recipients from forty

percent (40%) to fifteen percent (15%)

to be applied to all future competitions

for MBDCs, as well as to all prospective

renewals and/or extensions of awards

originally competed at the 40% costshare level. MBDA is also extending its

policy to give an additional ten (10)

bonus points to the applications of

community-based organizations in all

future MBDC solicitations. Previously,

the 40% cost-share requirement and the

10 bonus points were applied to awards

in certain designated geographic service

areas only. The initial policies regarding

these requirements were published in

the Federal Register Notice of May 31,

1996, Vol. 51, page 27336 and

continued on page 27337.

DATES: This interim policy is effective

June 16, 1998. Comments on this

interim policy must be submitted on or

before July 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Mr. Paul R. Webber IV, Assistant

Director, Minority Business

Development Agency, U.S. Department

of Commerce, Room 5073, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Paul R. Webber IV at (202) 482–5061.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under

Executive Order 11625, MBDA provides

business development assistance to

persons who are members of groups

determined by MBDA to be socially or

economically disadvantaged, and to

business concerns owned and

controlled by such individuals. To

deliver this assistance, MBDA funds

MBDCs that offer a full range of

management and technical assistance

services, coordinate public and private

resources on behalf of clients, and serve

as a conduit for information concerning

business development.

MBDA selects applicants to operate

its MBDCs through a competitive

solicitation process. The guidelines for

operation of an MBDC are set forth in

a detailed Competitive Application

Package (CAP). The funding instrument

for the MBDCs is a cooperative

agreement, which, in addition to the

CAP and the competitive solicitation

published in the Federal Register, sets

forth the applicable requirements which

must be met by an MBDC operator

(collectively, the ‘‘program guidelines’’).

Under the program guidelines,

selected geographic service areas were

designated in the May 31, 1996, Federal

Register, in which the Department of

Commerce currently funds up to 60% of

the total budgeted cost of operating an

MBDC on an annual basis. The MBDC

operator has been required to contribute

at least 40% of the total project cost (the

‘‘cost-share requirement’’). Prior to the

Notice, MBDC operators were required

to contribute only 15% of the total

project costs. Contributions, which may

be utilized in satisfying the cost-share

requirement, include cash

contributions, non-cash application

contributions, third party in-kind

contribution and client fees. In addition,

the applications from those designated

service areas were given an additional

ten (10) bonus points for being

community-based organizations that

had received a programmatically

acceptable and responsive score. In

order to attract a greater number of

qualified firms to compete in the MBDC

program, all future MBDC solicitations,

regardless of geographic service area,

will be competed, with the Department

of Commerce funding up to 85% of the

total project cost. The operator will be

required to contribute at least 15% of

the total project cost in order to satisfy

the cost-share requirement.

In addition, under existing program

guidelines, continued funding of an

award is at the total discretion of MBDA

based on such factors as the MBDC’s

performance, changes in availability of

funds, and shifts in agency priorities.

MBDA has determined that it is an

agency priority to retain existing MBDC

operators by easing the burden caused

by a 40% cost-share requirement. It is

also an agency priority to establish

consistency and equity with regard to

the cost-share requirement between

existing MBDC operators and future

operators. Accordingly, the cost-share

requirement of existing MBDC operators

will be decreased from 40% and will

revert to MBDA’s prior policy of 15% at

the time of renewal and/or extension of
32858 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 115 /Tuesday, June 16, 1998 / Notices

awards. However, the decrease in cost

sharing will not be applied

retroactively.

Finally, based on prior experience

with community-based organizations,

MBDA has determined that it is in the

interest of the MBDC program to

encourage the participation of such

organizations in the competition to

operate MBDCs. Therefore, MBDA has

determined that it is an agency priority

to extend the policy of allowing 10

bonus points during the evaluation

process to community-based

organizations, which was limited to

certain designated locations in the

Federal Register notice of May 31, 1996,

to all future MBDC solicitations. The

MBDC evaluation scoring system will

add 10 bonus points to the applications

of community-based organizations

which receive a programmatically

acceptable and responsive score. Each

qualifying application will receive the

full 10 points. Community-based

applicant organizations are those

organizations currently located within

the geographic service area designated

in the solicitation for the award, and

whose headquarters and/or principal

place of business have been located

within the geographic service area

during the last five years. Where an

applicant organization has been in

existence for fewer than five years or

has been present in the geographic

service area for fewer than five years,

the individual years of experience of the

applicant organization’s principals may

be applied toward the requirement of

five years of organization experience.

The individual years of experience must

have been acquired in the geographic

service area which is the subject of the

solicitation.

Statement of Policy

In order to implement its revised

program in support of the minority

business sector, MBDA hereby revises

its policy of requiring a 40% cost-share

requirement for MBDC awards in certain

locations and establishes a cost-share

requirement for all prospective MBDC

awards of at least 15% of total project

cost for financial assistance recipients.

In addition, the cost-share requirement

of existing MBDC operators will be

decreased from 40% to 15% at the time

of renewal and/or extension of awards.

However, this decrease in cost sharing

will not be applied retroactively. MBDA

will also extend the policy of allowing

10 bonus points during the evaluation

process to community-based

organizations, which was limited to

certain designated locations in the

Federal Register notice of May 31, 1996,

to all future MBDC solicitations.

Executive Order 12866

This policy revision was determined

to be not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

Administrative Procedure Act

Since this notice of policy revision is

a matter relating to public property,

loans, grants, benefits, or contracts

under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), the

requirements of section 553 do not

apply.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act does

not apply to this notice of policy change

because the notice was not required to

be promulgated as a proposed rule

before issuance in final form by 5 U.S.C.

§ 553 or by any other law, As a result,

neither an initial nor final Regulatory

Analysis was required, and none has

been prepared.

Executive Order 12612

This policy statement does not

contain policies with Federalism

implications sufficient to warrant

preparation of a Federalism assessment

under Executive Order 12612.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512 and Executive

Order 11625.

Dated: June 4, 1998.

Juanita E. Berry,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Minority

Business Development Agency.

Courtland Cox,

Director, Minority Business Development

Agency.

[FR Doc. 98–15869 Filed 6–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–21–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

Notice of Government Owned

Invention Available for Licensing and

Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent

License

SUMMARY: The invention listed below is

owned by the United States

Government, as represented by the

Department of Commerce. The

Government’s ownership interest in the

invention is available for licensing in

accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37

CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious

commercialization of results of

Federally funded research and

development.

This Notice is also in accordance with

35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR

404.7(a)(1)(i) that the National Institute

of Standards and Technology (‘‘NIST’’),

U.S. Department of Commerce, is

contemplating the grant of an exclusive

license to practice the invention

embodied in the invention listed below,

U.S. Patent Number 5,620,857, titled,

‘‘Optical Trap for Detection and

Quantitation of Subzeptomolar

Quantities of Analytes,’’ in the field of

use of diagnostic, analytical and

research applications for the detection,

measurement and/or monitoring of

analytes, and in the licensed territory of

the United States of America, its

territories, possessions and

commonwealths and all other countries

in which NIST obtains patent protection

at the request and expense of Bayer

Corporation, to Bayer Corporation,

having a place of business in Tarrytown,

NY.

DATES: Comments must be received in

writing no later than September 14,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the

Prospective Grant must be submitted to:

Terry Lynch, National Institute of

Standards and Technology, Industrial

Partnerships Program, Building 820,

Room 213, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terry Lynch, National Institute of

Standards and Technology, Industrial

Partnership Program, Building 820,

Room 213, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

invention available for licensing is:

NIST Docket Number: 94–042.

Title: Optical Trap for the Detection

and Quantitation of Subzeptomolar

Quantities of Analytes.

Abstract: Tightly focused beams of

laser light are used as ‘‘optical

tweezers’’ to trap and manipulate

polarizable objects such as microspheres

of glass or latex with diameters on the

order of 4.5 micrometers. When analytes

are allowed to adhere to the

microspheres, small quantities of these

analytes can be manipulated, thus

allowing their detection and

quantitation even when amounts and

concentrations of the analytes are

extremely small. Illustrative examples

include measuring the strength needed

to break antibody-antigen bonds and the

detection of DNA sequences.

The prospective exclusive license will

be royalty-bearing and will comply with

the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C.

209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective

exclusive license may be granted unless,

within ninety days from the date of this

published Notice, NIST receives written

evidence and argument which establish

that the grant of the license would not

be consistent with the requirements of

35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.