26446 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices

This meeting will be open to the

public on June 5 from 9 a.m. until

approximately 4 p.m. for general

remarks by the Director, Intramural

Research Program, NEI, on matters

concerning the intramural program of

the NEI. Attendance by the public will

be limited to space available.

In accordance with provisions set

forth in sec. 552b(c)(6), Title 5, U.S.C.

and sec. 10(d) of Pub. L. 92–463, the

meeting will be closed to the public on

June 5 from approximately 4 p.m. until

recess and on June 6 from 8:30 a.m.

until adjournment for the review,

discussion, and evaluation of individual

projects conducted by the Ophthalmic

Genetics and Clinical Services Branch.

These evaluations and discussions

could reveal personal information

concerning individuals associated with

the projects, including consideration of

personnel qualifications and

performance, and the competence of

individual investigators, the disclosure

of which would constitute a clearly

unwarranted invasion of personal

privacy. Consequently, this meeting is

concerned with matters exempt from

mandatory disclosure.

Ms. Lois DeNinno, Committee

Management Officer, NEI, EPS/350,

Bethesda, Maryland 20892, (301) 496–

5301, will provide a summary of the

meeting, roster of committee members,

and substantive program information

upon request. Individuals who plan to

attend and need special assistance, such

as sign language interpretation or other

reasonable accommodations, should

contact Ms. DeNinno in advance of the

meeting.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.867, Vision Research;

National Institutes of Health)

Dated: May 10, 1995.

Susan K. Feldman,

Committee Management Officer, NIH.

[FR Doc. 95–12085 Filed 5–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

Office of the Secretary

Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation, Notice Inviting

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal

Year 1995

AGENCY: The Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

(ASPE) of the Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for applications for a

cooperative agreement to establish a

Research Center to plan and conduct a

broad program of policy research and

training of young scholars to describe

and analyze national and state policy

affecting poor families with children.

This research and evaluation program

will focus on important and emerging

social policy issues associated with the

nature, causes, correlates, and effects of

income dynamics, poverty, family

functioning and child well-being.

SUMMARY: The U.S. is experiencing

profound social changes relating to the

economic security and functioning of

families and the well-being of children.

The manner by which government

reacts to or precipitates these changes

also is in flux. In order to inform the

public and policy makers about these

social trends and their causes,

consequences, and cures DHHS is

soliciting applications for a cooperative

agreement to a university-based

institution. ASPE expects to fund this

Research Center for a period of five

years. The first year funding is at least

$1,500,000. We expect a total funding of

approximately $7.5 to $8.0 million over

the five year funding period. (See Part

I, Available Funds)

Cooperative Agreements are

assistance mechanisms and subject to

the same administrative requirements as

grants; however, they are different from

either a grant or a contract. Compared to

a grant, they allow more involvement

and collaboration by the government in

the affairs of project, but provide less

direction of project activities than a

contract. The Terms of Award are in

addition to not in lieu of otherwise

applicable guidelines and procedures.

DATES: The closing date for submitting

applications under this announcement

is September 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send application to Grants

Officer, Office of the Assistant Secretary

for Planning and Evaluation,

Department of Health and Human

Services, 200 Independence Avenue,

SW., Room 405F, Hubert H. Humphrey

Building, Washington, DC 20201.

Attention: Albert A. Cutino, Grants

Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Application Instructions and Forms

should be requested from and submitted

to: Grants Officer, Department of Health

and Human Services, ASPE/IO, 200

Independence Avenue, SW., Room

405F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building,

Washington, DC 20201, Telephone:

(202) 690–8794. Requests for forms and

questions (administrative and technical)

will be accepted and responded to up to

30 days prior to closing date of receipt

of Applications. Technical questions

should be directed to Don Oellerich or

Matt Stagner, DHHS, Office of Human

Services Policy, Telephone: (202) 690–

5877 or 690–5653. Questions also may

be faxed to (202) 690–5672. Written

technical questions should be addressed

to Drs. Oellerich or Stagner at the above

address. (Application submissions may

not be faxed.)

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: The Department

seeks applications from universities or

other post-secondary degree granting

entities. (For-profit organizations are

advised that no cooperative agreement

funds may be paid as profit to any

recipient of a grant or subgrant.) Profit

is any amount in excess of allowable

direct and indirect costs of the grantee.

Part I—Supplementary Information

Legislative Authority

This cooperative agreement is

authorized by Section 1110 of the Social

Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1310) and

awards will be made from funds

appropriated under Public Law 103–112

(DHHS Appropriation Act for FY 1996).

Project History and Purpose

This award (cooperative agreement)

replaces the current grant with the

Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at

the University of Wisconsin. (A brief

description of the current Institute and

its activities is attached to the

Application Package.) Although the

winning applicant will be expected to

carry out IRP’s strong scholarly

traditions and concern for poverty, there

are no specific projects that must be

continued under this award.

Available Funds

1. The Assistant Secretary has

available $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 for

the first year of a five-year award of a

grant pursuant to this announcement.

2. Applications are to include

separate estimates for each of the five

years, if they expect funding levels to be

substantially different in subsequent

years.

3. The amount of funds available for

the grant in future years has not been

established. Legislative support for

continued funding of the Center cannot

be guaranteed and funding is subject to

future appropriations and approval of

the Assistant Secretary. ASPE expects,

however, that the Center will be

supported during future fiscal years at

an annual level of effort commensurate

with the initial period.

Although a single award is

anticipated, nothing in this

announcement restricts the ability of the

Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation to make more than one

award or to make a scaled-down award.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices 26447

Period of Performance.

The award pursuant to this

announcement will be made on or about

December 15, 1995.

Part II—Establishment of a Research

Center—Responsibilities of the

Awardee and the Federal Government

Awardee Responsibilities

The successful applicant shall

develop and conduct a program which

appropriately balances research,

mentoring young scholars, and

dissemination activities directed to

understanding the economic security of

families and the well-being of children.

The program is to focus on tracking and

analyzing changes in State and national

policies and their influences on child

and family outcomes. Specifically,

ASPE has identified four priority areas

the applicant should address, at a

minimum:

A. Strategies to encourage work, selfreliance, parent responsibility,

community, and child well-being.

B. The changing labor market and its

influence on low income families with

children.

C. Non-marital child-bearing and

teenage pregnancy.

D. State initiatives to reduce welfare

dependency, provide employment and

training, make work pay, reduce teenage

pregnancy, improve child services, and

increase family functioning.

While these are ASPE priorities,

applications also may address other

important aspects of poverty, for

example: the implications of health and

disability status for poverty policy;

concerns for the well-being of

individual adults in poverty, and the

interaction between income security

programs, like welfare, and service

programs such as child care, child

development, child welfare services and

education.

The overall program will develop and

disseminate knowledge about these and

related issues. Activities will include

tracking, evaluating, and analyzing state

and local government initiatives to

reduce poverty, encourage economic

mobility, and alleviate the ill-effects of

low income and inappropriate family

functioning. Activities also should

examine alternative public and private

approaches.

The awardee will perform the

following tasks:

1. Research Program. The Center will

be expected to plan, initiate and

maintain a research program of high

caliber. It must meet the tests of social

science rigor and objectivity. The

program will strive for respect from the

academic and policy communities (over

a broad range of the political spectrum)

for its scientific quality, fairness, and

policy relevance. This program should

include an appropriately balanced

agenda of quantitative and qualitative

field work, and primary and secondary

analyses.

The research program should include

supporting the work of members of the

Center staff and other affiliated

researchers. In addition, it should

provide intellectual leadership in the

national research community by

establishing links with a broad range of

other scholars, through visiting and

post-doctoral appointments, research

assistanceships, and a limited program

of nonresident grants, for example.

ASPE anticipates working very

closely with the National Institute for

Child Health and Human Development

(NICHD) to coordinate and possibly

fund joint activities also studying

children, families, and poverty. The

research center funded under this

announcement will be expected to

participate with other ASPE–NICHD

child and family poverty activities; for

example, collaborative projects with the

existing Family and Child Well-Being

Research Network or Population

Research Centers. This collaboration is

expected to enhance the research in this

field extending its breadth, depth, and

variety.

The research program should include

multi-disciplinary approaches to

increase the understanding of the issues

beyond what is possible from analysis

within the framework of a single

discipline. At a minimum, the staff

should include competency in

economics, sociology, public policy/

administration, and other related

disciplines.

Furthermore, it also is appropriate, for

example, to engage in activities to make

advances in research techniques, where

they are needed for or related to primary

objectives of the Center.

Planning and execution of the

research program shall always consider

the policy implications of research

findings. The Center should link

research to public and private efforts to

improve the lives of low income

families. The research and

dissemination will be non-partisan and

of value to all levels of policy making—

Federal, State, and local government—

and the general research community.

A national advisory committee

(discussed below) shall periodically

review the research agenda to assure its

policy relevance, utility, and scope.

2. Mentoring Young Scholars. The

Center is expected to develop and

expand a diverse corps of young

scholars/researchers who focus their

analytical skills on research and policy

issues central to its mission. To assure

the quality of its research,

dissemination, and training program,

and to assure a careful examination of

the output of the Center within the

academic community, the Center must

establish and maintain a formal tie with

a university, including links with all

appropriate departments within that

university. The Center must have a

major presence at a single site

(university or city); however, innovative

arrangements among universities and

with individual scholars at other

universities are encouraged and also

may be proposed. The Center will be

expected to financially support the work

of graduate research assistants, PhD

candidates, Post-Docs, and other

research scholars. The application

should anticipate that several of the

scholars may spend time in residence in

Washington, D.C.

3. Dissemination. Making knowledge

and information available to the

academic and policy communities is to

be another integral feature of the

Center’s responsibilities. It will be

expected to maintain a dissemination

system of periodic newsletters, research

papers, and occasional books intended

both for the research and policy

communities. In addition, the Center

will be expected to organze workshops,

lectures, seminars, and other ways of

sharing current research activities and

findings. Applicants are encouraged to

propose use of innovative methods of

disseminating data and information,

such as Internet. Applications should

show a sensitivity to the different

dissemination stragegies which may be

appropriate for different audiences—

such as policy makers, practitioners,

and academics.

Cooperative Agreement Responsibilities

Center Responsibilities: The awardee

has the primary and lead responsibility

to define objectives and approaches, and

to plan research, conduct studies,

analyze data, and publish results,

interpretations, and conclusions of its

work.

Occasionally, Center staff will be

expected to comment on research plans,

provide critical commentary on research

products, perform statistical policy

analyses, and other quick-response

activities to support ASPE’s research,

evaluation, and policy analysis

function. (Without compromising

academic freedom, Center staff will be

expected to comply with special

requests for administrative

confidentiality in specific sensitive

situations.)
26448 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices

HHS will not interfere with nor

infringe upon the academic freedom

associated with the university setting.

The awardee will retain custody of and

have primary rights to the data

developed under this award, subject to

Government rights to access consistent

with current HHS and ASPE

regulations. The awardee shall make

reasonable efforts, however, to provide

other researchers appropriate and

speedy access to research data from this

project and establish public use files of

research data developed under this

award.

The ASPE Poverty Research Center

will be expected to participate in

various research and dissemination

activities associated with the ASPE and

NICHD. For planning purposes,

applicants for this award should

anticipate expenses to no more than

$50,000 annually. Such expenses, for

example, might cover commissioning

papers or travel to meetings and

conferences.

ASPE Responsibilities: ASPE will be

involved with the Center in jointly

establishing broad research priorities

and planning strategies to accomplish

the objectives of this announcement.

ASPE, or its representatives, will

provide the following types of support

to the Center:

1. Consultation and technical

assistance in planning, operating, and

evaluating the Center’s program

activities.

2. Information about HHS programs,

policies, and research priorities.

3. Assistance in collaborating with

appropriate State and local

governmental officials in the

performance of program activities.

4. Assistance in identifying HHS

information and technical assistance

resources pertinent to the Center’s

success.

5. Assistance in the transfer of

information to appropriate Federal,

state, and local entities.

6. Review of Center activities and

collegial feedback to ensure that

objectives and award conditions are

being met. ASPE retains the right,

however, to withhold annual renewals

to the awardee, if technical performance

requirements are not met.

Joint: The awardee and ASPE will

appoint an outside advisory committee,

funded under this agreement, composed

of approximately ten to twelve

nationally recognized scholars and

practitioners. This committee will be

selected to provide assistance in

formulating the research agenda and

advice on carrying it out. Efforts will be

made in selecting this committee to

assure a broad range of academic

disciplines and political viewpoints.

(For example, the current National

Advisory Committee is composed of 12

individuals of national reputation.

ASPE and the current Institute for

Research on Poverty each appoint six

members.) This committee will meet

once or twice a year rotating between

Washington, D.C. and the Center

location.

Arbitration Procedures: Both parties

are expected to work in a collegial

fashion to minimize misunderstandings

and disagreements. They should explore

every alternative to prevent impasses,

including consultation with the

National Advisory Committee, but on

the rare occasion when agreement

between the awardee and ASPE staff

cannot be reached on significant

programmatic or scientific-technical

issues that might arise after the award,

an arbitration panel shall be formed.

The panel will consist of one person

appointed by the awardee, one person

appointed by the ASPE, and a third

person appointed by these two

members. The decision of the arbitration

panel, by majority vote will be binding.

These special arbitration procedures in

no way affect the awardee’s right to

appeal an adverse action in accordance

with HHS regulations at 45 CFR Part 16.

Part III—Application Preparation and

Evaluation Criteria

This part contains information on the

preparation of an application for

submission under this announcement,

the forms necessary for submission and

the evaluation criteria under which the

applications will be reviewed. Potential

applicants should read this part

carefully in conjunction with the

information provided in Part II.

In general, ASPE seeks organizations

with demonstrated capacity for

providing quality policy research,

training of young scholars, and working

with state and local governments.

Applicants for funding should reflect, in

the program narrative section of the

application, how they will be able to

fulfill the responsibilities and

requirements described in the

announcement. The application should

specify in detail how administrative

arrangements will be made to minimize

start-up and transition delays.

Applications which do not address all

three major tasks discussed in Awardee

Responsibilities in Part II will not be

considered for award.

The applicant must have experience

and a demonstrated capacity to work

with governmental agencies—Federal,

state, or local.

It is anticipated that the applicant will

have additional funding and

arrangements with other organizations

and institutions. The applicant shall

make all current and anticipated related

funding arrangements explicit in the

application.

Content and Organization of

Technical Application (see

‘‘Components of a complete

Application’’).

The application must begin with the

required application forms and a three

to five page overview and summary of

the application. Staff resumes should be

included in a separate appendix. The

central core of the application must

contain five sections, presented in the

following order:

(1) A brief analysis of the key trends

in individual and family economic

security, the prevalence of poverty,

family functioning, child well-being,

and other primary research themes of

the proposed Center. It should then

examine the nature, causes, and

correlates of one or two of the trends.

The analysis should discuss concisely,

but comprehensively, important priority

research issues and demonstrate the

applicant’s grasp of the policy and

research significance of recent and

future social trends. The discussion

should emphasize (but not necessarily

be limited to) the past twenty years and

the remainder of the decade. Examples

of the kinds of issues that might be

discussed include the effects of social

and demographic trends (for example,

changes in fertility, marital stability,

welfare dependency, migration, and

special problems facing children),

economic trends (the effects of inflation,

changing rates of economic growth,

shifts in the location and types of jobs

available, skills mismatches between

labor supply and demand, the growth of

fringe benefits as part of total

compensation, economic stabilization

policies, etc.) and government programs

and policies (e.g., current welfare reform

initiatives, employment and training

programs, teenage pregnancy prevention

projects, and the demand for new or

revised programs.)

(2) A prospectus for a five year

research agenda, outlining the major

research themes to be investigated over

the next five years. In particular, the

prospectus will describe the activities

planned for each of the research priority

issues outlined in Part II, Awardee

Responsibilities and other additional

priority research topics proposed by the

applicant. The prospectus should

discuss the kind of research activities

that are needed to anticipate future

policy debates on important social

issues—poverty and child well-being, in

particular—and the role of the proposed

Research Center in promoting those
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices 26449

activities. The prospectus should follow

from the historical analysis section. It

may, of course, also discuss research

areas and issues that were not

mentioned in that analysis if the author

or authors of the application feel there

have been gaps in past research, or that

new factors have begun to affect or soon

will begin to affect national social

policy.

The prospectus shall include detailed

descriptions of individual research

projects that will be expected in the

Center’s first year of operation. It also

should be specific about long-term

research themes and projects. The lines

of research described in the prospectus

should be concrete enough that project

descriptions in subsequent research

plan amendments can be viewed as

articulating a research theme discussed

in the prospectus. An application that

simply contains an ad hoc

categorization of an unstructured set of

research projects—as opposed to a set of

projects which strike a coherent

theme—will be judged unfavorably.

Note: Once a successful applicant has been

selected and the national Advisory

Committee appointed, they and ASPE will

review the research agenda and determine

research priorities. The Center will submit to

ASPE a revised research plan that

summarizes the deliberations and priorities.

The research plan will be periodically

reviewed and revised as necessary. (The

awardee is not expected to participate in

joint ASPE–NICHD activities before the

spring or summer of 1996.) The application

should discuss a proposed research planning

process, including involvement of the

national advisory committee and other

advisors, and participation in the

consortium.

The application will be judged on

breadth and depth of the applicant’s

commitment to research of priority

research areas, noted above. Evaluation

scores also may be enhanced by

applicants additions to this research

priority list which help flesh out other

links between other factors and poverty,

family functioning, and child wellbeing. The entire prospectus will be

judged on the likelihood of producing

seminal research in the areas of highest

priority. In addition, it will be judged on

it relevance to government activities to

reduce poverty and promote child wellbeing. Scoring also will consider

whether there is a balance between data

gathering and data analyses, between

quantitative and qualitative research,

and among research, dissemination and

training of scholars.

This section should also discuss

efforts which will assure a smooth

transition between the current IRP grant

and this project.

(3) A staffing and organizational

proposal for the Research Center,

including an analysis of the types of

background needed among staff

members, the Center’s organizational

structure, and linkages with the host

university and other organizations. It is

in this third section that the application

should specify how it will assure a

genuinely interdisciplinary approach to

research, and where appropriate, the

necessary links to university

departments, other organizations and

scholars engaged in research, and

government policy making.

The applicant shall identify the

director (or principal investigator) and

key senior research staff. Full resumes

of proposed staff members shall be

included as a separate appendix to the

application. The time commitment to

the Center and other commitments for

each proposed staff member shall be

indicated. The kinds of administrative

and tenure arrangements, if any, the

Center proposes to make should also be

discussed in this section. In addition,

the author(s) of the application and the

role which he or she (they) will play in

the proposed Poverty Research Center

must be specified.

This section shall discuss the

financial arrangements for supporting

research assistants, post-docs, affiliates,

resident scholars, etc. The discussion

should include the expected number

and types of young scholars to be

supported and the level of support

anticipated.

If the application envisions an

arrangement of several universities or

institutions, this section will describe

the specifics about the relationships,

including leadership, management, and

administration. It should pay particular

attention to discussing how a focal point

for research, teaching, and scholarship

will be maintained given the

arrangement proposed.

The application also should discuss

the role, selection procedure, and

expected contribution of the national

advisory committee.

(4) The application will include an

organizational summary of past work at

the university or institution proposed as

the location (or lead) of the Research

Center that relates directly or indirectly

to the research priorities of this request.

This discussion should include more

than a listing of the individual projects

completed by the individuals who are

included in the application. It should

provide a sense of institutional

commitment to policy research and

resolution of the problems facing the

nation’s families and public institutions.

Where specific individuals are proposed

for the staff of the Center, it is legitimate

to discuss their past research, whether

or not it took place at the institution

proposed to be the location of the new

Research Center or the host university.

The application must list in an

appendix appropriate recent or current

research projects, with a brief research

summary, contact person references,

and address and telephone number of

reference.

This section also should include a

discussion of the research staff

experience working with government

agencies and demonstrate a capacity to

provide policy relevant support to these

agencies.

(5) A budget summary narrative

which links the research, training, and

dissemination program to the Center

funding level. This section should

discuss how the five-year budget

supports proposed research, training,

and dissemination activities and should

link the first year funding to a five year

plan. The discussion should include the

appropriateness of the level and

distribution of funds to the successful

completion of the research, training, and

dissemination plans. Also, the limited

amount of funds available for this award

may indicate the desirability of using

these funds as partial, core support for

the proposed Center and applicant

having or seeking additional support

from other sources.

The availability, potential availability

or hope for other funds (from the host

university, other universities,

foundations, states, other Federal

agencies, etc.) and the uses to which

they would be put, should be

documented in this section.

Applications which show funding from

other sources that supplement funds

from this grant will be given higher

marks than if they have no extra

financial support.

Review Process and Funding

Information. A panel of at least three

independent experts will review and

score all applications that are submitted

by the deadline date and which meet

the screening criteria (all information

and documents as required by this

Announcement.) The panel will review

the applications using the evaluation

criteria listed below to score each

application. These review results will be

the primary element used by the ASPE

in making funding decisions.

HHS reserves the option to discuss

applications with other Federal or State

staff, specialists, experts, and the

general public. Comments from these

sources, along with those of the

reviewers, will be kept from

inappropriate disclosure and may be

considered in making an award

decision.
26450 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices

State Single Point of Contact (E.O. No.

12372). The Department of Health and

Human Services has determined that

this program is not subject to Executive

Order No. 12372, Intergovernmental

Review of Federal Programs, because it

is a program that is national in scope

and the only impact on State and local

governments would be through

subgrants. Applicants are not required

to seek intergovernmental review of

their applications within the constraints

of E.O. No. 12372.

Deadline for Submission of

Applications. The closing date for

submission of applications under this

announcement is September 14, 1995.

Applications must be postmarked or

hand-delivered to the application

receipt point no later than 4:30 p.m. on

September 14, 1995.

Hand-delivered applications will be

accepted Monday through Friday prior

to and on September 14, 1995 during

the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the

lobby of the Hubert H. Humphrey

building located at 200 Independence

Avenue, SW., in Washington, DC. When

hand-delivering an application, call

690–8794 from the lobby for pick-up. A

staff person will be available to receive

applications.

An application will be considered as

meeting the deadline if it is either: (1)

Received at, or hand-delivered to, the

mailing address on or before September

14, 1995, or (2) postmarked before

midnight of the deadline date

September 14, 1995 and received in

time to be considered during the

competitive review process (within two

weeks of the deadline date).

When mailing application packages,

applicants are strongly advised to obtain

a legibly dated receipt from a

commercial carrier (such as UPS,

Federal Express, etc.), or from the U.S.

Postal Service as proof of mailing by the

deadline date. If there is a question as

to when an application was mailed,

applicants will be asked to provide

proof of mailing by the deadline date.

When proof is not provided, an

application will not be considered for

funding. Private metered postmarks are

not acceptable as proof of timely

mailing.

Applications which do not meet the

September 14, 1995 deadline are

considered late applications and will

not be considered or reviewed in the

current competition. HHS will send a

letter to this effect to each late

applicant.

HHS reserves the right to extend the

deadline for all applications due to acts

of God, such as floods, hurricanes or

earthquakes; due to acts of war; if there

is widespread disruption of the mail; or

if HHS determines a deadline extension

to be in the best interest of the

Government. However, HHS will not

waive or extend the deadline for any

applicant unless the deadline is waived

or extended for all applicants.

Applications Forms. See section

entitled ‘‘Components of a Complete

Application.’’ All of these documents

must accompany the application

package.

Length of Application. Applications

should be brief and concise as possible,

but assure successful communication of

the applicant’s proposal to the

reviewers. In no case shall an

application (excluding the resume

appendix and other appropriate

attachments) be longer than 150 doublespaced pages; it should neither be

unduly elaborate nor contain

voluminous supporting documentation.

Selection Process and Evaluation

Criteria. The evaluation criteria

correspond to the outline for the

development of the Program Narrative

Statement of the application. Although

not mandatory, it is strongly

recommended that applications be

prepared with the format indicated by

this outline.

Selection of the successful

applicant(s) will be based on the

technical and financial criteria laid out

in this announcement. Reviewers will

determine the strengths and weaknesses

of each application in terms of the

evaluation criteria listed below, provide

comments and assign numerical

scores—out of a possible 100 points.

The review panel will prepare a

summary of all applicant scores and

strengths/weaknesses and

recommendations and submit it to the

ASPE for final decisions on the award.

The point value following each

criterion heading indicates the

maximum numerical relative weight

that each section will be given in the

review process. An unacceptable rating

on any individual criterion may render

the application unacceptable.

Consequently, applicants should take

care to ensure that all criteria are fully

addressed in the applications.

Applications will be reviewed as

follows:

(a) Quality of the historical analysis.

[See Part II, Type of Application

Requested, Section 1.] (15 points)

Applications will be judged on whether

they provide a thoughtful and coherent

discussion of economic, social, and

demographic trends influencing the

family and children. Reviewers will

judge applicant’s ability to discuss the

past, present, and future role of

government programs and policies

which affect these trends. Applicants

should tie the trends and influences

discussed to their proposed research

agenda.

(b) Quality of the research prospectus.

[See Part II, Section 2.] (25 points)

Reviewers will judge this section on the

basis of whether the research agenda is

scientifically sound and policy relevant.

They also will consider whether the

applicant is likely to make significant/

seminal contributions to understanding

poverty, families, child outcomes, and

what governments can do to make the

lives of single adults, children and

families more secure, healthier, and

open to opportunity. Although the

discussion and research proposed must

address the major themes of this

announcement (low-skills labor market,

out-of-wedlock childbearing, strategies

to strengthen families and encourage

independence, and evaluating state

initiatives), applications with additional

insightful research proposals also will

score higher. Concise plans for research

projects in the near term (one or two

years) as well as a five-year agenda are

important. We will rate applications on

their plans to conduct policy relevant

research and interact with various levels

of government to research and evaluate

significant government initiatives and

policies. In addition, applicants will be

judged on their dissemination plans—

including convening conferences and

workshops and communicating with a

broad audience of academics,

policymakers, and practitioners.

(c) Quality of the staffing proposal

and proposed organizational

arrangements. [See Part II, Sections 3.

and 4.] (30 points) Reviewers will judge

applicant’s director/principal

investigator and staff on research

experience, demonstrated research

skills, administrative skills, public

administration experience, and relevant

policymaking skills. Ratings may

consider references on prior research

projects. Director and staff time

commitments to the Center also will be

a factor in the evaluation. Whether the

applicant can maintain a single location

for research, teaching, and scholarship

is an important consideration.

Furthermore, reviewers will rate the

applicant’s pledge and ability to work in

collaboration with other scholars in

search of similar goals. Applicants will

be judged on the nature and extent of

the organizational support to research,

mentoring scholars, and dissemination

in topical areas related to the Center’s

central priorities and this request.

Reviewers will evaluate the

commitment of the university (and

proposed institutional unit that will

contain the Center) to assess its ability

to support all three major Center
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices 26451

activities: (1) scholarly, policy relevant

research; (2) the mentoring and

development of young scholars

interested in poverty, families, children,

and public policy; and (3) dissemination

of research and other information to a

broad and disparate set of academic,

research, and policy communities.

Reviewers also will evaluate the

applicant’s demonstrated capacity to

work with a range of government

agencies.

(d) Training and mentoring young

scholars. [See part II, Section 3.] (15

points) The applicant evaluation will

consider proposed efforts to develop

and expand a diverse corps of young

scholars and researchers. The ratings

will consider the proposed mentoring

and support given to graduate research

assistants, PhD candidates, Post-Docs,

and other research scholars. The

evaluation will include an assessment of

plans to integrate the training of

research scholars and exposing them to

policy research activities at ASPE.

(e) Appropriations of the budget to

carry out the planned staffing and

activities. [See part II, Section 5.] (15

points) Ratings will consider whether:

(a) The budget assures an efficient and

effective allocation of funds to achieve

the objectives of this solicitation and (2)

the applicant has additional funding

from other sources. When additional

funding is contemplated, applicants

shall note whether the funding is being

donated by the institution, is in-hand

from another funding source, or will be

applied for from another funding

source.

Disposition of Applications

1. Approval, disapproval, or deferral.

On the basis of the review of an

application, the ASPE will either (a)

approve the application in whole, as

revised, or in part for such amount of

funds and subject to such conditions as

are deemed necessary or desirable for

the initiation and operation of one or

more Research Centers; (b) disapprove

the application; or (c) defer action on

the application for such reasons as lack

of funds or a need for further review.

2. Notification of disposition. The

ASPE will notify the applicants of the

disposition of their application. A

signed notification of award will be

issued to notify the applicant of the

approved application.

Components of a Complete

Application. A complete application

consists of the following items in this

order:

1. Application for Federal Assistance

(Standard Form 424, Revised 4–88);

2. Budget Information—Nonconstruction Programs (Standard Form

424A, Revised 4–88);

3. Assurances—Non-construction

Programs (Standard Form 424B,

Revised, 4–88);

4. Table of Contents;

5. Budget Justification for Section B—

Budget Categories;

6. Proof of non-profit status, if

appropriate;

7. Copy of the applicant’s approved

indirect cost rate agreement if necessary;

8. Project Narrative Statement,

organized in five sections addressing the

following topics:

(a) Understanding of the Effort,

(b) Project Approach,

(c) Staffing Utilization, Staff

Background, and Experience,

(d) Organizational Experience, and

(e) Budget Narrative;

9. Any appendices/attachments;

10. Certification Regarding Drug-Free

Work place;

11. Certification Regarding

Debarment, Suspension and Other

Responsibility Matters; and

12. Certification and, if necessary,

Disclosure Regarding Lobbying;

13. Supplement to Section II—Key

Personnel; and

14. Application for Federal Assistance

Checklist.

Dated: May 8, 1995.

David T. Ellwood,

Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation.

[FR Doc. 95–12118 Filed 4–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4151–04–M

Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Health

Availability of Funds and Request for

Applications for Bilingual/Bicultural

Service Demonstration Projects in

Minority Health

AGENCY: Office of Minority Health,

Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Health, PHS, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice of Extension of

Application Deadline for Request for

Applications.

The Notice of Availability of Funds

published Thursday, April 13, 1995, (60

FR 18934) had a due date for

application receipt of May 15, 1995.

This notice extends the deadline date to

May 31, 1995.

ADDRESSES/CONTACTS: Applications

must be prepared on Form PHS 5161–

1 (Revised July 1992 and approved by

OMB under Control Number 09370189).

Application kits and technical

assistance on budget and business

aspects of the application may be

obtained from Ms. Carolyn A. Williams,

Grants Management Officer, Office of

Minority Health, Rockwall II Building,

Suite 1000, 5515 Security Lane,

Rockville, MD, 20852, (telephone 301/

594–0758) or by Internet E-mail

cwilliams@oash.ssw.dhhs.gov.

Completed applications are to be

submitted to the same address.

Technical assistance on the

programmatic content for the Bilingual/

Bicultural Grants may be obtained from

Ms. Nina Darling or Ms. Rizalina

Galicinao. They can be reached at the

Office of Minority Health, Rockwall II

Building, Suite 1000, 5515 Security

Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, (telephone

301/594–0769) or by Internet E-mail

ndarling@oash.ssw.dhhs.gov or

rgalicin@ash.ssw.dhhs.gov.

In addition, OMH Regional Minority

Health Consultants (RMHCs) are

available to provide technical

assistance. a listing of the RMHCs and

how they may be contacted is provided

in the grant application kit. Applicants

also can contact the OMH Resource

Center (OMH/RC) at 1–800–444–6472

for health information and generic

information on preparing grant

applications.

DEADLINE: To receive consideration,

grant applications must be received by

the Grants Management Officer by May

31, 1995. Applications will be

considered as meeting the deadline if

they are either: (1) Received at the above

address on or before the deadline date,

or (2) Sent to the above address on or

before the deadline date and received in

time for orderly processing. Applicants

should request a legibly dated U.S.

Postal Service postmark or obtain a

legibly dated receipt from a commercial

carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private

metered postmarks shall not be

acceptable as proof of timely mailing.

Applications submitted by facsimile

transmission (FAX) WILL not be

accepted. Applications which do not

meet the deadline will be considered

late and will be returned to the

applicant unread.

Dated: May 8, 1995.

Clay E. Simpson, Jr., Ph.D.

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for

Minority Health.

[FR Doc. 95–12116 Filed 5–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–17–M