Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices 47289 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket No. RBS–21–CO–OP–0020] 

Stakeholder Listening Session and 

Request for Information on the Rural 

Cooperative Development Grant 

Program 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBCS) is hosting a 

listening session and opening a request 

for information for public input about 

the Rural Cooperative Development 

Grant (RCDG) program. The RCDG 

program provides financial assistance to 

nonprofit corporations and/or 

institutions of higher education to start 

or expand cooperative development 

centers that provide technical and 

business development assistance to 

individuals and businesses to start, 

expand, or improve cooperatives and 

other mutually owned businesses. RBCS 

is currently considering how it can 

streamline application requirements, 

establish a multiyear award process, and 

provide more relevant performance 

metrics for the program. 

DATES: The listening session will be 

held virtually on: 

September 16, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.–4:00 

p.m. ET 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/ 

register/2283339721495353867 

Comments must be submitted by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) 

on https://www.regulations.gov. 

ADDRESSES: Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

Go to https://www.regulations.gov and, 

in the ‘‘Search’’ box, type in the Docket 

No. RBS–21–CO–OP–0020. A link to the 

Notice will appear. You may submit a 

comment here by selecting the 

‘‘Comment’’ button or you can access 

the ‘‘Docket’’ tab, select the ‘‘Notice,’’ 

and go to the ‘‘Browse & Comment on 

Documents’’ Tab. Here you may view 

comments that have been submitted as 

well as submit a comment. To submit a 

comment, select the ‘‘comment’’ button, 

complete the required information, and 

select the ‘‘Submit Comment’’ button at 

the bottom. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instructions 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘FAQ’’ link 

at the bottom. Comments on this 

information collection must be received 

by October 25, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Natalie Melton, Program Management 

Division, Cooperative Programs, Rural 

Business-Cooperative Service, United 

States Department of Agriculture, Rural 

Development, STOP 3250, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–3250, telephone (202) 720– 

1400, or email cpgrants@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at (202) 720–2600 or (844) 433–2774 

(toll-free nationwide). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview of RCDG 

The RCDG program is authorized 

under section 310B(e) of the 

Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act (Con Act) (7 U.S.C. 

1932 (e)) as amended by the Agriculture 

Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115– 

334). The 7 CFR part 4284, subparts A 

and F are the regulations that govern 

this program. Terms you need to 

understand are defined in 7 CFR 

4284.504. The primary objective of the 

RCDG program is to improve the 

economic condition of rural areas 

through cooperative development. 

Grants are awarded on a competitive 

basis to non-profit corporations or 

higher education institutions. Grant 

funds may be used to pay for up to 75 

percent of the cost of establishing and 

operating centers for rural cooperative 

development and 95 percent of the cost 

of establishing and operating centers for 

rural cooperative development when the 

applicant is a 1994 Institution as 

defined by 7 U.S.C. 301. The 1994 

Institutions are commonly known as 

Tribal Land Grant Institutions. Centers 

may have the expertise on staff, or they 

can contract out for the expertise to 

assist individuals or entities in the 

startup, expansion or operational 

improvement of rural cooperative or 

mutually owned businesses. 

This notice and listening session 

request information on RBCS’s plan to 

consider ways streamline the 

application requirements, establish a 

multiyear award process, update 

performance metrics and assess program 

performance. The public input provided 

in response to this notice from 

interested stakeholders will advise 

RBCS on this plan. 

Instructions 

Response to this notice is voluntary. 

Each individual or institution is 

requested to submit only one response 

as directed in the ADDRESSES section of 

this notice. Submission must not exceed 

10 pages and fonts must be 12 point or 

larger, with a page number on each 

page. Responses should include the 

name of the person(s) or organization(s) 

filing the comment. Comments 

containing references, studies, research, 

and other empirical data that are not 

widely published should include copies 

or electronic links of the referenced 

materials. Comments containing 

profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other 

inappropriate language or content will 

not be considered. Comments submitted 

in response to this notice are subject to 

disclosure under the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552). 

Responses to this notice may also be 

posted, without change, on a Federal 

website. 

Therefore, we request that no business 

proprietary information, copyrighted 

information, or personally identifiable 

information be submitted in response to 

this notice. In accordance with FAR 52– 

215–3(b), responses to this notice are 

not offers and cannot be accepted by the 

Government to form a binding contract. 

Additionally, the U.S. Government will 

not pay for response preparation or for 

the use of any information contained in 

the response. 

To inform the Federal government’s 

decision-making, RBCS now seeks 

public input on the following questions. 

1. The authorizing statute prioritizes 

applications that can demonstrate a 

proven track record in carrying out 

activities to promote and assist the 

development of cooperatively and 

mutually owned businesses. How can 

applicants demonstrate they have a 

proven track record? 

2. The authorizing statute prioritizes 

applications that can demonstrate 

expertise in providing technical 

assistance in rural areas. What criteria 

or factors should the Agency use to 

determine expertise and experience of 

the Center in promoting and assisting 

the development of cooperatives and 

mutually owned businesses? How many 

years of experience are appropriate to 

show that an organization has 

experience in providing cooperative 

development technical assistance in 

rural areas? 

3. The authorizing statute prioritizes 

applications that demonstrate how they 

can improve economic conditions 

through new cooperative approaches. 

How do you interpret the language 

‘‘new cooperative approach’’? What 

makes a cooperative approach new? 

4. The authorizing statute prioritizes 

applications that demonstrate 

commitment to providing technical 

assistance and other services to 

underserved and economically 

distressed areas. Developing 

cooperatives among low resource and 


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47290 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices 

underserved groups requires creative 

approaches to meeting time and 

capacity restraints. Incubating co-ops, 

implementing build and recruit 

methods, and developing a cooperative 

franchise are all examples of innovative 

approaches. How can these approaches 

be structured to clarify members’ 

responsibilities versus the co-op 

development center’s responsibility? 

5. The authorizing statute prioritizes 

applications that network with and 

share the results of their center with 

other cooperative centers and 

organizations involved in rural 

economic development. What 

suggestions do you have for 

documenting the results of networking 

with other cooperative development 

centers and organizations involved in 

rural economic development efforts? 

6. The authorizing statute prioritizes 

applications that include multistate and 

multiorganization approaches to rural 

economic development. What 

suggestions do you have for 

documenting these approaches? 

7. The authorizing statute requires 

applicants to take all practicable steps to 

develop continuing sources of financial 

support, particularly from private sector 

sources to support the sustainability of 

a center. How should an applicant 

demonstrate this requirement? What 

criteria or factors should the Agency use 

to determine sustainability of a center? 

How would the Agency verify this 

information beyond written application 

narration? 

8. The authorizing statute permits the 

Agency to make multiyear awards, up to 

a 3-year period of performance for 

centers that have been previously 

awarded under this program and have a 

successful record of performance. What 

criteria or factors should the Agency 

focus on in determining eligibility for 

applicants proposing multiyear awards? 

9. RBCS is seeking feedback on how 

the program’s performance should be 

assessed. As stated above, the purpose 

of the program is to improve the 

economic conditions of rural areas 

through cooperative development. The 

required goals of recipients must 

include facilitating the creation of jobs 

in rural areas through the development 

of new rural cooperatives, value-added 

processing, and other rural businesses. 

Given this purpose and these goals, 

what performance measures should be 

established for the program? How 

should they be measured? 

10. RBCS is seeking feedback on how 

an applicant can demonstrate the 

successful establishment of a 

cooperative or mutually owned business 

given the varying state incorporation 

laws. What documentation should the 

Agency request to demonstrate 

establishment? 

11. RBCS is seeking feedback on how 

applicants can document previous 

expertise when the outcome was no 

incorporation of a cooperative or 

mutually owned business. Applicants 

are required to discuss their cooperative 

development expertise when making an 

application to the Agency. This 

information is used as part of the meritbased scoring process. Experience has 

shown that not all cooperative 

development efforts result in the 

incorporation of a new cooperative; in 

fact, with some projects the most 

prudent advice is not to proceed. How 

should ‘‘no-go’’ cooperative 

development technical assistance efforts 

be recognized by the Agency and 

documented by the applicant to show 

previous cooperative development 

expertise? 

12. RBCS seeks feedback on when the 

application deadline for the program 

should be. It is our intention to have a 

consistent deadline from year to year, 

rather than released at variable times 

through a Federal Register Notice. We 

also must allow sufficient time for 

processing applications in order to make 

awards and obligate funds prior to 

September 30 each year. 

Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights laws and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

Mission Areas, agencies, staff offices, 

employees, and institutions 

participating in or administering USDA 

programs are prohibited from 

discriminating based on race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, gender 

identity (including gender expression), 

sexual orientation, disability, age, 

marital status, family/parental status, 

income derived from a public assistance 

program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 

retaliation for prior civil rights activity, 

in any program or activity conducted or 

funded by USDA (not all bases apply to 

all programs). Remedies and complaint 

filing deadlines vary by program or 

incident. 

Program information may be made 

available in languages other than 

English. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means of 

communication to obtain program 

information (e.g., Braille, large print, 

audiotape, American Sign Language) 

should contact the responsible Mission 

Area, agency, or staff office; the USDA 

TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TTY); or the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, a complainant should 

complete a Form AD–3027, USDA 

Program Discrimination Complaint 

Form, which can be obtained online at 

https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/ 

ad-3027, from any USDA office, by 

calling (866) 632–9992, or by writing a 

letter addressed to USDA. The letter 

must contain the complainant’s name, 

address, telephone number, and a 

written description of the alleged 

discriminatory action in sufficient detail 

to inform the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature 

and date of an alleged civil rights 

violation. The completed AD–3027 form 

or letter must be submitted to USDA by: 

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; or 

(2) Fax: (833) 256–1665 or (202) 690– 

7442; or 

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Karama Neal, 

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18135 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

AGENCY: United States Commission on 

Civil Rights. 

ACTION: Notice of commission public 

business meeting. 

DATES: Friday, August 20, 2021, 12 p.m. 

EST. 

ADDRESSES: Meeting to take place by 

telephone and is open to the public by 

telephone: 1–800–635–7637, Conference 

ID #: 8000136. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Angelia Rorison: 202–376–7700; 

publicaffairs@usccr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Government in 

Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), the 

Commission on Civil Rights is holding 

a meeting to discuss the Commission’s 

business for the month of August. This 

meeting is open to the public. Computer 

assisted real-time transcription (CART) 

will be provided. The web link to access 

CART (in English) on Friday, August 20, 

2021, is https://www.streamtext.net/ 

player?event=USCCR. Please note that 

CART is text-only translation that 

occurs in real time during the meeting 

and is not an exact transcript. 


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