33456 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 120 / Thursday, June 21, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service

Small Business Innovation Research

Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2002;

Request for Proposals and Request for

Input

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of

Program Solicitation and Request for

Proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002

Small Business Innovation Research

Grants Program and Request for Input.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

under the authority of the Small

Business Innovation Development Act

of 1982 (Pub. L. 97–219), as amended

(15 U.S.C. 638) and section 630 of the

Act making appropriations for

Agriculture, Rural Development, and

Related Agencies programs for the fiscal

year ending September 30, 1987, and for

other purposes, as made applicable by

section 101(a) of Public Law Number

99–591, 100 Stat. 3341, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

expects to award project grants for

certain areas of research to sciencebased small business firms through

phase I of its Small Business Innovation

Research (SBIR) Grants Program.

By this notice, the Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service (CSREES) additionally solicits

stakeholder input from any interested

party regarding the FY 2002 SBIR Grants

Program, Request for Proposals, for use

in the development of the next request

for proposals for this program.

DATES: All phase I proposals must be

received at USDA on or before August

30, 2001. Proposals not received on or

before this date will not be considered

for funding.

ADDRESSES: The address for handdelivered proposals or proposals

submitted using an express mail or

overnight courier service is: Small

Business Innovation Research Program;

c/o Proposal Services Unit; Cooperative

State Research, Education, and

Extension Service; U.S. Department of

Agriculture; Room 1307, Waterfront

Centre; 800 9th Street, S.W.;

Washington, D.C. 20024. Telephone:

(202) 401–5048.

Proposals sent via the U.S. Postal

Service must be sent to the following

address: Small Business Innovation

Research Program; c/o Proposal Services

Unit; Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service; U.S.

Department of Agriculture; STOP 2245;

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.;

Washington, D.C. 20250–2245.

Written stakeholder input comments

should be submitted by mail to: Policy

and Program Liaison Staff; Office of

Extramural Programs; Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture;

Stop 2299; 1400 Independence Avenue,

S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20250–2299; or

via e-mail to: RFP–OEP@reeusda.gov.

(This e-mail address is intended only for

receiving stakeholder input comments

regarding the request for proposals

(RFP), and not for requesting

information or forms.) In your

comments, state that you are responding

to the FY 2002 SBIR RFP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Charles F. Cleland; Director, SBIR

Program; Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service; STOP

2243; 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.;

Washington, D.C. 20250–2243.

Telephone: (202) 401–4002. Facsimile:

(202) 401–6070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

program will be administered by the

Cooperative State Research, Education,

and Extension Service. Firms with

strong scientific research capabilities in

the topic areas listed below are

encouraged to participate. Objectives of

the three-phase program include

stimulating technological innovation in

the private sector, strengthening the role

of small businesses in meeting Federal

research and development needs,

increasing private sector

commercialization of innovations

derived from USDA-supported research

and development efforts, and fostering

and encouraging participation of

women-owned and socially and

economically disadvantaged small

business concerns in technological

innovation.

The total amount expected to be

available for phase I of the SBIR

Program in FY 2002 is approximately

$6,000,000. The solicitation is being

announced to allow adequate time for

potential recipients to prepare and

submit applications by the closing date

of August 30, 2001. The research to be

supported is in the following topic

areas:

1. Forests and Related Resources

2. Plant Production and Protection

3. Animal Production and Protection

4. Air, Water and Soils

5. Food Science and Nutrition

6. Rural and Community

Development

7. Aquaculture

8. Industrial Applications

9. Marketing and Trade

The award of any grants under the

provisions of this program is subject to

the availability of appropriations.

This program is subject to the

provisions found at 7 CFR part 3403.

These provisions set forth procedures to

be followed when submitting grant

proposals, rules governing the

evaluation of proposals and the

awarding of grants, and regulations

relating to the post-award

administration of grant projects. In

addition, USDA Uniform Federal

Assistance Regulations (7 CFR part

3015, as amended), Governmentwide

Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Governmentwide

Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace

(Grants) (7 CFR part 3017), Restrictions

on Lobbying (7 CFR part 3018), and

Managing Federal Credit Programs (7

CFR part 3) apply to this program.

Copies of 7 CFR parts 3403, 3015, 3017,

3018, and 3 may be obtained via the

web at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/

cfr/index.html or by writing or calling

the office indicated below.

The program solicitation, which

contains research topic descriptions and

detailed instructions on how to apply, is

available on the CSREES website at

www.reeusda.gov/sbir. If you do not

have access to the CSREES web page or

have trouble downloading material, you

may obtain the program solicitation by

writing or calling the following office:

Proposal Services Unit; Cooperative

State Research, Education, and

Extension Service; U.S. Department of

Agriculture; STOP 2245; 1400

Independence Avenue, S.W.;

Washington, D.C. 20250–2245.

Telephone: (202) 401–5048. Application

materials also may be requested via

Internet by sending a message with your

name, mailing address (not e-mail) and

telephone number to psb@reeusda.gov

which states that you wish to receive a

copy of the application materials for the

FY 2002 Small Business Innovation

Research Grants Program. The materials

will then be mailed to you (not emailed) as quickly as possible. Please

note that applicants who submitted

SBIR proposals for FY 2001 or who have

recently requested placement on the list

for FY 2002 will automatically receive

a postcard notification announcing the

availability of program solicitation and

request for proposals for fiscal year

2002.

Stakeholder Input

CSREES is soliciting comments

regarding this solicitation of

applications from any interested party.

These comments will be considered in

the development of the next request for

proposals for the program. Such

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 120 / Thursday, June 21, 2001 / Notices 33457

comments will be forwarded to the

Secretary or her designee for use in

meeting the requirements of section

103(c)(2) of the Agricultural Research,

Extension, and Education Reform Act of

1998 (Pub. L. 105–185). Written

comments should be submitted as

provided in the ADDRESSES portion of

this notice.

In your comments, please state that

you are responding to the FY 2002

Small Business Innovation Research

Grants Program. Comments are

requested within six months from the

issuance of the solicitation of

applications. Comments received after

that date will be considered to the

extent practicable.

Done at Washington, D.C., this 18th day of

June, 2001.

Colien Hefferan,

Administrator, Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service.

[FR Doc. 01–15722 Filed 6–20–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P