Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Notices 26209 

425 shall be used in the place of the SF– 

269 and SF–272 under the uniform 

administrative requirements and 

elsewhere under awards in this program 

where such forms are referenced. 

Programmatic RequirementsPerformance (Technical) Reports: 

Unless otherwise specified in the award 

provisions, each research or senior 

fellow shall submit a brief report on his 

or her experiences and 

accomplishments during their 

fellowship within 30 days after the end 

of the work at NIST. 

In addition, as set out in Sec. 1512(c) 

of the Recovery Act, no later than ten 

(10) days after the end of each calendar 

quarter, any recipient that received 

funds under the Recovery Act from 

NIST must submit a report to NIST that 

contains: 

a. The total amount of Recovery Act 

funds received from NIST; 

b. The amount of Recovery Act funds 

received that were expended or 

obligated to projects or activities; 

c. A detailed list of all projects or 

activities for which Recovery Act funds 

were expended or obligated; and 

d. Detailed information on any 

subcontracts or subgrants awarded by 

the recipient to include the data 

elements required to comply with the 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109– 

282), allowing aggregate reporting on 

awards below $25,000 or to individuals, 

as prescribed by the Director of the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

Recipients that must report 

information in accordance with 

paragraph (d) above must register with 

the Central Contractor Registration 

database (http://www.ccr.gov/) or 

complete other registration 

requirements as determined by the 

Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget. Section 1512(d) further 

requires that no later than thirty (30) 

days after the end of each calendar 

quarter, NIST must make the 

information in reports submitted under 

section 1512(c) of the Recovery Act as 

outlined above publicly available by 

posting the information on a Web site. 

OMB Memo M–09–10, ‘‘Initial 

Implementing Guidance for the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009,’’ which can be accessed at 

http://www.recovery.gov/, provides 

information on requirements for Federal 

agencies under the Recovery Act. 

Additional guidance may be 

forthcoming related to responsibilities 

of recipients of grants and cooperative 

agreements under the Recovery Act. 

Funding Availability and Limitation 

of Liability: The funding periods and 

funding amounts referenced in this 

notice and request for applications are 

subject to the availability of funds, as 

well as to Department of Commerce and 

NIST priorities at the time of award. The 

Department of Commerce and NIST will 

not be held responsible for application 

preparation costs. Publication of this 

notice does not obligate the Department 

of Commerce or NIST to award any 

specific grant or cooperative agreement 

or to obligate all or any part of available 

funds. No funding is anticipated at this 

time to provide further support beyond 

the award period to any project that may 

receive funds under this program. 

Executive Order 12866: This funding 

notice was determined to be not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Executive Order 12372: Applications 

under this program are not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Notice and 

comment are not required under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553) or any other law, for rules relating 

to public property, loans, grants, 

benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)). 

Because notice and comment are not 

required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any 

other law, for rules relating to public 

property, loans, grants, benefits or 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is not required and 

has not been prepared for this notice, 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq. 

Dated: May 26, 2009. 

Patrick D. Gallagher, 

Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. E9–12665 Filed 5–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket Number: 090306283–9284–01] 

Recovery Act Measurement Science 

and Engineering Research Grants 

Program 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) is 

establishing a financial assistance 

program to award research grants and 

cooperative agreements to support 

measurement science and engineering 

research proposals in the following six 

focus areas: Energy; environment and 

climate change; information technology/ 

cybersecurity; biosciences/healthcare; 

manufacturing; and physical 

infrastructure, as part of NIST’s 

activities implementing the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(ARRA or Recovery Act). 

DATES: All proposals must be received 

no later than 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight 

Saving Time on Monday, July 13, 2009. 

Late proposals will not be reviewed or 

considered. 

ADDRESSES: Proposals may be submitted 

in hard copy or in electronic format. 

Hard copy proposals may be submitted 

to Dr. Jason Boehm, National Institute of 

Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau 

Drive, Stop 1060, Gaithersburg, MD 

20899–1060. Electronic proposals may 

be uploaded to http://www.Grants.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

complete information about this 

program and instructions for applying 

by paper or electronically, read the 

Federal Funding Opportunity Notice 

(FFO) at http://www.grants.gov. A paper 

copy of the FFO may be obtained by 

calling (301) 975–5718. Technical 

questions should be addressed to Dr. 

Jason Boehm at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section above, or at Tel: 

(301) 975–4455; E-mail: 

jason.boehm@nist.gov; Fax: (301) 216– 

0529. Grants Administration questions 

should be addressed to Grants and 

Agreements Management Division, 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 

1650, Gaithersburg, MD 20899–1650; 

Tel: (301) 975–5718; E-mail: 

grants@nist.gov; Fax: (301) 840–5976. 

For assistance with using Grants.gov 

contact support@grants.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c); Pub. 

L. 111–5, 123 Stat. 115. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Name and Number: 

Measurement and Engineering Research 

and Standards—11.609 

Program Description: In response to 

the American Reinvestment and 

Recovery Act (Pub. L. 111–5, 123 Stat. 

115), the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) will provide 

grants and cooperative agreements for 

measurement science and engineering 

research in the following six focus areas 

of critical national importance: Energy; 

environment and climate change; 

information technology/cybersecurity; 

biosciences/healthcare; manufacturing; 

26210 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Notices 

and physical infrastructure, with 

priority funding in areas of special 

interest to NIST. Please see the FFO for 

detailed information on each area of 

critical national importance. The 

program is intended to advance the state 

of knowledge and practice in these areas 

of critical national importance, in 

support of NIST’s mission to promote 

U.S. innovation and industrial 

competitiveness by advancing 

measurement science, standards, and 

technology in ways that enhance 

economic security and improve our 

quality of life. The program will 

advance purposes established in Section 

3 of the Recovery Act by creating jobs, 

promoting economic recovery, 

providing investments needed to 

increase economic efficiency by 

spurring technological advances in 

science and health, making investments 

in research areas such as environmental 

protection and infrastructure that will 

provide long-term economic benefits, 

and will help stabilize state and local 

government budgets, in order to 

minimize and avoid reductions in 

essential services and 

counterproductive state and local tax 

increases. 

Competitive proposals will also result 

in achieving commencement of 

expenditures and activities as quickly as 

possible consistent with prudent 

management. Applicants may propose 

projects that include collaboration 

between scientific staff and NIST to 

help advance these program objectives. 

Please see information below regarding 

collaborations with NIST employees. 

Program Priorities: Proposals 

submitted to the Recovery Act 

Measurement Science and Engineering 

Research Grants Program must address 

one of the areas of critical national 

importance described in the FFO. 

Applicants should clearly note which 

program area (e.g., energy) the proposal 

is addressing. Proposals that address the 

sub-topics listed in the FFO will receive 

high priority for consideration of 

funding. Applicants whose proposal 

addresses a sub-topic listed in the FFO 

should also clearly note which sub-topic 

the proposal addresses. 

Funding Availability: NIST plans to 

award up to $35 million in grants and 

cooperative agreements (20–60 awards 

expected), as appropriate to support 

measurement science and engineering 

research in areas of critical national 

importance. Where cooperative 

agreements are used, the nature of 

NIST’s ‘‘substantial involvement’’ will 

generally be collaboration with the 

recipient by working jointly with a 

recipient scientist in carrying out the 

scope of work, or specifying direction or 

redirection of the scope of work due to 

inter-relationships with other projects 

requiring such cooperation. 

Proposals for research or other 

activity under this notice should have a 

duration lasting between one and three 

years. All projects approved by NIST, 

including multiple-year projects, will be 

fully funded at the time of award. 

Award terms will describe how 

recipients with satisfactory performance 

will draw down funds as needed from 

a Department of Treasury account. 

Individual awards are expected to 

range between $500,000 and $1,500,000. 

Projects are expected to start by 

September of 2009. 

Cost Share Requirements: None. 

Eligibility: This program is open to 

U.S. institutions of higher education; 

U.S. non-profit organizations; U.S. 

commercial organizations; and state, 

local, and Indian tribal governments. 

Evaluation Criteria: The evaluation 

criteria the technical reviewers will use 

in evaluating the proposals are as 

follows: 

1. Technical merit of the proposal. 

Reviewers will consider the applicant’s 

approach and the extent to which the 

proposal effectively addresses scientific 

and technical issues necessary to 

achieve success. 

2. Qualifications of Technical 

Personnel. Reviewers will consider the 

ability of the proposed personnel to 

perform the proposed work as measured 

by evidence of skills, training and past 

professional accomplishments. 

3. Relevance to NIST Programs. 

Reviewers will consider the degree to 

which the proposed work addresses 

topics of national importance as 

identified in the solicitation as well as 

the relevance of the work to 

advancements in measurement science 

and engineering of interest to current 

and future NIST programs. 

4. Potential Impact of Proposal. 

Reviewers will consider the potential 

technical effectiveness of the proposal, 

the value it would contribute to the field 

of research, and its potential to enhance 

U.S. economic security and quality of 

life. 

Each of these factors will be given 

equal weight in the evaluation process. 

Selection Factors: The Selecting 

Official anticipates recommending 

proposals for funding in rank order 

unless a proposal is justified to be 

awarded out of rank order based on one 

or more of the following selection 

factors: 

a. Availability of Federal funds, 

b. Redundancy, 

c. Balance/distribution of funds by 

research areas described in the Funding 

Opportunity Description section of the 

FFO, 

d. Relevance to objectives of Recovery 

Act and alignment with subtopics 

described in the Funding Opportunity 

Description section of the FFO. 

Therefore, the highest scoring 

proposals may not necessarily be 

selected for an award. If an award is 

made to an applicant that deviates from 

the scores of the reviewers, the Selecting 

Official shall justify the selection in 

writing based on selection factors 

described above. 

Review and Selection Process: An 

initial administrative review of timely 

submitted proposals will be conducted 

to determine compliance with 

requirements and completeness of the 

proposal. Responsive and complete 

proposals will be considered further. 

Proposals that are nonresponsive and/or 

incomplete will be eliminated. 

Applicants will be notified if their 

proposal will not receive merit review. 

Each responsive and complete proposal 

will receive three independent technical 

reviews, which will include three 

individual written evaluations and 

scores, based on the evaluation criteria. 

The three scores for each proposal will 

be averaged. No consensus advice will 

be given by the technical reviewers. The 

individual proposal evaluations and 

average scores of each proposal will be 

considered by an Evaluation Board (a 

committee made up of seven (7) Federal 

employees: one chair and one 

coordinator for each of the focus areas). 

This Board will rank the proposals and 

make funding recommendations based 

on the selection factors described above 

to a Selecting Official for further 

consideration. In making final 

selections, the Selecting Official (Chief 

Scientist, NIST) will select funding 

recipients based upon the Evaluation 

Board’s rank order of the proposals and 

the selection factors. NIST reserves the 

right to negotiate the cost and scope of 

the proposed work with the applicants 

that have been selected to receive 

awards. Applicants may be asked to 

modify work plans or budgets and 

provide supplemental information 

required by the agency prior to final 

approval of an award. NIST also 

reserves the right to reject a proposal 

where information is uncovered that 

raises a reasonable doubt as to the 

responsibility of the applicant. The final 

approval of selected proposals and 

award of grants will be made by the 

NIST Grants Officer. The award 

decision of the NIST Grants Officer is 

final. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements: 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Notices 26211 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements, 

which are contained in the Federal 

Register Notice of February 11, 2008 (73 

FR 7696), are applicable to this 

solicitation. On the form SF–424, the 

applicant’s 9-digit Dun and Bradstreet 

Data Universal Numbering System 

(DUNS) number must be entered in item 

8.c. Organizational DUNS. The DUNS 

number provided MUST be the DUNS 

number for the entity within the 

applying institution that will be 

responsible for drawing down funds 

from the Automated Standard 

Application for Payment System 

(ASAP). Institutions that provide 

incorrect DUNS numbers may 

experience significant delays in 

receiving funds. 

Collaborations with NIST Employees: 

All proposals should include a 

description of any work proposed to be 

performed by an entity other than the 

applicant, and the cost of such work 

should be included in the budget. 

If an applicant proposes collaboration 

with NIST, the statement of work 

should include a statement of this 

intention, a description of the 

collaboration, and prominently identify 

the NIST employee(s) involved, if 

known. Any collaboration by a NIST 

employee must be approved by 

appropriate NIST management and is at 

the sole discretion of NIST. Prior to 

beginning the merit review process, 

NIST will verify the approval of the 

proposed collaboration. Any 

unapproved collaboration will be 

stricken from the proposal prior to the 

merit review. 

Use of NIST Intellectual Property: If 

the applicant anticipates using any 

NIST-owned intellectual property to 

carry out the work proposed, the 

applicant should identify such 

intellectual property. This information 

will be used to ensure that no NIST 

employee involved in the development 

of the intellectual property will 

participate in the review process for that 

competition. In addition, if the 

applicant intends to use NIST-owned 

intellectual property, the applicant must 

comply with all statutes and regulations 

governing the licensing of Federal 

government patents and inventions, 

described at 35 U.S.C. 200–212, 37 CFR 

Part 401, 15 CFR 14.36, and in Section 

B.21 of the Department of Commerce 

Pre-Award Notification Requirements 

73 FR 7696 (February 11, 2008). 

Questions about these requirements may 

be directed to the Office of the Chief 

Counsel for NIST, 301–975–2803. 

Any use of NIST-owned intellectual 

property by an applicant is at the sole 

discretion of NIST and will be 

negotiated on a case-by-case basis if a 

project is deemed meritorious. The 

applicant should indicate within the 

statement of work whether it already 

has a license to use such intellectual 

property or whether it intends to seek 

one. 

If any inventions made in whole or in 

part by a NIST employee arise in the 

course of an award made pursuant to 

this notice, the United States 

government, acting through NIST, may 

retain its ownership rights in any such 

inventions. Disposition of NIST’s 

retained rights in such inventions will 

be determined solely by NIST, and may 

include, but is not limited to, the grant 

of a license(s) to parties other than the 

applicant to practice such inventions, or 

placing NIST’s retained rights into the 

public domain. 

Collaborations Making Use of Federal 

Facilities: All proposals should include 

a description of any work proposed to 

be performed using Federal facilities. If 

an applicant proposes use of NIST 

facilities, the statement of work should 

include a statement of this intention and 

a description of the facilities. Any use 

of NIST facilities must be approved by 

appropriate NIST management and is at 

the sole discretion of NIST. Prior to 

beginning the merit review process, 

NIST will verify the availability of the 

facilities and approval of the proposed 

usage. Any unapproved facility use will 

be stricken from the proposal prior to 

the merit review. Examples of some 

facilities that may be available for 

collaborations are listed on the NIST 

Technology Services Web site, http:// 

ts.nist.gov/. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: The 

standard forms in the application kit 

involve a collection of information 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

The use of Standard Forms 424, 

Application for Federal Assistance, 

424A, Budget Information NonConstruction, 424B, Assurances NonConstruction, SF–LLL, Certification 

Regarding Lobbying, and CD–346, 

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, has 

been approved by OMB under the 

respective Control Numbers 0348–0043, 

0348–0044, 0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 

0605–0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB Control Number. 

Research Projects Involving Human 

Subjects, Human Tissue, Data or 

Recordings Involving Human Subjects: 

Any proposal that includes research 

involving human subjects, human 

tissue, data or recordings involving 

human subjects must meet the 

requirements of the Common Rule for 

the Protection of Human Subjects, 

codified for the Department of 

Commerce at 15 CFR Part 27. In 

addition, any proposal that includes 

research on these topics must be in 

compliance with any statutory 

requirements imposed upon the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (DHHS) and other federal 

agencies regarding these topics, all 

regulatory policies and guidance 

adopted by DHHS, the Food and Drug 

Administration, and other Federal 

agencies on these topics, and all 

Presidential statements of policy on 

these topics. 

NIST will accept the submission of 

proposals containing research activities 

involving human subjects. The human 

subjects research activities in a proposal 

will require approval by Institutional 

Review Boards (IRBs) possessing a 

current registration filed with DHHS 

and to be performed by institutions 

possessing a current, valid Federal-wide 

Assurance (FWA) from DHHS that is 

linked to the cognizant IRB. In addition, 

NIST as an institution requires that IRB 

approval documentation go through a 

NIST administrative review; therefore, 

research activities involving human 

subjects are not authorized to start 

within an award until approval for the 

activity is issued in writing from the 

NIST Grants Officer. NIST will not issue 

a single project assurance (SPA) for any 

IRB reviewing any human subjects 

protocol proposed to NIST. 

President Obama has issued Executive 

Order No. 13,505 (74 FR 10667, March 

9, 2009), revoking previous Executive 

Orders and Presidential statements 

regarding the use of human embryonic 

stem cells in research. NIST will follow 

any guidance issued by the National 

Institutes of Health (NIH) pursuant to 

the Executive Order and will develop its 

own procedures based on the NIH 

guidance before funding research using 

human embryonic stem cells. NIST will 

follow any additional polices or 

guidance issued by the current 

Administration on this topic. 

Research Projects Involving Vertebrate 

Animals: Any proposal that includes 

research involving vertebrate animals 

must be in compliance with the 

National Research Council’s ‘‘Guide for 

the Care and Use of Laboratory 

Animals,’’ which can be obtained from 

National Academy Press, 2101 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20055. In addition, such proposals 

26212 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Notices 

must meet the requirements of the 

Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et 

seq.), 9 CFR Parts 1, 2, and 3, and if 

appropriate, 21 CFR Part 58. These 

regulations do not apply to proposed 

research using pre-existing images of 

animals or to research plans that do not 

include live animals that are being cared 

for, euthanized, or used by the project 

participants to accomplish research 

goals, teaching, or testing. These 

regulations also do not apply to 

obtaining animal materials from 

commercial processors of animal 

products or to animal cell lines or 

tissues from tissue banks. 

Notification of Recovery Act 

Requirements: Recovery Act limitations 

are applicable to the projects funded in 

this Notice. Recipients must comply 

with the following three provisions of 

the Recovery Act, as applicable, and any 

other terms required by the Act or that 

may be added to the recipient’s award 

pursuant to guidance implemented by 

the Office of Management and Budget. 

Buy American Act Provision: Unless 

waived by DoC, none of the funds 

appropriated or otherwise made 

available by the Recovery Act may be 

used for a project for the construction, 

alteration, maintenance, or repair of a 

public building or public work unless 

all of the iron, steel, and manufactured 

goods used in the project are produced 

in the United States. This provision 

shall be applied in a manner consistent 

with United States obligations under 

international agreements. 

Davis-Bacon Act: Under Section 1606 

of the Recovery Act, projects using 

Recovery Act funds require the payment 

of not less than the prevailing wages 

under the Davis-Bacon Act to ‘‘all 

laborers and mechanics employed by 

contractors and subcontractors on 

projects funded directly by or assisted 

in whole or in part by and through the 

Federal Government.’’ 

False Claims Act: Each recipient or 

sub-recipient awarded funds under the 

Recovery Act shall promptly refer to an 

appropriate inspector general any 

credible evidence that a principal, 

employee, agent, contractor, subgrantee, subcontractor, or other person 

has submitted a false claim under the 

False Claims Act or has committed a 

criminal or civil violation of laws 

pertaining to fraud, conflict of interest, 

bribery, gratuity, or similar misconduct 

involving those funds. 

Ensuring Responsible Spending of 

Recovery Act Funds. The agency expects 

programs under this notice to be 

implemented in general compliance 

with any guidance issued by the Office 

of Management and Budget regarding 

the President’s Memorandum for the 

Heads of Executive Departments and 

Agencies of March 20, 2009, Ensuring 

Responsible Spending of Recovery Act 

Funds, 74 FR 12531 (March 25, 2009). 

Best Practices to Promote Equality of 

Opportunity. Pursuant to OMB 

Guidance (see, ‘‘Updated Implementing 

Guidance for the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009,’’ April 3, 

2009) and consistent with the Recovery 

Act and other applicable laws, DoC 

encourages recipients to implement best 

practices to promote equality of 

opportunity, to provide opportunities 

for small and disadvantaged businesses, 

including veteran-owned small 

businesses and service disabled veteranowned small businesses, and to follow 

sound labor practices. 

Reporting Requirements: Reporting 

requirements are described in the 

Department of Commerce Financial 

Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions, dated March, 2008, found 

on the Internet at: http:// 

oamweb.osec.doc.gov/docs/GRANTS/ 

DOC%20STCsMAR08Rev.pdf. The 

references in Sections A.01 and B.01 of 

the Department of Commerce Financial 

Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions, dated March, 2008, to 

‘‘Financial Status Report (SF–269)’’ and 

‘‘SF–269’’ are hereby replaced with 

‘‘Federal Financial Report (SF–425)’’ 

and ‘‘SF–425,’’ respectively, as required 

by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) (73 FR 61175, October 

15, 2008). As authorized under 15 CFR 

14.52 and 24.41, the OMB-approved SF– 

425 shall be used in the place of the SF– 

269 and SF–272 under the uniform 

administrative requirements and 

elsewhere under awards in this program 

where such forms are referenced. 

In addition, as set out in Sec. 1512(c) 

of the Recovery Act, no later than ten 

(10) days after the end of each calendar 

quarter, any recipient that receives 

funds under the Recovery Act from 

NIST must submit a report to NIST that 

contains: 

a. The total amount of Recovery Act 

funds received from NIST; 

b. The amount of Recovery Act funds 

received that were expended or 

obligated to projects or activities; 

c. A detailed list of all projects or 

activities for which Recovery Act funds 

were expended or obligated; and 

d. Detailed information on any 

subcontracts or subgrants awarded by 

the recipient to include the data 

elements required to comply with the 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109– 

282), allowing aggregate reporting on 

awards below $25,000 or to individuals, 

as prescribed by the Director of the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

Recipients that must report 

information in accordance with 

paragraph (d) above must register with 

the Central Contractor Registration 

database (http://www.ccr.gov/) or 

complete other registration 

requirements as determined by the 

Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget. Section 1512(d) further 

requires that no later than thirty (30) 

days after the end of each calendar 

quarter, NIST must make the 

information in reports submitted under 

section 1512(c) of the Recovery Act as 

outlined above publicly available by 

posting the information on a Web site. 

OMB Memo M–09–10, ‘‘Initial 

Implementing Guidance for the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009,’’ which can be accessed at 

http://www.recovery.gov/, provides 

information on requirements for Federal 

agencies under the Recovery Act. 

Recipients must also comply with any 

additional guidance which may be 

forthcoming related to responsibilities 

of recipients of grants and cooperative 

agreements under the Recovery Act. 

Funding Availability and Limitation 

of Liability: The funding periods and 

funding amounts referenced in this 

notice and request for proposals are 

subject to the availability of funds, as 

well as to Department of Commerce and 

NIST priorities at the time of award. The 

Department of Commerce and NIST will 

not be held responsible for proposal 

preparation costs. Publication of this 

notice does not obligate the Department 

of Commerce or NIST to award any 

specific grant or cooperative agreement 

or to obligate all or any part of available 

funds. No funding is anticipated at this 

time to provide further support beyond 

the award period to any project that may 

receive funds under this program. 

Executive Order 12866: This funding 

notice was determined to be not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Executive Order 12372: Proposals 

under this program are not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Notice and 

comment are not required under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553), or any other law, for rules relating 

to public property, loans, grants, 

benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553 (a)). 

Because notice and comment are not 

required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Notices 26213 

other law, for rules relating to public 

property, loans, grants, benefits or 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is not required and 

has not been prepared for this notice, 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq. 

Dated: May 26, 2009. 

Patrick D. Gallagher, 

Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. E9–12667 Filed 5–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket No.: 090306286–9288–01] 

Recovery Act National Institute of 

Standards and Technology 

Construction Grant Program 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

announces that it will hold a NIST 

Construction Grant Program 

competition under the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

and is soliciting proposals for financial 

assistance. 

DATES: A Letter of Intent is required and 

must be received no later than 3 p.m. 

Eastern Time, Thursday, June 25, 2009. 

A corresponding full proposal must be 

received no later than 3 p.m. Eastern 

Time, Monday, August 10, 2009. 

Review, selection, and grant award 

processing is expected to be completed 

in February 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Letters of Intent may only 

be submitted by paper to: National 

Institute of Standards and Technology; 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 4701; 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–4701. Full 

proposals may be submitted by paper 

and electronically. Paper Submissions: 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology; 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 

4701; Gaithersburg, MD 20899–4701. 

Electronic submissions: 

www.grants.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barbara Lambis at 301–975–4447 or by 

e-mail at barbara.lambis@nist.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Additional Information. The full 

Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) 

announcement for this request for 

proposals contains detailed information 

and requirements for the program. 

Proposers are strongly encouraged to 

read the FFO in developing proposals. 

The full FFO announcement text is 

available at http://www.grants.gov and 

on the NIST Recovery Act Web site at 

http://www.nist.gov/recovery. 

Statutory Authority. The statutory 

authority for this program is the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) (Pub. L. 111– 

5, 123 Stat. 115). 

CFDA 11.618, NIST Construction Grant 

Program 

Program Description. The American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(Recovery Act) (Pub. L. 111–5, 123 Stat. 

115) appropriated $180 million to NIST 

‘‘for a competitive construction grant 

program for research science buildings.’’ 

Additional information on the program 

was provided on page 418 of the 

Conference Report to accompany House 

Report 111–16 (Feb. 12, 2009), which 

indicated that ‘‘* * * $180,000,000 

shall be for the competitive construction 

grant program for research science 

buildings, including fiscal year 2008 

and 2009 competitions.’’ 

Consistent with the Conference 

Report language NIST intends to issue 

grant awards for approximately $60 

million to unfunded meritorious 

proposals submitted under the fiscal 

year 2008 competition and issue grant 

awards for approximately $120 million 

under a new fiscal year 2009 

competition. 

The goals and objectives of the 

program are to provide competitively 

awarded grant funds for research 

science buildings through the 

construction of new buildings or 

expansion of existing buildings. For 

purposes of this program, ‘‘research 

science building’’ means a building or 

facility whose purpose is to conduct 

scientific research, including 

laboratories, test facilities, measurement 

facilities, research computing facilities, 

and observatories. In addition, 

‘‘expansion of existing buildings’’ 

means that space to conduct scientific 

research is being expanded from what is 

currently available for the supported 

research activities. 

Consistent with Section 3 of the 

Recovery Act, the projects undertaken 

through this program will result in the 

preservation of jobs and the promotion 

of economic recovery; the provision of 

investments needed to increase 

economic efficiency by spurring 

technological advances; and the 

investment in infrastructure that will 

provide long-term economic benefits. 

Activities will be commenced as quickly 

as possible while ensuring prudent 

management. 

Unallowable/Ineligible Projects 

The following projects are 

unallowable/ineligible under this 

program: 

a. Projects to construct or expand a 

building not intended for performing 

research or that will predominately be 

equipped with routine office equipment 

and/or lecture/classroom furnishings. 

b. Projects to construct facilities that 

will primarily benefit undergraduate 

research training programs, rather than 

the creation of new graduate level 

research programs, or expanding 

existing graduate level research 

programs. 

c. Projects to construct facilities that 

will primarily benefit the education of 

the general public rather than support 

research activities. 

d. Projects that include tasks for 

constructing shell space that will not be 

completed into research space within 

the grant will have these tasks removed. 

Unallowable/Ineligible Costs 

The following items, regardless of 

whether they are allowable under the 

Federal cost principles, are unallowable 

under this program: 

a. Any equipment used for research or 

otherwise that is not an integral part of 

the building’s structure, e.g., MRI, 

portable air conditioners, etc. 

b. Costs or charges associated with 

routine maintenance, operation, interior 

decorating, or landscaping of any 

building. 

c. Purchase of land. 

d. Costs incurred prior to award are 

not eligible for reimbursement or as cost 

share. 

Limit on Proposals per Applicant. 

Proposals are limited to one per 

applicant organization. Distinct 

academic campuses (that award their 

own degrees, have independent 

administrative structures, admission 

policies, alumni associations, etc.) 

within multi-campus systems qualify as 

separate institutions. 

Funding Availability. Approximately 

$120 million is available for new grants 

for the FY 2009 competition. NIST 

anticipates funding 8–12 projects with 

Federal shares in the $10 million–$15 

million range with a project period of 

performance of up to five (5) years, 

although there is an expectation that 

most of the projects will be completed 

prior to five years. The anticipated start 

date will be one month after the award 

is made. The period of performance 

depends on the construction schedule 

proposed. 

Eligibility Criteria. U.S. institutions of 

higher education and non-profit 

organizations are eligible to apply.