2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART II - Economic Development (§§ 231-241 — 695i) › Chapter 45 - Science, Technology and Research Trust (§§ 695 — 695i) › § 695f - Process for applying for and evaluating the disbursement of funds

(a) The Council of Trustees shall approve the standards and rules for the presentation, evaluation and selection of proposals and applications for funds for Trust projects. The regulations must include the criteria the Council shall apply when making its decisions as to the qualification and selection of the proponents and the adjudication of the contracts. The selection criteria shall include, without it being understood as a limitation, the following:
(1) The commercial and financial reputation of the proponent and its economic, technical or professional capacity; the experience of the proponent to develop and conduct science and technology research and development activities to improve the existing manufacturing processes or develop new ones or manufacture innovative products and market the same.
(2) The competitive funds for scientific research the proponent has received.
(3) The accreditation of the proposing institutions on its programs by federal or external agencies.
(4) The competitiveness of the faculty or human resources of the proponent.
(5) The competitiveness of the student body of the proponent.
(6) The quality and quantity of high quality scientific research infrastructure and for the transfer of technology.
(7) The availability of funds.
(8) The merits of other proposals.
(9) The novel nature and complexity of the research and development area to be explored and the time estimated for its conclusion.
(10) The capital, if any, the proponent is willing to invest.
(11) The business plan of the proponent, its economic capacity and the financing request for its implementation.
(12) The feasibility of the activity or project.
(13) The possibilities for commercializing the activities and products or projects.
(14) Any other criteria that at the discretion of the Council is suitable and pertinent for achieving the purposes of this chapter, including the competitiveness concept and parameters to be used.
(b) The application for funds submitted by a proponent shall constitute a public document. However, the Council of Trustees shall establish through regulations the standards that shall govern the access to said documents, ensuring, among other things, that all confidential information submitted by the proponents is protected; that the conditions that third parties that request access to the same must meet are defined; that the strict confidentiality criteria that shall be in effect in the process for receiving, evaluating and adjudicating proposals is provided; that all information which constitutes (1) business secrets, (2) proprietary information and (3) privileged or confidential information is excluded from examination and public diffusion; and that the standards of conduct that must be observed by the officers and employees of the Trust regarding the management, diffusion and publication of all information received by the Trust during the process of receiving, evaluating and adjudicating proposals and the sanctions for violation of said standards entails, are provided.
History —Aug. 18, 2004, No. 214, § 8.