[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 1994)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1389-1390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-380]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 10, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
 

Notice of Program Interest for Minority Technical Education 
Program

AGENCY: Department of Energy, San Francisco Operations Office.

ACTION: Notice of Program Interest.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Economic Impact and 
Diversity, desires to encourage the submission of unsolicited proposals 
in support of the Department's Minority Technical Education Program. 
Such support is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 7141 (d) and 7256(a); Public 
Law 95-619, part 3, sec. 2.11(d), which states that the Director of the 
Office of Minority Economic Impact may provide appropriate assistance 
to minority educational institutions to enable these institutions to 
participate in the activities of the Department. It is intended in 
particular to obtain proposals from post secondary two-year educational 
institutions, or from teams of organizations including qualified post 
secondary two-year educational institutions. For purposes of this 
solicitation, a qualified ``Minority Education Institution'' is a post 
secondary two-year educational institution of higher learning (such as 
a community college or vocational college) that is a non-profit entity 
with a minimum of 25 percent total minority enrollment. Pursuant to 
Public Law 95-619, ``Minority'' means any individual who is a citizen 
of the United States and who is a Negro, American Indian, Eskimo, 
Oriental, or Aleut or is a Spanish speaking individual of Spanish 
descent. This notice describes the principal scope of the activity and 
provides some guidance on submitting proposals.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Proposals (3 copies) should be submitted to Estela 
Romo, HRMD, U.S. Department of Energy, 1301 Clay St., Oakland, CA 
94612. Applications received after March 15, 1994, will be held for one 
year and may be eligible for awards in FY 95. Proposers receiving 
awards in FY 1994 will be notified not later than June 15, 1994. Each 
proposal must contain a cover sheet (Standard Form 424), a technical 
proposal and budget justification.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All questions concerning this program 
notice should be directed to Arlene Coleman at (510) 637-1870.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this notice, it is DOE's intent to 
encourage the submission of proposals for minority two year post 
secondary training that would address the following program objectives:
    1. Increase the number of minority students that select a course of 
study leading to energy-related careers to enable and encourage them to 
bridge from high school to community college to four year educational 
institutions; and/or, increase the career opportunities through 
retention programs, retraining, and bridge programs in energy related 
careers.
    2. Strengthen the quantity and quality of energy-related technical 
and academic curricula with emphasis on applied training provided for 
minority students at two-year post secondary schools.
    3. Establish partnerships with industry and other community 
entities that promote economic growth opportunities of the community 
serviced by enriching energy-related technology transfer activities.
    The purpose of this notice is to encourage the submission of 
proposals that address one or more of the following:
    1. Provide financial assistance to financially needy honor students 
participating in the program.
    2. Establish linkages with DOE contractors and private and/or 
public energy-related institutions to support student and faculty 
internships.
    3. Institute energy related training in computer science, the 
physical sciences, the life sciences, environmental sciences, 
engineering, software engineering, engineering technologies.
    4. Enhance the development of tech-prep education program curricula 
and bridge programs related to dropout prevention, re-entry, limited 
English proficiency, technical skills, and career opportunities to 
prepare high school students.
    5. Enhance the articulation agreements from vocational schools and 
community colleges to four-year colleges and universities.
    6. Identify and establish technology transfer activities between 
the population serviced by the two-year post secondary institution and 
private/or public institutions as it relates to economic growth and 
development of the community.
    7. Establish linkages with DOE contractors, and private or public 
energy related institutions to support student and faculty internships 
and apprenticeships.
    8. Provide support for travel expenses associated with 
participants' attendance at technology transfer meetings, workshops, 
and visits to national laboratories.
    9. Establish linkages to overcome isolation of the institution 
through cooperative agreements, specialized curricula or other outreach 
activities.
    10. Enhance the academic core and/or the basic principles of 
applied technology and science of the energy related curricula.
    11. Identify and establish technology transfer activities between 
the population serviced by the two-year post secondary institution and 
private/or public institutions as it relates to economic growth and 
development of the community.

    Authority: 10 CFR part 600, subparts A and B.

Eligibility

    To be eligible to participate in this program, an institution must 
be a nonprofit institution of higher education which offers a two year 
associate degree program, a two year certificate program, and which is 
qualified as an institution of higher education. The education 
institution must have 25 percent or more minority enrollment. It should 
have a history of graduating minority students in some energy-related 
or technical field such as applied mathematics, engineering 
technologies, environmental science, computer sciences, software 
engineering, engineering, life sciences, or physical sciences. This 
program is open to institutions within the United States and its 
territories. Institutions having more than one eligible component may 
choose whether to apply on behalf of the institution as a whole or to 
submit freestanding applications on behalf of one or more components. 
Individual components of a community, vocational, or other institutions 
are separately eligible.

Indirect Costs

    Indirect costs will be limited to eight percent.

Project Director

    The Project Director is the representative and spokesperson for the 
institution in matters concerning the award. The Project Director 
should be available for consultation with the DOE Program Manager and 
assist in resolving issues or problems encountered by the DOE Program 
Manager during the tenure of the project.

Project Funding

    FY 1994 funding up to $537,110 is available for awards under this 
program. It is estimated that these funds will support awards from 
seven to eight schools with funding levels of approximately $67,000 for 
this first fiscal year. Funding for the second year through the fifth 
year is estimated at $50,000 per year subject to the availability of 
funds. These estimates of funding and number of awards do not bind the 
U.S. Department of Energy to a specific number of awards unless 
otherwise specified by statute or regulation.

Evaluation Process and Selection Criteria

    Applications may be subjected to external review following 
preliminary screening.
    Projects will be selected for funding based on their quality as 
determined by DOE staff evaluation of the merit of the application 
using the following general criteria. The general criteria will be 
either Acceptable or Unacceptable based on the following:
    1. The potential contribution which the proposed effort is expected 
to make to the program's objectives, if pursued at this time.
    2. Evidence of overall merit.
    3. Use of unique, innovative, or meritorious methods, approaches, 
or ideas, including formal agreements between institutions.
    4. Qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the 
application's Project Director and key personnel who are considered to 
be critical in achieving applicant objectives.
    5. Demonstrate cost-sharing from non-Department of Energy sources.
    6. The number of minority categories, number of participants that 
are expected to be impacted.
    7. The degree to which the past efforts have impacted the local 
community in relationship to education in general.
    The following specific criteria will be applied to projects. These 
criteria, along with the general criteria described previously, will be 
used for the technical evaluation of each project. Final selection of 
projects will be made by DOE based on the technical evaluations and 
other factors such as duplication of activities, total program balance, 
geographic distribution, balance of minority category and sub-category, 
demonstration of cost-sharing, and other factors.
    1. Identification of needs of the project.
    a. Institutional assessment and profile in meeting proposed 
requirement.
    b. Identification of specific basic applied technologies and 
training objectives.
    c. Involvement of community entities serviced by the two-year 
educational institution and other appropriate entities in establishment 
of project needs. Specifically, the project must address energy related 
technology transfer activities as it relates to economic growth of the 
community serviced by the education institution.
    2. Plan of operation.
    a. Definition of project activities needed with appropriate time 
and resource projections.
    b. Management Plan.
    c. Relationship of this project to the overall institutional plan.
    3. Pool of potential student trainee participants.
    4. Overall benefits to the institution(s) and the community served 
by the institution.

Proposal Preparation Guidelines

    Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall contain 
the information required in this announcement and should reference 
Program Notice DE-FG03-94SF20212 Proposals will be evaluated, 
independently, as received and selected for awards up to the limit of 
available funding. DOE assumes no responsibility for any costs 
associated with proposal preparation under this announcement.

    Issued in Oakland, CA, on December 21, 1993.

Department of Energy
Martin J. Domagala,
Acting Manager.
[FR Doc. 94-380 Filed 1-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P