[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26658]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 27, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology
[Docket Number 940980-4280]

 

Announcement of Available Funding for Competitions-Advanced 
Technology Program (ATP)

agency: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology 
Administration, Commerce.

action: Notice.

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summary: The Technology Administration's National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) announces available funding for various 
competitions under the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). During 1995, 
the ATP will hold the following competitions:
    (1) General Competition 95-01 in which proposals in all areas of 
technology meeting the ATP criteria are solicited, and,
    (2) Several Program Competitions focused on specific technology or 
technology application areas.
    This notice provides general information for all the competitions 
planned for 1995. Proposal due dates, program competition topics, and 
other competition-specific instructions for the General Competition and 
each of the Program Competitions will be published in the Commerce 
Business Daily (CBD) at a later date.
    Those interested in applying for ATP funding must contact the ATP 
at the address shown later in this notice to obtain application 
materials. The Proposal Preparation Kit available upon request from the 
ATP contains the application forms, background material, and 
instructions referenced in this notice. The new ATP Proposal 
Preparation Kit may be used either for General Competitions or Program 
Competitions. The Advanced Technology Program is Program Number 11.612 
in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
    Due dates for the general and program competition will be published 
in the CBD at the time each competition is announced. Should there ever 
be an extension of the due date for any ATP competition, that 
information will be provided via a notice published in the CBD as well 
as a recorded message on the ATP toll-free ``Hotline'' number (1-800-
ATP-FUND). For this reason, we recommend that applicants check this 
recorded message prior to the closing date.
    The specific date and location will be announced in the CBD 
regarding a public meeting for parties considering applying for funding 
in the ATP General Competition 95-01. Attendance at this public meeting 
is not required of potential proposers. The purpose of the meeting is 
to provide general information regarding the ATP procedures, selection 
process, and proposal preparation to potential applicants unfamiliar 
with the ATP. No discussion of specific proposals will occur at this 
meeting. Dates and times of analogous public meetings for the program 
competitions will be announced in the CBD, transmitted to those on the 
ATP mailing list, and described on the ATP toll-free Hotline.

for further information contact: To request a copy of the ATP Proposal 
Preparation Kit and to have your name added to the ATP mailing list for 
future mailings use whichever of these four options is the most 
convenient for you:
    (1) Call the ATP toll-free number, 1-800-ATP-FUND. You will have 
the option of hearing recorded messages regarding the status of the ATP 
or speaking to one of our customer representatives who will take your 
name and address. If our representatives are all busy when you call, 
leave a message after the tone. To ensure that the information is 
entered correctly, please speak distinctly and slowly and spell the 
words that might cause confusion. Leave your phone number as well as 
your name and address.
    (2) Contact ATP via fax at (301) 926-9524. A backup fax number is 
(301) 869-1150.
    (3) Contact ATP via electronic mail at [email protected]. Include 
your name, full mailing address and phone number.
    (4) Write to the ATP at the address shown below:
    Advanced Technology Program, Administration Building (101), Room 
A430, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Quince Orchard at 
Clopper Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001.
    Note that the ATP is mailing new Proposal Preparation Kits to all 
those individuals whose names are currently in the ATP computer data 
base. Such individuals need not contact the ATP to request a kit. The 
anticipated mailing date is sometime this winter. The ATP toll-free 
Hotline message stated above will report when this mailing is made.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The ATP is managed by the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, an element of the Technology Administration (TA) of the 
Department of Commerce. ATP was established by section 5131 of the 
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-418, 15 
U.S.C. 278n), as modified by Public Law 102-245.
    The ATP works with U.S. industry to advance the nation's 
competitiveness--and economy--by helping to fund the development of 
high-risk but powerful new technologies that underlie a broad spectrum 
of potential new applications, commercial products, and services. 
Through cooperative agreements with individual companies or groups of 
companies, large and small, the ATP invests in industrial projects to 
develop technologies with high-payoff potential for the nation. The ATP 
accelerates technologies that--because they are risky--are unlikely to 
be developed in time to compete in rapidly changing world markets 
without such a partnership of industry and government. By sharing the 
cost of such projects, the ATP catalyzes industry to pursue promising 
technologies. The Proposal Preparation Kit expands on the goals of the 
ATP and describes in detail what constitutes a good ATP proposal.
    The ATP operates under program procedures published at part 295, 
title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. These procedures were 
updated (59 FR, page 663, January 6, 1994). A copy of the updated 
version of these procedures is provided in the ATP Proposal Preparation 
Kit.
    Cooperative research agreements rather than grants are the funding 
instruments used for ATP awards. A cooperative research agreement 
differs from a grant with respect to the amount of interaction between 
the Federal Government and the recipient, and is used to provide 
financial assistance when substantial involvement is anticipated 
between the government and the recipient.

Invitation for Proposals

    The ATP CBD notices to be published later will invite applications 
for funding from:
    (1) Individual United States businesses in amounts not to exceed $2 
million (federal share) over three years. Single applicants must fund 
all indirect costs associated with the project.
    (2) Industry-led joint research and development ventures, where ATP 
support will serve as a catalyst for the proposed joint venture 
project, and provided, however, that the ATP share is a minority share 
of the cost of the venture for up to five years.
    Applicant eligibility is discussed in detail in the ATP Proposal 
Preparation Kit.
    All awards are subject to the availability of appropriations. 
Future or continued funding for multi-year projects will be at the 
discretion of NIST and will be contingent on such factors as 
satisfactory performance and the availability of funds.

Abbreviated Proposals

    ATP reserves the right to use abbreviated proposal for any general 
or program competition. Information regarding the use of abbreviated 
proposals will be included in the CBD announcement of that specific 
competition. The purpose of abbreviated proposals is to provide 
applicants with limited resources early feedback regarding whether the 
proposed project falls within the scope of the ATP and whether the 
project proposed appears sufficiently promising relative to the 
selection criteria to warrant preparation of a full proposal. In 
competitions where abbreviated proposals are accepted, applicants who 
submit such proposals will be notified in writing whether or not ATP 
recommends submission of a full proposal.
    ATP may provide feedback to proposers in one of the following three 
ways:
    (1) (Used for abbreviated proposals only); A written transmittal 
giving a yes/no recommendation regarding preparation of a full 
proposal;
    (2) A checklist noting concerns regarding the proposal or 
abbreviated proposal. This transmittal may be accompanied by a 
statement summarizing common shortcomings noted in the proposals 
submitted to that competition;
    (3) An oral debriefing by telephone summarizing the strengths and 
weaknesses of the proposal.
    Which of these feedback mechanisms is used will depend on the 
competition and may depend on the number of proposals received.
    Proprietary information is abbreviated and full proposals will be 
protected. If your proposal contains proprietary information, mark it 
accordingly; however, the title page must not include proprietary 
information. We recommend including the following legend on the title 
page: ``Proposal contains proprietary information. Title page 
nonproprietary.''
    Full proposals must be prepared in accordance with the instructions 
in the ATP Proposal Preparation Kit. In competitions involving 
abbreviated proposals, heed the general advice provided in the ATP 
Proposal Preparation Kit, but follow the specific instructions 
announced in the specific CBD announcements.

Funds Available for Cooperative Research Agreements

    An estimated $20 to $25 million in first-year funding will be 
available for General Competition 95-01. The number of awards will 
depend on the quality of the proposals received and the amount of 
funding requested by the proposals under consideration for awards. 
Based on ATP's experience the number of awards is unlikely to exceed 
30. An estimated $100 to $125 million in first-year funding will be 
available for the several program competition to be announced. For 
every ATP competition, NIST reserves the right to fund proposals 
totalling more or less than the amount of funding tentatively allocated 
to that competition if the number of high quality proposals received is 
judged to be greater or fewer respectively than anticipated.

Preparation of Full Proposal and Reporting Requirements

    The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit, available from the ATP, contains 
background material on the ATP, detailed contents and formatting 
guidelines for the preparation of full proposals, and the required 
forms. Also included is information of reporting and audit requirements 
for recipients. To be accepted for review, full proposals must meet all 
of the requirements outlined in the Kit. Full proposals that fail to 
meet one or more of those requirements will be considered non-
responsive to the solicitation.

Award Criteria and Proposal Review Process

    The criteria used to evaluate proposals submitted to the ATP and 
the proposal review process are documented in the Proposal Preparation 
Kit.

Negotiation of Cooperative Agreements

    NIST reserves the right to negotiate project scope and funding 
levels with ATP cooperative research agreement recipients.

Submission of Revised Proposals

    An applicant may submit a full proposal that is a revised version 
of a full proposal submitted to a previous ATP competition. NIST will 
examine such proposals to determine whether substantial revisions have 
been made. Where the revisions are determined not to be substantial, 
NIST reserves the right to score and rank, or where appropriate, to 
reject, such proposals based on reviews of the previously-submitted 
proposal.

Transfer of Proposals

    NIST reserves the right to transfer a full proposal received in 
response to a General Competition invitation to a Program Competition 
underway in the same general timeframe if the subject matter of the 
proposal clearly falls within the scope of the Program Competition. 
NIST will not transfer proposals from Program Competitions to General 
Competitions. Applicants will be notified if and when a proposal is 
transferred from a General Competition to a Program Competition.

Other Requirements, Requests, and Provisions

    No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant or 
recipient who has an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either 
the delinquent account is paid in full, a negotiated repayment schedule 
is established and at least one payment is received, or other 
arrangements satisfactory to the Department are made.
    All for-profit and nonprofit applicants are subject to a name check 
review process. Name checks are intended to reveal if any key 
individuals associated with the applicant have been convicted of or are 
presently facing criminal charges such as fraud, theft, perjury, or 
other matters which significantly reflect on the applicant's management 
honesty or financial integrity.
    Unsatisfactory performance under prior Federal awards may result in 
an application not being considered for funding.
    If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they do 
so solely at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the Government. 
Notwithstanding any verbal or written assurance that may have been 
received, there is no obligation on the part of the Department of 
Commerce to cover pre-award costs.

Primary Applicant Certification

    All primary applicants must submit a completed form CD-511, 
``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other 
Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and 
Lobbying,'' and the following explanation is hereby provided:
    a. Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension--Prospective 
participants, as defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 105 are subject to 
15 CFR part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the 
related section of the certification form prescribed above applies;
    b. Drug-Free Workplace--Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 605) 
are subject to 15 CFR 26, subpart F, ``Governmentwide Requirements for 
Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related section of the 
certification form prescribed above applies;
    c. Anti-Lobbying--Persons (as defined at 15 CFR part 28, section 
105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 USC 1352, 
``Limitations on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal 
contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of 
the certification form prescribed above applies to applications/bids 
for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than 
$100,000, and loans and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the 
single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever 
is greater; and,
    d. Anti-Lobbying Disclosures--Any applicant that has paid or will 
pay for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of 
Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR part 28, Appendix B.
    Lower Tier Certification--Recipients shall require applicants/
bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier 
covered transactions at any tier under the award to submit, if 
applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding 
Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion--Lower 
Tier Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and Form SF-LLL, ``Disclosure 
of Lobbying Activities.'' Although the CD-512 is intended for the use 
of primary recipients and should not be transmitted to NIST, the SF-LLL 
submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be forwarded in 
accordance with the instructions contained in the award document.
    A false statement on any application for funding under ATP may be 
grounds for denial or termination of funds and grounds for possible 
punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001. The 
ATP does not involve the mandatory payment of any matching funds from 
state or local government and does not affect directly any state or 
local government. Accordingly, the Department of Commerce has 
determined that Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of 
Federal Programs'' is not applicable to this program. Recipients and 
subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and Federal and 
Department of Commerce policies, regulations and procedures applicable 
to financial assistance awards.
    Applicants are hereby notified that any equipment or products 
authorized to be purchased with funding provided under this program 
must be American-made to the maximum extent feasible in accordance with 
Public Law 103-317, section 607 (a) and (b). Adequate justification 
will be required for any proposed purchase of equipment or products 
that are not American-made.

    Dated: October 21, 1994.
Arati Prabhakar,
Director, NIST.
[FR Doc. 94-26658 Filed 10-26-94; 8:45 am]
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