[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 17, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26446-26451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12118]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary


Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 1995

AGENCY: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation (ASPE) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for applications for a cooperative agreement to 
establish a Research Center to plan and conduct a broad program of 
policy research and training of young scholars to describe and analyze 
national and state policy affecting poor families with children. This 
research and evaluation program will focus on important and emerging 
social policy issues associated with the nature, causes, correlates, 
and effects of income dynamics, poverty, family functioning and child 
well-being.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. is experiencing profound social changes relating to 
the economic security and functioning of families and the well-being of 
children. The manner by which government reacts to or precipitates 
these changes also is in flux. In order to inform the public and policy 
makers about these social trends and their causes, consequences, and 
cures DHHS is soliciting applications for a cooperative agreement to a 
university-based institution. ASPE expects to fund this Research Center 
for a period of five years. The first year funding is at least 
$1,500,000. We expect a total funding of approximately $7.5 to $8.0 
million over the five year funding period. (See Part I, Available 
Funds)
    Cooperative Agreements are assistance mechanisms and subject to the 
same administrative requirements as grants; however, they are different 
from either a grant or a contract. Compared to a grant, they allow more 
involvement and collaboration by the government in the affairs of 
project, but provide less direction of project activities than a 
contract. The Terms of Award are in addition to not in lieu of 
otherwise applicable guidelines and procedures.

DATES: The closing date for submitting applications under this 
announcement is September 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send application to Grants Officer, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human 
Services, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 405F, Hubert H. Humphrey 
Building, Washington, DC 20201. Attention: Albert A. Cutino, Grants 
Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Application Instructions and Forms should be requested from and 
submitted to: Grants Officer, Department of Health and Human Services, 
ASPE/IO, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 405F, Hubert H. Humphrey 
Building, Washington, DC 20201, Telephone: (202) 690-8794. Requests for 
forms and questions (administrative and technical) will be accepted and 
responded to up to 30 days prior to closing date of receipt of 
Applications. Technical questions should be directed to Don Oellerich 
or Matt Stagner, DHHS, Office of Human Services Policy, Telephone: 
(202) 690-5877 or 690-5653. Questions also may be faxed to (202) 690-
5672. Written technical questions should be addressed to Drs. Oellerich 
or Stagner at the above address. (Application submissions may not be 
faxed.)

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: The Department seeks applications from 
universities or other post-secondary degree granting entities. (For-
profit organizations are advised that no cooperative agreement funds 
may be paid as profit to any recipient of a grant or subgrant.) Profit 
is any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs of the 
grantee.

Part I--Supplementary Information

Legislative Authority

    This cooperative agreement is authorized by Section 1110 of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1310) and awards will be made from funds 
appropriated under Public Law 103-112 (DHHS Appropriation Act for FY 
1996).

Project History and Purpose

    This award (cooperative agreement) replaces the current grant with 
the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of 
Wisconsin. (A brief description of the current Institute and its 
activities is attached to the Application Package.) Although the 
winning applicant will be expected to carry out IRP's strong scholarly 
traditions and concern for poverty, there are no specific projects that 
must be continued under this award.
Available Funds

    1. The Assistant Secretary has available $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 
for the first year of a five-year award of a grant pursuant to this 
announcement.
    2. Applications are to include separate estimates for each of the 
five years, if they expect funding levels to be substantially different 
in subsequent years.
    3. The amount of funds available for the grant in future years has 
not been established. Legislative support for continued funding of the 
Center cannot be guaranteed and funding is subject to future 
appropriations and approval of the Assistant Secretary. ASPE expects, 
however, that the Center will be supported during future fiscal years 
at an annual level of effort commensurate with the initial period.
    Although a single award is anticipated, nothing in this 
announcement restricts the ability of the Assistant Secretary for 
Planning and Evaluation to make more than one award or to make a 
scaled-down award. [[Page 26447]] 

Period of Performance.

    The award pursuant to this announcement will be made on or about 
December 15, 1995.

Part II--Establishment of a Research Center--Responsibilities of the 
Awardee and the Federal Government

Awardee Responsibilities

    The successful applicant shall develop and conduct a program which 
appropriately balances research, mentoring young scholars, and 
dissemination activities directed to understanding the economic 
security of families and the well-being of children. The program is to 
focus on tracking and analyzing changes in State and national policies 
and their influences on child and family outcomes. Specifically, ASPE 
has identified four priority areas the applicant should address, at a 
minimum:
    A. Strategies to encourage work, self-reliance, parent 
responsibility, community, and child well-being.
    B. The changing labor market and its influence on low income 
families with children.
    C. Non-marital child-bearing and teenage pregnancy.
    D. State initiatives to reduce welfare dependency, provide 
employment and training, make work pay, reduce teenage pregnancy, 
improve child services, and increase family functioning.
    While these are ASPE priorities, applications also may address 
other important aspects of poverty, for example: the implications of 
health and disability status for poverty policy; concerns for the well-
being of individual adults in poverty, and the interaction between 
income security programs, like welfare, and service programs such as 
child care, child development, child welfare services and education.
    The overall program will develop and disseminate knowledge about 
these and related issues. Activities will include tracking, evaluating, 
and analyzing state and local government initiatives to reduce poverty, 
encourage economic mobility, and alleviate the ill-effects of low 
income and inappropriate family functioning. Activities also should 
examine alternative public and private approaches.
    The awardee will perform the following tasks:
    1. Research Program. The Center will be expected to plan, initiate 
and maintain a research program of high caliber. It must meet the tests 
of social science rigor and objectivity. The program will strive for 
respect from the academic and policy communities (over a broad range of 
the political spectrum) for its scientific quality, fairness, and 
policy relevance. This program should include an appropriately balanced 
agenda of quantitative and qualitative field work, and primary and 
secondary analyses.
    The research program should include supporting the work of members 
of the Center staff and other affiliated researchers. In addition, it 
should provide intellectual leadership in the national research 
community by establishing links with a broad range of other scholars, 
through visiting and post-doctoral appointments, research 
assistanceships, and a limited program of nonresident grants, for 
example.
    ASPE anticipates working very closely with the National Institute 
for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to coordinate and 
possibly fund joint activities also studying children, families, and 
poverty. The research center funded under this announcement will be 
expected to participate with other ASPE-NICHD child and family poverty 
activities; for example, collaborative projects with the existing 
Family and Child Well-Being Research Network or Population Research 
Centers. This collaboration is expected to enhance the research in this 
field extending its breadth, depth, and variety.
    The research program should include multi-disciplinary approaches 
to increase the understanding of the issues beyond what is possible 
from analysis within the framework of a single discipline. At a 
minimum, the staff should include competency in economics, sociology, 
public policy/administration, and other related disciplines.
    Furthermore, it also is appropriate, for example, to engage in 
activities to make advances in research techniques, where they are 
needed for or related to primary objectives of the Center.
    Planning and execution of the research program shall always 
consider the policy implications of research findings. The Center 
should link research to public and private efforts to improve the lives 
of low income families. The research and dissemination will be non-
partisan and of value to all levels of policy making--Federal, State, 
and local government--and the general research community.
    A national advisory committee (discussed below) shall periodically 
review the research agenda to assure its policy relevance, utility, and 
scope.
    2. Mentoring Young Scholars. The Center is expected to develop and 
expand a diverse corps of young scholars/researchers who focus their 
analytical skills on research and policy issues central to its mission. 
To assure the quality of its research, dissemination, and training 
program, and to assure a careful examination of the output of the 
Center within the academic community, the Center must establish and 
maintain a formal tie with a university, including links with all 
appropriate departments within that university. The Center must have a 
major presence at a single site (university or city); however, 
innovative arrangements among universities and with individual scholars 
at other universities are encouraged and also may be proposed. The 
Center will be expected to financially support the work of graduate 
research assistants, PhD candidates, Post-Docs, and other research 
scholars. The application should anticipate that several of the 
scholars may spend time in residence in Washington, D.C.
    3. Dissemination. Making knowledge and information available to the 
academic and policy communities is to be another integral feature of 
the Center's responsibilities. It will be expected to maintain a 
dissemination system of periodic newsletters, research papers, and 
occasional books intended both for the research and policy communities. 
In addition, the Center will be expected to organze workshops, 
lectures, seminars, and other ways of sharing current research 
activities and findings. Applicants are encouraged to propose use of 
innovative methods of disseminating data and information, such as 
Internet. Applications should show a sensitivity to the different 
dissemination stragegies which may be appropriate for different 
audiences--such as policy makers, practitioners, and academics.

Cooperative Agreement Responsibilities

    Center Responsibilities: The awardee has the primary and lead 
responsibility to define objectives and approaches, and to plan 
research, conduct studies, analyze data, and publish results, 
interpretations, and conclusions of its work.
    Occasionally, Center staff will be expected to comment on research 
plans, provide critical commentary on research products, perform 
statistical policy analyses, and other quick-response activities to 
support ASPE's research, evaluation, and policy analysis function. 
(Without compromising academic freedom, Center staff will be expected 
to comply with special requests for administrative confidentiality in 
specific sensitive situations.) [[Page 26448]] 
    HHS will not interfere with nor infringe upon the academic freedom 
associated with the university setting. The awardee will retain custody 
of and have primary rights to the data developed under this award, 
subject to Government rights to access consistent with current HHS and 
ASPE regulations. The awardee shall make reasonable efforts, however, 
to provide other researchers appropriate and speedy access to research 
data from this project and establish public use files of research data 
developed under this award.
    The ASPE Poverty Research Center will be expected to participate in 
various research and dissemination activities associated with the ASPE 
and NICHD. For planning purposes, applicants for this award should 
anticipate expenses to no more than $50,000 annually. Such expenses, 
for example, might cover commissioning papers or travel to meetings and 
conferences.
    ASPE Responsibilities: ASPE will be involved with the Center in 
jointly establishing broad research priorities and planning strategies 
to accomplish the objectives of this announcement. ASPE, or its 
representatives, will provide the following types of support to the 
Center:
    1. Consultation and technical assistance in planning, operating, 
and evaluating the Center's program activities.
    2. Information about HHS programs, policies, and research 
priorities.
    3. Assistance in collaborating with appropriate State and local 
governmental officials in the performance of program activities.
    4. Assistance in identifying HHS information and technical 
assistance resources pertinent to the Center's success.
    5. Assistance in the transfer of information to appropriate 
Federal, state, and local entities.
    6. Review of Center activities and collegial feedback to ensure 
that objectives and award conditions are being met. ASPE retains the 
right, however, to withhold annual renewals to the awardee, if 
technical performance requirements are not met.
    Joint: The awardee and ASPE will appoint an outside advisory 
committee, funded under this agreement, composed of approximately ten 
to twelve nationally recognized scholars and practitioners. This 
committee will be selected to provide assistance in formulating the 
research agenda and advice on carrying it out. Efforts will be made in 
selecting this committee to assure a broad range of academic 
disciplines and political viewpoints. (For example, the current 
National Advisory Committee is composed of 12 individuals of national 
reputation. ASPE and the current Institute for Research on Poverty each 
appoint six members.) This committee will meet once or twice a year 
rotating between Washington, D.C. and the Center location.
    Arbitration Procedures: Both parties are expected to work in a 
collegial fashion to minimize misunderstandings and disagreements. They 
should explore every alternative to prevent impasses, including 
consultation with the National Advisory Committee, but on the rare 
occasion when agreement between the awardee and ASPE staff cannot be 
reached on significant programmatic or scientific-technical issues that 
might arise after the award, an arbitration panel shall be formed. The 
panel will consist of one person appointed by the awardee, one person 
appointed by the ASPE, and a third person appointed by these two 
members. The decision of the arbitration panel, by majority vote will 
be binding. These special arbitration procedures in no way affect the 
awardee's right to appeal an adverse action in accordance with HHS 
regulations at 45 CFR Part 16.

Part III--Application Preparation and Evaluation Criteria

    This part contains information on the preparation of an application 
for submission under this announcement, the forms necessary for 
submission and the evaluation criteria under which the applications 
will be reviewed. Potential applicants should read this part carefully 
in conjunction with the information provided in Part II.
    In general, ASPE seeks organizations with demonstrated capacity for 
providing quality policy research, training of young scholars, and 
working with state and local governments. Applicants for funding should 
reflect, in the program narrative section of the application, how they 
will be able to fulfill the responsibilities and requirements described 
in the announcement. The application should specify in detail how 
administrative arrangements will be made to minimize start-up and 
transition delays. Applications which do not address all three major 
tasks discussed in Awardee Responsibilities in Part II will not be 
considered for award.
    The applicant must have experience and a demonstrated capacity to 
work with governmental agencies--Federal, state, or local.
    It is anticipated that the applicant will have additional funding 
and arrangements with other organizations and institutions. The 
applicant shall make all current and anticipated related funding 
arrangements explicit in the application.
    Content and Organization of Technical Application (see ``Components 
of a complete Application'').
    The application must begin with the required application forms and 
a three to five page overview and summary of the application. Staff 
resumes should be included in a separate appendix. The central core of 
the application must contain five sections, presented in the following 
order:
    (1) A brief analysis of the key trends in individual and family 
economic security, the prevalence of poverty, family functioning, child 
well-being, and other primary research themes of the proposed Center. 
It should then examine the nature, causes, and correlates of one or two 
of the trends. The analysis should discuss concisely, but 
comprehensively, important priority research issues and demonstrate the 
applicant's grasp of the policy and research significance of recent and 
future social trends. The discussion should emphasize (but not 
necessarily be limited to) the past twenty years and the remainder of 
the decade. Examples of the kinds of issues that might be discussed 
include the effects of social and demographic trends (for example, 
changes in fertility, marital stability, welfare dependency, migration, 
and special problems facing children), economic trends (the effects of 
inflation, changing rates of economic growth, shifts in the location 
and types of jobs available, skills mismatches between labor supply and 
demand, the growth of fringe benefits as part of total compensation, 
economic stabilization policies, etc.) and government programs and 
policies (e.g., current welfare reform initiatives, employment and 
training programs, teenage pregnancy prevention projects, and the 
demand for new or revised programs.)
    (2) A prospectus for a five year research agenda, outlining the 
major research themes to be investigated over the next five years. In 
particular, the prospectus will describe the activities planned for 
each of the research priority issues outlined in Part II, Awardee 
Responsibilities and other additional priority research topics proposed 
by the applicant. The prospectus should discuss the kind of research 
activities that are needed to anticipate future policy debates on 
important social issues--poverty and child well-being, in particular--
and the role of the proposed Research Center in promoting those 
[[Page 26449]] activities. The prospectus should follow from the 
historical analysis section. It may, of course, also discuss research 
areas and issues that were not mentioned in that analysis if the author 
or authors of the application feel there have been gaps in past 
research, or that new factors have begun to affect or soon will begin 
to affect national social policy.
    The prospectus shall include detailed descriptions of individual 
research projects that will be expected in the Center's first year of 
operation. It also should be specific about long-term research themes 
and projects. The lines of research described in the prospectus should 
be concrete enough that project descriptions in subsequent research 
plan amendments can be viewed as articulating a research theme 
discussed in the prospectus. An application that simply contains an ad 
hoc categorization of an unstructured set of research projects--as 
opposed to a set of projects which strike a coherent theme--will be 
judged unfavorably.

    Note: Once a successful applicant has been selected and the 
national Advisory Committee appointed, they and ASPE will review the 
research agenda and determine research priorities. The Center will 
submit to ASPE a revised research plan that summarizes the 
deliberations and priorities. The research plan will be periodically 
reviewed and revised as necessary. (The awardee is not expected to 
participate in joint ASPE-NICHD activities before the spring or 
summer of 1996.) The application should discuss a proposed research 
planning process, including involvement of the national advisory 
committee and other advisors, and participation in the consortium.

    The application will be judged on breadth and depth of the 
applicant's commitment to research of priority research areas, noted 
above. Evaluation scores also may be enhanced by applicants additions 
to this research priority list which help flesh out other links between 
other factors and poverty, family functioning, and child well-being. 
The entire prospectus will be judged on the likelihood of producing 
seminal research in the areas of highest priority. In addition, it will 
be judged on it relevance to government activities to reduce poverty 
and promote child well-being. Scoring also will consider whether there 
is a balance between data gathering and data analyses, between 
quantitative and qualitative research, and among research, 
dissemination and training of scholars.
    This section should also discuss efforts which will assure a smooth 
transition between the current IRP grant and this project.
    (3) A staffing and organizational proposal for the Research Center, 
including an analysis of the types of background needed among staff 
members, the Center's organizational structure, and linkages with the 
host university and other organizations. It is in this third section 
that the application should specify how it will assure a genuinely 
interdisciplinary approach to research, and where appropriate, the 
necessary links to university departments, other organizations and 
scholars engaged in research, and government policy making.
    The applicant shall identify the director (or principal 
investigator) and key senior research staff. Full resumes of proposed 
staff members shall be included as a separate appendix to the 
application. The time commitment to the Center and other commitments 
for each proposed staff member shall be indicated. The kinds of 
administrative and tenure arrangements, if any, the Center proposes to 
make should also be discussed in this section. In addition, the 
author(s) of the application and the role which he or she (they) will 
play in the proposed Poverty Research Center must be specified.
    This section shall discuss the financial arrangements for 
supporting research assistants, post-docs, affiliates, resident 
scholars, etc. The discussion should include the expected number and 
types of young scholars to be supported and the level of support 
anticipated.
    If the application envisions an arrangement of several universities 
or institutions, this section will describe the specifics about the 
relationships, including leadership, management, and administration. It 
should pay particular attention to discussing how a focal point for 
research, teaching, and scholarship will be maintained given the 
arrangement proposed.
    The application also should discuss the role, selection procedure, 
and expected contribution of the national advisory committee.
    (4) The application will include an organizational summary of past 
work at the university or institution proposed as the location (or 
lead) of the Research Center that relates directly or indirectly to the 
research priorities of this request. This discussion should include 
more than a listing of the individual projects completed by the 
individuals who are included in the application. It should provide a 
sense of institutional commitment to policy research and resolution of 
the problems facing the nation's families and public institutions. 
Where specific individuals are proposed for the staff of the Center, it 
is legitimate to discuss their past research, whether or not it took 
place at the institution proposed to be the location of the new 
Research Center or the host university. The application must list in an 
appendix appropriate recent or current research projects, with a brief 
research summary, contact person references, and address and telephone 
number of reference.
    This section also should include a discussion of the research staff 
experience working with government agencies and demonstrate a capacity 
to provide policy relevant support to these agencies.
    (5) A budget summary narrative which links the research, training, 
and dissemination program to the Center funding level. This section 
should discuss how the five-year budget supports proposed research, 
training, and dissemination activities and should link the first year 
funding to a five year plan. The discussion should include the 
appropriateness of the level and distribution of funds to the 
successful completion of the research, training, and dissemination 
plans. Also, the limited amount of funds available for this award may 
indicate the desirability of using these funds as partial, core support 
for the proposed Center and applicant having or seeking additional 
support from other sources.
    The availability, potential availability or hope for other funds 
(from the host university, other universities, foundations, states, 
other Federal agencies, etc.) and the uses to which they would be put, 
should be documented in this section. Applications which show funding 
from other sources that supplement funds from this grant will be given 
higher marks than if they have no extra financial support.
    Review Process and Funding Information. A panel of at least three 
independent experts will review and score all applications that are 
submitted by the deadline date and which meet the screening criteria 
(all information and documents as required by this Announcement.) The 
panel will review the applications using the evaluation criteria listed 
below to score each application. These review results will be the 
primary element used by the ASPE in making funding decisions.
    HHS reserves the option to discuss applications with other Federal 
or State staff, specialists, experts, and the general public. Comments 
from these sources, along with those of the reviewers, will be kept 
from inappropriate disclosure and may be considered in making an award 
decision. [[Page 26450]] 
    State Single Point of Contact (E.O. No. 12372). The Department of 
Health and Human Services has determined that this program is not 
subject to Executive Order No. 12372, Intergovernmental Review of 
Federal Programs, because it is a program that is national in scope and 
the only impact on State and local governments would be through 
subgrants. Applicants are not required to seek intergovernmental review 
of their applications within the constraints of E.O. No. 12372.
    Deadline for Submission of Applications. The closing date for 
submission of applications under this announcement is September 14, 
1995. Applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the 
application receipt point no later than 4:30 p.m. on September 14, 
1995.
    Hand-delivered applications will be accepted Monday through Friday 
prior to and on September 14, 1995 during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Hubert H. Humphrey building located at 
200 Independence Avenue, SW., in Washington, DC. When hand-delivering 
an application, call 690-8794 from the lobby for pick-up. A staff 
person will be available to receive applications.
    An application will be considered as meeting the deadline if it is 
either: (1) Received at, or hand-delivered to, the mailing address on 
or before September 14, 1995, or (2) postmarked before midnight of the 
deadline date September 14, 1995 and received in time to be considered 
during the competitive review process (within two weeks of the deadline 
date).
    When mailing application packages, applicants are strongly advised 
to obtain a legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier (such as 
UPS, Federal Express, etc.), or from the U.S. Postal Service as proof 
of mailing by the deadline date. If there is a question as to when an 
application was mailed, applicants will be asked to provide proof of 
mailing by the deadline date. When proof is not provided, an 
application will not be considered for funding. Private metered 
postmarks are not acceptable as proof of timely mailing.
    Applications which do not meet the September 14, 1995 deadline are 
considered late applications and will not be considered or reviewed in 
the current competition. HHS will send a letter to this effect to each 
late applicant.
    HHS reserves the right to extend the deadline for all applications 
due to acts of God, such as floods, hurricanes or earthquakes; due to 
acts of war; if there is widespread disruption of the mail; or if HHS 
determines a deadline extension to be in the best interest of the 
Government. However, HHS will not waive or extend the deadline for any 
applicant unless the deadline is waived or extended for all applicants.
    Applications Forms. See section entitled ``Components of a Complete 
Application.'' All of these documents must accompany the application 
package.
    Length of Application. Applications should be brief and concise as 
possible, but assure successful communication of the applicant's 
proposal to the reviewers. In no case shall an application (excluding 
the resume appendix and other appropriate attachments) be longer than 
150 double-spaced pages; it should neither be unduly elaborate nor 
contain voluminous supporting documentation.
    Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria. The evaluation criteria 
correspond to the outline for the development of the Program Narrative 
Statement of the application. Although not mandatory, it is strongly 
recommended that applications be prepared with the format indicated by 
this outline.
    Selection of the successful applicant(s) will be based on the 
technical and financial criteria laid out in this announcement. 
Reviewers will determine the strengths and weaknesses of each 
application in terms of the evaluation criteria listed below, provide 
comments and assign numerical scores--out of a possible 100 points. The 
review panel will prepare a summary of all applicant scores and 
strengths/weaknesses and recommendations and submit it to the ASPE for 
final decisions on the award.
    The point value following each criterion heading indicates the 
maximum numerical relative weight that each section will be given in 
the review process. An unacceptable rating on any individual criterion 
may render the application unacceptable. Consequently, applicants 
should take care to ensure that all criteria are fully addressed in the 
applications. Applications will be reviewed as follows:
    (a) Quality of the historical analysis. [See Part II, Type of 
Application Requested, Section 1.] (15 points) Applications will be 
judged on whether they provide a thoughtful and coherent discussion of 
economic, social, and demographic trends influencing the family and 
children. Reviewers will judge applicant's ability to discuss the past, 
present, and future role of government programs and policies which 
affect these trends. Applicants should tie the trends and influences 
discussed to their proposed research agenda.
    (b) Quality of the research prospectus. [See Part II, Section 2.] 
(25 points) Reviewers will judge this section on the basis of whether 
the research agenda is scientifically sound and policy relevant. They 
also will consider whether the applicant is likely to make significant/
seminal contributions to understanding poverty, families, child 
outcomes, and what governments can do to make the lives of single 
adults, children and families more secure, healthier, and open to 
opportunity. Although the discussion and research proposed must address 
the major themes of this announcement (low-skills labor market, out-of-
wedlock childbearing, strategies to strengthen families and encourage 
independence, and evaluating state initiatives), applications with 
additional insightful research proposals also will score higher. 
Concise plans for research projects in the near term (one or two years) 
as well as a five-year agenda are important. We will rate applications 
on their plans to conduct policy relevant research and interact with 
various levels of government to research and evaluate significant 
government initiatives and policies. In addition, applicants will be 
judged on their dissemination plans--including convening conferences 
and workshops and communicating with a broad audience of academics, 
policymakers, and practitioners.
    (c) Quality of the staffing proposal and proposed organizational 
arrangements. [See Part II, Sections 3. and 4.] (30 points) Reviewers 
will judge applicant's director/principal investigator and staff on 
research experience, demonstrated research skills, administrative 
skills, public administration experience, and relevant policymaking 
skills. Ratings may consider references on prior research projects. 
Director and staff time commitments to the Center also will be a factor 
in the evaluation. Whether the applicant can maintain a single location 
for research, teaching, and scholarship is an important consideration. 
Furthermore, reviewers will rate the applicant's pledge and ability to 
work in collaboration with other scholars in search of similar goals. 
Applicants will be judged on the nature and extent of the 
organizational support to research, mentoring scholars, and 
dissemination in topical areas related to the Center's central 
priorities and this request. Reviewers will evaluate the commitment of 
the university (and proposed institutional unit that will contain the 
Center) to assess its ability to support all three major Center 
[[Page 26451]] activities: (1) scholarly, policy relevant research; (2) 
the mentoring and development of young scholars interested in poverty, 
families, children, and public policy; and (3) dissemination of 
research and other information to a broad and disparate set of 
academic, research, and policy communities. Reviewers also will 
evaluate the applicant's demonstrated capacity to work with a range of 
government agencies.
    (d) Training and mentoring young scholars. [See part II, Section 
3.] (15 points) The applicant evaluation will consider proposed efforts 
to develop and expand a diverse corps of young scholars and 
researchers. The ratings will consider the proposed mentoring and 
support given to graduate research assistants, PhD candidates, Post-
Docs, and other research scholars. The evaluation will include an 
assessment of plans to integrate the training of research scholars and 
exposing them to policy research activities at ASPE.
    (e) Appropriations of the budget to carry out the planned staffing 
and activities. [See part II, Section 5.] (15 points) Ratings will 
consider whether: (a) The budget assures an efficient and effective 
allocation of funds to achieve the objectives of this solicitation and 
(2) the applicant has additional funding from other sources. When 
additional funding is contemplated, applicants shall note whether the 
funding is being donated by the institution, is in-hand from another 
funding source, or will be applied for from another funding source.

Disposition of Applications

    1. Approval, disapproval, or deferral. On the basis of the review 
of an application, the ASPE will either (a) approve the application in 
whole, as revised, or in part for such amount of funds and subject to 
such conditions as are deemed necessary or desirable for the initiation 
and operation of one or more Research Centers; (b) disapprove the 
application; or (c) defer action on the application for such reasons as 
lack of funds or a need for further review.
    2. Notification of disposition. The ASPE will notify the applicants 
of the disposition of their application. A signed notification of award 
will be issued to notify the applicant of the approved application.
    Components of a Complete Application. A complete application 
consists of the following items in this order:
    1. Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424, Revised 
4-88);
    2. Budget Information--Non-construction Programs (Standard Form 
424A, Revised 4-88);
    3. Assurances--Non-construction Programs (Standard Form 424B, 
Revised, 4-88);
    4. Table of Contents;
    5. Budget Justification for Section B--Budget Categories;
    6. Proof of non-profit status, if appropriate;
    7. Copy of the applicant's approved indirect cost rate agreement if 
necessary;
    8. Project Narrative Statement, organized in five sections 
addressing the following topics:
    (a) Understanding of the Effort,
    (b) Project Approach,
    (c) Staffing Utilization, Staff Background, and Experience,
    (d) Organizational Experience, and
    (e) Budget Narrative;
    9. Any appendices/attachments;
    10. Certification Regarding Drug-Free Work place;
    11. Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other 
Responsibility Matters; and
    12. Certification and, if necessary, Disclosure Regarding Lobbying;
    13. Supplement to Section II--Key Personnel; and
    14. Application for Federal Assistance Checklist.

    Dated: May 8, 1995.
David T. Ellwood,
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 95-12118 Filed 4-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4151-04-M