[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 26, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60113-60115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30082]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey


Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC): Notice Establishing the 
Closing Date for Submission of the Project Summary Under the FGDC 
Framework Demonstration Projects Program

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice inviting organizations to submit project summaries for 
competitive cooperative agreements for fiscal year 1997.

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SUMMARY: This is a notice of phase one of a two phase approach in 
connection with the Framework Demonstration Projects Program (FDPP). On 
behalf of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), the U.S. 
Geological Survey (USGS) plans to issue a program announcement to 
request proposals for the FDPP later this fiscal year. Organizations 
interested in the program have asked for the ability to provide project 
summaries to the FGDC for comment in advance of the program 
announcement. Therefore, the first phase of this two phase approach 
invites organizations interested in the program to provide a project 
summary to the FGDC for comment. Participation in phase one is 
voluntary. Organizations who submit a project summary in phase one are 
not obligated to apply for the program announcement. Organizations who 
do not submit a summary for phase one are eligible to request the 
program announcement in phase two. The FGDC

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will provide comments to the organization describing how a project can 
be strengthened. The FGDC will use insights gained from the review of 
summaries to guide the development of the FDPP request for proposals 
announcement.

DATES: The project summary is due January 17, 1997, at 3:00 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FGDC report ``Development of a National 
Digital Geospatial Data Framework'' may be obtained by writing to Tammy 
Fanning, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Federal 
Assistance, Mail Stop 205B, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 
20192, or by sending a request by facsimile to (703) 648-7901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tammy Fanning, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and 
Federal Assistance, Mail Stop 205B, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, 
Virginia 20192; voice telephone number (703) 648-7363; facsimile 
telephone number (703) 648-7901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the FDPP is to facilitate and 
provide resources for the development and implementation of the 
framework for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The 
framework concept, outlined in the report ``Development of a National 
Digital Geospatial Data Framework'' (April 1995), proposes a means by 
which the geospatial data community can work together to produce and 
maintain commonly needed themes of data for national, regional, state, 
and local analyses. Included in this report is the definition of a 
basic information content, and the technical, institutional, and 
business contexts by which a distributed, collaborative data collection 
and maintenance effort for the nation would operate.
    Project Summary Narrative: Project summaries will be reviewed by 
the factors set forth below (see items 1-5). The project summary should 
address each of the following factors in the sequence as they are 
listed. (1) Relevance to the NSDI Framework: Describe the degree to 
which the project contributes to the development of the NSDI framework 
concept, its potential application to other institutions, and the 
extent to which the proposed project may stimulate growth of similar 
efforts. Describe the relationship of the proposed effort to related 
and similar ongoing projects. Narrative should not include reiterations 
of text from FGDC/NSDI fact sheets and other committee publications. 
(2) Information Content: Identify which of the framework themes 
(geodetic control, digital orthoimagery, elevation and bathymetry data, 
transportation, hydrography, governmental units, cadastral) will be 
addressed in the proposed project. Summary should describe the 
geographic area to be addressed, and the scale and resolution of data. 
(3) Technical/Operational Context: Briefly summarize the key unique 
technical and operational activities to be implemented in the proposed 
project that address the framework goals of: Integration of high-
resolution, locally-produced data; providing geospatial data at varying 
resolutions for any given location; enabling users to integrate new 
framework data into their data holdings without endangering their 
existing investments in spatial data and attribute information; and 
vertically integrating data between themes, and horizontally within 
themes. (4) Business Context: Describe the approach proposed to ensure 
that the project will result in framework data that are widely used and 
useful. Project summary should describe the approach to: Avoiding 
restrictive practices that would inhibit use of the framework; 
providing information about the data limitations, optimal uses, and 
liability; providing data in public, non-proprietary format(s); 
conforming to approved standards; and containing data that are 
certified to ensure that they meet the minimal standard for all 
framework criteria. (5) Institutional Organization Process: Identify 
the participating organization and briefly describe each organization's 
tasks and responsibilities.
    Background Material: The FGDC report ``Development of a National 
Geospatial Data Framework'' will be helpful in developing project 
summaries. It may be obtained by writing to Ms. Tammy Fanning at the 
address above. Requests may also be made by facsimile to (703) 648-
7901. Confirmation by telephone at (703) 648-7372 is recommended. No 
telephone request for this report will be accepted. An electronic 
version of the report and additional background information about the 
framework is available through the World Wide Web at http://
www.fgdc.gov/Fram/index.html. Unsuitable Project Summaries: Project 
summaries will not be considered for projects on topics not being 
sought under this program. Data collection is not considered an 
appropriate activity for funding under this program. Project summaries 
focused on metadata and clearinghouse development will not be 
considered (the FGDC encourages these activities to seek support 
through the NSDI Competitive Cooperative Agreements Program (1434-HQ-
97-PA-00022)). Additionally, project summaries will not be considered 
for the following: from Federal agencies or Federally Funded Research 
and Development Centers where the agency or center is identified as the 
lead on the proposed project, from and work in foreign countries, from 
projects in which there is a real or the appearance of a conflict of 
interest, and from projects solely involving the direct procurement of 
a product or service. Project Summary Preparation Instructions: 
Organizations wishing to participate in the first phase should submit 
an unbound, signed original and one copy of the project summary. The 
project summary shall not exceed 3 single-spaced pages (including any 
figures or tables), and the type size shall not be smaller than 12 
pitch/10 point type. Pages shall be numbered. Please note, that 
regardless of how many pages are submitted, only the first 3 pages of 
the Project Summary will be reviewed.
    Project Summary Delivery Instructions: Project summaries must be 
received on or before January 17, 1997, at 3:00 p.m. EST. Project 
summaries delivered by mail should be sent to Ms. Tammy Fanning, U.S. 
Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Federal Assistance, MS 
205B, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192. Project summaries 
delivered by hand, during the work week, should be taken to the USGS, 
Office of Acquisition and Federal Assistance, Room 6A331, Attention: 
Ms. Tammy Fanning, MS 205B, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, 
Virginia, office business hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Project 
summaries received after 3:00 p.m. EST on January 17, 1997 will be 
returned to the applicant. Planned Terms and Conditions for the FDPP to 
be issued later this fiscal year: At the completion of phase two, the 
USGS intends to award cooperative agreements with funds totaling 
$260,000 during fiscal year 1997. Funds requested for a project shall 
not exceed $65,000. One year project periods are anticipated. This 
estimate does not bind the USGS to a specified number of awards. Each 
project must be collaborative and involve two or more organizations. 
Please Note: The project summaries submitted in response to this notice 
for phase one will not be used to make award selections, and will not 
be provided to the selection panels. No special consideration in the 
phase two FDPP selection process will be given to applications provided 
by organizations that submitted a program summary in response to phase 
one. The USGS

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anticipates that it will announce phase two in late winter. The 
Government does not intend to award a cooperative agreement on the 
basis of this notice or to otherwise pay for the information solicited 
as a direct cost. The subsequent program announcement to be released in 
phase two will be synopsized in both the Commerce Business Daily and 
the Federal Register prior to release.

    Dated: November 15, 1996.
Richard E. Witmer,
Acting Chief, National Mapping Division.
[FR Doc. 96-30082 Filed 11-25-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-31-M