[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3946-3951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1727]



[[Page 3945]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part II





Department of Commerce





_______________________________________________________________________



National Telecommunications and Information Administration



_______________________________________________________________________



Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program; 
Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 17 / Monday, January 27, 1997 / 
Notices  

[[Page 3946]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration
[Docket Number: 970103002-7002-01]
RIN 0660-ZA02


CFDA: 11.552; Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure 
Assistance Program

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of grant funds.

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SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA) issues this Notice describing the conditions under which 
applications will be received under the Telecommunications and 
Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) and how NTIA will 
determine which applications it will fund. TIIAP assists eligible 
organizations by promoting the widespread use of advanced 
telecommunications and information technologies in the public and non-
profit sectors. By providing matching grants for information 
infrastructure projects, this program will help develop a nationwide, 
interactive, multimedia information infrastructure that is accessible 
to all citizens, in rural as well as urban areas.

DATES: Complete applications for the Fiscal Year 1997 TIIAP grant 
program must be mailed or hand-carried to the address indicated below 
and received by NTIA no later than 5 P.M. EST, March 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance 
Program, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, HCHB, Room 
4092, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Stephen J. Downs, Acting Director of 
the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance 
Program, Telephone: 202/482-2048. Fax: 202/501-5136. E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Purposes

    NTIA announces the fourth annual round of a competitive matching 
grant program, TIIAP. TIIAP was created to promote the development and 
widespread availability and use of advanced telecommunications and 
information technologies to serve the public interest.
    To accomplish this objective, TIIAP will provide matching grants to 
state, local, and tribal governments, non-profit health care providers 
and public health institutions, school districts, libraries, museums, 
colleges, universities, public safety providers, non-profit community-
based organizations, and other non-profit entities. TIIAP will support 
projects that improve the quality of, and the public's access to, 
education and lifelong learning; reduce the cost, improve the quality, 
and/or increase the accessibility of health care and public health 
services; promote responsive public safety services; improve the 
effectiveness and efficiency of government services; and foster 
communication, resource-sharing, and economic development within 
communities, both rural and urban.

Authority

    Title III of the Department of Commerce, Justice and State, the 
Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (set out in Division 
A, Title I of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, Pub. 
L. 104-208).
    Funding Availability
    Approximately $18.5 million is available for federal assistance. A 
small amount of additional funds that have been deobligated from grants 
awarded in previous fiscal years may also be available for Fiscal Year 
1997 grants. Based on past experience, NTIA expects this year's grant 
round to be highly competitive. In fiscal year 1996, NTIA received 809 
applications, collectively requesting $260 million in grant funds. From 
these 809 applications, the Department of Commerce announced 67 TIIAP 
awards totaling $18.6 million in federal funds.
    Based on past grant rounds, the average size of each grant award 
will be approximately $300,000, although an applicant may request up to 
$750,000 in federal support.

Eligible Organizations

     State, local, and Indian tribal governments, colleges and 
universities, and non-profit entities are eligible to apply. However, 
individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible.

Matching Funds Requirements

    Grant recipients under this program will be required to provide 
matching funds toward the total project cost. Applicants must document 
the capacity to supply matching funds. Matching funds may be in the 
form of cash or in-kind contributions. Grant funds under this program 
will be released in direct proportion to local matching funds utilized 
and documented as having been expended. NTIA will supply up to 50% of 
the total project cost, unless the applicant can document extraordinary 
circumstances warranting a grant of up to 75%. Federal funds (such as 
grants) generally may not be used as matching funds, except as provided 
by federal statute. For information about whether particular federal 
funds may be used as matching funds, the applicant should contact the 
federal agency that administers the funds in question.

Policy on Sectarian Activities

    Applicants are advised that on December 22, 1995, NTIA issued a 
notice in the Federal Register on its policy with regard to sectarian 
activities. Under NTIA's prior policy, NTIA funds could not be used for 
any sectarian purposes. Under the new policy, while religious 
activities cannot be the essential thrust of a grant, an application 
will not be ineligible where sectarian activities are only incidental 
or attenuated to the overall project purpose for which funding is 
requested. Applicants for whom this policy may be relevant should read 
the policy that was published at 60 FR 66491, Dec. 22, 1995.

Completeness of Application

    TIIAP will initially review all proposals to determine whether all 
required elements are present and clearly identifiable. The required 
elements are listed and described in the Guidelines for Preparing 
Applications--Fiscal Year 1997. Each of the required elements must be 
present and clearly identified. Failure to do so may result in 
rejection of the application.

Closing Date

    As noted above, complete applications for the Fiscal Year 1997 
TIIAP grant program must be received by NTIA no later than 5 P.M. EST, 
March 27, 1997. (Postmark date is not sufficient.) Applications 
received after that time and date will not be accepted. But see Waiver 
Authority, ante. Applications will not be accepted via facsimile 
machine transmission or electronic mail. NTIA anticipates that it will 
take between 4 and 6 months to process applications and make final 
funding decisions.

Scope of Proposed Project

    Funded projects must meet the funding priorities described in this 
Notice. Projects must involve the delivery of useful, practical 
services in real-world environments within the grant award period. In 
Fiscal Year 1997,

[[Page 3947]]

TIIAP will not fund the following kinds of projects:
    One-Way Networks. TIIAP will not support the construction or 
augmentation of one-way networks; all services and networks proposed 
under the program must be interactive.1
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    \1\ Interactivity is defined as the capacity of a communications 
system to allow end users to communicate directly with other users, 
either in real time (as in a video teleconference) or on a store-
and-forward basis (as with electronic mail), or to seek and gain 
access to information on an on-demand basis, as opposed to a 
broadcast basis.
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    Content Development 2 Projects. TIIAP will not support 
projects whose primary focus is to develop or produce information 
content, rather than to apply information infrastructure 3 to 
practical problems. For example, TIIAP will not consider projects whose 
primary purpose is the creation of databases or other information 
resources by converting paper-based information, nor will TIIAP 
consider projects that aim primarily to digitize existing graphics 
collections. Similarly, TIIAP will not consider projects that aim 
primarily to create new information resources, such as World Wide Web 
sites.
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    \2\ ``Content development'' refers to the creation of 
information resources, such as databases or World Wide Web sites, 
for the purpose of dissemination through one or more on-line 
services.
    \3\ The telecommunication networks, computers, other end-user 
devices, software, standards, and skills that collectively enable 
people to connect to each other and to a vast array of services and 
information resources.
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    Hardware or Software Development Projects. While some hardware or 
software development may be required to integrate existing systems or 
components, it may not be a major emphasis of any TIIAP project.
    Single-Organization Projects. TIIAP will not support projects whose 
primary emphasis is on the internal communications needs of a single 
organization. Projects must include appropriate partnerships,4 
with plans for inter-organizational communications among the partners.
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    \4\ A partner is defined as an organization that supplies cash 
or in kind resources and plays an active role in the planning and 
implementation of the product.
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    Training Projects. TIIAP will generally not support projects whose 
sole activity is to provide training in the use of information 
infrastructure technology. Although a training component is essential 
to most implementation projects, it must not be the exclusive focus of 
the project.
    Replacement or Upgrade of Existing Facilities. TIIAP will not 
support any projects whose primary emphasis is the upgrade or 
replacement of existing facilities.

Program Funding Priorities

    NTIA has significantly changed the structure of the funding 
categories for TIIAP and applicants who have previously applied to the 
program should carefully note this change. For the 1997 fiscal year, 
the TIIAP review process will not distinguish among access, 
demonstration and planning projects. All applications will be judged 
according to a single set of evaluation criteria, described later in 
this Notice, and all rules set forth in this Notice will apply to all 
applications. This change does not imply a change in the scope of 
projects that will be considered for support; the change only reflects 
NTIA's decision not to differentiate among different categories of 
projects.
    NTIA will support model projects that contribute to the development 
of an advanced national information infrastructure (NII) 5 by 
providing innovative examples of how telecommunications and information 
technologies can be used to provide valuable services to communities 
and by extending these opportunities to underserved 6 Americans. 
NTIA seeks to fund exemplary projects that identify specific problems 
or needs in a community, use information infrastructure services and 
technologies to offer concrete solutions, and target measurable 
outcomes. The emphasis is on the application of the technology, not the 
technology itself. Each project should include a rigorous evaluation 
and add to our national understanding of how the NII can be used to 
benefit the public. Each project is expected to reach out to all 
members of a community and thus help to bridge the gaps between 
information ``haves'' and ``have-nots.''
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    \5\ The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is a federal 
policy initiative to facilitate and accelerate the development and 
utilization of the nation's information infrastructure. The 
Administration envisions the NII as a seamless web of communications 
networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will 
put vast amounts of information at users' fingertips. For more 
information on various aspects of the NII initiative, see The 
National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action, 58 Fed. Reg. 
49,025 (September 21, 1993).
    \6\ ``Underserved'' refers to individuals and communities that 
are subject to barriers that limit or prevent their access to the 
benefits of information infrastructure technologies and services. In 
terms of information infrastructure, these barriers may be 
technological, geographic, economic, physical, linguistic, or 
cultural. For example, a rural community may be physically isolated 
from circuits adequate to allow for data access; inner city 
neighborhoods may contain large numbers of potential end users for 
whom ownership of computer hardware is unlikely; individuals with 
disabilities may have the need for different types of interfaces 
when manipulating hardware and software.
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    NTIA seeks to fund projects that are innovative, not necessarily in 
terms of the technology to be used, but in the application of 
technology in a particular setting, to serve a particular population, 
or to solve a particular problem. Innovations often take the form of 
imaginative partnerships or organizational models, new applications of 
proven technologies, or creative strategies for overcoming traditional 
barriers to access. Projects must be exemplary in the sense that they 
can serve as models that can be emulated, replicated, or adapted to 
local conditions by other organizations and communities facing similar 
challenges. NTIA seeks to fund a wide variety of model projects across 
different application areas, geographic regions, and underserved 
populations.
    In past fiscal years, TIIAP has supported planning projects whose 
primary goal was to develop strategies for the enhanced application of 
the NII, rather than deploy or use information infrastructure. Due to 
the limited amount of funds available to the program, the emphasis for 
Fiscal Year 1997 is on projects that deploy, use, and evaluate the use 
of information infrastructure applications. NTIA will, however, also 
consider allocating a limited amount of funds to support outstanding 
projects in which planning is the sole activity. Applications for such 
projects will be evaluated against the same criteria applied to all 
other proposals.
    In Fiscal Year 1997, TIIAP will support projects in five 
application areas: Community-Wide Networking; Education, Culture, and 
Lifelong Learning; Health; Public and Community Services; and Public 
Safety. Each application in a particular application area will be 
compared against other applications in that same area:

Community-Wide Networking

    This area focuses on multi-purpose projects that help a broad range 
of community residents and organizations to communicate, share 
information, and participate in civic activities, and that promote 
economic development. Community-Wide Networking projects typically link 
services or provide information across multiple application areas.
    Examples may include, but would not be limited to: Community-wide 
information and communication services available to residents of a 
local community; projects enabling a diverse array of organizations to 
share information infrastructure and resources; and networks or 
information services that promote community or regional economic 
development.

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Education, Culture, and Lifelong Learning

    Projects in this area seek to improve education and training for 
learners of all ages and provide cultural enrichment through the use of 
information infrastructure in both traditional and non-traditional 
settings.
    Examples may include, but would not be limited to: Projects that 
explore creative approaches to integrating computer-based learning and 
network resources in K-12 classrooms; projects providing children, 
youth, and adult learners with educational and training opportunities 
in community centers and other non-traditional settings; projects that 
forge stronger links among educators, students, parents, and others in 
the community; projects linking workplaces and job-training sites to 
educational institutions; distance learning networks providing 
continuing education for professionals in remote areas; projects that 
enrich communities by providing broad access to arts, science, and 
cultural resources; delivery of on-line informational, educational, and 
cultural services from public libraries, museums, and other cultural 
centers; and projects that support the teaching of literacy to adult 
learners.

Health

    Projects in this area involve the use of information infrastructure 
in the delivery of health and mental health services, public health, 
home health care and the provision of health information to the public.
    Examples of projects may include, but would not be limited to: 
Telemedicine systems that offer new approaches to extending medical 
expertise to rural or underserved urban areas; community health 
information networks for sharing clinical, financial, and/or 
administrative information among hospitals, clinics, public health 
departments, and other organizations; home health care systems that 
improve the care and treatment of patients in the home environment; and 
networks or information services aimed at disease prevention and health 
promotion.

Public and Community Services

    Projects in this area aim to empower individuals and communities 
and to improve the delivery of services to people with a range of 
social service needs. This area includes social services such as 
housing, child welfare, food assistance, employment counseling, and 
others, typically delivered by state and local governments or by 
community-based non-profit organizations.
    Examples of projects may include but would not be limited to: 
Projects that use information technology creatively to promote self-
sufficiency among individuals and families; networks that facilitate 
coordination and collaboration among public and/or community-based 
agencies; electronic information and referral services that provide 
information on a variety of community-based or government services; 
projects that make public agencies more accessible and responsive to 
community residents; electronic benefits transfer projects; and 
projects that employ community or geographic information systems to 
study demographic or environmental trends and target community 
interventions.

Public Safety

    Projects in this area will seek to increase the effectiveness of 
law enforcement agencies, emergency, rescue, and fire departments, or 
other entities involved in providing safety services.
    Examples may include, but would not be limited to, projects that 
facilitate information exchange among public safety agencies located in 
a single geographic area to increase efficiency and share resources, or 
those that provide information in a timely manner to ``first-response 
officials,'' such as police officers, emergency medical technicians, 
and firefighters. Other examples could include projects that help 
public safety agencies provide community outreach services, projects 
that develop innovative ways to share scarce spectrum resources, and 
projects that aim to increase the safety and security of children.
    TIIAP will support projects that promote the accessibility and 
usability of the NII for persons with disabilities. Such projects are 
expected to fall under one of the five application areas described 
above.
    The Guidelines booklet provides more information on selecting an 
application area for your application.

Evaluation Criteria

    Reviewers will evaluate each application using the following 
equally weighted criteria:

1. Project Purpose

    Each application will be rated on the purpose of the project and 
its potential contribution to our national understanding of how the NII 
can be used to benefit the public. The proposal must: (1) Clearly 
define a specific problem (or problems) within the community; (2) 
propose a credible solution that employs information infrastructure 
services and technologies; and (3) identify realistic, measurable 
outcomes that are expected as a result of the project. These three 
elements--problem, solution, and outcome must be clearly described and 
the connections among them must be convincing. Reviewers will examine 
the degree to which the proposed project supports NTIA's funding 
priorities as outlined earlier in this Notice and will verify that the 
scope of the project meets TIIAP's eligibility criteria. Reviewers will 
assess the overall significance of the proposed project--the degree to 
which it is innovative and has the potential to serve as a national 
model that other communities could follow.

2. Project Feasibility

    Each application will be rated on the overall feasibility of the 
proposed project and its plan of implementation. In assessing project 
feasibility, reviewers will focus on the following issues: The 
technical approach; the qualifications of the applicant team; the 
proposed budget and implementation schedule; and the applicant's plan 
for sustaining the project beyond the grant period.
    The technical approach should be consistent with the vision of a 
nationwide, seamless, interactive network of networks and must 
therefore address issues of interoperability 7 and scalability. 
8 Proposals must specify in detail how the proposed system would 
work, how it would operate with other systems, the technological 
alternatives that have been examined, and the plans for the maintenance 
and/or upgrading of the system. Applicants are expected to make use of 
existing infrastructure and commercially available telecommunications 
services, unless extraordinary circumstances require the construction 
of new network facilities.
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    \7\ The condition achieved among information and communication 
systems when information (i.e., data, voice, image, audio, or video) 
can be easily and cost-effectively shared across acquisition, 
transmission, and presentation technologies, equipment, and 
services.
    \8\ ``Scalability'' refers to the ability of a system to 
accommodate a significant growth in the size of the system (i.e., 
services provided, end users served) without the need for 
substantial redesign. A scalable approach that is demonstrated on a 
small scale can also be applied on a larger scale.
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    Applicants must describe the qualifications of the project team, 
including the applicant and its partners, to show that they have the 
resources, expertise, and experience necessary to undertake the project 
and complete it within the proposed period.
    Reviewers will analyze the budget in terms of clarity and cost-
effectiveness. The proposed budget must be appropriate to the tasks 
proposed and sufficiently detailed so that reviewers

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can easily understand the relationship of items in the budget to the 
project narrative. In addition to a clear and well-justified budget 
proposal, each application should contain a proposed implementation 
schedule that identifies major project tasks and milestones.
    Reviewers will also examine the potential viability of the proposed 
project beyond the grant period. Applicants should therefore present a 
credible plan, including a discussion of anticipated ongoing expenses 
and potential sources of non-federal funds, to sustain the project 
after completion of the grant. In evaluating the plan, reviewers will 
consider the economic circumstances of the community or communities to 
be served by the proposed project.

3. Community Involvement

    Each application will be rated on the overall level of community 
involvement in the development of the project and the implementation of 
the proposed project. Reviewers will pay particular attention to the 
partnerships involved, the strength and diversity of support for the 
project within the community, and the support for the project's end 
users. 9
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    \9\ An end user is one who customarily employs or seeks access 
to, rather than provides, information infrastructure. An end user 
may be a consumer of information (e.g., a member of the public 
employing a touch-screen public access terminal); may be involved in 
an interactive communication with other end users; or may use 
information infrastructure to provide services to the public.
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    Community involvement must include the development of partnerships 
among unaffiliated organizations, from the public, non-profit, or 
private sectors, as an integral part of each project. Partnerships must 
be clearly defined, mutually beneficial, and the commitments well 
documented in the application.
    Reviewers will examine the steps the applicant has taken in 
involving a wide variety of community stakeholders in the planning of 
the project and the plans for ongoing community involvement in the 
project's implementation. Each application should contain evidence of 
demand, from the community, the end users, and the potential 
beneficiaries, for the services that the proposed project would 
provide.
    Reviewers will consider the degree of attention paid to the needs, 
skills, working conditions, and living environments of the targeted end 
users. Plans for training end users, upgrading their skills, and 
building community awareness and knowledge of the project must be 
clearly delineated and the application should include evidence of a 
significant degree of end-user involvement in the design and planning 
of projects. NTIA expects applicants to safeguard the privacy of the 
end users and beneficiaries 10 of the project. Where relevant, 
proposals must address the privacy and confidentiality of user data. 
For example, an applicant proposing a project dealing with individually 
identifiable information (e.g., student grades, medical records) will 
be required to describe the technical and policy mechanisms to be used 
for protecting the confidentiality of such information and the privacy 
of the individuals involved.
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    \10\ Project beneficiaries are those individuals or 
organizations deriving benefits from a project's outcome(s). A 
project beneficiary may also, but not necessarily, be a project end 
user.
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4. Reducing Disparities

    Every project proposed to TIIAP should target underserved 
communities specifically and/or reach out to underserved groups within 
a broader community. Each application will be rated according to the 
degree to which the proposed project will serve to reduce disparities 
in access to information infrastructure technologies and services. 
Reviewers will assess each application by examining evidence of 
community need and the applicant's proposed strategies for overcoming 
traditional barriers to access. Disparities in access must be clearly 
described and supported by specific quantitative data. Beyond providing 
service to underserved communities, each application should also 
propose strategies for reaching out to targeted groups and for 
tailoring any services to their specific needs and circumstances. These 
strategies should reflect an understanding of why the barriers 
currently exist and a sensitivity to the learning mechanisms, 
attitudes, and customs of the community. In assessing community need, 
reviewers will also consider the degree to which TIIAP support is vital 
to success of the project.

5. Evaluation and Dissemination

    Each proposal must include a plan for evaluating the project and a 
dissemination plan for sharing knowledge gained from the project. Each 
application will be rated on the quality of its evaluation design and 
its potential to measure both the outcomes of the project and the 
effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solutions in achieving 
intended outcomes. The design should include both quantitative and 
qualitative indicators and must identify specific evaluation methods 
and instruments. The evaluation design should also capture the lessons 
learned during the project that will serve as pragmatic how-tos for 
others interested in replicating or adapting the project in other 
communities.
    Applications must include the qualifications of any proposed 
evaluators and sufficient funds in the budget to perform a thorough and 
useful evaluation of the project.
    Reviewers will also examine the applicant's plan for disseminating 
the knowledge gained as a result of implementing the project. 
Applicants must demonstrate a willingness to share information about 
their projects with interested projects, to host site visits, and to 
participate in demonstrations. The project budget should also include 
adequate funds to support proposed dissemination activities.

Selection Process

    NTIA will publish a notice in the Federal Register listing all 
applications received by TIIAP. Listing an application in such a notice 
merely acknowledges receipt of an application that will compete for 
funding with other applications. Publication does not preclude 
subsequent return or disapproval of the application, nor does it ensure 
that the application will be funded.
    (a) Each eligible application will first be reviewed by a panel of 
outside readers, who have demonstrated expertise in both the 
programmatic and technological aspects of the application. The review 
panels will evaluate applications according to the evaluation criteria 
provided in this Notice and make non-binding recommendations to the 
program staff. Working with the staff, the TIIAP Director prepares and 
presents a slate of recommended grant awards to the Office of 
Telecommunications and Information Applications'' (OTIA) 11 
Associate Administrator for review and approval.
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    \11\ The Office of Telecommunication and Information 
Applications is the division of the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration that supervises NTIA's grant awards 
programs, the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure 
Assistance Program and the Public Telecommunications Facilities 
Program.
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    The Director's recommendations and the Associate Administrator's 
review and approval will take into account the following selection 
factors:
    1. The evaluations of the outside reviewers;
    2. The geographic distribution of the proposed grant awards;
    3. The variety of technologies and strategies employed by the 
proposed grant awards;
    4. The extent to which the proposed grant awards represent a 
reasonable

[[Page 3950]]

distribution of funds across application areas;
    5. The promotion of access to and use of the information 
infrastructure by rural communities and other underserved groups;
    6. Avoidance of redundancy and conflicts with the initiatives of 
other federal agencies; and
    7. The availability of funds.
    (b) Upon approval by the OTIA Associate Administrator, the 
Director's recommendations will then be presented to the Selecting 
Official, the NTIA Administrator. The NTIA Administrator selects the 
applications to be negotiated for possible grant award taking into 
consideration the Director's recommendations and the degree to which 
the slate of applications, taken as a whole, satisfies the selection 
factors described above and the program's stated purposes as set forth 
in the section entitled ``Program Purposes.''
    After applications have been selected in this manner, negotiations 
will take place between TIIAP staff and the applicant. These 
negotiations are intended to resolve any differences that exist between 
the applicant's original request and what TIIAP proposes to fund and, 
if necessary, to clarify items in the application. Not all applicants 
who are contacted for negotiation will necessarily receive a TIIAP 
award. Final selections made by the Administrator will be based upon 
the recommendations by the Director and the OTIA Associate 
Administrator and the degree to which the slate of applications, taken 
as a whole, satisfies the program's stated purposes as set forth in the 
section entitled ``Program Purposes,'' upon the conclusion of 
negotiations.

Eligible Costs

Eligible Costs

    Allowable costs incurred under approved projects shall be 
determined in accordance with applicable federal cost principles, i.e., 
OMB Circular A-21, A-87, A-122, or appendix E of 45 CFR part 74. If 
included in the approved project budget, TIIAP will allow costs for 
personnel, fringe benefits, computer hardware and software, other end-
user equipment, telecommunication services and related equipment, 
consultants and other contractual services, travel, rental of office 
equipment, furniture and space, supplies, etc. that are reasonable and 
directly related to the project. Costs associated with the construction 
or major renovation of buildings are not eligible. While costs for the 
construction of new network facilities are eligible costs, applicants 
are expected to make use of existing infrastructure and commercially 
available telecommunications services. Only under extraordinary 
circumstances will the construction of new network facilities be 
approved. Costs of the professional services, such as instruction, 
counseling, or medical care, provided via a network supported through 
this program are not eligible.
    Note that costs that are ineligible for TIIAP support may not be 
included as part of the applicant's matching fund contribution.

Indirect Costs

    The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in an 
application under this program must not exceed the indirect cost rate 
negotiated and approved by a cognizant federal agency or 100 percent of 
the total proposed direct costs dollar amount in the application, 
whichever is less.

Award Period

    Successful applicants will have between 12 and 36 months to 
complete their projects. While the completion time will vary depending 
on the complexity of the project, applicants should take special care 
to justify a project lasting longer than 24 months.

Waiver Authority

    It is the general intent of NTIA not to waive any of the provisions 
set forth in this Notice. However, under extraordinary circumstances 
and when it is in the best interest of the federal government, NTIA, 
upon its own initiative or when requested, may waive the provisions in 
this Notice. Waivers may only be granted for requirements that are 
discretionary and not mandated by statute. Any request for a waiver 
must set forth the extraordinary circumstances for the request and be 
included in the application or sent to the address provided in the 
Addresses section above. NTIA will not consider a request to waive the 
application deadline for an application until the application has been 
received.

Other Information

Electronic Information

    Information about NTIA and TIIAP, including this document and the 
Guidelines, can be retrieved electronically via the Internet using the 
World Wide Web. To reach the WWW server, use http://www.ntia.doc.gov to 
reach the NTIA Home Page and follow directions to locating information 
about TIIAP. TIIAP can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

Application Forms

    Standard Forms 424 (OMB Approval Number 0348-0044), Application for 
Federal Assistance; 424A (OMB Approval Number 0348-0043), Budget 
Information--Non-Construction Programs; and 424B (OMB Approval Number 
0348-0040), Assurances--Non-Construction Programs, (Rev 4-92), and 
other Department of Commerce forms shall be used in applying for 
financial assistance. These forms are included in the Guidelines, which 
can be obtained by contacting NTIA by telephone, fax, or electronic 
mail, as described in the Addresses section above. TIIAP requests one 
original and five copies of the application. Applicants for whom the 
submission of five copies presents financial hardship may submit one 
original and two copies of the application. Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, no person is required to respond to nor shall a 
person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection 
of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act unless that collection of information displays a currently valid 
OMB control number. In addition, all applicants are required to submit 
a copy of their application to their state Single Point of Contact 
(SPOC) offices, if they have one. (For information on contacting state 
SPOC offices, refer to the Guidelines.)
    Because of the high level of public interest in projects supported 
by TIIAP, the program anticipates receiving requests for copies of 
successful applications. Applicants are hereby notified that the 
applications they submit are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. 
Applicants may identify sensitive information and label it 
``confidential'' to assist NTIA in making disclosure determinations.

Type of Funding Instrument

    The funding instrument for awards under this program shall be a 
grant.

Federal Policies and Procedures

    Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all applicable federal 
laws and federal and Department of Commerce policies, regulations, and 
procedures applicable to federal financial assistance awards.

Pre-Award Activities

    If an applicant incurs any project costs prior to the project start 
date negotiated at the time the award is made, it does so solely at its 
own risk of not being reimbursed by the government. Applicants are 
hereby notified that, notwithstanding any oral or written assurance 
that they may have

[[Page 3951]]

received, there is no obligation on the part of the Department of 
Commerce to cover pre-award costs.

No Obligation for Future Funding

    If an application is selected for funding, the Department of 
Commerce has no obligation to provide any additional future funding in 
connection with that award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or 
extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the 
Department of Commerce.

Past Performance

    Unsatisfactory performance of an applicant under prior federal 
financial assistance awards may result in that applicant's proposal not 
being considered for funding.

Delinquent Federal Debts

    No award of federal funds shall be made to an applicant who has an 
outstanding delinquent federal debt until:
    1. The delinquent account is paid in full;
    2. A negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least one 
payment is received; or
    3. Other arrangements satisfactory to the Department of Commerce 
are made.

Purchase of American-Made Products

    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.

Name Check Review

    All non-profit 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 
that significantly reflect on the applicant's management, honesty, or 
financial integrity.

Primary Applicant Certifications

    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 explanations are hereby provided:

    1. 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;
    2. Drug-Free Workplace--Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26, 
Section 605) are subject to 15 CFR part 26, Subpart F, ``Government 
wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related 
section of the certification form prescribed above applies;
    3. Anti-Lobbying--Persons (as defined at 15 CFR part 28, Section 
105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352, 
``Limitation 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
    4. Anti-Lobbying Disclosure--Any applicant that has paid or will 
pay for lobbying in connection with a covered federal action, such 
as the awarding of any federal contract, the making of any federal 
grant, the making of any federal loan, the entering into of any 
cooperative agreement, or the extension, continuation, renewal, 
amendment, or modification of any federal contract, grant, loan, or 
cooperative agreement using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, 
``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities'' (OMB Control Number 0348-
0046), as required under 15 CFR part 28, appendix B.

Lower Tier Certifications

    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 disclosure form SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form 
CD-512 is intended for the use of recipients and should not be 
transmitted to DOC. SF-LLL submitted by any tier recipient or 
subrecipient should be submitted to DOC in accordance with the 
instructions contained in the award document.

False Statements

    A false statement on an application is 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.

Intergovernmental Review

    Applications under this program are subject to Executive Order 
12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.'' It has been 
determined that this notice is a ``not significant'' rule under 
Executive Order 12866.
Larry Irving,
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information.
[FR Doc. 97-1727 Filed 1-26-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P