[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12992-12994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6675]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

14 CFR Part 1274


Miscellaneous Revisions to the NASA Grant and Cooperative 
Agreement Handbook, Section D

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook regulation 
is published in the Code of Federal Regulations. This is a final rule 
to amend the Handbook to: require the centers to discuss whether any 
special provisions might be needed for a cooperative agreement which 
extends over three years or requires a NASA cash contribution of more 
than $20M; require that NASA non-cash contributions reflect the total 
cost of those contributions; require that a NASA Form 1678 be used to 
designate the NASA Technical Officer on cooperative agreements; require 
that a new provision be used which summarizes the reports required to 
be submitted under the cooperative agreement; and miscellaneous changes 
made to conform to the new FAR Part 15.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 17, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas L. Deback, NASA, Office of 
Procurement, Contract Management Division (Code HK), (202) 358-0431.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook is the NASA 
regulation for awarding and administering grants and cooperative 
agreements (14 CFR Part 1260). Subpart D provides the policy and text 
of provisions for cooperative agreements with commercial firms and 
addresses NASA's authority, definitions, applicability, amendments, 
publications, deviations, pre-award

[[Page 12993]]

requirements and post-award requirements.

Impact

    NASA certifies that this regulation will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small business entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This final 
rule does not impose any reporting or recordkeeping requirements 
subject to the Paper Reduction Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 1274

    Grant programs--science and technology.
Tom Luedtke,
Associate Administrator for Procurement.

    Accordingly, 14 CFR Part 1274 is amended as follows:

    1. The authority citation for 14 CFR Part 1274 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C 2473(c)(1).

    2. In Sec. 1274.105, paragraph (b)(8) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1274.105  Approval of Cooperative Agreement Notices (CANs) and 
cooperative agreements.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (8) If the term of the cooperative agreement is anticipated to 
exceed 3 years and/or if the Government cash contribution is expected 
to exceed $20M, address anticipated changes, if any, to the provisions 
(see Sec. 1274.202(f)).
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 1274.202, paragraph (c)(6) is amended by adding three 
sentences at the end of the paragraph, and a new paragraph (f) is added 
to read as follows:


Sec. 1274.202  Solicitations and proposals.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (6) * * * The Government's resource share should fully reflect the 
total cost of the cash and non-cash contributions. With respect to the 
non-cash contribution, a fully burdened cost estimate of personnel, 
facilities, and other expenses should be utilized. It is recognized 
that this will be an estimate in some cases, but the cost principles in 
Section 9091-5 of the NASA Financial Management Manual should be 
adhered to.
* * * * *
    (f) The provisions set forth in Sec. 1274.901 are generally 
considered appropriate for agreements not exceeding 3 years and/or a 
Government cash contribution not exceeding $20M. For cooperative 
agreements expected to be longer than 3 years and/or involve a 
Government cash contribution exceeding $20M, consideration should be 
given to provisions which place additional restrictions on the 
recipient in terms of validating performance and accounting for funds 
expended.
    4. In Sec. 1274.204, paragraph (b)(1), the third and last sentences 
in paragraph (b)(3), and the last sentence in paragraph (d)(2) are 
revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1274.204  Evaluation and selection.

* * * * *
    (b) * * * (1) Competitive technical proposal information shall be 
protected in accordance with 48 CFR (FAR) 15.207, Handling proposals 
and information. Unsolicited proposals shall be protected in accordance 
with 48 CFR (FAR) 15.608, Prohibitions, and 48 CFR (FAR) 15.609, 
Limited use of data.
* * * * *
    (3) * * * The use of outside evaluators shall be approved in 
accordance with 48 CFR (NFS) 1815.207-70(b). * * * A cover sheet with 
the following legend shall be affixed to data provided to outside 
evaluators:

Government Notice for Handling Proposals

    This proposal shall be used and disclosed for evaluation 
purposes only, and a copy of this Government notice shall be applied 
to any reproduction or abstract thereof. Any authorized restrictive 
notices which the submitter places on this proposal shall also be 
strictly complied with.
* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) * * * An analysis consistent with 48 CFR (FAR) 15.404-1(c), 
15.404-1(c), and 15.404-2 should be performed.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 1274.301, the following sentence is added at the end of 
the paragraph to read as follows:


Sec. 1274.301  Delegation of administration.

    * * * NASA Form 1678 will be used to delegate responsibilities to 
the NASA Technical Officer.
    6. In Sec. 1274.901, the second sentence is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 1274.901  Other provisions and special conditions.

    * * * The provisions at Secs. 1274.902 through Sec. 1274.909 and 
the provision at Sec. 1274.933 are to be incorporated in full text 
substantially as stated in this part. * * * *
    7. Section 1274.933 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1274.933  Summary of recipient reporting responsibilities.

Summary of Recipient Reporting Responsibilities (DEC 1997)

    This cooperative agreement requires the recipient to submit a 
number of reports. These reporting requirements are summarized 
below. In the event of a conflict between this provision and other 
provisions of the cooperative agreement requiring reporting, the 
other provisions take precedence.

                                                                                                                
                   [The Grants Officer may add/delete reporting requirements as appropriate.]                   
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              Report                            Frequency                               Reference               
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report of Joint NASA/Recipient     As required........................  1274.911 Patent Rights (Paragraph       
 Inventions.                                                             (b)(4).                                
Interim Report of Reportable       Every 12 months....................  1274.912 Patent Reportable Items Rights--
 Items.                                                                  Retention by the Recipient (Large      
                                                                         Business) (Paragraph (e)(3)(i)).       
Final Report of Reportable Items.  3 months after completion..........  1274.912 Patent Rights--Retention by the
                                                                         Recipient (Large Business) (Paragraph  
                                                                         (e)(3)(ii)).                           
Disclosure of Subject Inventions.  Within 2 months after inventor       1274.912 Patent Rights--Retention by the
                                    discloses it to Recipient.           Recipient (Large Business) (Paragraph  
                                                                         (c)(2)) or 1274.913 Patent Rights--    
                                                                         Retention by the Recipient (Small      
                                                                         Business) (Paragraph (c)(1)).          
Election of Title Subject          1 year after disclosure of the       1274.913 Patent Rights--Retention by the
 Invention.                         subject invention if a statutory     Recipient (Small Business) (Paragraph  
                                    bar exists, otherwise within 2       (c)(2)).                               
                                    years.                                                                      
Listing of Subject Inventions....  Every 12 months from the date of     1274.913 Patent Rights--Retention by the
                                    the agreement.                       Recipient (Small Business) (Paragraph  
                                                                         (f)(5)(i)).                            
Subject Inventions Finall Report.  Prior to close-out of the agreement  1274.913 Retention by the Recipient     
                                                                         (Small Business) (Paragraph            
                                                                         (f)(5)(ii)).                           

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Notification of Decision to        30 days expiration of the response   1274.913 Patent Rights--Retention by the
 forego Patent Protection.          period.                              Recipient (Small Business) (Paragraph  
                                                                         (f)(3)).                               
Notification of a Subcontract      Promptly upon award of a             1274.912 Patent Rights--Retention by the
 Award.                             subcontract.                         Recipient (Large Business) (Paragraph  
                                                                         (g)(3)) or 1274.913 Patent Rights--    
                                                                         Retention by the Recipient (Small      
                                                                         Business) (Paragraph (g)(3)).          
Utilization of Subject Invention.  Annually...........................  1274.913 Patent Rights--Retention by the
                                                                         Recipient (Small Business) (Paragraph  
                                                                         (h)).                                  
Notice of Proposed Transfer of     Prior to transferring technology to  1274.915 Restrictions on Sale or        
 Technology.                        foreign firm or institution.         Transfer of Technology to Foreing Firms
                                                                         or Institutions (Paragraph (b)).       
Performance Report...............  60 days prior to the anniversary     1274.921 Publications Reports: Non-     
                                    date of the agreement (except        Proprietary Research Results (Paragraph
                                    final year).                         (d)(1)).                               
Summary of Research..............  90 days after completion of          1274.921 Publications and Reports: Non- 
                                    agreement.                           Proprietary Research Results (Paragraph
                                                                         (d)(2)).                               
Annual Inventory Report..........  Annually by October 31.............  1274.923 Equipment and Other Property   
                                                                         (Paragraph (g)).                       
Final Inventory Report...........  60 days after expiration date of     1274.923 Equipment and Other Property   
                                    agreement.                           (Paragraph (g)).                       
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[FR Doc. 98-6675 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P