[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49513-49521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23689]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Job Training and Partnership Act (JTPA), Title IV--Pilot and 
Demonstration Program

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice, solicitation of grant applications for proposals to 
conduct regional consortium building activities.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training 
Administration (ETA), using funds authorized under the JTPA Section 452 
(c) for Pilot and Demonstration programs, is seeking to award regional 
consortium building grants as stated in the Conference Report (H. Rep. 
No. 105-825). The purpose of these awards is to support the creation 
and development of regional skills consortia for the purpose of 
assessing employer skill needs and of assessing the need for closing 
the gaps between the skills needed by industry and the skills currently 
held by regional workers.

All Information Required To Submit a Grant Application is Contained 
in This Announcement.

    It is anticipated that up to $9 million will be available for 
funding the projects covered by this solicitation. Approximately 15 
grants will be awarded, and the estimated range of awards will be 
$500,000 to $1 million. At the Government's discretion, it is possible 
that awards would be made above this amount.

DATES: Applications for grant awards will be accepted commencing 
September 13, 1999. The closing date for receipt of applications is 
Monday, November 15, 1999, at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the address 
below. Telefacsimile (FAX) applications will not be honored.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be mailed to : U.S. Department of Labor, 
Employment and Training Administration, Division of Federal Assistance, 
Attention: Ms. Mamie D. Williams, Reference: SGA/DFA 99-021, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-4203, Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions should be faxed to Mamie D. 
Williams, at (202) 219-8739 (this is not a toll free number). All 
inquiries should include the SGA number (SGA/DFA 99-021) and a contact 
name, telephone and fax number. This solicitation will also be 
published on the Internet, on the Employment and Training

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Administration's Home Page at http://www.doleta.gov. Award 
notifications will also be published on this Homepage.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There is clear emphasis in the Workforce 
Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) on regional planning and cooperation. It 
is envisioned that the successful applicants will play a significant 
contributory role toward establishing that capacity. One of the roles 
of the consortia will be to work in tandem with the emerging structures 
under WIA to develop a strong cohesive basis for workforce planning and 
development so that skills shortages in industry are identified and 
resolved, and training opportunities for workers are clearly available 
and publicized.
    This program places strong emphasis on supporting existing or 
emerging regional consortia that put a primary focus on technical 
skills training--whether in a single industry or occupation or in a 
broader multi-industry or occupational setting that is more 
geographically based. While significant latitude will be given in terms 
of the composition of an eligible applicant's porposed regional 
consortium, inclusion of a local board(s) as authorized under Section 
117 of WIA is highly desirable and encouraged.

Part I--Application Process

A. Eligible Applicants

    Awards under this Solicitation will be made to organizations and 
regional consortia of organizations that demonstrate the capacity to 
develop a comprehensive skill training plan for the area. The intent is 
to create partnerships that are broadly inclusive of groups in a 
geographic region or of entities focusing on a single industry or 
skilled occupation in an area.
    There is no requirement that any of the partners in a consortium 
submitting an application be a private industry council (PIC) 
established under section 102 of the Job Training Partnership Act 
(JTPA) or a local workforce investment board that oversees training 
programs and projects operated in the local workforce investment 
systems created under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). It is 
not, however, the intent of this program to fund the establishment of a 
parallel workforce training system to the one that has already been 
established under JTPA and WIA. Therefore, applicants are strongly 
encouraged to consult with the workforce investment entities (PICs or 
WIBs) in their local area and seek to develop a partnership that works 
in consonance with those entities. The applicant may (but is not 
required to) submit a certification from a PIC or WIB attesting to the 
fact that such consultation is going on and a cooperative working 
relationship exists (or is being developed).
    This Solicitation is extremely open-ended in terms of defining 
which organizations are eligible to apply for grant awards or to 
participate in the partnerships. Specifically, organizations eligible 
to apply may include but are not limited to organizations and regional 
consortia that comprise businesses, business and trade associations, 
labor unions, community colleges and other post-secondary institutions, 
and community-and faith-based organizations. In view of the fact that 
one of the foci of this initiative is closing regional skills gaps, it 
would be highly desirable to include businesses as participants which 
represent industries and occupations in which there are regional skills 
shortages. PICs or local boards may also apply for these grants both 
singly and in partnership with other PICs or other organizations. The 
governing criterion should be that the organization, group, consortium, 
or partnership is interested in addressing activities relating to 
regional job skills, gaps/needs and is interested, in the case of a 
single organization applicant, in creating a regional consortium for 
that purpose.
    As noted above, these regional consortia will probably be multi-
jurisdictional and may, in some cases, cross State boundaries, however, 
no minimum size is established, and the smallest grant could 
conceivably encompass a single local workforce investment area or 
service delivery area.

B. Submission of Proposals

    Applicants must submit four (4) copies of their proposal, with 
original signatures. The proposal must consist of two (2) distinct 
parts, Parts I and II.
     Part I of the proposal shall contain the Standard Form 
(SF) 424, ``Application for Federal Assistance''(appendix A) and a 
``Budget Information Sheet'' (appendix B). All copies of the (SF) 424 
MUST have original signatures of the legal entity applying for grant 
funding. The individual who signs the application should be the same 
individual who signs the certification discussed in the previous 
section. Applicants shall indicate on the (SF) 424 the organization's 
IRS status, if applicable. According to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
1995, section 18, an organization described in section 501(c)( 4) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which engages in lobbying activities 
shall not be eligible for the receipt of federal funds constituting an 
award, grant, or loan.
     Part II must contain a technical proposal that 
demonstrates the applicant's capabilities in accordance with the 
Statement of Work contained in this announcement. A grant application 
is limited to twenty (20) double-spaced, single-side, 8.5-inch  x  11-
inch pages with 1-inch margins. Attachments may not exceed fifteen (15) 
pages. Text type willl be 11 point or larger. Applications that do not 
meet these requirements will not be considered. Each application must 
include a Time Line outlining project activities and an Executive 
Summary not to exceed two pages. The Time Line and the Executive 
Summary do not count against the 20-page limit. No cost data or 
reference to price should be included in the technical proposal.

C. Hand--Delivered Proposals

    If proposals are hand-delivered, all copies must be received at the 
designated place by 4 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday, November 15, 1999. 
All overnight mail will be considered to be hand delivered and must be 
received at the designated place by 4 on the specified closing date. 
Telegraphed and/or faxed proposals will not be honored. Failure to 
adhere to the above instructions will be a basis for a determination of 
nonresponsiveness.

D. Late Proposals

    A proposal received at the designated office after the exact time 
specified for receipt will not be considered unless it is received 
before award is made and it:
     Was sent by registered or certified mail not later than 
the fifth calendar day before the date specified for receipt of 
applications (e.g., an offer submitted in response to a solicitation 
requiring receipt of applications by the 20th of the month must be 
mailed by the 15th);
    Was sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day 
Service, Post Office to addressee, not later than 5 p.m. at the place 
of mailing two working days prior to the date specified for proposals. 
The term ``working days'' excludes weekends and U.S. Federal holidays.
    The only acceptable evidence that an application was sent in 
accordance with these requirements is a printed, stamped, or otherwise 
placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) 
that is readily identifiable without further action as having been 
supplied or affixed on the date of mailing by employees of the U.S. 
Postal Service.

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E. Funding Availability and Period of Performance

    The Department of Labor expects to make approximately 15 awards, 
with a total investment of approximately $9,000,000. The period of 
performance will be for 18 months from the date the grant is awarded. 
Because ETA views these grants as initial start up funding, it is 
anticipated that these awards will be one-time grants with no provision 
of an option year. The Department expects that the award amounts will 
range from $500,000 to $1 million. At the Government's discretion, it 
is possible that awards would be made above this amount.

F. Definitions

     Region, for the purpose of this solicitation, means an 
area which exhibits a commonality of economic interest. Thus, a region 
may comprise a few labor market areas, one large labor market, one 
labor market area joined together with one or more adjacent rural 
districts, one or more special purpose districts, or one or more 
contiguous PICs or local boards. Clearly, if the region involves 
multiple economic or political jurisdictions, it is essential that they 
be contiguous to one another. A region may be either intrastate or 
interstate. Although the rating criteria will provide more detail, it 
is the applicant's responsibility to demonstrate the regional nature of 
the area which that application covers. Also, a region may be 
coterminous with a single PIC or local board.
     Persons who may have fewer educational or occupational 
credentials means those individuals who have the educational or 
occupational credential level enumerated in section 101 (33) of WIA 
(which, in another context, is employed to describe an ``out of school 
youth''). Specifically, that definition refers to a school dropout or 
someone who has received a secondary school diploma or its equivalent 
but is basic skills deficient, (as defined in WIA, sec 101 (4)), 
unemployed or underemployed.

Part II--Statement of Work/Reporting Requirements

Background

    The Conference Agreement for the Fiscal Year 1999 appropriation for 
Title IV of JTPA states that it includes $9 million for the 
competitions for ``creation of regional consortia for the purpose of 
assessing employer skill needs...H. Rep No. 105-825, 105th Cong., 2nd 
Sess. (Oct. 19, 1998).'' This set-aside is also intended to assess the 
need for closing the gaps between business and the skills held by 
regional workers.
    Traditionally, overall tight labor markets and even skill shortages 
are good for workers in that they can lead to rising wages, improved 
working conditions, and new opportunities for workers and new labor 
market entrants. What is a skill shortage? In the simplest terms 
possible, a shortage occurs in a market economy when the demand for 
workers in a particular occupation at an ascertainable skill level is 
greater than the supply of workers who are qualified, available, and 
willing to do the job. Problematic regional or sectoral industry skills 
shortages--those that occur when there is imbalance between worker 
supply and demand for a persistent period of time--can mean that 
particular goods and services are not provided and that the economy is 
operating less efficiently than it could. At the microeconomic level, 
i.e., for individual employers, the inability to find an adequate 
supply of workers `` even after offering higher wages and better 
working conditions--can cause a loss of business and profits.
    One theme in WIA refers to regional planning, cooperation, and 
cohesion. This regional consortium building initiative--with its heavy 
emphasis on partnership-creation--is an opportunity to learn how to 
build better quality, longer-term partnerships. Thus, one underlying 
purpose of this effort is to develop, test, and evaluate ``models'' for 
use by States and local boards.

Project Summary

A. Purpose
    ETA intends to allocate up to $9 million for grants to existing or 
emerging regional consortia, or organizations seeking to form a 
consortia, for the primary purpose of forming a cohesive regional 
planning structure which has the capacity to assess employer skill 
needs, determine the gap between those industry needs and the skills 
possessed by regional workers, and develop a concrete action plan to 
train regional workers to fill the identified skill gaps.
    The first priority in making these awards will be to support the 
process of consortium building. Thus, a successful applicant may be a 
single group which has developed a well-conceived and structured 
proposal that creates the necessary linkages with key organizations 
within a defined region to form the basis of a strong consortium.
    The evidence of these linkages will be a signed consortium 
agreement that articulates the linkages being developed and describes 
in some detail what the roles of the various partners will be. Because 
a major purpose of the consortia will be to address industry skill 
needs, applicants are encouraged to enter into partnership arrangements 
with entities which possess a sound grasp of the job marketplace in the 
region. Typically, such organizations would include businesses 
(including small-and medium-size businesses) and business, trade or 
industry associations such as local Chambers of Commerce.
    A significant aspect of the consortium-building effort is the 
resources that entities can bring to the table and contribute to the 
partnership. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) does not 
require a match for this competition. However, a major aspect of this 
undertaking is to create regional consortia to address skill shortages 
that can sustain themselves once the consortium building grant has 
expired, and a substantial determining factor of that sustainability 
will be the amount of resources--both cash and in kind--that can be 
generated and leveraged by the participants in the consortium. 
Sustainability is an important consideration for the full 
implementation of the action plan that will be developed as part of 
this project but will be acted upon beyond the scope of this grant.
    A second major purpose of the consortia is to assess the skills 
possessed by regional workers and develop strategies for making sure 
those skills are aligned with the requirements for filling the job 
vacancies that exist in regional industries. With this in mind, it is 
very important that consortia include a broad spectrum of organizations 
that have an understanding of regional skills needs and can provide the 
skills training to meet those needs. Specifically, the applicants are 
encouraged to reach out and involve groups such as labor unions, 
community colleges and other accredited post secondary educational 
institutions, and community-based organizations.
    The result of the regional skills assessments described above 
should be an action plan which formulates an approach for resolving 
particular skills gaps that exist in the region. The action plan should 
carefully enumerate what the major skills shortage occupations are in 
the particular area and present a detailed series of steps designed to 
close those gaps. The action plan should be viewed as a key product of 
these grants.
    Although the design and testing of curriculum is not the central 
concern of this start up consortium building initiative, it is entirely 
appropriate and desirable that regional consortia that

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have established the necessary partnership structure and have developed 
a partnership agreement that defines respective organizational roles 
within the structure begin work on curriculum development for skills 
shortage training while formulating their action plan. Having a 
membership that includes educational organizations such as community 
colleges and other accredited post secondary education and training 
institutions will assist the consortia in formulating and testing such 
skills training curriculum approaches.
    Many of the job vacancies that emerge in the region may require 
substantial technical skills. Therefore, it is anticipated that 
significant technical skill training may be necessary to fill those 
employment opportunities. Such technical skill training may combine 
academic instruction with work place learning and instruction and 
training customized to the needs of specific firms. To the extent that 
applicants target for service persons with barriers to employment as 
described by section 203 (b) and (c) of JTPA (in particular, young 
adults aged 18-24) who may have fewer educational or occupational 
credentials, it is important that they spell out career paths which 
will help those individuals acquire high proficiency levels that may be 
required for some of the vacancies.
B. Reporting Requirements
    Once grant awards are made, the following reports and documents 
will be required:
     Quarterly Financial Reports. The awardee must submit to 
the Grant Officer's Technical Representative (GOTR) within the 30 days 
following each quarter, two copies of a quarterly Financial Status 
Report, Standard Form (SF) 269, until such time as all funds have been 
expended or the period of availability has expired.
     Progress Reports. The awardee must submit quarterly 
reports to the GOTR within the 30 days following each quarter. Two 
copies are to be submitted; the report will provide a detailed account 
of activities undertaken during the quarter.
     The awardee shall work with the GOTR in submitting a copy 
of the signed consortium agreement. The agreement shall include a 
written statement of operating principles and procedures defining roles 
and decision-making processes for the consortium.
     The awardee shall work with the GOTR in submitting a copy 
of the signed consortium action plan.
     Final Report. A draft final report which summarizes 
project activities and results of the demonstration shall be submitted 
no later than 30 days prior to the expiration date of the grant.

Part III--Review Process and Rating Criteria

    A careful evaluation of applications will be made by a technical 
review panel who will evaluate the applications against the criteria 
listed below. The panel results are advisory in nature and not binding 
on the Grant Officer. The Government may elect to award the grant with 
or without discussions with the offeror. In situations without 
discussions, an award will be based on the offeror's signature on the 
(SF) 424, which constitutes a binding offer. The Grant Officer will 
make final award decisions based upon what is in the best interest of 
the Government.

Rating Criteria

A. Statement of Need (20 Points)
    The applicant must provide a clear statement describing the 
geographic region that the planned consortium, or organizations seeking 
to form a consortia, will encompass.
    What are the economic, demographic and governmental considerations 
that make this a region that should be considered for funding under 
this SGA? In order to be acceptable, the description should discuss 
these factors with precision, utilizing appropriate socioeconomic and 
statistical data. Applicants are encouraged to utilize all available 
data resources--e.g., expressed hiring needs of employers in the region 
and The America's Labor Market Information System--in responding to 
this criterion.
    Other pertinent questions that will provide greater depth of 
description of the region's characteristics and needs include: What is 
the general business environment? What industries and occupations are 
growing, and which ones are contracting? What are the characteristics 
of the major employers in the region?
B. Planning Strategy, Including Strength of Linkages/Partnerships and 
Sustainability (35 Points)
    The applicant should enumerate who the partners (or potential 
partners) are in this endeavor and how it is envisioned they will link 
together. The focus of this criterion is on the structural aspects of 
the consortium. What kinds of inter-organizational linkages have been 
(are going to be) created? What resource(s) is each partner willing to 
commit to the consortium? It is vitally important that all the partners 
be enumerated and thoroughly discussed to provide a clear picture of 
the potential the consortium will have for contributing to improved 
strategic planning within the region and within the workforce 
investment system and for substantively addressing skill shortage 
issues both on a regional basis and, to the extent that the region in 
question impacts upon broader national shortage issues, on a national 
basis. As noted earlier, applicants are not required to include a PIC 
or a WIB as a partner, however, they are encouraged to do so.
    This procurement does not require that applicants provide a match. 
ETA feels strongly, however, that applicants and their partners should 
leverage additional resources--both Federal and non-Federal--to 
establish an entity which will be strong and have ``staying power.'' It 
is hoped that the consortium will have leveraged sufficient resources 
to provide a viable base for continuing its activities once the funds 
from this grant award are exhausted.
C. Prospective Target Population (20 Points)
    The primary goals of this initiative are to build regional 
consortia and to develop viable action plans for bridging the gap 
between the skills needed by industry and those possessed by the 
regional workforce. Thus, there may be little, if any, actual provision 
of training services to individuals for the duration of this initial 
start up grant. Nevertheless, in describing the regional workforce, the 
applicant should develop a clear sense of who comprises the target 
population.
    The description of the characteristics of those individuals the 
plan envisions serving should be clear and sufficiently detailed to 
determine the potential participants' needs for workforce development 
services. Documentation should be provided showing that a significant 
number of workers with defined skill needs are available for 
participation within the project's defined regional area.
    Applicants are strongly encouraged to include underrepresented 
communities and populations in their proposal particularly those that 
may reside in any Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/ECs) 
in the region. In particular, applicants are encouraged to plan for 
providing services to individuals with serious barriers to employment 
such as those described by section 203 (b) and (c) of JTPA (in 
particular, young adults aged 18-24) who may have fewer educational or 
occupational credentials.

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D. Prior Experience (15 Points)
    Applicants should provide a detailed discussion of their specific 
experience in the activities contemplated by the Solicitation. What 
kinds of exposure has the applicant had to labor market analysis and/or 
economic planning including the use of economic and demographic data to 
identify skill shortage occupations? The application should also 
enumerate experience in developing strategies for addressing such 
shortages. Also, applicant should detail any background that it has in 
coalition or organization building work.
    The applicant should include resumes of key staff who are proposed 
for this section. It may well be that individual staff members do not 
have much experience in consortium-building activities for workforce 
training. Therefore, it will be acceptable to show that the key staff 
has substantial background in economic planning for workforce and 
employment needs and related activities contemplated as part of the 
consortium building for this effort.
    Also, a management plan should be included in the proposal which 
describes how a grant of this sort would be administered together with 
specific management experience possessed by grantee staff.
E. Cost Effectiveness (10 Points)
    Applicants must provide a detailed discussion of the expected cost 
effectiveness of their proposal. This discussion should be couched in 
terms of the reasonableness of the cost in relation to the activities 
planned.--e.g., the consortium building activities. What expenses will 
be incurred in terms of bringing the concerned parties together in 
collaborative, cooperative partnership arrangements? How do these 
expenses compare to the capacity generated by the resulting consortium? 
What are the benefits of assessing community needs and factoring in 
workers' needs and attempting to calibrate those two in a comprehensive 
plan?
    This section should also provide some discussion of what leveraged 
resources will be committed to the project, specifying the nature of 
those resources--e.g., Federal, non Federal, cash or in kind, capital 
equipment.

    Signed this date, September 8, 1999 at Washington, DC.
Laura A. Cesario,
Grant Officer.

Appendices

Appendix A: (SF) 424--Application For Federal Assistance
Appendix B: Budget Information Form

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[FR Doc. 99-23689 Filed 9-10-99; 8:45 am]
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