[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 14, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34477-34478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11940]


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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES


National Endowment for the Arts; Determination of the Chairman of 
the National Endowment for the Arts as to Certain Advisory Committees: 
Public Disclosure of Information and Activities

    The National Endowment for the Arts utilizes advice and 
recommendations of advisory committees in carrying out many of its 
functions and activities.
    The Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (Public Law 92-463), 
governs the formation, use, conduct, management, and accessibility to 
the public of committees formed to advise and assist the Federal 
Government. Section 10 of the act specifies that department and agency 
heads shall make adequate provisions for participation by the public in 
the activities of advisory committees, except to the extent a 
determination is made in writing by the department or agency head that 
a portion of an advisory committee meeting may be closed to the public 
in accordance with subsection (c) of section 552b of title 5, United 
States Code.
    It is the policy of the National Endowment for the Arts to make the 
fullest possible disclosure of records to the public, limited only by 
obligations of confidentiality and administrative necessity. Consistent 
with this policy, meetings of the following Endowment advisory 
committees will be open to the public except for portions dealing with 
the review, discussion, evaluation, and/or ranking of grant 
applications: Combined Arts, Fellowships, Leadership Initiatives, 
Partnership, Special Projects, and the Federal Advisory Committee on 
International Exhibitions.
    The portions of the meetings involving the review, discussion, 
evaluation and ranking of grant applications may be closed to the 
public for the following reasons:
    Information and data are furnished to the Endowment by grant 
applicants with the expectation that such information will be treated 
on a confidential basis and not necessarily disclosed to the public 
until such time as a final funding decision has been rendered. This 
information may include such matters as details relating to the type of 
design or work to be performed, adequacy of the applicant's facilities, 
competence of the applicant's staff, proposed budget, personal 
biographical data, and other material which would not otherwise be 
disclosed. If the process were not to continue on a confidential basis, 
grant applicants would not supply sufficiently detailed information so 
essential for complete and effective review of their proposals.
    Further, public discussion of the merits of proposals not 
recommended for funding could subject unsuccessful grant applicants to 
negative speculation about the quality of the applicants' work. 
Additionally, premature public disclosure might adversely influence or 
prejudice the decisions of other funding sources in connection with 
their review of similar proposals.
    Endowment consultant-experts are chosen from among persons 
recognized for their expertise in the arts. These experts review and 
evaluate applications for financial assistance submitted to the 
Endowment by their peers and colleagues in the respective cultural 
fields. As a result, public participation in panel meetings involving 
application review, during which negative criticisms of an applicant's 
work are expressed, undoubtedly would affect a consultant-expert's 
willingness to express his or her full and frank opinion regarding the 
merits of the proposed project or activity. Accordingly, the 
Endowment's capacity effectively to carry out its statutory mandate and 
maintain the highest possible standards of quality with respect to 
funding recommendations would be seriously impaired by its inability to 
conduct the application review process in a confidential atmosphere 
conducive to the candid and honest exchange of ideas. Thus, such public 
participation would be likely to significantly frustrate the 
implementation of proposed agency actions, i.e., proposed funding 
decisions.
    Consequently, in the interest of meeting our obligations of 
confidentiality in reference to matters submitted as part of grant 
applications, and in order to encourage and ensure, for the benefit of 
the Government's review and evaluation process, candid and uninhibited 
expression of views concerning the merits of grant applications and 
contract proposals:
    It is hereby determined in accordance with the provisions of 
section 10(d) of the Act that the disclosure of information regarding 
the review, discussion, and evaluation of grant applications and 
contract proposals, as outlined herein is likely to disclose:
    (1) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained 
from a person and privileged or confidential;
    (2) Information of a personal nature the disclosure of which would 
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; and
    (3) Information the premature disclosure of which would be likely 
to significantly frustrate implementation of proposed agency action.
    Therefore, in light of the above, I have determined that the above 
referenced meetings or portions thereof, devoted to review, discussion, 
evaluation, and/or ranking of grant applications, and contract 
proposals may be closed to the public in accordance with subsection 
(c)(4)(6), and 9(B) of section 552b of title 5, United States Code.
    The staff of each committee shall prepare a summary of any meeting 
or portion not open to the public within three (3) business days 
following the conclusion of the meeting of the National Council on the 
Arts considering applications recommended by such committees. The 
summaries shall be consistent with the considerations that justified 
the closing of the meetings.
    All other portions of the meetings of these advisory committees 
shall be open to the public unless the Chairperson of the National 
Endowment for the Arts or a designee determines otherwise in accordance 
with section 10(d) of the Act.
    The Panel Coordinator shall be responsible for publication in the 
Federal Register or, as appropriate, in

[[Page 34478]]

local media, of a notice of all advisory committee meetings. Such 
notice shall be published in advance of the meetings and contain:
    (1) Name of the committee and its purposes:
    (2) Date and time of the meeting, and, if the meeting is open to 
the public, its location and agenda; and
    (3) A statement that the meeting is open to the public, or, if the 
meeting or any portion thereof is not to be open to the public, a 
statement to that effect.
    The Panel Coordinator is designated as the person from whom rosters 
of lists of committee members may be obtained and from whom minutes of 
open meetings or open portions thereof may be requested.

Guidelines

    Any interested person may attend meetings of advisory committees 
that are open to the public.
    Members of the public attending a meeting will be permitted to 
participate in the committee's discussion at the discretion of the 
chairperson of the committee, if the chairperson is a full-time Federal 
employee; if the chairperson is not a full-time Federal employee then 
public participation will be permitted at the chairperson's discretion 
with the approval of the full-time Federal employee in attendance at 
the meeting in compliance with the order.

    Dated: May 2, 2002.
Eileen B. Mason,
Acting Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts.
[FR Doc. 02-11940 Filed 5-13-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7537-01-P