[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56814-56818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22564]


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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE


Availability of Funds for a National Service-Learning Training 
and Technical Assistance Provider

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service 
(hereinafter the ``Corporation'') will use approximately $235,000 as an 
initial installment on an annual projected funding level of $550,000 to 
support an organization selected under this Notice for a Learn and 
Serve America training and technical assistance program. The funding 
opportunity announced under this Notice will support the initial phase 
of the agreement (approximately the first five to six months of the 
year one budget), with additional funding contingent upon need, quality 
of service, the nature and scope of activities to be supported, and 
availability of appropriations for this purpose.
    The organization selected (the Provider) will, on a national level: 
(1) Provide training support primarily for Learn and Serve America 
grantees, sub-grantees, and others; and (2) provide technical 
assistance and promote service and service-learning. The Corporation 
intends to enter into a cooperative agreement of up to three years, 
beginning on or about December 1, 2002.

    Note: This is a notice for selection of an organization to 
provide training and technical assistance to Corporation grantees. 
This is not a notice for program grant proposals.


DATES: Proposals must be received by the Corporation by 5 p.m. Eastern 
time on October 21, 2002.
    The Corporation will not accept applications that are submitted by 
facsimile. Due to delays in delivery of regular U.S.P.S. mail to 
government offices, your application may not arrive in time to be 
considered. We suggest that you use U.S.P.S. priority mail or a 
commercial overnight service.

ADDRESSES: Submit proposals to the Corporation for National and 
Community Service, Attention: Amiko Matsumoto, Room 9611-A, 1201 New 
York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amiko Matsumoto at the Corporation for 
National and Community Service, telephone (202) 606-5000, ext. 556, 
([email protected]), facsimile (202) 565-2787, T.D.D. (202) 565-2799. 
This Notice is available on the Corporation's Web site, at: http://www.nationalservice.org/whatshot/notices. Upon request, this 
information will be made available in alternate formats for people with 
disabilities.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Corporation is a Federal Government corporation that encourages 
Americans of all ages and backgrounds to engage in national and 
community service to meet the nation's educational, public safety, 
environmental and other human needs and to achieve direct and 
demonstrable results. In doing so, the Corporation fosters civic 
responsibility, strengthens the ties that bind us together as a people, 
and provides educational opportunity for those who make a substantial 
commitment to service. For more information about the Corporation and 
the activities it supports, go to http://www.nationalservice.org.

II. Learn and Serve America

    Learn and Serve America supports service and service-learning 
programs in schools, higher education institutions, and community 
organizations that support more than 1.5 million participants from 
kindergarten through college in meeting community needs while improving 
their academic skills and learning the habits of good citizenship. 
Learn and Serve America grants are used to support local collaborative 
partnerships between educational institutions and community 
organizations. Funds may be used to create new programs or replicate 
existing programs, as well as to provide training and professional 
development to staff, faculty, and volunteers. Most Learn and Serve 
America grantees make sub-grants to entities such as local education 
agencies, higher education institutions, and non-profit organizations.
    In addition to training and technical assistance, Learn and Serve 
America also supports the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and 
three recognition programs: Presidential Freedom Scholarships, 
President's Student Service Awards, and National Service-Learning 
Leader Schools.

III. Conditions

A. Legal Authority

    Section 198 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as 
amended, 42 U.S.C. 12653, authorizes the Corporation to provide, 
directly or through contracts or cooperative agreements, training and 
technical assistance in support of activities under the national 
service laws. Section 125 of that Act and titles I and II of the 
Domestic Volunteer Service Act (42 U.S.C. 4250) provide additional 
authority.

B. Cooperative Agreement

    An award made under this Notice will be in the form of a 
cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements are

[[Page 56815]]

subject to control by Corporation regulations on general administrative 
requirements, 45 CFR Part 2541 (for agreements with State and local 
government agencies) and 45 CFR Part 2543 (for agreements with 
institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations and 
commercial entities). The Provider must comply with reporting 
requirements, including submitting semi-annual financial reports and 
progress reports linking progress on deliverables to expenditures.
    Cooperative agreements require substantial involvement on the part 
of the Corporation. Substantial involvement includes frequent and 
regular communication with, and monitoring by, the Corporation's 
program officer. The program officer will confer with the Provider on a 
regular basis to review project status and service delivery, including 
work plans, budgets, periodic reports, materials developed, preparation 
for and implementation of training events, targeting of the Provider's 
services, and assessment of the Provider's effectiveness.

C. Time Frame

    The Corporation expects that activities assisted under the 
agreement awarded through this Notice will commence on or about 
December 1, 2002, following the conclusion of the selection and award 
process.
    The Corporation will make an award covering a period not to exceed 
three years. Applications must include a detailed work plan of proposed 
activities and a line-item budget for year one of the agreement and 
note projected changes to proposed activities for years two and three 
of the award period. If the Corporation approves an application and 
enters into a multi-year award agreement, initial funding will be 
provided for approximately the first five months only. Funding for the 
balance of the first year, and then for the second and third years of 
an award period, is contingent upon need, quality of service, the 
nature and scope of activities to be supported, and availability of 
appropriations for the purpose of the award. The Corporation has no 
obligation to provide additional funding for the remainder of the first 
year or in subsequent years.

D. Use of Materials

    To ensure that materials generated with Corporation funding for 
training and technical assistance purposes are available to the public 
and readily accessible to grantees and sub-grantees, the Corporation 
reserves a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable right to 
obtain, use, reproduce, publish, or disseminate publications and 
materials produced under the agreement, including data, and to 
authorize others to do so. The Provider must agree to make such 
publications and materials available to the national service field, as 
identified by the Corporation, at no cost or at the cost of 
reproduction. All materials developed for the Corporation must be 
consistent with Corporation editorial and publication guidelines and 
must be accessible to individuals with disabilities to the extent 
required by law.

IV. Eligibility

    State and local government entities, non-profit organizations, 
institutions of higher education, Indian tribes, and commercial 
entities are eligible to apply. Pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
of 1995, an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4), which engages in lobbying, 
is not eligible to apply. Organizations that operate or intend to 
operate Corporation-supported programs are eligible.
    The Corporation anticipates making a single award for this purpose. 
We will consider proposals from single applicants, applicants with sub-
agreements, and applicants proposing other approaches that we consider 
responsive to this Notice.
    Organizations may apply to provide training and technical 
assistance in partnership with organizations seeking other Corporation 
funds. Based on previous training and technical assistance competitions 
and our estimate of potential applicants, we expect fewer than ten 
applications to be submitted.

V. Scope of Training and Technical Assistance Activities To Be 
Supported: Essential Functions and Deliverables

    The purpose of these funds is to build the capacity of Learn and 
Serve America grantees to assist sub-grantees in developing and 
implementing high-quality service and service-learning programs at the 
local level. While sub-grantees are expected to benefit from the 
activities, the main focus will be on the primary or direct grantees. 
The majority of workshops should be delivered in a ``train the 
trainer'' format, or one that will enable grantees to train their sub-
grantees. Any materials created and disseminated under the cooperative 
agreement should reflect the diverse settings of Learn and Serve 
America programs--schools, higher education institutions, tribes, and 
community-based organizations, and partnerships among these, located in 
urban, rural, and suburban areas. The experience level of service-
learning practitioners ranges from novice to seasoned. It is also 
likely that other Corporation-funded programs, AmeriCorps and Senior 
Corps programs specifically, as well as the service-learning field in 
general, will take advantage of the services offered by this training 
and technical assistance program. All activities should be designed to 
improve the quality of service-learning programs.
    The Corporation is committed to accountability and measuring the 
performance of all of its grantees. As this Notice pertains to the 
training of grantees as well as others in the field, the proposal 
should demonstrate the Provider's understanding of the significance of 
accountability in grant-funded programs and any prior experience with 
reporting on outcomes.
    The Provider selected under this Notice will provide training 
services and ongoing technical assistance as well as develop and 
disseminate training curricula and materials. The Corporation will be 
identified as the primary sponsor of any developed materials and 
activities in all print, electronic, and other communications.

A. Training and Technical Assistance Tasks

    The Corporation expects the Provider selected under this Notice to 
engage in the following activities:
1. Training Support
    The Provider will design and deliver training programs, curricula, 
and materials in support of service and service-learning. Topics will 
range from those generally applicable to all grantees, such as: 
evaluation; history and civics education; working with faith-based 
institutions; sustaining your program; building effective partnerships; 
and consortia management issues, to those designed to address issues 
specific to each program, such as: K-12 schools (content standards, 
working with local school boards, transportation and liability); 
community-based organizations (building capacity to work with service 
participants, working with schools and higher education institutions); 
and higher education institutions (promotion and tenure, attracting 
senior faculty, etc).
    A variety of delivery mechanisms beyond or in combination with 
traditional face-to-face training should be considered, such as 
telebriefings, teleconferences, webcasts, and videoconferencing. In 
order to maximize

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training delivery, training costs may be met by using a combination of 
provider-held Corporation funds and grantee-expended funds (e.g., cost-
sharing between the Provider and grantee). The number and distribution 
of training activities should establish the Provider as an ongoing, 
respected presence in the field. Training support will include but not 
be limited to the following materials and activities:
    a. Implementing ``train the trainer'' and other workshops;
    b. Participating as trainers in Learn and Serve America meetings, 
as well as other national, state-wide, and regional conferences, as 
appropriate;
    c. Developing and disseminating materials to support the foregoing 
training activities.
2. Technical Assistance and Promotion of Service-Learning
    The Provider will develop and maintain materials and systems that 
identify and respond to the needs of Corporation grantees and the 
broader service field. Activities include but are not limited to:
    a. Develop a Learn and Serve America program director's handbook;
    b. Establish, promote, and support Affinity Groups for grantees in 
areas such as health care, history and civics education, curriculum 
standards, and/or Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to 
develop and share information and products for dissemination that 
further and improve service and service-learning;
    c. Develop and distribute materials that correspond with trainings;
    d. Build a website that promotes training services and disseminates 
training and technical assistance tools, to be housed on the National 
Service-Learning Clearinghouse website and the Corporation's training 
website;
    e. Identify characteristics of successful service and service-
learning programs for K-12 youth and higher education based on research 
and field experience, and incorporate them into a menu of training and 
technical assistance resources designed to support programs in 
achieving those characteristics;
    f. Operate a toll-free number for inquiries and referrals;
    g. Support existing statewide or regional technical assistance 
efforts;
    h. Organize and manage the content of the Learn and Serve America 
Fall 2003 Grantee Meeting to be held in the Washington, DC metropolitan 
area.
3. Performance Measurement and Accountability
    The Corporation is committed to accountability and the measuring of 
performance for all its grantees, including training and technical 
assistance providers. The Providers must develop effective systems to 
identify the critical outcomes of its work, indicators of its success 
in this work, and how these can be judged or measured. The Corporation 
needs tangible information documenting the effectiveness and outcomes 
of the Provider's work.
    In its proposal, the applicant must demonstrate its understanding 
of accountability in grant-funded programs and its experience in and 
plans for identifying and reporting on the significant outcomes of its 
work with programs. Specific performance measures and reporting 
guidelines will be finalized between the Corporation and the awardee at 
the time of the award negotiation based on the Corporation's FY 2003 
Administrative Guidance.
    The Provider will develop a plan to assess the impact of its 
services for clients. The assessment must be on-going and must be used 
to inform program planning. It must also encompass immediate as well as 
long-term training impact. The Provider must submit evaluation 
summaries and records of evaluations must be available for review. The 
Corportion may also require an independent assessment of the Provider's 
performance.

B. Provider Requirements

    Upon being awarded funding under this Notice, the Provider must do 
the following:
1. Ensure Accessibility to Persons With Disabilities
    The Provider is responsible for ensuring that all training and 
technical assistance and resources, including web sites, are accessible 
to persons with disabilities, as required by law, to include the 
following:
    a. Notify potential participants that reasonable accommodations 
will be provided upon request;
    b. Provide reasonable accommodations when requested to do so, 
including provision of sign language interpreters, special assistance, 
and documents in alternate formats;
    c. Use accessible locations for training events;
    d. Provide training and technical assistance materials that are 
accessible to persons with disabilities by using accessible technology, 
providing materials in alternate formats upon request, captioning 
videos, avoiding non-voice-over formats, and when indicating a 
telephone number, including a non-voice telephone alternative such as 
T.D.D. or e-mail.
2. Reporting Requirements
    The Provider is responsible for submitting timely progress and 
financial reports to the Corporation during and at the conclusion of 
the award period as follows:
    a. Semi-Annual Progress Reports. Progress reports must be submitted 
semi-annually and are due on July 31 for the period ending June 30 and 
January 31 for the period ending December 31 for each budget period 
during the cooperative agreement. The Provider must submit this 
information electronically. The Corporation will provide guidance as to 
the contents of these reports, to include the agreed upon performance 
measures.
    b. Financial Reports. Financial reports must be submitted semi-
annually and must include a summary of expenditures for the period. The 
reports are cumulative and must be submitted on the Financial Status 
Report (FSR) form SF 269A.
    c. Final Reports. Final reports must be submitted when the program 
is completed. Guidance for these reports will be provided prior to the 
end of the agreement.
3. General Requirement of Cooperation and Acceptance of Corporation's 
Substantial Involvement
    We stress to potential applicants that the funding provided under 
this Notice will be in the form of a cooperative agreement. (See III.B, 
above) Regular and candid communication with the Corporation's assigned 
program officer as to the planning of and follow-up assessment of the 
activities undertaken under the agreement is essential. In this spirit 
of positive cooperation, the Provider must:
    a. Communicate regularly with the program officer and as necessary 
with other staff or consultants designated by the Corporation training 
official to exchange views, ideas, and information concerning training 
and technical assistance.
    b. Ensure that Provider staff and consultants are fully versed in 
the background, approach, vocabulary, assets, needs and objectives of 
the Corporation as well as each of its programs, with particular 
emphasis on Learn and Serve America.
    c. Participate in the planning and implementation of national 
meetings and training events, including meetings of all Corporation 
training and technical assistance providers, as requested by the 
Corporation.

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    d. Collaborate in materials development and training events 
organized by other Providers or the Corporation, as requested.
    e. Submit such special reports as may be reasonably requested by 
the Corporation.
    f. Share effective practices with the field and other Providers 
through Corporation listservs, and other mechanisms, such as the 
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and the National Service 
Resource Center.
    g. Use technology creatively and effectively as a cost-effective 
strategy for reaching large numbers of grantees, sub-grantees, and 
others in the service-learning field.

VI. Application Guidelines

A. Proposal Content and Submission

    Applicants must submit one unbound, original proposal and two bound 
copies. Proposals may not be submitted by facsimile. You must complete 
the Standard Form 424 (SF 424)--Application for Federal Assistance, 
Standard Form 424A (SF 424A)--Budget Forms, and Standard Form 424B (SF 
424B)--Assurances. These forms are available on the web at: http://www.nationalservice.org/whatshot/notices. In addition to completing the 
SF 424, proposals must include the following:
1. Executive Summary
    Provide a 250-500 word summary of the proposed training and 
technical assistance strategy, including and the total amount requested 
for the year.
2. Training and Technical Assistance Delivery Plan
    An organized narrative of no more than 15 double-spaced, single-
sided, typed pages in no smaller than 12-point font that includes:
    a. Your plan to deliver training and technical assistance to the 
audiences described in this Notice for year one, with proposed changes 
(if any) for years two and three. Explain the rationale for your 
strategy, including why some topics might be delivered via telebriefing 
or web, while others should be delivered face-to-face. Include a 
general schedule for training delivery and any existing conferences you 
would recommend attending in order to deliver grantee training. You 
should use the specific deliverables and requirements outlined in this 
Notice as a starting point for a plan and should present these 
deliverables in a way that creatively reflects your areas of expertise 
and knowledge of service and service-learning audiences. It is not 
appropriate to simply re-list the tasks stated in this Notice. The 
proposed topics to be covered should reflect understanding of the field 
and its resources. Once awarded, the successful applicant will receive 
input from Learn and Serve America and its constituents to ensure 
appropriate topics will be addressed.
    b. A plan for regularly evaluating performance and using those 
findings to continuously improve service to the field.
3. Sample Training Course Outline and Description
    Submit a sample description for a training workshop on ``Sustaining 
Service-Learning Programs.'' This should be a train-the-trainer 
workshop that will give primary grantees the tools to support their 
local programs' sustainability efforts. A follow-up plan should be 
included as well as an evaluation plan for this training.
4. Technology Strategy
    Provide a one to two page description that proposes ways to use 
technology effectively in order to broaden the reach of training and 
technical assistance delivery. The description should include the 
target audience, proposed use of technology, rationale for approach and 
its role in the overall plan, and how the strategy's effectiveness will 
be evaluated.
5. Organizational Capacity
    Include a narrative of no more than three double-spaced, single-
sided, typed pages in no smaller than 12-point font that describes:
    a. The organization's capacity to provide service and service-
learning training and technical assistance services nationwide, 
including descriptions of recent work similar to that being proposed;
    b. The organization's knowledge of and/or experience with service 
and/or service-learning programs;
    c. A list of proposed staff, and sub-agreement holders if 
appropriate, with areas of expertise.
6. Appendices
    In the appendix, include:
    a. an organizational chart that clearly shows the relationship of 
the training and technical assistance Provider(s) to the overall 
structure of the legal applicant to this Notice;
    b. names and contact information of references that can be 
contacted with regard to the above work;
    c. a detailed one-year work plan and timeline for completing all 
training and technical assistance activities (the work plan should 
include all deliverables and the tasks leading to them); and
    d. r[eacute]sum[eacute]s of the individuals primarily responsible 
for the deliverables proposed in the application.
    e. You may submit one additional appendix, but no videos or CDROMs.
7. Budget
    Your budget must be submitted on a Standard Form 424A (SF 424A)--
Budget Form. Costs in proposed budgets must consist solely of costs 
allowable under applicable cost principles found in OMB Circulars (OMB 
Circular A-87 for state and local governments, A-121 for non-profit 
organizations and A-21 for institutions of higher learning, and in 
F.A.R. Part 31 for commercial entities). Applicants should be mindful 
that a demonstrated commitment to providing services in the most cost-
effective manner possible will be a major consideration in the 
evaluation of proposals. Provider match is not required.
8. Budget Narrative

    Note: While this notice is for the availability of funds to 
cover approximately the first five to six months of the year one 
budget, the budget you submit should be based on the first year of 
activities. Provide a budget narrative that corresponds with all 
items in the line-item budget and that includes an explanation and 
cost basis for all cost estimates that appear in the line-item 
budget. The narrative should clearly show the following:
    a. How each cost was derived, using equations to reflect all 
factors considered.
    b. The anticipated unit cost (with derivation) of the various 
deliverables (such as training events, publications and technical 
assistance interventions).

B. Selection Criteria

    To ensure fairness to all applicants, the Corporation reserves the 
right to take remedial action, up to and including disqualification, in 
the event a proposal fails to comply with the requirements relating to 
page limits, line spacing, and font size. The Corporation will assess 
applications based on the criteria listed below.
1. Quality (35%)
    The Corporation will consider the quality of the proposed 
activities based on:
    a. Evidence of the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the 
role of national and community service and service-learning, and the 
role of training and technical assistance in supporting this program.
    b. The appropriateness for the audience: quality of delivery 
strategy

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(for example, breadth of audience and potential for the activity to 
build grantee capacity); potential for effectiveness; creativity of the 
applicant's approach and work plan; and evidence of the applicant's 
knowledge of adult learning and experience in training adults.
2. Organizational and Personnel Capacity (35%)
    The Corporation will consider the organizational capacity of the 
applicant to deliver the proposed services based on:
    a. Evidence of the organization's experience in delivering high-
quality training and technical assistance in a flexible, responsive, 
collaborative and creative manner, and experience using technology as a 
teaching tool.
    b. Evidence of experience providing training and technical 
assistance on the part of the proposed staff and consultants as 
demonstrated by annotated staff lists or r[eacute]sum[eacute]s.
    c. Demonstrated ability to provide training and technical 
assistance services nationwide as evidenced by proposed technology 
plan, proposed staffing and previous levels of activity and experience.
    d. Demonstrated ability to manage a federal grant or apply sound 
fiscal management principles to grants and cost accounting as evidenced 
by an annotated list of applicant's previous grants experience.
3. Performance Measurement (15%)
    The Corporation will consider how the applicant:
    a. Proposes to assess the effectiveness and need for its services 
and products delivered under the award.
    b. Plans to use assessments of its services and products to modify 
and improve subsequent services and products.
    c. Proposes to measure both short term outputs of its performance 
and the long-term outcomes.
4. Budget (15%)
    The Corporation will consider the budget based on:
    a. Scope and cost-effectiveness of the proposed training and 
technical assistance activities in relation to the scope and depth of 
the services proposed (i.e., the number of Learn and Serve America 
grantees that the proposed activities are expected to reach and the 
degree to which the Provider provides a reasonable estimate of the 
amount of services the organization will be able to provide);
    b. The clarity and thoroughness of the budget and budget narrative 
(see specifications under ``Budget Narrative'').

VII. For Additional Information

    For additional information, please visit the following Web sites:
    [sbull] Corporation for National and Community Service: http://
www.nationalservice.org
    [sbull] National Service-Learning Clearinghouse: http://www.servicelearning.org
    [sbull] Presidential Freedom Scholarships: http://www.nationalservice.org/scholarships/index.html
    [sbull] President's Student Service Awards: http://www.student-service-awards.org/
    [sbull] National Service-Learning Leader Schools: http://www.leaderschools.org/ CFDA No. 94.009 Training and Technical 
Assistance

    Dated: August 28, 2002.
Amy Cohen,
Director, Learn and Serve America.
[FR Doc. 02-22564 Filed 9-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-$$-P