[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7452-7454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3296]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 981203295-4044-09]


Technology Opportunities Program

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. 
Department of Commerce, issues this notice describing the conditions 
under which applications will be received by the Technology 
Opportunities Program (TOP) and how NTIA will select applications for 
funding.
    As an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NTIA is the 
Executive Branch's principal voice on domestic and international 
telecommunications and information technology issues. NTIA works to 
spur innovation, encourage competition, help create jobs and support 
policies that provide consumers with more choices and better quality 
telecommunications products and services at lower prices. TOP is a 
highly competitive, merit-based matching grant program that supports 
this mission through funding demonstrations of new telecommunications 
and information technology applications for the provision of 
educational, health care, or public information in the Nation's public 
and non-profit sectors.

DATES: Applications must be either postmarked no later than April 27, 
2004, or hand-delivered no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on 
April 27, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Completed applications must be mailed, shipped, or sent 
overnight express to: Technology Opportunities Program, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., HCHB, Room 4096, Washington, 
DC 20230; or hand-delivered to Technology Opportunities Program, 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, HCHB, Room 1874, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Wayne Ritchie (see ADDRESSES) or by 
phone at 202-482-2048 ext. 5515, or fax to: (202) 501-8009, or via 
Internet at [email protected]. The full Federal Funding Opportunity 
Announcement (Announcement) for the TOP program is available via Web 
site: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/top or by contacting the program official 
identified above. This full Announcement will also be available through 
Grants.gov at http://www.Grants.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Funding Availability: Approximately $12.9 
million in grants is available for federal assistance under this 
program. In Fiscal Year 2003, NTIA received 569 applications 
collectively requesting more than $269 million in federal funds. The 
Department of Commerce announced 28 awards totaling $13.95 million in 
federal funds.

    Statutory Authority: Pub. L. 108-199.

    CFDA: 11.552, Technology Opportunities Program.
    Program Description: TOP is a highly competitive, merit-based 
matching grant program that promotes the use of advanced 
telecommunications and information technologies in the non-profit and 
public sectors. TOP provides organizations with the opportunity to 
explore the possibilities that new interactive technologies offer to 
improve the provision of ``educational, health care, or public 
information.'' These projects encourage the deployment of broadband 
infrastructure, services, and applications throughout the Nation.
    With respect to educational information, TOP will support projects 
that expand training and learning opportunities or create innovative 
educational or training methods through the use of network 
technologies. In health care, TOP will support projects that use 
network technologies to improve the efficiency of, effectiveness of, or 
access to health-related services. TOP will support projects that 
enable the sharing and creation of a broad range of public information 
including, but not limited to, economic development opportunities; 
state, tribal, and local government services; community-based services; 
arts and humanities; and resources that promote self-sufficiency and an 
improved quality of life.
    All funded projects must be interactive and foster the exchange and

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sharing of information among individuals and/or groups, as opposed to 
one-way or broadcast systems. These projects are expected to serve as 
national models, even though the applicant may propose to pilot the 
project at the local level. Funded projects must evidence a strong 
probability of replication in other communities throughout the United 
States. Accordingly, priority will be given to projects that address 
problems of national significance, expand economic opportunities, 
enhance productivity, increase worker skills, and create jobs for 
American workers.
    Priority also will be given to projects demonstrating the use of 
new telecommunications and information technologies. NTIA is especially 
interested in applications of wireless technologies including, but not 
limited to, WI-FI, unlicensed spectrum devices, and projects 
demonstrating the potential application of 3rd generation or Advanced 
Wireless Services. All projects are expected to advance the body of 
knowledge and expand service availability and effectiveness in their 
respective content areas.
    Eligibility: Eligible applicants are non-profit entities, public 
sector organizations as well as state, local and tribal governments.
    Cost Sharing Requirements: Grant recipients under this program will 
be required to provide matching funds toward the total project cost. 
Applicants must document their capacity to provide matching funds. 
Matching funds may be in the form of either cash or in-kind 
contributions. NTIA will provide up to 50 percent of the total project 
cost, unless the applicant can document extraordinary circumstances 
warranting a grant of up to 75 percent. Grant funds under this program 
are usually released in direct proportion to the documented expenditure 
of matching funds.
    Evaluation and Review Process: The selection process involves four 
stages outlined below.
    1. During the first stage, each eligible application will be 
reviewed by a panel of at least three outside peer reviewers who have 
demonstrated expertise in both the programmatic and technological 
aspects of the application. The peer review panel members will evaluate 
applications according to the review criteria provided in this notice 
and provide individual ratings to the program staff.
    2. Upon completion of the external peer review process, program 
staff will analyze applications considered for award to assess: (1) 
Whether a proposed project meets the program's funding scope; (2) the 
eligibility of costs and matching funds included in an application's 
budget; and (3) the extent to which an application complements or 
duplicates projects previously funded or under consideration by NTIA or 
other federal programs. The TOP Director then prepares and presents a 
slate of recommended grant awards to the Office of Telecommunications 
and Information Applications' (OTIA) Associate Administrator for review 
and approval. The Director's recommendations and the Associate 
Administrator's review and approval will take into account the 
selection factors listed below.
    3. 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 below and the program's stated purposes as set forth 
in the section entitled ``Program Description.'' In making the 
selection, the Administrator may consult with senior officials in the 
Office of the Secretary to ensure that such selection factors and the 
program's stated purposes have been met.
    4. After applications have been selected in this manner, 
negotiations will take place between TOP staff and the applicant. These 
negotiations are intended to resolve any differences that exist between 
the applicant's original request and what TOP proposes to fund and, if 
necessary, to clarify items in the application. Not all applicants who 
are contacted for negotiation will necessarily receive a TOP award. 
Upon the conclusion of negotiations, final selections made by the 
Assistant Secretary will be based upon the recommendations of the TOP 
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 
Description.''
    Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated on the basis of 
the following evaluation criteria at the indicated weights:
    1. Project Purpose (20%). This criterion assesses the degree to 
which the applicant clearly describes and convincingly links three 
major elements: the problem(s) to be addressed, the proposed solution, 
and the anticipated outcomes of the project.
    2. Innovation (30%). This criterion assesses the degree to which 
the application demonstrates new technologies and/or how applications 
of new technology can be creatively used to address the needs of the 
non-profit and public sectors.
    3. Community Involvement (10%). This criterion assesses the degree 
to which the applicant includes linkages among unaffiliated 
organizations, targeted end users, and a variety of community 
stakeholders and assesses the commitment of these community partners to 
the long term sustainability of the project after the federal grant 
period.
    4. Evaluation (10%). This criterion assesses the evaluation design.
    5. Project Feasibility (20%). This criterion assesses the technical 
approach, the qualifications of the project staff, and the 
implementation schedule; and assesses plans for protecting privacy, 
sustaining the project beyond the grant period, and disseminating the 
lessons learned.
    6. Project Budget (10%). This criterion assesses the budget for 
clarity, cost-effectiveness, reasonableness and sufficiency.
    Selection Factors: The Selecting Official shall award in the rank 
order unless the application is justified to be selected out of rank 
order based upon the following factors:
    1. The evaluations of the outside peer reviewers;
    2. The analysis of program staff;
    3. The degree to which the proposed grants meet the program's 
purpose as described in the section entitled ``Program Description;'
    4. The degree to which the proposed grants use technology to expand 
economic opportunities, enhance productivity, increase worker skills, 
and create jobs for American workers;
    5. The geographic distribution of the proposed grant awards;
    6. The variety of technologies and diversity of uses of the 
technologies employed by the proposed grant awards;
    7. The provision of access to and use of telecommunications and 
information technologies by underserved groups and local communities 
suffering from economic downturns;
    8. The expansion of commercial entities to enable local communities 
to attract commercial investment to spur growth of American jobs, 
especially in the areas of education, health care, and public 
information;
    9. Avoidance of redundancy and conflicts with the initiatives of 
other federal agencies; and,
    10. The availability of funds.
    Universal Identifier: All applicants (nonprofit, state, local 
government,

[[Page 7454]]

universities, and tribal organizations) will be required to provide a 
Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number during 
the application process. See the October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66177) and 
April 8, 2003 (68 FR 17000) Federal Register notices for additional 
information. Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by 
calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line 1-866-705-5711 
or via the Internet (http://www.dunandbradstreet.com).
    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: The Department of Commerce Pre-Award 
Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements 
contained in the Federal Register notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 
49917), as amended by Federal Register notice published on October 30, 
2002 (67 FR 66109), is applicable to this solicitation.
    Limitation of Liability: In no event will the Department of 
Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if this program 
fails to receive funding or is canceled because of other agency 
priorities. Publication of this announcement does not oblige the agency 
to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.
    Intergovernmental Review: TOP applications are subject to Executive 
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' if the 
state in which the applicant organization is located participates in 
the process. Usually submission to the State Single Point of Contact 
(SPOC) needs to be only the first two pages of the Application Form, 
but applicants should contact their own SPOC offices to find out about 
and comply with its requirements. The names and addresses of the SPOC 
offices are listed on the TOP Web site and at the Office of Management 
and Budget's Home page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, and SF-LLL have been 
approved by OMB under the respective control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-
0044, 0348-0040, and 0348-0046. Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be 
subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of 
information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that 
collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.
    Executive Order 12866: This notice has been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): It has been determined that 
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as 
that term is defined in E.O. 13132.
    Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comments are not required by the 
Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning 
grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 553). Because notice and 
opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or 
any other law, the analytic requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory 
flexibility analysis has not been prepared.

    Dated: February 10, 2004.
Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information 
Applications.
[FR Doc. 04-3296 Filed 2-13-04; 8:45 am]
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