[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7617-7620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3435]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No. 040209047-4047-01]
RIN 0693-ZA56


Advanced Technology Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and announcement of Public Meetings (Proposers' 
Conferences).

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SUMMARY: NIST's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) announces that it 
will hold a single fiscal year 2004 ATP competition and is soliciting 
proposals for financial assistance. ATP also announces that it will 
hold public meetings (Proposers' Conferences) for all interested 
parties. ATP is soliciting proposals in all technology areas. ATP 
provides cost-shared multi-year funding to single companies and to 
industry-led joint ventures to accelerate the development of 
challenging, high risk technologies that promise significant commercial 
payoffs and widespread benefits for the nation. This government-
industry partnership aids companies in accelerating the development of 
emerging or enabling technologies that lead to revolutionary new 
products and industrial processes and services that can compete in 
rapidly changing world markets. ATP challenges the research and 
development (R&D) community to take on higher technical risk with 
commensurately higher potential payoffs for the nation than they would 
otherwise pursue.

DATES: The due date for submission of proposals is Wednesday, April 14, 
2004. All hand-delivered or electronically submitted proposals must be 
received by 3 p.m. Eastern Time on April 14, 2004; all other proposals 
must be postmarked by April 14, 2004, and received no later than 3 p.m. 
Eastern Time Wednesday, April 28, 2004. Proposals submitted through 
guaranteed overnight carriers are deemed to be postmarked on the date 
they are delivered to the carrier.

ADDRESSES: Proposals must be submitted to ATP as follows:
    Paper submission: Send to National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, Advanced Technology Program, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 4701, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-4701.
    Electronic submission: Electronic Submission System (ESS)--Use the 
downloadable forms and the Forms Viewer at no cost at http://ess.atp.nist.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Lambis at 301-975-4447 or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Additional Information: The full funding opportunity announcement 
for this request for proposals is available at http://www.grants.gov. 
The full funding opportunity announcement text can be accessed on the 
ATP Web site at http://www.atp.nist.gov. To request a copy of the ATP 
Proposal Preparation Kit call ATP at 1-800-ATP-FUND (1-800-287-3863). 
The Kit is also available on the Internet on the ATP Web site http://www.atp.nist.gov or through the electronic submission Web site at 
http://ess.atp.nist.gov. Note that ATP is mailing the Kit to all 
individuals whose names are currently on the ATP mailing list. Those 
individuals need not contact ATP to request a copy.
    Meetings: ATP is holding several public meetings (Proposers' 
Conferences) at several locations around the country. These meetings 
provide general information regarding the program, tips on preparing 
proposals, and the opportunity for questions and answers. Attendance at 
these Proposers' Conferences is not required; many successful ATP 
recipients have not attended a Proposers' Conference. However, those 
who have attended said they found the information helpful. Proprietary 
technical or business discussions about specific project ideas with 
NIST staff are not permitted at the public meetings or at any time 
before submitting the proposal to ATP.

[[Page 7618]]

Therefore, you should not expect to have proprietary issues addressed 
at the public meetings. NIST staff will not critique proprietary 
project ideas while they are being developed by a proposer. However, 
NIST staff will, at any time, answer questions that you may have about 
our project selection criteria, selection process, eligibility 
requirements, cost-sharing requirements, and the general 
characteristics of a good ATP project.
    ATP Proposers' Conferences are being held on the following dates 
and locations:
    a. March 1, 2004 in Atlanta, GA and in Dallas, TX;
    b. March 3, 2004 in Boston, MA and in Seattle, WA;
    c. March 5, 2004 in Chicago (Rosemont), IL and in Los Angeles, CA; 
and
    d. March 9, 2004 in Gaithersburg, MD.
    No registration fee will be charged. Detailed information on the 
specific locations of the Proposers' Conferences is available on the 
ATP Web site http://www.atp.nist.gov. To register for the public 
meeting or for further information, contact ATP at 1-800-ATP-FUND (1-
800-287-3863), or register via the NIST Web site: http://www.atp.nist.gov/atp/reg_form.htm.
    Funding Availability: Fiscal year 2004 appropriations include funds 
in the amount of $60.7 million for new ATP awards. ATP funds proposals 
on a rolling basis, therefore, some portion of this amount may be used 
for new awards for proposals submitted pursuant to the procedures 
established for the fiscal year 2002 competition and, similarly, a 
portion may be used for proposals submitted under this fiscal year 2004 
competition. As a result, approximately $30 million of the fiscal year 
2004 appropriations may be used to fund selected proposals submitted 
under the fiscal year 2002 competition and approximately $30 million is 
available for new awards under this fiscal year 2004 competition.

    Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 278n.

    CFDA: 11.612, Advanced Technology Program (ATP).
    Eligibility: U.S.-owned, single, for-profit companies and industry-
led joint ventures may apply for ATP funding. In addition, companies 
incorporated in the United States that have parent companies 
incorporated in another country may apply. The term company means a 
for-profit organization, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, 
limited-liability companies (LLCs), and corporations.
    The submitting organization must provide information in the Gate 2 
submission related to the role of the foreign-owned company in the 
project to help address foreign eligibility requirements.
    Cost Sharing Requirements: Small and medium sized companies 
applying as single-company proposers are not required to provide cost 
sharing of direct costs; however, they may pay a portion of the direct 
costs if they propose to do so, in addition to the mandatory payment of 
all indirect costs throughout the project. Large companies applying as 
single-company proposers must cost share at least 60 percent of the 
yearly total project costs (direct plus all of the indirect costs). 
Joint ventures must cost share more than 50 percent of the yearly total 
project costs (direct plus indirect costs).
    Intergovernmental Review: ATP does not involve the mandatory 
payment of any matching funds from state or local government and does 
not affect directly any state or local government. Accordingly, the 
Department of Commerce has determined that Executive Order 12372, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' is not applicable to 
this program.
    Selection Procedures: All proposals are selected based on a peer-
review process, as described in 15 CFR 295.4. All proposals will be 
reviewed under a multiple-stage and sequential review process; 
therefore, prescribed information is requested at different stages 
called gates. There are four gates as follows:
    Gate 1: Detailed information addressing the scientific and 
technological merit selection criterion and preliminary information 
addressing the potential for broad-based economic benefits selection 
criterion are submitted. If the information is determined to meet the 
scientific and technological merit selection criterion, the proposer is 
notified that the proposal has passed the Gate 1 stage and is asked to 
submit the required Gate 2 information. The proposer will have two 
weeks (14 calendar days) from written notification to submit the 
required Gate 2 information.
    Gate 2: Detailed information addressing the potential for broad-
based economic benefits selection criterion and the Budget Narrative 
are submitted. If the information submitted is determined to have high 
merit, the proposer is notified that the proposal has been selected as 
a semi-finalist and proceeds to Gate 3.
    Gate 3: An invitation to the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology/ATP for an oral review is issued. Required forms and 
additional documentation are submitted, as requested by ATP. After the 
oral review, all semifinalist proposals are ranked, and the Selecting 
Official selects funding recipients based on the ranking, the 
availability of funds, the adherence to ATP selection criteria, and the 
appropriate distribution of funds among technologies and their 
applications. NIST reserves the right to deny awards in any case where 
a reasonable doubt exists regarding a proposer's ability to comply with 
ATP requirements or to handle Federal funds responsibly. All funding 
decisions are final and cannot be appealed. NIST reserves the right to 
negotiate the cost and scope of the proposed work with the proposers 
who have been selected to receive awards. For example, NIST may require 
that the proposer delete from the scope of work a particular task that 
is deemed by NIST/ATP to be product development or otherwise 
inappropriate for ATP support. The proposals selected by the Selecting 
Official for funding proceed to Gate 4.
    Gate 4: If the proposal is selected, the final award is processed 
and issued and funding begins.
    Evaluation Criteria: The evaluation criteria used to select a 
proposal for funding and their respective weights are found in 15 CFR 
295.6.
    Selection Factors: The Source Evaluation Board (a committee made up 
of Federal employees) ratings shall provide a rank order to the 
Selecting Official for final recommendation to the NIST Grants Officer. 
The Selecting Official shall award in the rank order unless a proposal 
is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon the 
availability of funds, the adherence to ATP selection criteria, or the 
appropriate distribution of funds among technologies and their 
applications. NIST reserves the right to deny awards in any case where 
a reasonable doubt exists regarding a proposer's ability to comply with 
ATP requirements or to handle Federal funds responsibly.

Ineligible Projects

    a. Straightforward improvements of existing products or product 
development.
    b. Projects that are basic research.
    c. Projects that are Phase II, III, or IV clinical trials.
    d. Pre-commercial-scale demonstration projects where the emphasis 
is on demonstrating that some technology works on a large scale or is 
economically sound rather than on R&D that extends the state of the 
art.
    e. Projects that ATP believes would likely be completed without ATP 
funds in the same time frame or nearly the

[[Page 7619]]

same time frame or with the same scale or scope.
    f. Predominantly straightforward, routine data gathering (e.g., 
creation of voluntary consensus standards, data gathering/handbook 
preparation, testing of materials, or unbounded research aimed at basic 
discovery science) or application of standard engineering practices.
    g. Projects that are simply a follow-on or a continuation of tasks 
previously funded in ATP projects from essentially the same proposing 
team.
    h. Projects in which the only risk is market oriented--that is, the 
risk that the end product may not be embraced by the marketplace.
    Unallowable/Ineligible Costs. The following items, regardless of 
whether they are allowable under the federal cost principles, are 
unallowable under ATP:
    a. Marketing, sales, or commercialization costs, unless they are 
included in a federally approved indirect cost rate.
    b. Costs for the construction of new buildings or extensive 
renovations of existing laboratory buildings. However, costs for the 
construction of experimental research and development facilities to be 
located within a new or existing building are allowable provided that 
the equipment or facilities are essential for carrying out the proposed 
scientific and technical project and are approved by the NIST Grants 
Officer.
    c. Indirect costs for single-company recipients, which must be 
absorbed by the company. (Note that with large businesses submitting 
proposals as single-company proposers, indirect costs absorbed by the 
large business may be used to meet the cost-sharing requirement.)
    d. Bid and proposal costs, tuition costs, and costs for marketing 
surveys, commercialization studies, and general business planning, 
unless they are incorporated into a federally approved indirect cost 
rate. However, a university participating in an ATP project as 
subcontractor or as a joint venture partner may charge ATP for tuition 
remission or other forms of compensation in lieu of wages paid to 
university students working on ATP projects but only as provided in OMB 
Circular A-21, Section J.41. In such cases, tuition remission would be 
considered a cash contribution rather than an in-kind contribution.
    e. For research involving human and/or animal subjects, any costs 
used to secure Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care 
and Use Committee approvals before the award or during the award.
    f. Relocation costs, unless they are included in a federally 
approved indirect cost rate.
    g. Office furniture costs, unless they are included in a federally 
approved indirect cost rate.
    h. Costs for general purpose office equipment and supplies that are 
not used exclusively for the research--for example, office computers, 
printers, copiers, paper, pens, and toner cartridges.
    i. Subcontractor expenses such as those for office supplies and 
conferences/workshops.
    j. Patent costs and legal fees, unless they are included in a 
federally approved indirect cost rate.
    k. Profit, management fees, interest on borrowed funds, or 
facilities capital cost of money.
    l. Subcontracts to another part of the same company or to another 
company with identical or nearly identical ownership. Work proposed by 
another part of the same company or by another company with identical 
or nearly identical ownership should be shown as funded through 
interorganizational transfers that do not contain profit. 
Interorganizational transfers should be broken down in the appropriate 
budget categories.
    m. Pre-award costs.
    Administrative and National Policy Requirements: 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 the Federal Register notice published on 
October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66109), are applicable to this competition 
announcement/solicitation. These requirements are available on the Web 
site at http://www.osec.doc.gov/oebam/pdf/6-PreAward.pdf.
    Intellectual Property Requirements: Title to any inventions arising 
from an ATP-funded project must be held by a for-profit company, or 
companies, incorporated or organized in the United States. A 
university, government laboratory, independent research organization, 
or other nonprofit organization cannot retain title to patents, 
although such organizations can receive mutually agreeable payments 
(either one-time or continuing) from the company or companies holding 
title to the patent. However, a for-profit corporation organized by a 
university can be considered a for-profit company for the purpose of 
retaining title to patents arising from an ATP award. In such a case, 
documentation of the for-profit status must be provided in the 
proposal. If an organization is not a for-profit company but plans to 
be involved in an ATP project, it will not be able to retain title to 
any patentable inventions arising from the ATP project. An 
organization's legal department should be made aware that ATP cannot 
waive this mandated provision (15 U.S.C. 278n(d)(11)(A) and 15 CFR 
295.2). Title to any such invention shall not be transferred or passed, 
except to a company organized in the United States, until the 
expiration of the first patent obtained in connection with such 
invention.
    The United States reserves a nonexclusive, nontransferable, 
irrevocable, paid-up license to practice or have practiced for or on 
behalf of the United States any patentable invention arising from an 
ATP award. The Federal government shall not, however, in the exercise 
of such license, publicly disclose proprietary information related to 
the license. The government use license must also grant to government, 
and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, 
worldwide license for all data first produced in the performance of the 
award to reproduce, prepare derivative works, perform publicly and 
display publicly, and for data other than computer software to 
distribute to the public by or on behalf of the government. The Federal 
government also has march-in rights in accordance with 37 CFR 
401.14(j). Since its inception in 1990, ATP has not exercised either of 
these rights.
    Projects Involving Human Subjects: Research involving human 
subjects must be in compliance with applicable Federal regulations and 
NIST policies for the protection of human subjects. Human subjects 
research involves interactions with live human subjects or the use of 
data, images, tissue, and/or cells/cell lines (including those used for 
control purposes) from human subjects. Research involving human 
subjects may include activities such as the use of image and/or audio 
recordings of people, taking surveys or using survey data, using 
databases containing personal information, and many tasks beyond those 
within traditional biomedical research. A Human Subjects Determination 
Checklist is included in the February 2004 ATP Proposal Preparation Kit 
as Exhibit 2 (http://www.atp.nist.gov) to assist you in determining 
whether your proposal has human subjects involvement, which would 
require additional documents with the Gate 1 and/or Gate 3 
submission(s). Detailed information regarding the use of human subjects 
in research projects and required documentation is available at http://

[[Page 7620]]

www.atp.nist.gov/atp/kit-04/has--guide/contents.htm, or by calling 1-
800-287-3863.
    Projects Involving Animal Subjects: Research involving animal 
subjects must be in compliance with applicable federal regulations and 
NIST policies for the protection of animal subjects. Vertebrate animal 
research involves live animals that are being cared for, euthanized, or 
used by the project participants to accomplish research goals or for 
teaching or testing. The regulations do not apply to animal tissues 
purchased from commercial processors or tissue banks or to uses of 
preexisting images of animals (e.g., a wildlife documentary or pictures 
of animals in newscasts). Detailed information regarding the use of 
animal subjects in research projects and required documentation can be 
obtained at http://www.atp.nist.gov/atp/kit-04/has_guide/contents.htm, 
or by calling 1-800-287-3863.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: This notice contains collection of 
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
The use of Forms NIST-1262 and NIST-1263, SF-424B, SF-LLL, CD-346, and 
Budget Narrative form has been approved by OMB under the respective 
control numbers 0693-0009, 0348-0040, 0348-0046, 0605-0001, and 0693-
0009. Notwithstanding any other provision of the 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 
requirements of the PRA, 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 Executive Order 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 Executive Order 13132.
    Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Notice and 
comment are not required under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 
U.S.C. 553) or any other law, for notices relating to public property, 
loans, grants, benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)). Because notice 
and comment are not required under the Administrative Procedure Act, a 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required and has not been 
prepared for this notice, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.

    Dated: February 11, 2004.
Arden L. Bement, Jr.,
Director, NIST.
[FR Doc. 04-3435 Filed 2-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P