[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 9, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46357-46364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15701]



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Part V





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Notice of Funding Availability 
Policy Requirements and General Section to SuperNOFA for HUD's 
Discretionary Grant Programs (SuperNOFA); Policy on Quality Assurance 
Review of Electronic Application Submission Di

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fficulties; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 9, 2005 / 
Notices  
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4950-C-1C]


Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Notice of Funding 
Availability Policy Requirements and General Section to SuperNOFA for 
HUD's Discretionary Grant Programs (SuperNOFA); Policy on Quality 
Assurance Review of Electronic Application Submission Difficulties

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (SuperNOFA) for HUD 
Discretionary Grant Programs; policy on quality control review of 
electronic application submission difficulties.

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SUMMARY: On March 21, 2005, HUD published its Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 
Notice of Funding Availability, Policy Requirements and General Section 
to the SuperNOFA for HUD's Discretionary Programs (SuperNOFA). The 
FY2005 SuperNOFA announced that, for the first time and consistent with 
the Administration's Electronic Government (E-Government) Initiative, 
applicants for HUD funding would be required to submit their 
applications electronically through the governmentwide grant portal, 
Grants.gov. While to date, the majority of applicants have been 
submitting successfully their applications electronically through 
Grants.gov, other applicants were found to have experienced 
difficulties with electronic submission to such an extent that they 
were unable to successfully submit their applications.
    This notice announces that HUD is taking action to respond to these 
concerns and is conducting a quality assurance review to identify 
applicants that correctly followed all electronic application 
submission procedures, including registration for electronic 
submission, but were unable to submit an application because of 
technological problems. This notice provides HUD's review procedures as 
well as outlines the application submission procedures an applicant may 
follow if HUD determines that the applicant complied with all 
electronic submission requirements of the FY2005 SuperNOFA but was 
unable to submit an application because of technological difficulties. 
If HUD makes this determination, the applicant will be contacted by HUD 
and invited to submit a paper application.

DATES: Application submission dates remain as announced in the March 
21, 2005, SuperNOFA as amended by subsequent notices of technical 
corrections.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about each 
funded program, please contact the individual listed in the appendix to 
this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13575), HUD 
published its FY2005 SuperNOFA, which announced the availability of 
approximately $2.26 billion in HUD assistance. The FY2005 SuperNOFA 
also announced that, for the first time and consistent with the E-
Government Initiative, applicants for HUD funding, except for the 
Continuum of Care funding opportunity, would be required to submit 
their applications electronically through the governmentwide grant 
portal, Grants.gov. The FY2005 SuperNOFA permitted prospective 
applicants to request a waiver of electronic submission for good cause, 
such as lack of a computer or absence of Internet service. Although to 
date, few applicants requested a waiver of electronic application 
submission and the majority of applicants successfully submitted their 
applications electronically through Grants.gov, HUD understands that 
some applicants may have been unable to submit their applications 
electronically due to unanticipated technological problems.
    In response to applicant reports of difficulties with technology, 
this notice announces that HUD is undertaking a review of its records 
and those of Grants.gov to identify applicants that met all of the 
electronic submission requirements and instructions of the SuperNOFA, 
but were unable to submit an application electronically through 
Grants.gov because of problems with technology. This policy is in 
effect for all funding opportunities announced in the March 21, 2005, 
SuperNOFA, except for the Continuum of Care and Rural Housing and 
Economic Development programs. This policy also excludes any FY2005 
funding opportunity that the Department reopens. As of the date of this 
publication, HUD is reopening the following competitions: Brownfields 
Economic Development Initiative, Youthbuild, Section 202 Supportive 
Housing for the Elderly, Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons 
with Disabilities, Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing, and 
Community Development Block Grant Program of Indian Tribes and Alaska 
Native Villages. HUD will announce the reopening of competitions 
through separate publication in the Federal Register.
    If HUD determines that an applicant met the submission requirements 
and instructions of the SuperNOFA but was unable to submit its 
application because of unanticipated technological difficulties, the 
applicant will be invited to submit a paper application and be given 
five business days of receipt of notice from HUD to submit the paper 
application. The following describes HUD's policy and review procedures 
with respect to these unsuccessfully submitted applications.

Policy and Procedures on Quality Assurance Review of Unsuccessful 
Electronic Applications

    HUD's quality assurance review will focus on those application 
submissions where HUD's records and those of Grants.gov document that 
the applicant followed all of the electronic submission requirements 
and instructions of the FY2005 SuperNOFA.
    HUD's records and those of Grants.gov indicate that, of the group 
of applicants that were unable to submit an application electronically 
through Grants.gov, the majority were unable to do so because they 
failed to register for electronic application submission or failed to 
allow sufficient time to complete the registration process. As detailed 
in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, the registration process 
required applicants to obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Data 
(DUNS) number (the DUNS number is a governmentwide and regulatory 
requirement for all grant applications), and register with the Federal 
Central Contractor Registry and with the credential provider for E-
Authentication. As explained in the General Section of the FY2005 
SuperNOFA, this registration process was necessary to ensure that the 
electronically submitted application was that of the applicant and that 
the individual or organization that submitted the application was 
authorized to submit it on behalf of the applicant.\1\ The SuperNOFA 
also advised applicants to allow at least two weeks to complete the 
registration process. Applicants that failed to complete the 
registration process will not be considered for review.
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    \1\ In addition to the General Section of the FY2005 SuperNOFA, 
HUD's Web broadcasts on the FY2005 SuperNOFA discussed the 
electronic application submission procedures, as did three mailings 
to prior applicants for HUD funding during the summer and fall of 
2004.
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    Similarly, HUD records and those of Grants.gov reflect that other 
applicants were unable to submit an electronic application successfully 
because the applicant-provided password and ID number did not match the 
DUNS number provided in the application, thereby indicating that the 
applicant

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was not authorized to submit the application. Applicants that submitted 
applications with incorrect DUNS numbers will not be considered for 
review.
    HUD's quality assurance review for application submission will 
focus on circumstances where an applicant's failure to submit an 
application in accordance with the electronic application submission 
procedures of the FY2005 SuperNOFA was based on unanticipated 
technological problems. In these cases, HUD will hold the applicant 
harmless and permit the applicant to submit a paper application.
    Examples of unanticipated technological difficulties that may have 
resulted in an applicant's failure to submit an electronic application 
include:
     The records demonstrate that the applicant attempted to 
submit an application but was cut off by the applicant's Internet 
service provider and but for this circumstance the application would 
have been timely received for validation by Grants.gov;
     The records demonstrate that an applicant successfully 
began submission prior to the 11:59 p.m. application deadline, but 
completed the upload of the application on the date following the 
application due date. HUD will consider such applicants as having met 
the deadline date and time stamp requirements of the NOFA. HUD 
acknowledges that dial-up access can result in slow transmission of a 
large application and the applicant has no control over the upload 
processing time;
     The records indicate that the applicant was unable to 
submit an application because HUD inadvertently posted the same funding 
opportunity under two different funding opportunity numbers and, as a 
result, an application was rejected in error.
     The records reflect that an applicant completed the 
registration process in a timely manner but was rejected because the 
database did not recognize the registration; and
     Other unique situations brought to HUD's attention that 
may lead HUD to conclude that an applicant's failure to submit was 
based on misleading technical advice or other such technology-related 
problem.
    As noted in today's Federal Register notice, HUD will base its 
review on its records and those of Grants.gov, including records from 
the Grants.gov Call Center. HUD will initiate this review when HUD 
believes it has sufficient information to determine whether an 
applicant's failure to submit was because of problems with technology.
    Applicants that contacted the Grants.gov Call Center and believe 
they meet the conditions described in this notice may contact the 
individuals identified in the appendix to request that HUD review its 
application submission situation to determine whether the applicant is 
eligible for hard copy submission. Applicants in this situation must 
provide HUD the:
    1. Applicant DUNS number;
    2. Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) ID;
    3. Applicant MPIN:
    4. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number and name of 
the program for which the applicant is seeking funding;
    5. Grants.gov Help Desk Ticket number, if available;
    6. Statement of the problem including dates and times, with whom 
the applicant spoke and advice provided, if available; and
    7. Application submission tracking number received from Grants.gov, 
and date and approximate times of upload transmission, if applicable.
    Failure to provide the information listed in items 1-4 will result 
in an applicant being ineligible for the quality assurance review 
procedures outlined in this notice. Applicants that believe they meet 
the requirements described in this notice should provide this 
information to HUD by August 23, 2005. Applicants that have already 
provided this information to HUD do not need to resubmit the 
information.

Procedures for Submitting Applications

    Upon the conclusion of HUD's review, applicants will be notified of 
HUD's determination through means that provide for confirmation that 
the applicant has received notification. If HUD determines that the 
applicant correctly followed the electronic application submission 
requirements of the SuperNOFA and advice from the Grants.gov help desk 
but was unable to submit an application because of technological 
problems, the applicant will be given five business days to submit a 
hard copy application to HUD commencing from the date of confirmation 
of the applicant's receipt of HUD's notification. The paper copy 
submission must contain an original signature of the person able to 
make a legally binding commitment to HUD for the applicant 
organization. Applicants will be required to submit applications via 
overnight delivery (United States Postal Service, Federal Express, or 
UPS) to the applicable address listed in the appendix to this notice. 
Hand deliveries are not accepted.

    Dated: July 27, 2005.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Deputy Secretary.
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[FR Doc. 05-15701 Filed 8-4-05; 11:26 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-29-C