[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 91 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26783-26787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9096]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development Agency

[Docket No: 070503107-7108-01]


Solicitation of Applications for the North Carolina, New Mexico 
and Oklahoma Native American Business Enterprise Centers (NABECs)

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 15 U.S.C. 1512 and Executive Order 11625, 
the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is soliciting 
competitive applications from organizations to operate a Native 
American Business Enterprise Center (NABEC) in the specified locations 
and geographical service areas (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). The 
NABEC operates through the use of business consultants and provides a 
range of technical assistance services directly to Native American- and 
other minority-owned businesses. Responsibility for ensuring that 
applications in response to this competitive solicitation are complete 
and received by MBDA on time is the sole responsibility of the 
applicant. Applications submitted must be to operate a NABEC and to 
provide business consultation to eligible clients. Applications that do 
not meet these requirements will be rejected. This is not a grant 
program to help start an individual business.

DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday, June 15, 
2007. Completed applications must be received by MBDA no later than 5 
p.m.

[[Page 26784]]

Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) at the address below for paper 
submission or at www.Grants.gov for electronic submission. The due date 
and time is the same for electronic submissions as it is for paper 
submissions. The date that applications will be deemed to have been 
submitted electronically shall be the date and time received at 
Grants.gov. Applicants should save and print the proof of submission 
they receive from Grants.gov. Applications received after the closing 
date will not be considered. Anticipated time for processing is ninety 
(90) days from the date of publication of this notice. MBDA anticipates 
that awards for the North Carolina NABEC, New Mexico NABEC and the 
Oklahoma NABEC will be made with a start date of August 1, 2007.
    Pre-Application Conference: In connection with this solicitation, a 
pre-application teleconference will be held on Friday, May 18, 2007. 
Participants must register at least 24 hours in advance of the 
teleconference. Please visit the MBDA Internet Portal at www.mbda.gov 
(MBDA Portal) for registration instructions. A copy of the MBDA panel 
evaluation tool and a summary of the questions and answers from the 
pre-application conference will be available through the MBDA Portal as 
soon as practicable following the conference.

ADDRESSES: (1a) Paper Submission--If Mailed: If the application is sent 
by postal mail or overnight delivery service by the applicant or its 
representative, one (1) signed original plus two (2) copies of the 
application must be submitted. Completed application packages must be 
mailed to: Office of Business Development--NABEC Program, Office of 
Executive Secretariat, HCHB, Room 5063, Minority Business Development 
Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
    Applicants are advised that Department of Commerce mail security 
measures may delay receipt of United States Postal Service mail for up 
to two weeks. Applicants may wish to use a guaranteed overnight 
delivery service. Department of Commerce delivery policies for Federal 
Express, UPS, and DHL overnight services require the packages to be 
sent to the address above.
    (1b) Paper Submission--If Hand-Delivered: If the application is 
hand-delivered by the applicant or his/her representative, one (1) 
signed original plus two (2) copies of the application must be 
delivered to: U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business 
Development Agency, Office of Business Development--NABEC Program 
(extension 1940), HCHB, Room 1874, Entrance 10, 15th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC (Between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues).
    U.S. Department of Commerce ``hand-delivery'' policies state that 
Federal Express, UPS, and DHL overnight services submitted to the 
address listed above (Entrance 10) cannot be accepted. These 
policies should be taken into consideration when utilizing their 
services. MBDA will not accept applications that are submitted by the 
deadline but rejected due to Departmental hand-delivery policies. The 
applicant must adhere to these policies in order for his/her 
application to receive consideration for award.
    (2) Electronic Submission: Applicants are encouraged to submit 
their proposal electronically at http://www.Grants.gov. Electronic 
submissions should be made in accordance with the instructions 
available at Grants.gov (see http://www.grants.gov/ForApplicants for 
detailed information). MBDA strongly recommends that applicants not 
wait until the application deadline date to begin the application 
process through Grants.gov, in some cases, the process for completing 
an online application may require 3-5 working days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please visit 
MBDA's Minority Business Internet Portal at http://www.mbda.gov. Paper 
applications and Standard Forms (SF) may be obtained by contacting the 
MBDA National Enterprise Center (NEC) for the area where the Applicant 
is located (see Agency Contacts below) or by visiting the MBDA Portal 
at www.mbda.gov. Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B can also be obtained at 
http://www.Grants.gov. Forms CD-511 and CD-346 may be obtained at 
www.doc.gov/forms. Form SF-LLL can be obtained at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants.
    Agency Contacts:
    1. Office of Business Development, 14th and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Room 5075, Washington, DC 20230. Contact: Efrain Gonzalez, Program 
Manager at 202-482-1940.
    2. Dallas National Enterprise Center (DNEC), 1100 Commerce Street, 
Room 726, Dallas, TX 75242. This region covers the states of Arkansas, 
Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South 
Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Contact: John Iglehart, Regional 
Director, DNEC at 214-767-8001.
    3. Atlanta National Enterprise Center (ANEC), 401 W. Peachtree 
Street, NW., Suite 1715, Atlanta, GA 30308. This region covers the 
states of North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, 
Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. It also covers Puerto Rico 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Contact: John Iglehart, Acting Regional 
Director, ANEC at 404-730-3300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    MBDA published a Federal Register notice on August 29, 2003 (68 FR 
51981), as amended on September 30, 2003 (68 FR 56267), February 11, 
2004 (69 FR 6644) and February 19, 2004 (69 FR 7726), soliciting 
competitive applications for operators of the following eight NABDCs 
(now NABECs): Arizona Statewide NABDC, California Statewide NABDC, 
Minnesota/Iowa Statewide NABDC, New Mexico Statewide NABDC, North 
Carolina/Cherokee/Ashville NABDC, North/South Dakota Statewide NABDC, 
Northwest NABDC and the Oklahoma Statewide NABDC. This competition 
resulted in financial assistance awards (cooperative agreements) being 
issued for all eight locations, with a three-year award period of 
January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2006.
    On September 6, 2006, MBDA published a Federal Register notice (71 
FR 52529) soliciting competitive applications for operators of four 
regional NABECs (in place of the eight prior NABECs) for the next 
three-year award period commencing January 1, 2007. However, on October 
25, 2006, MBDA published a Federal Register notice (71 FR 62420) (i) 
cancelling the September 6, 2006 solicitation and (ii) amending the 
original competitive solicitation to extend the total project award 
period for all eight of the original NABECs from three years to four 
years. MBDA took these actions in order to provide the Agency with a 
sufficient opportunity to solicit input from its stakeholders regarding 
any proposed program changes to be implemented during the next three-
year award period. Operators of five of the eight NABECs accepted 
MBDA's invitation to extend the original award period for an additional 
year, while the operators of the North Carolina/Ashville/Cherokee 
NABEC, New Mexico Statewide NABEC and Oklahoma Statewide NABEC declined 
MBDA's invitation.
    This Notice solicits competitive applications for the North 
Carolina NABEC, New Mexico NABEC and the Oklahoma NABEC. This Notice 
replaces in its entirety the previously published competitive 
solicitation for the North Carolina NABEC, New Mexico NABEC and 
Oklahoma NABEC projects, although it generally adheres to

[[Page 26785]]

previous programmatic requirements with updates being made to the 
computer requirements.

Geographic Service Areas

    The NABEC will be located and will provide services in the 
following geographic areas:

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Geographic service
           NABEC name              Location of NABEC         area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Carolina NABEC............  Cherokee/           State of North
                                   Asheville,          Carolina.
                                   Charlotte,
                                   Lumberton or
                                   Pembroke, NC.
New Mexico NABEC................  Albuquerque,        State of New
                                   Farmington or       Mexico.
                                   Gallup, NM.
Oklahoma NABEC..................  Oklahoma City or    State of Oklahoma.
                                   Tulsa, OK.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Electronic Access

    A link to the full text of the Announcement of Federal Funding 
Opportunity (FFO) for this solicitation may be accessed at http://www.Grants.gov, at http://www.mbda.gov, or by contacting the 
appropriate MBDA representative identified above. The FFO contains a 
full and complete description of the NABEC Program requirements. In 
order to receive proper consideration, applicants must comply with all 
information and requirements contained in the FFO. Applicants will be 
able to access, download and submit electronic grant applications for 
the NABEC Program in this announcement at http://www.Grants.gov. MBDA 
strongly recommends that applicants not wait until the application 
deadline date to begin the application process through Grants.gov as in 
some cases the process for completing an online application may require 
additional time (e.g., 3-5 working days). The date that applications 
will be deemed to have been submitted electronically shall be the date 
and time received at Grants.gov. Applicants should save and print the 
proof of submission they receive from Grants.gov. Applications received 
after the closing date and time will not be considered.

Funding Priorities

    Preference may be given during the selection process to 
applications which address the following MBDA funding priorities:
    ( a) Applicants who submit proposals with a scope of work for the 
project exceeding the minimum work requirements in the FFO;
    (b) Applicants who submit proposals that include performance goals 
that exceed the minimum performance goal requirements in the FFO; or
    (c) Applicants who demonstrate an innovative approach (consistent 
with overall NABEC program requirements) to limit barriers to market 
and capital access for Native American- and other eligible minority-
owned businesses.

Funding Availability

    MBDA anticipates that a total of approximately $611,000 will be 
available in FY 2007 for financial assistance awards under this 
competition. Specific funding levels for the North Carolina NABEC, New 
Mexico NABEC and Oklahoma NABEC are set forth in the below table. The 
anticipated start date for all awards under this competition is August 
1, 2007 and the total award period is anticipated to be twelve (12) 
months (e.g., August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008). The maximum 
Federal funding amount for each NABEC project is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
                          Project name                               Estimated                      Non-Federal
                                                                   program cost    Federal share      share *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Carolina NABEC............................................        $188,000        $188,000             N/A
New Mexico NABEC................................................         188,000         188,000             N/A
Oklahoma NABEC..................................................         235,000         235,000            N/A
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* Encouraged, but not required.

Publication of this notice does not obligate the Department of Commerce 
or MBDA to award any specific cooperative agreement or to obligate all 
or any part of available funds.

    Authority: Executive Order 11625 and 15 U.S.C. 1512.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): 11.801, Native 
American Business Enterprise Centers.

Eligibility

    For-profit entities (including sole-proprietorships, partnerships, 
and corporations), non-profit organizations, state and local government 
entities, American Indian Tribes, and educational institutions are 
eligible to operate NABECs.

Program Description

    MBDA is soliciting competitive applications from organizations to 
operate Native American Business Enterprise Centers (formerly known as 
Native American Business Development Centers) (NABDC)) under its Native 
American Business Enterprise Center (NABEC) Program. The NABEC will 
operate through the use of trained professional business consultants 
who will assist Native American and other minority entrepreneurs 
through direct client engagements. Entrepreneurs eligible for 
assistance under the NABEC Program are Native Americans, Eskimos, 
African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Spanish-speaking Americans, Aleuts, 
Asian Pacific Americans, Asian Indians and Hasidic Jews. References 
throughout this notice regarding a NABEC's provision of services and 
assistance to Native American clients also includes the eligible non-
Native American clients listed in the preceding sentence. No service 
may be denied to any member of the eligible groups listed above.
    The NABEC Program requirements increase the impact of the project 
by requiring that project operators deploy standardized business 
assistance services to the Native American and

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minority business public directly, develop a network of strategic 
partnerships and provide strategic business consulting within the 
geographic service area. These requirements will be used to generate 
increased results with respect to financing and contracts awarded to 
Native American and minority-owned firms and thus, are a key component 
of this program.
    The NABEC Program also incorporates an entrepreneurial approach to 
building market stability and improving quality of services delivered. 
This strategy expands the reach of the NABECs by requiring project 
operators to develop and build upon strategic alliances with public and 
private sector partners, as a means of reaching out and serving Native 
American and minority-owned firms with rapid growth potential within 
the project's geographic service area. The NABEC Program leverages the 
full benefit of telecommunications technology, including the Internet 
and a variety of online computer-based resources, to dramatically 
increase the level of service that the NABECs provide to Native 
American and minority-owned firms. In addition, MBDA will establish 
specialized advanced programs for growth assistance to clients with the 
capacity to grow and expand. These programs are designed to foster 
growth assistance for its clients. The NABEC will also encourage 
collaboration and referrals of clients and non-clients that meet the 
requirements of these specialized programs and other MBDA sponsored 
networks. This will provide a comprehensive approach to serving the 
emerging sector of the Native American business community.
    MBDA's new strategic growth initiative is focused on serving 
emerging Native American and minority firms capable of impacting 
economic growth and employment. MBDA wants to ensure that NABEC clients 
are receiving a consistent level of service throughout its funded 
network. To that end, MBDA will require NABEC consultants to attend a 
series of training courses designed to achieve standardized services 
and quality expectations.
    Please refer to the FFO for this competitive solicitation for 
additional programmatic information.

Match Requirements

    It is not required that an applicant for a NABEC award propose a 
non-Federal cost share contribution. An applicant may, however, propose 
a cost-share contribution in any of the following four means or in any 
combination thereof: (1) Client fees; (2) cash contributions; (3) non-
cash applicant contributions; and/or (4) third party in-kind 
contributions. The NABEC may (but is not required to) charge client 
fees for services rendered. Client fees (if imposed) shall be used 
towards meeting cost share requirements and must be used in furtherance 
of the program objectives. Applicants will be awarded up to five (5) 
bonus points to the extent that the proposed project budget includes a 
non-Federal cost-share contribution, measured as a percentage of the 
overall project budget (see Evaluation Criteria below).

Evaluation Criteria

    Applications will be evaluated and selected for funding based on 
the following criteria. An application must receive at least 70% of the 
total points available for each evaluation criterion, in order for the 
application to be considered for funding. The maximum number of total 
points for each evaluation criterion is provided below. The number of 
points assigned to each evaluation criterion will be determined on a 
competitive basis by the MBDA review panel based on the quality of the 
application with respect to each criterion. The maximum total of points 
that can be earned is 105, including a maximum of five (5) bonus points 
for applications proposing a non-federal cost share.

1. Applicant Capability (45 Points)

    The applicant's proposal will be evaluated with respect to the 
applicant firm's experience and expertise in providing the work 
requirements listed. Specifically, the proposals will be evaluated as 
follows:
     Native American Community--experience in and knowledge of 
the Native American and minority business sector and strategies for 
enhancing its growth and expansion (5 points);
     Business Consulting--experience in and knowledge of 
business consulting of Native American and minority firms (10 points);
     Financing--experience in and knowledge of the preparation 
and formulation of successful financial transactions (5 points);
     Procurements and Contracting--experience in and knowledge 
of the public and private sector contracting opportunities for Native 
American and minority businesses (5 points);
     Financing Networks--resources and professional 
relationships within the corporate, banking and investment community 
that may be beneficial to Native American and minority-owned firms (5 
points);
     Native American Advocacy--experience and expertise in 
advocating on behalf of Native American businesses, both as to specific 
transactions in which a Native American business seeks to engage, and 
as to broad market advocacy for the benefit of the Native American 
community at large (5 points); and
     Key Staff--assessment of the qualifications, experience 
and proposed role of staff who will operate the NABEC. In particular, 
an assessment will be made to determine whether proposed staff 
possesses the expertise in utilizing information systems as 
contemplated under the heading entitled, ``Computer Requirements'' (10 
points).

2. Resources (20 Points)

    The applicant's proposal will be evaluated according to the 
following criteria:
     Resources--discuss those resources (not included as part 
of the cost-sharing arrangement) that will be used (10 points);
     Partners--discuss how you plan to establish and maintain 
the network of five (5) Strategic Partners (5 points);
     Equipment--discuss how you plan to accomplish the computer 
hardware and software requirements (5 points).

3. Techniques and Methodologies (25 Points)

    The applicant's proposal will be evaluated as follows:
     Performance Measures--relate each performance measure to 
the financial, information and market resources available in the 
geographic service area to the applicant and how the performance goals 
will be met. Specific attention should be placed on the Dollar Value of 
Transactions. This goal represents the sum of (a) Dollar Value of 
Financial Transactions and (b) Dollar Value of Gross Receipts. Dollar 
Value of Transactions, Dollar Value of Financial Transactions and 
Dollar Value of Gross Receipts are defined in Section I.F. of the FFO 
under Performance Measures. When proposing the minimum goal under 
Dollar Value of Transactions, the applicant is given the flexibility to 
address the percentage breakdown for items (a) and (b) above within a 
specific range--not more than 60% and not less than 40%. The applicant 
should consider existing market conditions and its strategy to achieve 
the goal. The applicant may vary the percentage breakdown for items (a) 
and (b) above as long as the sum meets the required performance goal as 
provided in the FFO (15 points);

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     Plan of Action--provide specific detail on how the 
applicant will start operations. NABECs have thirty (30) days to become 
fully operational after an award is made. Fully operational means that 
all staff are hired, all signs are up, all items of furniture and 
equipment are in place and operational, all necessary forms are 
developed (e.g., client engagement letters, other standard 
correspondence, etc.), and the center is ready to open its doors to the 
public (5 points);
     Work Requirement Execution Plan--The applicant will be 
evaluated on how effectively and efficiently all staff time will be 
used to achieve the work requirements (5 points).

4. Proposed Budget and Supporting Budget Narrative (10 Points)

    The applicant's proposal will be evaluated on the following sub-
criteria:
     Reasonableness, allowability and allocability of costs. 
All of the proposed expenditures must be discussed and the budget line 
item narrative must match the proposed budget. Fringe benefits and 
other percentage item calculations must match the proposed budget line-
item (5 points); and
     Performance Based Budget. Discuss how the budget is 
related to the accomplishment of the work requirements and the 
performance measures. Provide a budget narrative that clearly shows the 
connections (5 points).
    Bonus for Non-Federal Cost Sharing (maximum of 5 points): Non-
Federal cost sharing is not required under the NABEC program. However, 
applicants will be awarded bonus points to the extent that the proposed 
overall project budget includes non-Federal contributions, measured as 
a percentage of the overall project budget (i.e., Federal and non-
Federal shares). Specifically, a maximum of five (5) bonus points will 
be awarded based on the following scale: more than 0--less than 5%--1 
point; 5% or more--less than 10%--2 points; 10% or more--less than 
15%--3 points; 15% or more--less than 20%--4 points; and 20% or more--5 
points. The non-Federal contributions (if proposed) may consist of one 
or more of the following: (1) Client fees; (2) cash contributions; (3) 
non-cash applicant contributions; and/or (4) third party in-kind 
contributions, and must be adequately identified and documented in the 
application

Review and Selection Process

    1. Initial Screening--Prior to the formal paneling process, each 
application will receive an initial screening to ensure that all 
required forms, signatures and documentation are present.
    2. Panel Review--Each application will receive an independent, 
objective review by a panel qualified to evaluate the applications 
submitted. MBDA anticipates that the review panel will be made up of at 
least three independent reviewers who are Federal employees who will 
review all applications based on the above evaluation criteria. Each 
reviewer will evaluate and provide a score for each proposal. In order 
for an application to be considered for funding, it shall need to 
achieve 70% of the available points for each evaluation criterion. 
Failure to achieve the minimum required points will deem the 
application as unsuccessful.
    3. Final Recommendation--The MBDA National Director makes the final 
recommendation to the Department of Commerce Grants Officer regarding 
the funding of applications, taking into account the selection criteria 
as outlined in this notice and the following:
    A. Evaluations and rankings of the independent review panel;
    B. Funding Priorities. The National Director (or his designee) 
reserves the right to conduct a site visit (subject to the availability 
of funding) to applicant organizations receiving at least 70% of the 
total points available for each evaluation criterion, in order to make 
a better assessment of the organization's capability to achieve the 
funding priorities for this competition; and
    C. Availability of funding.

Intergovernmental Review

    Applications under this program are not subject to Executive Order 
12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''

Limitation of Liability

    In no event will the Department of Commerce or MBDA be responsible 
for proposal preparation costs if this program is cancelled because of 
other Agency priorities. Publication of this announcement does not 
oblige the Department of Commerce or MBDA to award any specific project 
or to obligate any available funds.

Universal Identifier

    Applicants should be aware that they will be required to provide a 
Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering system (DUNS) number during 
the application process. See the June 27, 2003 Federal Register notice 
(68 FR 38402) for additional information. Organizations can receive a 
DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number 
request line at 1-866-705-5711 or by accessing the Grants.gov Web site 
at http://www.Grants.gov.

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 December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389) are applicable to this 
solicitation.

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, SF-LLL, and CD-346 have been approved by OMB under the 
respective control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046, 
and 0605-0001. Notwithstanding any other provisions 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 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.

Administrative Procedure Act/ Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required 
by the Administrative Procedure Act for rules concerning public 
property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts (5 U.S.C. 533(a)(2)). 
Because notice and opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 
5 U.S.C. 533 or any other law, the analytical requirements of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. 
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and has 
not been prepared.

    Dated: May 8, 2007.
Ronald N. Langston,
National Director, Minority Business Development Agency.
[FR Doc. E7-9096 Filed 5-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-21-P