[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13085-13087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5890]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
[Docket No. 100305127-0127-01]
Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite
(PEACESAT): Closing Date
AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Public
Law No. 111-117, the U.S. Department of Commerce announces the
solicitation of applications for a grant for the Pan-Pacific Education
and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program.
Projects funded pursuant to this Notice are intended to support the
PEACESAT Program's acquisition of satellite communications to service
Pacific Basin communities and to manage the operations of this network.
Applications for the PEACESAT Program grant will compete for funds from
the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds
account.
DATES: Applications must be received on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time, May 3, 2010. Applications submitted by facsimile are not
acceptable. NTIA will not accept applications received after the
deadline. However, if an application is received after the Closing Date
due to (1) carrier error, when the carrier accepted the package with a
guarantee for delivery by the Closing Date and Time, or (2) significant
weather delays or natural disasters, NTIA will, upon receipt of proper
documentation, consider the application as having been received by the
deadline.
ADDRESSES: To obtain a printed application package, submit completed
applications, or send any other correspondence, write to: NTIA/PTFP,
Room H-4812, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20230. Application materials may be obtained
electronically via the Internet at www.grants.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cooperman, Director, Public
Broadcasting Division, telephone: (202) 482-5802; fax: (202) 482-2156.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
The full federal funding opportunity announcement for the PEACESAT
Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 grant cycle is available through www.grants.gov
or by contacting NTIA at the address noted above. Application materials
may be obtained electronically via the Internet at www.grants.gov.
Program Description
Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Public Law
No. 111-117, the U.S. Department of Commerce announces the solicitation
of applications for a grant for the PEACESAT Program. Projects funded
pursuant to this Notice are intended to support the PEACESAT Program's
acquisition of satellite communications to service Pacific Basin
communities and to manage the operations of this network. Applications
for the PEACESAT Program grant will compete for funds from the Public
Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds account.
Funding Availability
Funding for the PEACESAT Program is provided pursuant to the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Public Law No. 111-117 and
Public Law No. 106-113, ``The Consolidated Appropriations Act, Fiscal
Year 2000.'' Public Law No. 106-113 provides ``That, hereafter,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Pan-Pacific Education
and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program is
eligible to compete for Public Broadcasting Facilities, Planning and
Construction funds.''
The Congress has appropriated $18 million for FY 2010 Public
Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) and PEACESAT awards. Of
this amount, NTIA anticipates making a single award for approximately
$500,000 for the PEACESAT Program in FY 2010. For FY 2009, NTIA issued
one award for the PEACESAT project in the amount of $499,641.
Statutory and Regulatory Authority
The PEACESAT Program was authorized under Public Law No. 100-584
(102 Stat. 2970) and also Public Law
[[Page 13086]]
No. 101-555 (104 Stat. 2758) to acquire satellite communications
services to provide educational, medical, and cultural needs of Pacific
Basin communities. The PEACESAT Program has been operational since 1971
and has received funding from NTIA for support of the project since
1988.
Applications submitted in response to this solicitation for
PEACESAT applications are exempt from the PTFP regulations at 15 CFR
Part 2301.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Not Applicable.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants will include any for-profit or non-profit
organization, public or private entity, other than an agency or
division of the Federal Government. Individuals are not eligible to
apply for the PEACESAT Program funds.
Evaluation and Selection Process
The Public Broadcasting Division (PBD) administers the PEACESAT
Program and places a summary of applications received on the Internet
at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/peacesat/peacesat.html. Listing an
application merely acknowledges receipt of an application to compete
for funding with other applications. Listing does not preclude
subsequent return of the application for failure to meet application
requirements and does not assure that the application will be funded.
The listing will also include a request for comments on the
applications from any interested party.
Each eligible application is evaluated by three independent
reviewers who have demonstrated expertise in the programmatic and
technological aspects of the application. The reviewers will evaluate
applications according to the evaluation criteria in the following
section and provide individual written ratings of each application. No
consensus advice will be provided by the reviewers. State Single Point
of Contact (SPOC) offices, per Executive Order 12372, may provide
recommendations on applications under consideration.
The PBD program staff prepares a rank order of all applications
according to the scores submitted by the independent reviewers. The PBD
program staff then prepares written summary recommendations for the
Director of the Public Broadcasting Division (PBD Director). These
recommendations incorporate the independent reviewers' ratings and
analysis of the degree to which a proposed project meets the PEACESAT
Program purposes, as described above in the Program Description, and
applicable cost principles. Staff recommendations also consider (1)
project impact, (2) the cost/benefit of a project, and (3) whether the
reviewers consistently applied the evaluation criteria.
The PBD Director considers the program staff's summary
recommendations in accordance with the funding priorities and selection
factors referenced in the next section and recommends the funding order
of the applications for the PEACESAT Programs in three categories:
``Recommended for Funding,'' ``Recommended for Funding If Funds Are
Available,'' and ``Not Recommended for Funding.'' The PBD Director
presents recommendations to the Associate Administrator, Office of
Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA Associate
Administrator), for review and approval.
Upon review and approval based on the funding priorities and
selection factors referenced in the next section by the OTIA Associate
Administrator, the OTIA Associate Administrator's and the PBD
Director's recommendations are presented to the Selecting Official, the
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, who is the NTIA
Administrator. The Selecting Official then makes the final award
selections taking into consideration these recommendations and the
degree to which the slate of applications, taken as a whole, satisfies
the stated purposes for the PEACESAT Program.
Prior to award, applications may be negotiated between NTIA and the
applicant to resolve any differences between the original request and
what NTIA is willing to consider funding. Some applications may be
dropped from the slate due to lack of Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) authorization, an applicant's inability to make adequate
assurances or certifications, or other reasons. Negotiation of an
application does not ensure that a final award will be made.
The Program will not award a grant until it has received
confirmation that the FCC will issue any necessary authorization.
After final award selections have been made, the Agency will notify
the applicant of one of the following actions:
(1) Selection of the application for funding, in whole or in part;
(2) Deferral of the application for subsequent consideration; or
(3) Rejection of the application with an explanation and the
reason, e.g., if an applicant is not eligible or if the proposed
project does not fall within the purposes of the PEACESAT program.
Funding Priorities and Selection Factors
The PBD Director will consider the summary evaluations prepared by
program staff, rank the applications, and present recommendations to
the OTIA Associate Administrator for review and approval. The PBD
Director's recommendations and the OTIA Associate Administrator's
review and approval will take into account the following selection
factors:
(1) The program staff evaluations, including the outside reviewers;
(2) Whether the applicant has any current NTIA grants;
(3) The geographic distribution of the proposed grant awards; and
(4) The availability of funds.
The Selection Official considers these recommendations and whether
the proposed awards satisfy the PEACESAT program purposes.
Evaluation Criteria
Each eligible application that is timely received, is materially
complete, and proposes an eligible project will be considered under the
evaluation criteria described here. The first three criteria -- 1.
Meeting the Purposes of the PEACESAT Program, 2. Extent of Need for the
Project, and 3. Plan of Operation for the Project -- are each worth 25
points. Criterion 4, Budget and Cost Effectiveness, is worth 20 points.
Criterion 5, Quality of Key Personnel, is worth 5 points.
Criterion 1. Meeting the Purposes of the PEACESAT Program.
The extent to which the project meets the purposes of the PEACESAT
Program including consideration of: (i) how well the proposal meets the
objectives of the PEACESAT Program; and (ii) how the objectives of the
proposal further the purposes of the PEACESAT Program.
Criterion 2. Extent of Need for the Project.
The extent to which the project meets the needs of the PEACESAT
Program, including consideration of: (i) the needs addressed by the
project; (ii) how the applicant identifies those needs; (iii) how those
needs will be met by the project; and (iv) the benefits to be gained by
meeting those needs.
Criterion 3. Plan of Operation for the Project.
The extent to which the project meets the plan of operation for the
project, including consideration of: (i) the quality of the design of
the project; (ii)
[[Page 13087]]
the extent to which the plan of management is effective and ensures
proper and efficient administration of the project; (iii) how well the
objectives of the project relate to the purposes of the PEACESAT
Program; (iv) the quality of the applicant's plan to use its resources
and personnel to achieve each objective; and (v) how the applicant will
ensure that project participants who are otherwise eligible to
participate are selected without regard to race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability.
Criterion 4. Budget and Cost Effectiveness.
The extent to which: (i) the budget is adequate to support the
project; and (ii) costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives of
the project.
Criterion 5. Quality of Key Personnel.
The extent to which the applicant plans to use on the project,
including: (i) the qualifications of the project director if one is to
be used; (ii) the qualifications of each of the other key personnel to
be used in the project; (iii) the time that each person will commit to
the project; and (iv) how the applicant, as part of its
nondiscriminatory employment practices, will ensure that its personnel
are selected for employment without regard to race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability. As used in this section,
``qualifications'' refers to experience and training in fields related
to the objectives of the project, and any other qualifications that
pertain to the quality of the project.
Cost Sharing Requirements
Grant recipients under this program will not be required to provide
matching funds toward the total project cost.
The costs allowable under this Notice are not subject to the
limitation on costs contained in the December 2, 2009, Notice regarding
the PTFP Program, see 74 FR 163120 (2009).
Intergovernmental Review
PEACESAT 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, the submission to the SPOC needs to be only the first two
pages of the Application Form, but applicants should contact their own
SPOC offices to ensure compliance with its requirements. The names and
addresses of the SPOC offices are listed on the PTFP website and at the
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) home page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc.
Universal Identifier
All applicants (nonprofits, state and local governments,
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 at www.fedgov.dnb.com/webform.
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification of Requirements
for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register
notice of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696) 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 cancelled 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.
Paperwork Reduction Act
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 Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), unless that
collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. The PEACESAT
application package requires the use of the following forms: SF-424,
SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL. These forms have been approved under the
respective OMB Control Nos. 4040-0004, 4040-0006, and 4040-0007.
Executive Order 13132
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
Prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not required by
the Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning
grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. Sec. 553(a)). Because notice
and opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Sec.
553 or any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable.
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not been prepared.
Dated: March 12, 2010.
Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information
Applications.
[FR Doc. 2010-5890 Filed 3-18-10; 8:45 am]
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