[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 22 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9236-9238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02249]


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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION


Request for Letters of Intent To Apply for 2017 Technology 
Initiative Grant Funding

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues this Notice 
describing the process for submission of Letters of Intent to Apply for 
2017 funding from the LSC Technology Initiative Grant program. This 
notice and application information are posted at http://tinyurl.com/TIGProcess2017.

DATES: Deadline: Letters of Intent must be completed and submitted into 
the online system at http://lscgrants.lsc.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. 
EDT, Friday, March 13, 2017. The online system may experience technical 
difficulties due to heavy traffic on the day of the deadline. 
Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete LOI submissions as early 
as possible.
    LSC will not accept applications submitted after the application 
deadline unless an extension of the deadline has been approved in 
advance (see Waiver Authority). Therefore, allow sufficient time for 
online submission.
    LSC will provide confirmation via email upon receipt of the 
completed electronic submission of each Letter of Intent. Keep this 
email as verification that the program's LOI was submitted and 
received. If no confirmation email is received, inquire about the 
status of your LOI at [email protected].

ADDRESSES: Letters of Intent must be submitted electronically at http://lscgrants.lsc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the status of a 
current TIG project, contact Eric Mathison, Program Analyst, 202-295-
1535; [email protected].
    For questions about projects in CT, IL, IN, ME, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, 
OH, PA, RI, WI, WV, VT, contact David Bonebrake, Program Counsel, 202-
295-1547; [email protected].
    For questions about projects in AK, AZ, CA, CO, GU, HI, ID, IA, KS, 
MP, MN, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY, contact 
Glenn Rawdon, Senior Program Counsel, 202.295.1552; [email protected].
    For questions about projects in AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, 
MO, NC, PR, SC, TN, VI, VA, contact Jane Ribadeneyra, Program Analyst, 
202.295.1554, [email protected].
    If you have a general question, please email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary

    The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues this Notice describing 
the criteria governing submission and processing of Letters of Intent 
to Apply for Technology Initiative Grants (TIG). Since LSC's TIG 
program was established in 2000, LSC has made over 670 grants totaling 
more than $57 million. This grant program funds technology tools that 
help achieve LSC's goal of increasing the quantity and quality of legal 
services available to eligible persons. Projects funded under the TIG 
program develop, test, and replicate innovative technologies that can 
enable grant recipients and state justice communities to improve low-
income persons' access to high-quality legal assistance through an 
integrated and well managed technology system.

II. General Information

    The Legal Services Corporation awards Technology Initiative Grant 
funds through an open, competitive, and impartial selection process. 
All prospective applicants for 2017 TIG funds must submit a Letter of 
Intent to Apply (LOI) prior to submitting a formal application. The 
format and contents of the LOI should conform to the requirements 
specified below in Section IV.
    Through the LOI process, LSC selects those projects that have a 
reasonable chance of success in the competitive grant process based on 
LSC's analysis of the project description and other information 
provided in the LOI. LSC will solicit full proposals for the selected 
projects.

LSC Requirements

    Technology Initiative Grant funds are subject to all LSC 
requirements, including the requirements of the Legal Services 
Corporation Act (LSC Act), any applicable appropriations acts and any 
other applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, guidelines, 
instructions, and other directives of the Legal Services Corporation 
(LSC), including, but not limited to, the LSC Audit Guide for 
Recipients and Auditors, the Accounting Guide for LSC Recipients, the 
CSR Handbook, the 1981 LSC Property Manual (as amended) and the

[[Page 9237]]

Property Acquisition and Management Manual, with any amendments to the 
foregoing adopted before or during the period of the grant. Before 
submitting a Letter of Intent to Apply, applicants should be familiar 
with LSC's subgrant and transfer requirements at 45 CFR parts 1610 and 
1627 (see http://www.lsc.gov/about/laws-regulations/lsc-regulations-cfr-45-part-1600-et-seq), particularly as they pertain to payments of 
LSC funds to other entities for programmatic activities.
    For additional information and resources regarding TIG compliance, 
including transfers, subgrants, third-party contracting, conflicts of 
interest, grant modification procedures, and special TIG grant 
assurances, see LSC's TIG compliance Web page.

Eligible Applicants

    Only current LSC basic field grant recipients awarded at least a 
one-year basic field grant term are eligible to apply for TIG.
    LSC will not award a TIG to any applicant that is not in good 
standing on any existing TIG projects. Applicants must be up to date 
according to the milestone schedule on all existing TIG projects prior 
to submitting an LOI, or have requested and received an adjustment to 
the original milestone schedule. LSC will not award a TIG to any 
applicant that has not made satisfactory progress on prior TIGs. LSC 
recipients that have had a previous TIG terminated for failure to 
provide timely reports and submissions are not eligible to receive a 
TIG for three years after their earlier grant was terminated. This 
policy does not apply to applicants that worked with LSC to end a TIG 
early after an unsuccessful project implementation resulting from 
technology limitations, a failed proof of concept, or other reasons 
outside of the applicant's control.

Funding Availability

    The amount of TIG funding available will depend on the 2017 fiscal 
year appropriation to the LSC from Congress, which had not been 
determined by January 26, 2017, the date this notice was issued. The 
federal government is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution 
(CR) that expires April 28, 2017. The Continuing Resolution maintains 
funding at FY 2017 levels, which for TIG is $4 million, but with an 
across-the-board reduction of 0.19 percent, or $7,600 for TIG. In 2016, 
34 TIG projects received funding with a median funding amount of 
$87,211. (See TIG's past awards Web page for more information on past 
grants). LSC recommends a minimum amount for TIG funding requests of 
$40,000, but projects with lower budgets will be considered. There is 
no maximum amount for TIG funding requests that are within the total 
appropriation for TIG.

Collaborations

    The TIG program encourages applicants to reach out to and include 
in TIG projects others interested in access to justice--the courts, bar 
associations, pro bono projects, libraries, and social service 
agencies. Partnerships can enhance the reach, effectiveness, and 
sustainability of many projects.

Grant Categories

    LSC will accept projects in two application categories:

(1) Innovations and Improvements
(2) Replication and Adaptation

Grant Category 1: Innovations and Improvements

    The Innovations and Improvements Category is designated for 
projects that: (1) Implement new or innovative approaches for using 
technology in legal services delivery; or (2) enhance the effectiveness 
and efficiency of existing technologies so that they may be better used 
to increase the quality and quantity of services to clients.
    Although there is no funding limit or matching requirement for 
applications in this category, additional weight is given to projects 
with strong support from partners. Proposals for initiatives with broad 
applicability and/or that would have impact throughout the legal 
services community are strongly encouraged.

Grant Category 2: Replication and Adaptation

    The Replication and Adaptation category is for proposals that seek 
to replicate, adapt, or provide added value to the work of prior 
technology projects. This includes, but is not limited to, the 
implementation and improvement of tested methodologies and technologies 
from previous TIG projects. Applicants may also replicate technology 
projects funded outside of the TIG program, including sectors outside 
the legal aid community, such as social services organizations, the 
broader non-profit community, and the private sector.
    Project proposals in the Replication and Adaptation category may 
include, but are not limited to:

A: Replication of Previous TIG Projects

    LSC requires that any original software developed with TIG funding 
be available to other legal services programs at little or no cost. 
Applicants should look to previous successful TIG projects and 
determine how they could be replicated at a reduced cost from the 
original project, and/or how they could be expanded and/or enhanced. 
Projects where original software or content has already been created 
lend themselves to replication, and LSC encourages programs to look to 
these projects to see how they could benefit the delivery systems in 
their state.

B: Automated Form Replication

    LawHelp Interactive (LHI) LHI is an automated document server 
powered by HotDocs Server and made available to any LSC funded program 
at no charge. LHI is deployed across the country with thousands of 
active HotDocs templates and A2J Author modules hosted on the LawHelp 
Interactive National HotDocs Server at https://lawhelpinteractive.org. 
Despite differences from state to state in the content and format, many 
of these forms can be edited for use in other jurisdictions with less 
effort, hence at a lower cost, than developing the form from scratch.
    Even if a form differs from one state to another, the information 
needed to populate a form will, for the most part, be similar. (What 
are the names of the plaintiff, the defendant, the children, etc.?). 
This means the interviews are more easily replicated than form 
templates. All of these form templates and interviews are available to 
be modified as needed. Applicants should identify which forms and 
templates are to be adapted, and then estimate the cost to do this and 
compare that to the cost of developing them from scratch.
    LHI has the capacity to support Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin and 
Korean language interviews. In addition, LHI has been integrated with 
other systems to allow the flow of information between LHI and court e-
filing systems and legal aid case management systems. The ``Connect'' 
feature enables pro bono programs from across a state to use LHI 
interviews and forms to assign pre-screened pro bono cases and their 
documents to panel attorneys. For additional information, including 
examples, best practices, models and training materials, see the 
LawHelp Interactive Resource Center at http://www.probono.net/dasupport 
(you may need to request a free membership to access this Web site).

C: Replication of Technology Projects in Other Sectors

    In addition to replicating other TIG funded technology projects, 
LSC encourages replication of proven technologies from non-LSC funded 
legal

[[Page 9238]]

aid organizations as well as sectors outside the legal aid community. 
Ideas for replication may be found through resources and organizations 
such as the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project 
(LSNTAP), the American Bar Association, international legal aid 
providers such as the Legal Services Society of British Columbia and 
HiiL's Innovating Justice project, Idealware (see the article on 
Unleashing Innovation), NTEN, and TechSoup.

III. Area of Interest--Projects That Respond to LSC's Statewide Web 
Site Evaluation

    Through support from the Ford Foundation, LSC worked closely over 
the last year with a user-centered research and design agency to assess 
the quality and usability of statewide legal aid Web sites across the 
country. By February 8, 2017, LSC will share individual assessment 
results with each Web site and provide sites and stakeholders access to 
a toolkit and set of how-to guides for implementing the findings and 
recommendations from the evaluation.
    This area of interest focuses on projects that build on the key 
insights from the assessment to improve statewide Web site(s). Projects 
may address enhancements to an individual statewide Web site and/or to 
one of the national legal aid Web site templates (LawHelp or DLAW-
OpenAdvocate). Proposals should demonstrate how the proposed project 
responds to one or more of the nine focus areas identified through the 
assessment: 1. Plain Language; 2. Language Access; 3. Content 
Presentation; 4. Accessibility; 5. User Support; 6. Mobile Friendly; 7. 
Community Engagement; 8. Ease of Navigation; and 9. Visual Design & 
Iconography. In addition, proposals should highlight how the project 
will enhance the quality of user experience on the statewide Web site 
and how the improvements to the site will be measured. LSC welcomes 
both new Web site innovations and replications of successful 
initiatives under this area of interest.

IV. Specific Letter of Intent To Apply Requirements

One Project per Letter of Intent

    Applicants may submit multiple LOIs, but a separate LOI should be 
submitted for each project for which funding is sought.

Letter Requirements and Format

    Letters of Intent must be submitted using the online system at 
http://lscgrants.lsc.gov. Additional instructions and information can 
be found on the TIG Web site. This system will walk you through the 
process of creating a simple two-page LOI. The LOI should concisely 
provide the following information about the proposed project:
    1. Category--select the appropriate category from the drop down 
list.
    2. Description of Project (maximum 2500 characters)--Briefly 
describe the basic elements of the project, including the specific 
technology(ies) the project will develop or implement; how they will be 
developed, how they will operate, the function they will serve within 
the legal services delivery system, their expected impact, and other 
similar factors. (Only the impact should be highlighted here; more 
details about the system's benefits should be provided below.)
    3. Major Benefits (maximum 2500 characters)--Describe the specific 
ways in which the project will increase or improve services to clients 
and/or enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of legal aid 
organization operations. To the extent feasible, discuss both the 
qualitative and quantitative aspects of these benefits.
    4. Estimated Costs (maximum 1500 characters)--This should include 
the amount of funding you are seeking from the TIG program, followed by 
the estimated total project cost, summarizing the anticipated costs of 
the major components of the project. List anticipated contributions, 
both in-kind and monetary, from all partners involved in the project.
    5. Major Partners (maximum 1500 characters)--Identify organizations 
that are expected to be important partners. Specify the role(s) each 
partner will play.
    6. Innovation/Replication (maximum 1500 characters)--Identify how 
and why the proposed project is new and innovative and/or is a 
replication or adaptation of a previous technology project. Identify 
how and why the proposed project can significantly benefit and/or be 
replicated by other legal services providers and/or the legal services 
community at large.

Selection Process

    LSC will initially review all Letters of Intent to Apply to 
determine whether they conform to the required format and clearly 
present all of the required elements listed and described above. 
Failure to meet these requirements may result in rejection of the 
Letter of Intent.
    LSC will review each Letter of Intent to identify those projects 
likely to improve access to justice, or to improve the efficiency, 
effectiveness, and quality of legal services provided by grantees. The 
Letters of Intent will also be reviewed to determine the extent to 
which the project proposed is clearly described and well thought out, 
offers major benefits to our targeted client community, is cost-
effective, involves all of the parties needed to make it successful and 
sustainable, and is either innovative or a cost-effective replication 
of prior successful projects. LSC will invite those applicants that 
satisfy these criteria to submit full applications.

Next Steps for Successful Applicants

    LSC will notify successful applicants by April 21, 2017. Successful 
applicants will have until 11:59 p.m. EDT, Monday, June 5, 2017, to 
complete and submit full applications in the online application system.

Waiver Authority

    LSC, upon its own initiative or when requested, may waive 
provisions in this Notice at its sole discretion. Waivers may be 
granted only for requirements that are discretionary and not mandated 
by statute or regulation. Any request for a waiver must set forth the 
reason for the request and be included in the application. LSC will not 
consider a request to extend the deadline for a Letter of Intent to 
Apply unless the extension request is received by LSC prior to the 
deadline.

    Dated: January 30, 2017.
Mark F. Freedman,
Senior Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-02249 Filed 2-2-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7050-01-P