[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31606-31612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14044]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Docket ID FEMA-2019-0008]
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program; Fire Prevention and
Safety Grants
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of guidance.
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SUMMARY: This Notice provides guidelines that describe the application
process for grants and the criteria the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) will use for awarding Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S)
grants in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Assistance to Firefighters Grant
(AFG) Program. It explains the differences, if any, between these
guidelines and those recommended by representatives of the Nation's
fire service leadership during the annual Criteria Development meeting,
which was held January 16-18, 2018. The application period for the FY
2018 FP&S Grant Program was open from November 12, 2018 to December 21,
2018, and was announced on the AFG website (www.fema.gov/firegrants),
www.grants.gov, and the U.S. Fire Administration website
(www.usfa.fema.gov).
DATES: Grant applications for the FP&S Grant Program were accepted
electronically at https://portal.fema.gov, from November 12, 2018 at
8:00 a.m. ET to December 21, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
ADDRESSES: Assistance to Firefighters Grants Branch, DHS/FEMA, 400 C
Street SW, 3N, Washington, DC 20472-3635.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Patterson, Chief, Assistance
to Firefighters Grants Branch, 1-866-274-0960.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the FP&S Program is to
[[Page 31607]]
reduce fire and fire-related injuries and prevent deaths among the
public and firefighters by assisting fire prevention programs and
supporting firefighter health and safety research and development. The
FEMA Grant Programs Directorate administers the FP&S Grant Program as
part of the AFG Program.
FP&S Grants are offered to support projects in two activities:
1. Activities designed to reach high-risk target groups and
mitigate the incidence of death, injuries, and property damage caused
by fire and fire-related hazards (``FP&S Activity'').
2. Projects aimed at improving firefighter safety, health, or
wellness through research and development that reduces firefighter
fatalities and injuries (``R&D Activity'').
The grant program's authorizing statute requires that DHS publish
in the Federal Register each year the guidelines that describe the
application process and the criteria for grant awards. While the
application period has closed, the FY 2018 Fire Prevention and Safety
Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and application tools are
posted online and available for download at www.fema.gov/firegrants and
at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID: FEMA-2019-0008.
Appropriations
Congress appropriated $350,000,000 for AFG in FY 2018 pursuant to
the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018, Public
Law 115-141. From this amount, $35,000,000 will be made available for
FP&S Grant awards, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 2229(h)(5), which states that
not less than 10 percent of available grant funds each year are awarded
under the FP&S Grant Program. Funds appropriated for all FY 2018 AFG
awards, pursuant to Public Law 115-141, will be available for
obligation and award until September 30, 2019.
From the approximately 800 applications that requested assistance,
FEMA anticipates that it will award approximately 150 FP&S Grants from
available grant funding.
Background of the AFG Program
DHS awards grants on a competitive basis to applicants that best
address the FP&S Grant Program's priorities and provide the most
compelling justification. Applications that best address the Program's
priorities will be reviewed by a panel composed of fire service
personnel.
Award Criteria
All applications for grants were prepared and submitted through the
AFG e-Grant application portal (https://portal.fema.gov).
The FP&S Grant Program panels will review the applications and
score them using the following criteria areas:
Financial Need
Vulnerability Statement
Implementation Plan
Evaluation Plan
Cost-Benefit
Funding Priorities
The applications submitted under the R&D Activity will be reviewed
first by a panel of fire service members to identify those applications
most relevant to the fire service. The following evaluation criteria
will be used for this review:
Purpose
Potential Impact
Implementation by the Fire Service
Partners
Barriers
The applications that are determined most likely to enable
improvement in firefighter safety, health, or wellness will be deemed
to be in the ``competitive range'' and forwarded to the second level of
application review, which is the scientific panel review process. This
panel will be comprised of scientists and technology experts who have
expertise pertaining to the subject matter of the proposal.
The Scientific Technical Evaluation Panel for the R&D Activity will
review the application and evaluate it using the following criteria:
Project goals, objectives, and specific aims
Literature Review
Project Methods
Project Measurements
Project Analysis
Dissemination and Implementation
Cost vs. Benefit (additional consideration)
Financial Need (additional consideration)
Mentoring (additional consideration for Early Career
Investigator Projects only)
Eligible Applicants
Under the FY 2018 FP&S Grant Program, eligible applicants were
limited to those entities described below within each activity:
1. Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Activity: Eligible applicants
for this activity included fire departments; and national, regional,
State, local, federally recognized tribal, and nonprofit organizations
that are recognized for their experience and expertise in fire
prevention and safety programs and activities. Both private and public
non-profit organizations were eligible to apply for funding in this
activity. For-profit organizations, Federal agencies, and individuals
were not eligible to receive a FP&S Grant Award under the FP&S
Activity.
2. Firefighter Safety Research and Development (R&D) Activity:
Eligible applicants for this activity included national, State, local,
federally recognized tribal, and nonprofit organizations, such as
academic (e.g., universities), public health, occupational health, and
injury prevention institutions. Both private and public non-profit
organizations were eligible to apply for funding in this activity.
The aforementioned entities were encouraged to apply, especially
those that are recognized for their experience and expertise in
firefighter safety, health, and wellness research and development
activities. Fire departments were not eligible to apply for funding in
the R&D activity. Additionally, for-profit organizations, Federal
agencies, and individuals were not eligible to receive a grant award
under the R&D Activity.
Funding Limitations
Awards are limited to a maximum federal share of $1.5 million
dollars, regardless of applicant type, in accordance with 15 U.S.C.
2229(d)(2). FP&S Research and Development applicants that applied under
the Early Career Investigator category are limited to a maximum federal
share of $75,000 per project year.
Cost Sharing
Grant recipients must share in the costs of the projects funded
under this grant program as required by 15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(1) and in
accordance with 2 CFR 200.101(b)(1), but they were not required to have
the cost-share at the time of application nor are they required to have
it at the time of award. However, before a grant is awarded, FEMA may
contact potential awardees to determine whether the grant recipient has
the funding in hand or whether the grant recipient has a viable plan to
obtain the funding necessary to fulfill the cost-sharing requirement.
In general, an eligible applicant seeking an FP&S grant to carry
out an activity shall agree to make available non-Federal funds to
carry out such activity in an amount equal to, and not less than, 5
percent of the grant awarded. Cash match and in-kind matches are both
allowable in the FP&S
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Grant Program. Cash (hard) matches include non-Federal cash spent for
project-related costs. In-kind (soft) matches include, but are not
limited to, the valuation of in-kind services; complementary
activities; and provision of staff, facilities, services, material, or
equipment. In-kind is the value of something received or provided that
does not have a cost associated with it. For example, where an in-kind
match (other than cash payments) is permitted, then the value of
donated services could be used to comply with the match requirement.
Also, third party in-kind contributions may count toward satisfying
match requirements provided the grant recipient receiving the
contributions expends them as allowable costs in compliance with
provisions listed above.
Grant recipients under this program must also agree to a
maintenance of effort requirement per 15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(3) (referred to
as a ``maintenance of expenditure'' requirement in that statute). Per
this requirement, a grant recipient shall agree to maintain during the
term of the grant, the grant recipient's aggregate expenditures
relating to the activities allowable under the FP&S NOFO at not less
than 80 percent of the average amount of such expenditures in the 2
fiscal years preceding the fiscal year in which the grant amounts are
received.
In cases of demonstrated economic hardship and upon the request of
the grant recipient, the FEMA Administrator may waive or reduce certain
grant recipient's cost share or maintenance of expenditure requirements
(15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(4)(A)). As required by 15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(4)(B), the
Administrator established guidelines for determining what constitutes
economic hardship and published these guidelines at FEMA's website
www.fema.gov/grants. Per 15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(4)(C), FP&S nonprofit
organization grant recipients that are not fire departments or
emergency medical services organizations are not eligible to receive a
waiver of their cost share or economic hardship requirements.
System for Award Management (SAM)
Per 2 CFR 25.200, all grant applicants and recipients were required
to register in https://SAM.gov, which is available free of charge. They
must maintain validated information in SAM that is consistent with the
data provided in their AFG grant application and in the Dun &
Bradstreet (DUNS) database. FEMA required active SAM registration at
the time of application, and will not process any awards, consider any
payment or amendment requests, or consider any amendment unless the
applicant or grant recipient has complied with the requirements to
provide a valid DUNS number and an active SAM registration with current
information. The banking information, employer identification number
(EIN), organization/entity name, address, and DUNS number provided in
the application must match the information that is provided in SAM.
Application Process
Applicants were only permitted to submit one application, but were
permitted to submit for up to three projects under each activity (FP&S
and R&D). Any applicant that submitted more than one application may
have all applications deemed ineligible.
Under the FP&S Activity, applicants could apply under the following
categories:
Community Risk Reduction
Fire & Arson Investigation
Code Enforcement/Awareness
National/State/Regional Programs and Studies
Under the R&D Activity, applicants could apply under the following
categories:
Clinical Studies
Technology and Product Development
Database System Development
Dissemination and Implementation Research
Preliminary Studies
Early Career Investigator
Prior to the start of the FY 2018 FP&S Grant Program application
period, FEMA provided applicants with technical assistance tools
(available at the AFG website: www.fema.gov/firegrants) and other
online information to help them prepare quality grant applications. AFG
staffed a Help Desk throughout the application period to assist
applicants with navigation through the automated application as well as
assistance with related questions. The AFG Help Desk can be reached
year-round through a toll-free telephone number (1-866-274-0960) or
email ([email protected]).
Applicants were advised to access the application electronically at
https://portal.fema.gov. The application was also accessible from the
Grants.gov website (http://www.grants.gov). New applicants were
required to register and establish a username and password for secure
access to their application. Applicants that applied to any previous
AFG or Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
funding opportunities were required to use their previously established
usernames and passwords when applying for an FP&S grant.
In completing an application under this funding opportunity,
applicants were asked to provide relevant information on their
organization's characteristics and existing capabilities. Those
applicants were asked to answer questions about their grant request
that reflected the funding priorities, described below. In addition,
applicants were required to complete narratives for each project or
grant activity requested.
The following are the funding priorities for each category under
the FP&S Activity:
Community Risk Reduction--Under the Community Risk
Reduction category there are three funding priorities:
[cir] Priority will be given to programs that target a specific
high-risk population to conduct both door-to-door smoke alarm
installations and provide home safety inspections, as part of a
comprehensive home fire safety campaign.
[cir] Priority will be given to programs that include sprinkler
awareness that affect the entire community, such as educating the
public about residential sprinklers, promoting residential sprinklers,
and demonstrating working models of residential sprinklers.
[cir] Priority will be given to programs to conduct community-
appropriate comprehensive risk assessments and risk reduction planning.
Code Enforcement/Awareness--These are projects that focus
on first time or reinstatement of code adoption and code enforcement,
including Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) codes for communities with a
WUI-wildfire risk.
Fire & Arson Investigation--These are projects that aim to
aggressively investigate every fire.
National/State/Regional Programs and Studies--These are
projects that focus on residential fire issues and/or firefighter
behavior and wellness.
Under the R&D Activity, in order to identify and address the most
important elements of firefighter safety, FEMA looked to the fire
service for its input and recommendations. In June 2005, the National
Fallen Firefighters' Foundation (NFFF) hosted a working group to
facilitate the development of an agenda for the Nation's fire service,
and in particular for firefighter safety. In November 2015, the NFFF
hosted its third working group to update the agenda with current
priorities. A copy of the research agenda is available on the NFFF
website at http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/resources/research-symposium-reports/.
All proposed projects, regardless of whether they have been
identified by this working group, will be evaluated on
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their relevance to firefighter health and safety, and scientific rigor.
The electronic application process permitted the applicant to enter
and save the application data. The system did not permit the submission
of incomplete applications. Except for the narrative textboxes, the
application contained a ``point-and-click'' selection process or
required the entry of data (e.g., name and address). Applicants were
encouraged to read the FP&S NOFO for more details.
Criteria Development Process
Each year, DHS convenes a panel of fire service professionals to
develop the funding priorities and other implementation criteria for
AFG. The Criteria Development Panel is composed of representatives from
nine major fire service organizations that are charged with making
recommendations to FEMA regarding the creation of new funding
priorities, the modification of existing funding priorities, and the
development of criteria for awarding grants. The nine major fire
service organizations represented on the panel:
Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI)
International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)
International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI)
National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD)
The FY 2018 criteria development panel meeting occurred January 16-
18, 2018. The content of the FY 2018 FP&S Notice of Funding Opportunity
reflects the implementation of the Criteria Development Panel's
recommendations with respect to the priorities, direction, and criteria
for awards. All of the funding priorities for the FY 2018 FP&S Grant
Program are designed to address the following:
First responder safety
Enhancing national capabilities
Risk
Interoperability
Changes for FY 2018
FY 2018 FP&S Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement
(1) New performance metrics for each Activity within the FP&S Grant
Program have been added to better measure the impact of grant funding
on fire prevention and firefighter safety.
(2) Under the FP&S Activity, clarification has been provided that
Risk Assessments can include Wildland and Wildland Urban Interface Risk
Assessments.
Application Review Process and Considerations
The program's authorizing statute requires that each year DHS
publish in the Federal Register a description of the grant application
process and the criteria for grant awards. This information is provided
below.
DHS will review and evaluate all FP&S applications submitted using
the funding priorities and evaluation criteria described in this
document, which are based on recommendations from the AFG Criteria
Development Panel.
Peer Review Process
Peer Review Panel Process--Fire Prevention and Safety Activity
All FP&S activity applications will be evaluated by a peer review
process. A panel of peer reviewers is composed of fire service
representatives recommended by the Criteria Development Panel. These
reviewers will assess each application's merits with respect to the
detail provided in the Narrative Statement on the activity, including
the evaluation elements listed in the Evaluation Criteria identified
below. The panel will independently score each project within the
application, discuss the merits and/or shortcomings of the application,
and document the findings. A consensus is not required.
Peer Review Panel Process--Research and Development Activity
R&D applications will go through a two-phase review process. First,
all applications will be reviewed by a panel of fire service experts to
assess the need for the research results and the likelihood that the
results would be implemented by the fire service in the United States.
Applications that are deemed likely to be implemented to enable
improvement in firefighter safety, health, or wellness will be deemed
to be in the ``competitive range'' and will be forwarded to the second
level of project review, which is the science review panel process.
This panel will be composed of scientists and technology experts who
have expertise pertaining to the subject matter of the proposal.
Scientific reviewers will independently score applications in the
competitive range and, if necessary, discuss the merits or shortcomings
of the project in order to reconcile any major discrepancies identified
by the reviewers. A consensus is not required.
Technical Evaluation Process
The highest ranked projects from both Activities will be deemed in
the fundable range. Applications that are in the fundable range will
undergo a Technical Review by the FEMA Program Office prior to being
recommended for award. The FEMA Program Office will assess the request
with respect to costs, quantities, feasibility, eligibility, and
recipient responsibility prior to recommending any application for
award.
Once the review process is complete, each project's score will be
determined and a final ranking of project applications will be created.
FEMA will award grants based on this final ranking. Award announcements
will be made on a rolling basis until all available grant funds have
been committed. Awards will not be made in any specified order. DHS
will notify unsuccessful applicants as soon as it is feasible.
Evaluation Criteria for Projects--Fire Prevention and Safety Activity
Funding decisions will be informed by an assessment of how well the
application addressed the criteria and considerations listed below.
Applications will be reviewed by the peer reviewers using weighted
evaluation criteria to score the project. These scores will impact the
ranking of a project for funding.
The relative weight of the evaluation criteria in the determination
of the grant award is listed below.
Financial Need (10%): Applicants should have provided
details on the need for financial assistance to carry out the proposed
project(s). Included in the description might be other unsuccessful
attempts to acquire financial assistance or specific examples of the
applicant's operational budget.
Vulnerability Statement (25%): The assessment of fire risk
is essential in the development of an effective project goal, as well
as meeting FEMA's goal to reduce risk by conducting a risk assessment
as a basis for action. Vulnerability is a ``weak link'' demonstrating
high risk behavior, living conditions or any type of high risk
situation or behavior. The Vulnerability Statement should have included
a description of the steps taken to determine the vulnerability (weak
link) and identify the target audience. The methodology for
determination of vulnerability (i.e., how the weak link
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was found) should have been discussed in-depth in the application's
Narrative Statement.
[cir] The specific vulnerability (weak link) that will be addressed
with the proposed project can be established through a formal or
informal risk assessment. FEMA encouraged the use of local statistics,
rather than national statistics, when discussing the vulnerability.
[cir] The applicant should have summarized the vulnerability
(weakness) the project will address in a clear, to-the-point statement
that addresses who is at risk, what the risks are, where the risks are,
and how the risks can be prevented, reduced, or mitigated.
[cir] For the purpose of the FY 2018 FP&S NOFO, formal risk
assessments must have included either the use of software programs or
recognized expert analysis that assess risk trends.
[cir] Informal risk assessments could have included an in-house
review of available data (e.g., National Fire Incident Reporting
System) to determine fire loss, burn injuries or loss of life over a
period of time, and the factors that are the cause and origin for each
occurrence.
Implementation Plan (25%): Projects should have provided
details on the implementation plan, discussing the proposed project's
goals and objectives. The following information should have been
included to support the implementation plan:
[cir] Goals and objectives.
[cir] Details regarding the methods and specific steps that will be
used to achieve the goals and objectives.
[cir] Timelines outlining the chronological project steps.
[cir] Where applicable, examples of marketing efforts to promote
the project, who will deliver the project (e.g., effective
partnerships), and the manner in which materials or deliverables will
be distributed.
[cir] Requests for props (i.e., tools used in educational or
awareness demonstrations), including specific goals, measurable
results, and details on the frequency for which the prop will be
utilized as part of the implementation plan. Applicants should have
included information describing the efforts that will be used to reach
the high risk audience and/or the number of people reached through the
proposed project.
Evaluation Plan (25%): Projects should have included an
evaluation of effectiveness and should have identified measurable
goals. Applicants seeking to carry out awareness and educational
projects, for example, should have identified how they intend to
determine that there has been an increase in knowledge about fire
hazards, or measure a change in the safety behaviors of the audience.
Applicants should have demonstrated how they will measure risk at the
outset of the project in comparison to how much the risk decreased
after the project is finished. There are various ways to measure the
knowledge gained including the use of surveys, pre- and post-tests, or
documented observations.
Cost-Benefit (10%): Projects will be evaluated based on
how well the applicant addressed the fire prevention needs of the
department or organization in an economical and efficient manner. The
applicant should have shown how it will maximize the level of funding
that goes directly into the delivery of the project. The costs
associated with the project must also be reasonable for the target
audience that will be reached, and a description of how the anticipated
benefit(s) of their projects outweighs the cost(s) of the requested
item(s) should have been included. The application should have provided
justification for all costs included in the project in order to assist
the FEMA Program Office with the Technical Evaluation Panel review.
Funding Priorities (5%): Applicants will be evaluated on
whether the proposed project meets the stated funding priority (listed
below) for the applicable category.
[cir] Community Risk Reduction Priority: Comprehensive home fire
safety campaign with door-to-door smoke alarm installations and/or
sprinkler awareness and/or community risk assessments.
[cir] Fire/Arson Investigation Priority: Projects that aim to
aggressively investigate every fire.
[cir] Code Enforcement/Awareness Priority: Projects that focus on
first time or reinstatement of code adoption and code enforcement,
including Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) codes for communities with a
WUI-wildfire risk.
[cir] National/State/Regional Programs and Studies Priority:
Projects that focus on residential fire issues, and/or firefighter
safety and wellness projects or strategies that are designed to
measurably change firefighter behavior and decision-making.
[ssquf] Meeting the needs of people with disabilities (additional
consideration): Applicants in the Community Risk Reduction category
will receive additional consideration if, as part of their
comprehensive smoke alarm installation and education program, they
address the needs of people with disabilities (e.g., deaf/hard-of-
hearing) in their community.
[ssquf] Experience and Expertise (additional consideration):
Applicants that demonstrated their experience and ability to conduct
fire prevention and safety activities, and to execute the proposed or
similar project(s), will receive additional consideration.
Evaluation Criteria--Firefighter Safety Research and Development
Activity
Funding decisions will be informed by an assessment of how well the
application addresses the criteria and considerations listed below. All
applications will be reviewed by a fire service expert panel using
weighted evaluation criteria, and those projects deemed to be in the
``competitive range'' will then be reviewed by a scientific peer review
panel evaluation using weighted evaluation criteria to score the
project. Scientific evaluations will impact the ranking of the project
for funding.
Fire Service Evaluation Criteria
Purpose (25%): Applicants should have clearly identified
the benefits of the proposed research project to improve firefighter
safety, health, or wellness, and identified specific gaps in knowledge
that will be addressed.
Implementation by Fire Service (25%): Applicants should
have discussed how the outcomes/products of this research, if
successful, are likely to be widely/nationally adopted and accepted by
the fire service as changes that enhance firefighter safety, health, or
wellness.
Potential Impact (15%): Applicants should have discussed
the potential impact of the research outcome/product on firefighter
safety by quantifying the possible reduction in the number of fatal or
non-fatal injuries, or on the projected wellness by significantly
improving the overall health of firefighters.
Barriers (15%): The applicant needed to identify and
discuss potential fire service and other barriers to successfully
complete the study on schedule, including contingencies and strategies
to deal with barriers if they materialize. This may include barriers
that could inhibit the proposed fire service participation in the study
or the adoption of successful results by the fire service when the
project is completed.
Partners (20%): Applicants should have recognized that
participation of the fire service as a partner in the research, from
development to dissemination, is regarded as an essential part of all
projects. Applicants should have described the fire service partners
and contractors that will support the project to accomplish the
objectives of the
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study. The specific roles and contributions of the partners should have
been described. Partnerships may be formed with local and regional fire
departments, and also with national fire-related organizations. Letters
of support and letters of commitment to actively participate in the
project should have been included in the appendix of the application.
Generally, participants of a diverse population, including both career
and volunteer firefighters, are expected to facilitate acceptance of
results nationally. In cases where this is not practical, due to the
nature of the study or other limitations, these circumstances should
have been clearly explained.
Science Panel Evaluation Criteria
Project goals, objectives, and specific aims (15%):
Applicants should have addressed how the purpose, goals, objectives,
and aims of the proposal will lead to results that will improve
firefighter safety, health, or wellness. For multi-year projects,
greater detail should have been given for the first year, however
specific goals and objectives were required for the second and third
years (if applicable).
Literature Review (10%): Applicants should have provided a
literature review that is relevant to the project's goals, objectives,
and specific aims. The citations should have been placed in the text of
the narrative statement, with references listed at the end of the
Narrative Statement (and not in the Appendix) of the application. The
review should have been in sufficient depth to make it clear that the
proposed project is necessary, adds to an existing body of knowledge,
is different from current and previous studies, and offers a unique
contribution.
Project Methods (20%): Applicants should have provided a
description of how the project will be carried out, including
demonstration of the overall scientific and technical rigor and merit
of the project. This includes the operations to accomplish the purpose,
goals and objectives, and the specific aims of the project. Plans to
recruit and retain human participants for research, where applicable,
should have been described. Where human participants are involved in
the project, the applicant should have described plans for submission
to the Institutional Review Board (for further guidance and
requirements, see the FY 2018 FP&S NOFO).
Project Measurements (20%): Applicants should have
provided evidence of the technical rigor and merit of the project, such
as data pertaining to validity, reliability, and sensitivity (where
established) of the facilities, equipment, instruments, standards, and
procedures that will be used to carry out the research. The applicant
should have discussed the data to be collected to evaluate the
performance methods, technologies, and products proposed to enhance
firefighter safety, health, or wellness. The applicant should have
demonstrated that the measurement methods and equipment selected for
use are appropriate and sufficient to successfully deliver the proposed
project objectives.
Project Analysis (20%): The applicant should have
indicated the planned approach for analysis of the data obtained from
measurements, questionnaires, or computations. The applicant should
have specified within the plan what will be analyzed, the statistical
methods that will be used, the sequence of steps, and interactions as
appropriate. It should be clear that the Principal Investigator and
research team have the expertise to perform the planned analysis and
defend the results in a peer review process.
Dissemination and Implementation (15%): Applicants should
have indicated dissemination plans for scientific audiences (such as
plans for submissions to specific peer review publications) and for
firefighter audiences (such as websites, magazines, and conferences).
Also, assuming positive results, the applicant should have indicated
future steps that would support dissemination and implementation
throughout the fire service, where applicable. These steps are likely
to be beyond the current study, so those features of the research
activity that will facilitate future dissemination and implementation
should have been discussed. All applicants should have specified how
the results of the project, if successful, might be disseminated and
implemented in the fire service to improve firefighter safety, health,
or wellness. It is expected that successful R&D Activity Projects may
give rise to future programs including FP&S Activity Projects.
Cost vs. Benefit (additional consideration): Cost vs.
benefit in this evaluation element refers to the costs of the grant for
the research and development project as it relates to the benefits that
are projected for firefighters who would have improved safety, health,
or wellness. Applicants should have demonstrated a high benefit for the
cost incurred, and effective utilization of Federal funds for research
activities.
Financial Need (additional consideration): In the
Applicant Information section of the application, applicants should
have provided details on the need for Federal financial assistance to
carry out the proposed project(s). Applicants may have included a
description of unsuccessful attempts to acquire financial assistance.
Applicants should have provided detail about the organization's
operating budget, including a high-level breakdown of the budget;
described the department's inability to address financial needs without
Federal assistance; and discussed other actions the department has
taken to meet their staffing needs (e.g., State assistance programs,
other grant programs, etc.).
Mentoring (additional consideration for Early Career
Investigator Projects only): An important part of Early Career
Investigator projects is the integration of mentoring for the principal
investigator by experienced researchers in areas appropriate to the
research project, including exposure to the fire service community as
well as support for ongoing development of knowledge and skills.
Mentoring is regarded as critical to the research skills development of
early career principal investigators. As part of the application
Appendix, the applicant should have identified the mentor(s) who have
agreed to support the applicant and the expected benefit of their
interactions with the researcher. A biographical sketch and letter of
support from the mentor(s) were encouraged and should have been
included in the Appendix materials.
Other Selection Information
Awards will be made using the results of peer-reviewed applications
as the primary basis for decisions, regardless of activity. However,
there are some exceptions to strictly using the peer review results.
The applicant's prior AFG, SAFER, and FP&S grant management performance
will also be taken into consideration when making recommendations for
award. All final funding determinations will be made by the FEMA
Administrator, or the Administrator's designee.
Fire departments and other eligible applicants that have received
funding under the FP&S Grant Program in previous years were eligible to
apply for funding in the current year. However, DHS may take into
account an applicant's performance on prior grants when making funding
decisions on current applications.
Once every application in the competitive range has been through
the technical evaluation phase, the applications will be ranked
according to the average score awarded by the panel.
[[Page 31612]]
The ranking will be summarized in a Technical Report prepared by
the AFG Program Office. A Grants Management Specialist will contact the
applicant to discuss and/or negotiate the content of the application
and SAM.gov registration before making final award decisions.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2229.
Pete Gaynor,
Acting Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2019-14044 Filed 7-1-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-64-P