[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 75 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19160-19164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9374]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
[Docket No. 020328074-2074-01]
RIN 0693-ZA48
Announcement of Availability of Funds for a Competition and
Announcement of a Public Meeting--Advanced Technology Program (ATP)
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Technology Administration's National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that it will hold a single
fiscal year 2002 Advanced Technology Program (ATP) competition and
announces a public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for all interested
parties. This single competition will continue ATP's practice of being
open to all technology areas. All fiscal year 2002 proposals received
may be distributed to technology-specific source evaluation boards in
areas such as advanced materials, biotechnology, electronics,
information technology, etc. This notice
[[Page 19161]]
provides general information regarding ATP competitions.
DATES: ATP will begin accepting proposals on April 22, 2002. The ATP
has established the following three due dates for submission of
proposals: Monday, June 10, 2002; Wednesday, July 31, 2002; and Monday,
September 30, 2002. All hand-delivered or electronically submitted
proposals must be received by 3 p.m. Eastern Time on the specified
dates; all other proposals must be postmarked by the due dates
specified above and received no later than 3 p.m. Eastern Time Monday,
June 24, 2002, Wednesday, August 14, 2002, or Tuesday, October 15,
2002, respectively. Proposals submitted through guaranteed overnight
carriers are deemed to be postmarked on the date they are delivered to
the carrier. To be considered for funding in fiscal year 2002,
potential proposers must submit their proposals by the first due date
of June 10, 2002. Proposals submitted after June 10, 2002, may not be
considered for funding in fiscal year 2002, but rather for funding in
fiscal year 2003, subject to the availability of funding.
ADDRESSES: Information on the ATP may be obtained from the following
address: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Advanced
Technology Program, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 4701, Administration
Building 101, Room A413, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-4701.
Additionally, information on the ATP is available on the Internet
at http://www.atp.nist.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for ATP information,
application materials, and/or to have your name added to the ATP
mailing list for future mailings may also be made by:
(a) Calling the ATP toll-free ``hotline'' number at 1-800-ATP-FUND
or 1-800-287-3863. You will have the option of hearing recorded
messages regarding the status of the ATP or speaking to one of our
customer representatives who will take your name and address. If you
reach ATP voice mail, please speak distinctly and slowly and spell the
words that might cause confusion. Leave your phone number as well as
your name and address;
(b) Sending a facsimile (fax) to 301-926-9524 or 301-590-3053; or
(c) Sending an electronic form available at http//www.atp.nist.gov/atp/atpform.htm.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The ATP statute originated in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-418, 15 U.S.C. 278n) and was amended by the
American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-245). This law
has been codified at 15 U.S.C. 278n. The ATP implementing regulations
are published at 15 CFR part 295, as amended. The Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number and program title for the ATP are
11.612, Advanced Technology Program (ATP).
The ATP is a competitive cost-sharing program designed for the
Federal government to work in partnership with industry to accelerate
the development and broad dissemination of challenging, high-risk
technologies that offer the potential for significant commercial
payoffs and widespread benefits for the nation. This unique government-
industry partnership accelerates the development of emerging or
enabling technologies leading to revolutionary new products, industrial
processes and services that can compete in rapidly changing world
markets. The ATP challenges industry to take on higher risk projects
with commensurately higher potential payoff to the nation. The ATP
provides multi-year funding to single companies and to industry-led
joint ventures.
The funding instrument used in ATP awards is a ``cooperative
agreement.'' Through the use of the cooperative agreement, the ATP is
designed to foster a government-industry partnership to accomplish a
public purpose of support or stimulation. NIST plays a substantial role
by providing technical assistance and monitoring the technical work,
business progress, and expenditure of Federal funds.
Funding Availability
Congressional Fiscal Year 2002 appropriations included funds not to
exceed $60.7 million for new awards. Because ATP is now funding
applications on a rolling basis, some portion of this may be used for
new awards submitted pursuant to the procedures established for the FY
2001 competition and similarly a portion may be used for applications
submitted under FY 2003 competition.
Eligibility Requirements, Selection Criteria, and Proposal Review
Process
The eligibility requirements, selection criteria, and the proposal
review process are discussed in detail in the ATP implementing
regulations published at 15 CFR part 295, as amended, and the ATP
Proposal Preparation Kit dated April 2002.
ATP will group all proposals received by each of the specified due
dates and review them as a group called a ``batch.'' Since ATP has
established three due dates for proposal submission in fiscal year
2002, there will be three batches. All hand-delivered or electronically
submitted proposals must be received by 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on
the specified dates below:
(a) Batch 1--Monday, June 10, 2002.
(b) Batch 2--Wednesday, July 31, 2002.
(c) Batch 3--Monday, September 30, 2002.
All other proposals must be postmarked by 3 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time on the specified due dates and received by 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time on the specified dates below:
(a) Batch 1--postmarked by Monday, June 10, 2002, and received by
Monday, June 24, 2002.
(b) Batch 2--postmarked by Wednesday, July 31, 2002, and received
by Wednesday, August 14, 2002.
(c) Batch 3--postmarked by Monday, September 30, 2002, and received
by Tuesday, October 15, 2002.
Each batch will be reviewed under a multiple stage and sequential
review process to reduce the amount of information required at one
time. Each stage in the process is called a ``gate.'' There are four
gates as follows:
(a) Gate 1--The proposer submits detailed information to address
the scientific and technological merit selection criterion.
Additionally, the proposer submits preliminary information to address
the selection criterion on the potential for broad-based economic
benefits. If the information submitted is determined to have high
merit, ATP notifies the proposer and requests that the required
additional information be submitted for consideration in Gate 2. If a
proposal passes Gate 1, the proposer will have two weeks (14 calendar
days) from written notification to submit the required information in
Gate 2.
(b) Gate 2--The proposer submits more detailed information to
address the potential for broad-based economic benefits selection
criterion and detailed budget data. If the information submitted is
determined to have high merit, ATP notifies the proposer of its
selection as a semi-finalist and the proposal proceeds to Gate 3.
(c) Gate 3--The proposer is requested to submit required forms and
additional documentation, as necessary, and may be invited to NIST for
an oral review. If ATP determines, based on all the information
received, that the proposal has sufficiently high merit to be funded,
the proposal is considered a finalist and proceeds to Gate 4.
(d) Gate 4--Final award processing and issuance, if selected.
[[Page 19162]]
Additionally, the following requirements shall apply:
(a) Semi-finalist proposals will be ranked in the following three
categories: ``Superior,'' ``Fundable/Deferred,'' or ``Unfundable.''
Fundable/Deferred proposals may be deferred for consideration in
subsequent batches within the same competition.
(b) Proposers may not submit replacement and/or revised pages and/
or documents for any portion of a proposal once that portion has been
submitted unless specifically requested by NIST.
(c) Once a proposer has received notification that their proposal
will not be funded, the proposer may revise that proposal for
consideration one additional time and resubmit it no later than the end
of this fiscal year 2002 competition date of September 30, 2002.
Funding Amounts, Award Period and Cost Sharing (Matching)
Requirements
(a) A single company can receive up to $2 million in total for R&D
activities for up to 3 years. ATP funds may only be used to pay for
direct costs for single company recipients. Single company recipients
are responsible for funding all of their overhead/indirect costs. Small
and medium size companies applying as single company proposers are not
required to provide cost-sharing of direct costs; however, they may pay
a portion of the direct costs, if they wish, in addition to all
indirect costs. Large companies applying as single company proposers,
however, must cost-share at least 60 percent of the yearly total
project costs (direct plus all of the indirect costs). A large company
is defined as any business, including any parent company plus related
subsidiaries, having annual revenues in excess of $3.197 billion. (Note
that this number will likely be updated annually and will be noted in
future annual announcements of availability of funds and ATP Proposal
Preparation Kits.)
(b) Joint ventures (as defined in 15 CFR 295.2(i)) can receive
funds for R&D activities for up to 5 years with no funding limitation
other than the announced availability of funds. Joint ventures must
cost-share (matching funds) more than 50 percent of the yearly total
project costs (direct plus indirect costs). The term matching funds
(cost-sharing) is defined in 15 CFR 295.2(l).
(c) Funds derived from Federal sources may not be used to meet the
cost-share requirement. Additionally, subcontractors may not contribute
towards the cost-share requirement.
Application Forms and Proposal Preparation Kit
The April 2002 version of the ATP Proposal Preparation Kit must be
used to prepare and submit all proposals during fiscal year 2002. The
Kit is available upon request from the ATP at the address and phone
numbers noted in this notice. The Kit is also available on the Internet
on the ATP Web site http://www.atp.nist.gov. Note that the ATP is
mailing the Kit to all those individuals whose names are currently on
the ATP mailing list. Those individuals need not contact the ATP to
request a copy. The Kit contains proposal cover sheets, other required
forms, and all the necessary guidelines for developing an ATP proposal.
All proposals must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines in the
Kit.
Submission of Electronic Proposals
ATP is now accepting proposals submitted electronically via ATP's
Electronic Submission System. To be accepted, the proposal must have a
valid ACES digital signature, and the attachment (proposal narrative)
must be readable in one of the formats described on the Electronic
Submission System website (webguy.nist.gov). Details about how to
submit electronically, including how to get an ACES Digital
Certificate, operating system, hardware and software requirements,
downloads, and instructions are available at webguy.nist.gov. Font,
line spacing, margin, page limit, page numbering, and page size
requirements still apply.
The due dates for submission of electronic proposals are the same
as those specified under the DATES section of this notice. Please note
that an electronically submitted proposal will not be considered to be
received unless it has a valid ACES digital signature and the
attachment (proposal narrative) is readable in one of the formats
described on the Electronic Submission System Web site
(webguy.nist.gov).
Submission of Revised Proposals
A proposer may submit a proposal that is a revised version of a
proposal submitted to a previous ATP competition. NIST will examine
such proposals to determine whether substantial revisions have been
made. Where the revisions are determined not to be substantial, NIST
reserves the right to score and rank, or where appropriate, to reject,
such proposals based on reviews of the previously submitted proposal.
Other Requirements
(a) If a proposal is selected as a semi-finalist, ATP reserves the
right to seek clarification and necessary information through a list of
questions to the proposer.
(b) There are certain types of projects that ATP will not fund
because they are inconsistent with the ATP mission. These include:
(1) Straightforward improvements of existing products or product
development;
(2) Projects that are predominately basic research;
(3) Pre-commercial scale demonstration projects where the emphasis
is on demonstration that some technology works on a large scale or is
economically sound rather than on R&D;
(4) Projects involving military weapons R&D or R&D that is of
interest only to some mission agency rather than to the commercial
marketplace;
(5) Projects that ATP believes would likely be completed with or
without ATP funds in the same time frame or nearly the same time frame;
(6) Predominantly straightforward, routine data gathering (e.g.,
creation of voluntary consensus standards, data gathering/handbook
preparation, testing of materials, or unbounded research aimed at basic
discovery science), or application of standard engineering practices;
(7) Projects that are simply a follow-on or continuation of tasks
previously funded in ATP projects from essentially the same proposing
team.
(c) Certain costs that may be allowed in Federal financial
assistance programs are not eligible for funding under ATP awards. The
ATP Proposal Preparation Kit lists these costs.
(d) For joint ventures, no costs shall be incurred under an ATP
project by the joint venture members until such time as a joint venture
agreement has been executed by all of the joint venture members and
approved by NIST. NIST will withhold approval until it determines that
a sufficient number of members have signed the joint venture agreement.
Costs will only be allowed after the execution of the joint venture
agreement and approval by NIST.
(e) Any proposal that includes research involving human subjects,
human tissue and/or cells, data or recordings involving human subjects
must meet the requirements of the Common Rule for the Protection of
Human Subjects, codified for the Department of Commerce at 15 CFR part
27. In addition, any proposal that includes research on these topics
must be in compliance with any statutory
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requirements imposed upon NIH and other Federal agencies regarding
these topics, all regulatory policies and guidance adopted by NIH, FDA,
and other Federal agencies on these topics, and all Presidential
statements of policy on these topics, which are provided in the
handbook entitled ``Advanced Technology Program Guidelines and
Documentation Requirements for Research Involving Human and Animal
Subjects.'' This handbook may be obtained through any of the options
described in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
notice.
The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) adheres to all
Presidential policies, statutes, guidelines and regulations regarding
the use of human embryonic stem cells. At this time, ATP will not
consider proposals that involve the use, derivation, or
characterization of human embryonic stem cells.
On December 3, 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) introduced the Federalwide Assurance of Protection for
Human Subjects (FWA). The FWA covers all of an institution's Federally-
supported human subjects research, and eliminates the need for other
types of Assurance documents. For information about FWAs, please see
the OHRP Web site at http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/irbasur.htm.
In accordance with the DHHS change, NIST will accept the submission
of human subjects protocols that have been approved by Institutional
Review Boards (IRBs) possessing a current, valid FWA from DHHS. NIST
will also continue to accept the submission of human subjects protocols
that have been approved by IRBs possessing a current, valid Multiple
Project Assurance (MPA) from DHHS. NIST will not accept the submission
of human subjects protocols that have been approved by IRBs possessing
a Single Project Assurance (SPA), nor will NIST issue an SPA for IRB
review of a human subjects protocol.
(f) Any proposal that includes research involving vertebrate
animals must be in compliance with the National Research Council's
``Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals'' which can be
obtained from National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20055. In addition, such proposals must meet the
requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.), 9 CFR
parts 1, 2, and 3, and if appropriate, 21 CFR part 58.
In addition, all requirements as set forth in the handbook entitled
``Advanced Technology Program Guidelines and Documentation Requirements
for Research Involving Human and Animal Subjects,'' shall apply. This
handbook may be obtained through any of the options described in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.
(g) The intellectual property provisions found at 15 U.S.C.
278n(d)(11) and 15 CFR 295.8 shall apply to all ATP awards.
(h) Proposers, including each joint venture participant, shall
provide sufficient funds in the project multi-year budget for project
audits as specified below. Except for vendors that provide goods and
services, subcontractors that receive more than $300,000 each,
including universities, are also subject to the audit requirement. It
is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that audits are
performed in a timely fashion. Most routine audits can be performed by
the recipient's external CPA. However, the Department of Commerce
Office of Inspector General (DoC/OIG) and General Accounting Office
(GAO) reserve the right to carry out audits as deemed necessary and
appropriate. ATP recipients must be willing to submit to audits (e.g.,
audits of cost-accounting systems, direct-cost expenditures, indirect
cost rates, or other periodic reviews) by the Inspectors General or
GAO. Periodic project audits shall be performed as follows:
(1) For awards less than 24 months, an audit is required at the end
of the project.
(2) For 2-, 3-, or 4-year awards, an audit is required after the
first year and at the end of the project.
(3) For 5-year awards, an audit is required after the first year,
third year, and at the end of the project.
Proposers should budget for audits as follows:
(1) Proposers should allocate funds in their proposal budgets under
the ``Other'' direct cost category for the project audit. For joint
ventures, this must be included in each participant's budget, as each
participant is responsible for the performance of their own project
audit.
(2) If an organization's indirect cost pool includes audit costs,
this is acceptable. In these cases, an explanation must be provided in
the budget narrative and no audit costs reflected under ``Other''
costs.
(3) If a cognizant Federal agency auditor is resident within the
company, the cognizant Federal agency auditor may perform the audit. In
this case, an explanation must be provided in the budget narrative and
no audit costs reflected under ``Other'' costs or ``Indirect Costs.''
Audits of all recipients shall be conducted in accordance with
Government Auditing Standards (GAS), issued by the Comptroller General
of the United States (the Yellow Book). If an ATP recipient is required
to have an audit performed in accordance with OMB Circular A-133,
Audits of States, Local Government, and Non-Profit Organizations, the
annual Circular A-133 audit is deemed to meet the ATP audit
requirement.
If an ATP recipient does not have an annual Circular A-133 audit
performed, the recipient should follow the following project audit
requirements:
(1) Audits for single company recipients shall be conducted using
the NIST Program-Specific Audit Guidelines for Advanced Technology
Program (ATP) Cooperative Agreements with Single Companies.
(2) Audits for joint venture recipients shall be conducted using
the NIST Program-Specific Audit Guidelines for Advanced Technology
Program (ATP) Cooperative Agreements with Joint Ventures.
(i) All ATP recipients must agree to adhere to the U.S. Export
Administration laws and regulations and shall not export or re-export,
directly or indirectly, any technical data created with Government
funding under an award to any country for which the United States
Government or any agency thereof, at the time of such export or re-
export requires an export license or other Governmental approval
without first obtaining such licenses or approval and the written
clearance of the NIST Grants Officer. The Bureau of Export
Administration (BXA) shall conduct an annual review for any relevant
information about a proposer and/or Recipient. NIST reserves the right
to not issue any award or suspend or terminate an existing award in the
event that significant adverse information about a proposer or
Recipient is disclosed by BXA to the NIST Grants Officer.
(j) Intergovernmental Review. The ATP does not involve the
mandatory payment of any matching funds from state or local government
and does not affect directly any state or local government.
Accordingly, the Department of Commerce has determined that Executive
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs'' is not
applicable to this program.
(k) Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice contains collection of
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The
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use of Standards Forms 424B and SF-LLL has been approved by OMB under
the respective control numbers 0348-0040 and 0348-0046. The use of Form
NIST-1262 (pp.1-4) and Form NIST-1263 (pp.1-5) has been approved by OMB
under the control number 0693-0009. The use of Commerce Department Form
CD-346 has been approved by OMB under the control number 0605-0001.
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 PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently
valid OMB Control Number.
(l) Executive Order Statement. This funding notice was determined
to be ``not significant'' for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
(m) ATP is not accepting pre-proposals during fiscal year 2002.
(n) The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements
for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register
notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), are applicable to this
solicitation. However, please note that the Department of Commerce will
not implement the requirements of Executive Order 13202 (66 FR 49921),
pursuant to guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget in
light of a court opinion which found that the Executive Order was not
legally authorized. See Building and Construction Trades Department v.
Allbaugh, 172 F. Supp. 138 (D.D.C. 2001). This decision is currently on
appeal. When the case has been finally resolved, the Department will
provide further information on implementation of Executive Order 13202.
(o) The Program will retain one copy of each unsuccessful
application for recordkeeping purposes. The remaining copies will be
destroyed.
(p) NIST requires each recipient, whether receiving Federal funds
or only providing matching funds, to have a functioning financial
management system that meets the provisions of 15 CFR 14.21, to ensure
proper accountability of funds. In cases where a recipient has had no
prior Federal support or NIST has reason to question whether the
recipient's financial management standards meet Federal requirements,
the recipient will be required to submit an accounting system
certification issued by an Independent Certified Public Accountant to
the NIST Grants Officer within 90 days from the date of award.
(q) Classification. Because notice and comment are not required
under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), or any other law, for notices relating to
public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts, a Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., is not required and has not
been prepared for this notice.
Public Meeting
A public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for potential proposers
and other interested parties will be held:
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Thursday, May
2, 2002. Gaithersburg Hilton, 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, Maryland
20877. Telephone: (301) 977-8900. Facsimile: (301) 977-3450.
The meeting will provide general information regarding the ATP,
tips on preparing good proposals, and an opportunity for audience
questions. Attendance at this public meeting is not required. No
registration fee will be charged. To register for the public meeting or
for further information, contact ATP at 1-800-ATP-FUND (1-800-287-
3863), or register via the NIST Web site: www.atp.nist.gov/atp/reg_form.htm.
Dated: April 17, 2002.
Arden L. Bement,
Director.
[FR Doc. 02-9374 Filed 4-17-02; 8:45 am]
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