§ 413.20 - How does the Secretary evaluate an application?

§ 413.20 How does the Secretary evaluate an application?

(a) The Secretary evaluates an application on the basis of the criteria in §§ 413.21 and 413.22.

(b) The Secretary may award up to 100 points to each set of criteria in §§ 413.21 and 413.22, including a reserved 10 points for each set of criteria to be distributed in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

(c) Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, the maximum possible score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses after the heading for each criterion.

(d) For each competition as announced through a notice published in the Federal Register, the Secretary may assign the reserved points among the criteria in §§ 413.21 and 413.22.

(e) The Secretary may hold two separate competitions, with the same closing date, for the National Center or Centers. One competition will be held for research and development activities and the second competition will be held for dissemination and training activities. An institution of higher education or consortium of higher education institutions may submit a research and development application; a dissemination and training application; or both as separate applications under separate covers.

(f) The Secretary evaluates applications for the research and development center and the dissemination and training center independently against the criteria in §§ 413.21 and 413.22 whether an institution or consortium of institutions is competing for either or both sets of activities.

(g) In accordance with section 404(a)(5) of the Act, the Secretary will give preference in grant selection to institutions or consortia of institutions that demonstrate the ability to carry out both the research and development and the dissemination and training activities effectively, either directly or by contract.

(h) An institution or consortium of institutions that has submitted two applications and applied for a single grant for the purpose of carrying out both activities and that has earned 80 points or higher on each of its two applications, will be deemed by the Secretary to have demonstrated the ability to carry out both activities effectively.

(i) The Secretary will award a single grant to an institution or consortium of institutions that has both -

(1) Demonstrated the ability to carry out both program activities effectively, in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section; and

(2) Earned the highest combined score among those institutions or consortia of institutions that have demonstrated the ability to carry out both activities effectively.

(j) If no institution or consortium of institutions is selected for a single grant award, the institution or consortia of institutions ranking highest in each of the two competitions will each receive a grant award.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2404)