[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64459-64463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30957]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
[Docket No. 981113285-8285-01]
RIN 0693-ZA28
Announcement of Availability of Funds for a Competition--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 1999 Advanced Technology Program (ATP) competition. This
single competition will continue ATP's practice of being open to all
technology areas, while also capturing the advantage and momentum of
focused program planning. Through this single competition strategy, ATP
encourages proposals from the many technical terms that have identified
synergy between industry needs and ATP funding opportunities,
accelerating the pursuit of critical elements of research which were
identified in focused program plans. All fiscal year 1999 proposals
received will be distributed to technology-specific source evaluation
boards in areas such as advanced materials, biotechnology, electronics,
information technology, etc. This notice provides general information
regarding ATP competitions.
DATES: The proposal due date and other competition-specific
instructions will be published in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) at
the time the competition is announced. Dates, times, and locations of
Proposers' Conferences held for interested parties considering applying
for funding will also be announced in the CBD.
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 A407, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-4701.
Additionally, information on the ATP is available on the Internet
through the World Wide Web (WWW) 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 our
representatives are all busy when you call, leave a message after the
tone. To ensure that the information is entered correctly, 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 electronic mail to atp@nist.gov. Include your name,
full mailing address, and phone number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The statutory authority for the ATP is Section 5131 of the Omnibus
Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-418, 15 U.S.C.
278n), as modified by Pub. L. 102-245. 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 rigorously competitive cost-sharing program designed
for the Federal government to work in partnership with industry to
foster the development and broad dissemination of challenging, high-
risk technologies that offer the potential for significant, broad-based
economic benefits for the
[[Page 64460]]
nation. Such a unique government-industry research partnership fosters
the acceleration not only of dramatic gains in existing industries, but
also acceleration of the development of emerging or enabling
technologies leading to revolutionary new products, industrial
processes and services for the world's markets and work to spawn
industries of the 21st century. The ATP provides multi-year funding to
single companies and to industry-led joint ventures. The ATP
accelerates technologies that, because they are risky, are unlikely to
be developed in time to compete in rapidly changing world markets
without such a partnership between industry and the Federal government.
The ATP challenges industry to take on higher risk (but commensurately
higher potential payoff to the nation) projects than they would
otherwise. Proposers must provide credible arguments as to the project
feasibility.
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
in providing technical assistance and monitoring the technical work and
business progress.
Funding Availability
A total estimated $66 million in first year funding expected to
become available from Congressional appropriation, will be used for new
awards for the fiscal year 1999 single ATP competition to be announced
in the CBD. The actual number of proposals funded under this
competition will depend on the quality of the proposals received and
the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals.
Outyear funding beyond the first year is contingent on the approval of
future Congressional appropriations and satisfactory project
performance.
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 November 1998.
Funding Amounts, Award Period and Cost Sharing (Matching)
Requirements
(a) Single company recipients can receive up to $2 million 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 in addition to all indirect costs if they
wish. Large companies applying as single company proposers, however,
must cost-share at least 60 percent of the yearly total project costs
(direct plus indirect costs). A large company is defined as any
business, including any parent company plus related subsidiaries,
having annual revenues in excess of $2.721 billion. (Note that this
number will likely change for future competitions and, if so, will be
noted in future annual announcements of availability of funds and ATP
Proposal Preparation Kits.)
(b) Joint ventures can receive funds for R&D activities for up to 5
years with no funding limitation other than the announced availability
of funds. However, ATP funding must be for a minority share of the
yearly total project costs. Joint ventures must cost-share (matching
funds) more than 50 percent of the yearly total project costs (direct
plus indirect costs). Matching funds (cost-sharing) are defined in 15
CFR Part 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
A new November 1998 version of the ATP Proposal Preparation 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 through
the World Wide Web under the heading Publications on the ATP home page
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, background
material, and instructions for preparing ATP pre-proposals and full
proposals. All proposals must be prepared in accordance with the
instructions in the Kit.
Submission of Revised Proposals
A proposer may submit a full proposal that is a revised version of
a full 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 previous submitted
proposal.
Other Requirements
(a) Federal Policies and Procedures. Recipients and subrecipients
are subject to all Federal laws and Federal and Department of Commerce
policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial
assistance awards as identified in the cooperative agreement award.
(b) Past Performance. Unsatisfactory performance under prior
Federal awards may result in a proposal not being considered for
funding.
(c) Pre-award Activities. Pre-award costs may not be incurred by
any proposer and are not reimbursable under an ATP award.
(d) No Obligation for Future Funding. If a proposal is selected for
funding, NIST has no obligation to provide any additional future
funding in connection with that award. Renewal of an award to increase
funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion
of NIST.
(e) Delinquent Federal Debts. No award of Federal funds shall be
made to a proposer or recipient who has an outstanding delinquent
Federal debt until either the delinquent account is paid in full, a
negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least one payment
is received, or other arrangements satisfactory to NIST are made.
(f) Name Check Review. All for-profit and non-profit proposers are
subject to a name check review process. Name checks are intended to
reveal if any key individuals associated with the proposer have been
convicted of or are presently facing criminal charges such as fraud,
theft, perjury, or other matters which significantly reflect on the
proposer's management, honesty, or financial integrity.
(g) Primary Applicant Certification. All primary proposers
(including all joint venture participants) must submit a completed form
CD-511, ``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other
Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and
Lobbying,'' and the following explanation is hereby provided:
(1) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension. Prospective
participants, as defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 105
[[Page 64461]]
are subject to 15 CFR part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and
Suspension'' and the related section of the certification form
prescribed above applies;
(2) Drug-Free Workplace, Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 605)
are subject to 15 CFR 26, subpart F, ``Governmentwide Requirements for
Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related section of the
certification form prescribed above applies;
(3) Anti-Lobbying. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR part 28, section
105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352,
``Limitations on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal
contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of
the certification form prescribed above applies to applications/bids
for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than
$100,000, and loans and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the
single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever
is greater; and,
(4) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures. Any proposer that has paid or will
pay for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of
Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR part 28, Appendix B.
(h) Lower Tier Certification. Recipients shall require proposers/
bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier
covered transactions at any tier under the award to submit, if
applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding
Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion--Lower
Tier Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and Form SF-LLL, ``Disclosure
of Lobbying Activities.'' Although the CD-512 is intended for the use
of primary recipients and should not be transmitted to NIST, the SF-LLL
submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be forwarded in
accordance with the instructions contained in the award document.
(i) False Statements. A false statement on any application for
funding under ATP may be grounds for denial or termination of funds and
grounds for possible punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided
in 18 U.S.C. 1001.
(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) American-Made Equipment and Products. Proposers are hereby
notified that they are encouraged, to the greatest extend practicable,
to purchase American-made equipment and products with the funding
provided under this program in accordance with Congressional intent.
(l) Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice contains collection of
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),
which have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB
Control Nos. 0693-0009 and 0348-0046). 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 No.
(m) If a proposer's proposal is judged to be of high enough quality
to be invited in for an oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit a
list of questions to the proposer that must be addressed at the oral
review.
(n) 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 without
ATP funds in the same time frame or nearly the same time frame.
(o) Certain costs that may be allowed in Federal financial
assistance programs are not eligible for funding under ATP awards.
Section G of the Proposal Preparation Kit lists these costs.
(p) 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.
(q) Research under an ATP project 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 Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20055. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
associated with the proposing organization(s) must approve all research
involving vertebrate animals before Grants Officer review and release
of funds.
(r) Research under an ATP project involving human subjects or human
tissue must be in compliance with Department of Commerce regulations
entitled ``Protection of Human Subjects'', 15 CFR Part 27, which
require that recipients whose research involves human subjects maintain
appropriate policies and procedures for the protection of human
subjects. Currently, NIST does not approve human subjects research that
takes place in a foreign country as part of an ATP project. In
addition, NIST does not accept foreign sources of human tissue or data,
even if the tissue or data may qualify for an exemption under the rule.
Additional Presidential policies, statutes, regulations, and
guidelines have been issued concerning types of research activities
involving human subjects. NIST may not be directly named in these
statutes and regulations; however, in order to assure that research
funded by NIST involving human subjects is consistent with national
policy, NIST hereby declares that it will fully adhere to these
requirements. Therefore, research projects involving the protected
classes of human subjects must adhere to the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) regulations found at 45 CFR Part 46, Subparts B, C, and D.
Protected classes include pregnant women, human in vitro fertilization,
fetuses, prisoners, and children. Research projects involving the
transplantation of fetal tissue into human subjects must adhere to
Section 111 of the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. 289g-1. In
addition, the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. 289g-2 contains
a criminal statute prohibiting all purchases of fetal tissue for
valuable consideration whether or not NIH or NIH funding is involved.
Fetal research must adhere to Section 498(b) of the Public Health
Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 289g. Embryo research must adhere to Section 513
of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of
[[Page 64462]]
1998, Public Law 105-78, 111 Stat. 1467. Research involving
xenotransplantation into human subjects must adhere to the FDA
guidelines published at 61 FR 49919 (September 23, 1996). All research
projects will adhere to the Presidential Directive, 33 Weekly Comp.
Pres. Doc. 281 (March 10, 1997), prohibiting the federal conduct and
funding of research involving human cloning.
Special Requirements
Research projects involving protected classes of human subjects as
defined in 45 CFR Part 46, Subparts B, C, and D (including pregnant
women, human in vitro fertilization, fetuses, prisoners, and children)
MUST be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB)
that possesses a current assurance which has been approved by the
Office of Protection from Research Risk (OPRR), National Institutes of
Health (NIH), for federal-wide use, and appropriate for the research in
question. No award involving protected classes as defined under 45 CFR
Part 46, Subpart B, will be issued until the proposer has certified
that an appropriate IRB has made the determinations required under
Subpart B, and all other NIST approvals have been completed.
(s) In any invention resulting from work performed under an ATP
project in which an ATP recipient has acquired title, NIST has the
right, in accordance with 15 CFR 295.8(a)(2) and any supplemental
regulations of NIST, to require the recipient, an assignee, or an
exclusive licensee of a subject invention to grant a nonexclusive,
partially exclusive, or exclusive license in any field of use to a
responsible applicant or applicants, upon terms that are resealable
under the circumstances. If the recipient, assignee, or exclusive
licensee refuses such a request, NIST has the right to grant such a
license itself if NIST determines that:
(1) Such action is necessary because the recipient or assignee has
not taken, or is not expected to take within a reasonable time,
effective steps to achieve practical application of the subject
invention in such field of use;
(2) Such action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs
which are not reasonably satisfied by the recipient, assignee, or
licensees;
(3) Such action is necessary to meet requirements for public use
specified by Federal regulations and such requirements are not
reasonably satisfied by the recipient, assignee, or licensees; or
(4) Such action is necessary because of the requirement that the
recipient grant licenses to potential licensees that would be likely to
manufacture substantially in the United States or that, under the
circumstances, domestic manufacture is not commercially feasible, is
not adhered to, or because a licensee of the exclusive right to use or
sell any subject invention in the United States is in breach of the
aforementioned requirement.
The preceding information describes NIST's legal rights with
regards to patents. However, potential proposers should not interpret
these rights as indicating that NIST intends to manage an awardee's
intellectual property. Quite the contrary. First of all, these rights
only apply to patents resulting from the ATP project itself, and not
from work done before or after the ATP project, or other R&D performed
by the company in the same time frame that is not part of the ATP-
funded tasks. More importantly, the provisions above would ONLY be
invoked under very unique circumstances. For example, if an ATP project
developed a cure for cancer, but for some strange reason the company
chose not to commercialize the technology, the ATP might, only after
verifying that the company had no intention of using the technology,
invoke provision 2. above and try to find another company willing to
take a license and bring the new development to market. In the over 300
projects funded to date, NIST has never had to exercise the rights
noted above.
(t) Proposers shall provide sufficient funds in the project multi-
year budget for a project audit, including each joint venture
participant. Subcontractors/subawardees, including universities, who
receive total funding under an ATP project totaling more than $300,000
each are also subject to the audit requirement. A subcontractor/
subawardee is defined as an organization which receives a portion of
the financial assistance from the recipient/awardee and assists the ATP
recipient/awardee in meeting the project goals but does not include
procurement of goods and services. 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 DoC/OIG or cognizant Federal agency 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.
Budgeting for an audit shall be 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
these cases, 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.
(u) Indirect cost charged to ATP cooperative agreements or used as
cost-sharing must be calculated in accordance with an approved indirect
cost proposal. If a recipient has established an indirect cost rate
with its
[[Page 64463]]
cognizant Federal agency (the Federal agency providing the greatest
dollars), the recipient must submit a copy of the negotiated agreement
to the DoC/OIG for verification. Acceptance of indirect cost rates in
excess of 100 percent of direct costs is subject to approval by NIST
and the DoC/OIG. If an indirect cost rate(s) has not been negotiated
prior to receiving the award, then an indirect cost rate proposal must
be submitted to the recipient's cognizant Federal agency within 90 days
from the date of the award. Provisional rates provided by the joint
venture participant in the indirect cost proposal may be used until
approval is obtained or indirect cost rates are negotiated.
(v) 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.
Dated: November 16, 1998.
Robert E. Hebner,
Acting Deputy Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
[FR Doc. 98-30957 Filed 11-17-98; 2:55 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-M
