[Federal Register: August 29, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 51236-51239]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29au05-109]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (NIDRR)--Disability Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP);
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.133A-5.
Dates:
Applications Available: August 29, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: October 28, 2005.
Eligible Applicants: States; public or private agencies, including
for-profit agencies; public or private organizations, including for-
profit organizations; institutions of higher education (IHEs); and
Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
Estimated Available Funds: $500,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $475,000-$500,000.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $500,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.
Note: The maximum amount includes direct and indirect costs.
Number of Awards: 1.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to plan and
conduct research, demonstration projects, training, and related
activities that help to maximize the full inclusion and integration of
individuals with disabilities into society and to improve the
effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended (Act).
Priority: This priority is from the notice of final priority for
this program published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
Absolute Priority: For FY 2006 this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
The priority is:
Demand-Side Employment Placement Models.
The specific requirements for this priority are in the notice of
final priority for this program, published elsewhere in this issue of
the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(a).
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81,
82, 84, 85, 86, and 97. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR
part 350. (c) The notice of final priority for this program, published
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $500,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $475,000-$500,000.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $500,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.
Note: The maximum amount includes direct and indirect costs.
Number of Awards: 1.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: States; public or private agencies,
including for-profit agencies; public or private organizations,
including for-profit organizations; IHEs; and Indian tribes and tribal
organizations.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain an
application package via Internet or from the Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via Internet use the following
address: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html.
To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write or call the following:
Education Publications Center, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398.
Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use
a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll
free): 1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA Number 84.133A-5.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of
this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application)
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that
reviewers use to evaluate your application. We recommend that you limit
Part III to the equivalent of no more than 75 pages, using the
following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5 x 11, on one side
only, with 1 margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative. Single space may be used for
titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as
well as all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II,
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the
resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, you must
include all of the application narrative in Part III.
The application package will provide instructions for completing
all components to be included in the application. Each application must
include a cover sheet (ED Standard Form 424); budget requirements (ED
Form 524) and narrative justification; other required forms; an
abstract, Human Subjects narrative, Part III narrative; resumes of
staff; and other related materials, if applicable.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: August 29, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: October 28, 2005.
Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov), or in
paper format by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates
and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by
mail or hand delivery, please refer to section IV. 7. Other Submission
Requirements in this notice.
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We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Pre-Application Meeting: Interested parties are invited to
participate in a pre-application meeting to discuss the funding
priority and to receive information and technical assistance through
individual consultation about the funding priority. The pre-application
meeting will be held on September 14, 2005. Interested parties may
participate either in person or by conference call at the U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services, Potomac Center Plaza, room 6075, 550 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC between 1 p.m. and 3 pm. After the meeting, NIDRR staff
also will be available from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on that same day to
provide information and technical assistance through individual
consultation about the funding priority. For further information or to
make arrangements to attend either in person or by conference call, or
for an individual consultation, contact Lynn Medley, U.S. Department of
Education, Potomac Center Plaza, room 6027, 550 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone (202) 245-7338 or by e-mail:
Lynn.medley@ed.gov.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities at the Pre-Application
Meeting
The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities,
and a sign language interpreter will be available. If you plan to
participate in the pre-application meeting on site at the Department of
Education and will need an auxiliary aid or service other than a sign
language interpreter in order to participate in the meeting (e.g.,
other interpreting service such as oral, cued speech, or tactile
interpreter; assistive listening device; or materials in alternate
format), notify the contact person listed in this notice at least two
weeks before the scheduled meeting date. Although we will attempt to
meet a request we receive after this date, we may not be able to make
available the requested auxiliary aid or service because of
insufficient time to arrange it.
7. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition may be submitted electronically or in paper format by
mail or hand delivery.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
We have been accepting applications electronically through the
Department's e-Application system since FY 2000. In order to expand on
those efforts and comply with the President's Management Agenda, we are
continuing to participate as a partner in the new government wide
Grants.gov Apply site in FY 2006. Disability Rehabilitation Research
Projects-CFDA Number 84.133A-5 is one of the programs included in this
project. We request your participation in Grants.gov.
If you choose to submit your application electronically, you must
use the Grants.gov Apply site at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this
site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package,
complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You
may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
You may access the electronic grant application for Disability
Rehabilitation Research Projects at: http://www.grants.gov. You must
search for the downloadable application package for this program by the
CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your
search.
Please note the following:
Your participation in Grants.gov is voluntary.
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the application process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
.
To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.Grants.gov/GetStarted
) and provide on your application the same D-
U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please note that the
registration process may take five or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you submit your application in paper format.
You may submit all documents electronically, including all
information typically included on the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED
524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. If you choose to
submit your application electronically, you must attach any narrative
sections of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich
text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type
other than the three file types specified above or submit a password
protected file, we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying
number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with
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the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, the following business day to enable you to
transmit your application electronically, or by hand delivery. You also
may mail your application by following the mailing instructions as
described elsewhere in this notice. If you submit an application after
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the deadline date, please contact
the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an explanation of the technical
problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov
Support Desk Case Number (if available). We will accept your
application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with
the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to
submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a
determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.
Note: Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the
unavailability of or technical problems with the Grants.gov system.
We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register
to submit your application to Grants.gov before the deadline date
and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to
the Grants.gov system.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you submit your application in paper format by mail (through the
U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), you must mail the
original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.133A-
5), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.133A-
5), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you submit your application in paper format by hand delivery,
you (or a courier service) must deliver the original and two copies of
your application by hand, on or before the application deadline date,
to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.133A-
5), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington,
DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the
Department--in Item 4 of the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424) the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if any--of the
competition under which you are submitting your application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from 34 CFR 350.54 and are listed in the application package.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
Note: NIDRR will provide information by letter to grantees on
how and when to submit the report.
4. Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of its
research program, NIDRR assesses the quality of its funded projects
through review of grantee performance and products. Each year, NIDRR
examines, through expert program review, a portion of its grantees to
determine:
The number of discoveries, analyses, and standards
developed and/or tested with NIDRR funding that have been judged by
expert panels to advance understanding of key concepts, issues, and
emerging trends and strengthen the evidence-base for disability and
rehabilitation policy, practice, and research;
The number of new and improved interventions, programs,
and devices developed and/or tested with NIDRR funding that have been
judged by expert panels to be successful in improving individual
outcomes and increasing access; and
The number of new grants that include studies funded by
NIDRR that assess the effectiveness of interventions, programs, and
devices using rigorous and appropriate methods.
NIDRR uses information submitted by grantees as part of their
Annual Performance Reports (APRs) for these reviews. NIDRR also
determines, using information submitted as part of the APR, the number
of publications in refereed journals that are based on
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NIDRR-funded research and development activities.
Department of Education program performance reports, which include
information on NIDRR programs, are available on the Department of
Education Web site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/planning.html.
Updates on the GPRA indicators, revisions, and methods can be found
in the NIDRR Program Review Web site: http://www.neweditions.net/pr/commonfiles/pmconcepts.htm
.
Grantees should consult these sites, on a regular basis, to obtain
details and explanations on how NIDRR programs contribute to the
advancement of the Department's long-term and annual performance goals.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Medley, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 6027, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 245-7338 or by e-mail:
lynn.medley@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
VIII. Other Information
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
Dated: August 23, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-17048 Filed 8-26-05; 8:45 am]
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