[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 126 (Thursday, July 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38082-38086]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16054]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
[Docket No. 100614264-0264-01]
Solicitation of Applications for the Research and Evaluation
Program: FY 2010 Triple Bottom Line Accounting Competition--A Method
for Identifying Impacts of Economic Development Initiatives on Regional
Economies
AGENCY: Economic Development Administration, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice and request for applications.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Research and Evaluation program, the Economic
Development Administration (EDA) seeks applications to research,
develop, and disseminate metrics to enable policymakers and
practitioners to more effectively understand how to assess the triple
bottom line (economic, environmental, and social impacts) of various
economic development activities. EDA's mission is to lead the Federal
economic development agenda by promoting innovation and
competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in
the worldwide economy. Through its Research and Evaluation program, EDA
works towards fulfilling its mission by funding research and technical
assistance projects to promote competitiveness and innovation in
distressed rural and urban regions throughout the United States and its
territories. By working in conjunction with its research partners, EDA
will help States, local governments, and community-based organizations
to achieve their highest economic potential.
DATES: To be considered timely, a completed application, regardless of
the format in which it is submitted, must be either (a) transmitted and
time-stamped at http://www.grants.gov no later than August 13, 2010, at
5 p.m. Eastern Time; or (b) received in the office or the e-mail inbox,
as applicable, of the EDA representative listed under Application
Submission Requirements no later than August 13, 2010, at 5 p.m.
Eastern Time.
Application Submission Requirements: Applicants are advised to read
carefully the instructions contained in section IV of the Federal
funding opportunity (FFO) announcement for this notice and request for
applications. For a copy of the FFO announcement, please see the Web
sites listed below under Electronic Access.
Applications may be submitted (a) electronically or (b) in paper
format. EDA will not accept facsimile transmissions of applications.
The content of the application is the same for paper submissions as it
is for electronic submissions. Applicants applying electronically may
access the application package by following the instructions provided
at http://www.grants.gov. Alternatively, you may obtain paper
application packages by contacting the individual listed below under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Electronic Submissions: Applicants are strongly encouraged to
submit applications electronically at http://www.grants.gov. The
preferred electronic file format for attachments is portable document
format (PDF);
[[Page 38083]]
however, EDA will accept electronic files in Microsoft Word,
WordPerfect, or Microsoft Excel. To take advantage of screen-fillable
functionality, an applicant must download the application package from
http://www.grants.gov and use the ``Save As'' function to save the
application package to the applicant's computer.
To avoid delays, EDA strongly recommends that applicants start
early and not wait until the approaching deadline before logging on,
registering with http://www.grants.gov, reviewing the application
instructions, and applying at http://www.grants.gov. Applicants must be
registered users with http://www.grants.gov in order to apply; the
registration process can take between three to five business days or as
long as four weeks if all steps are not completed in a timely manner.
Please register early. Applicants should save and print written proof
of an electronic submission made at http://www.grants.gov. If problems
occur, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error message
received, and (b) call the http://www.grants.gov Contact Center at 1-
800-518-4726 for assistance. The Contact Center is open 24 hours a day,
7 days a week (except for Federal holidays). The following link lists
useful resources: http://www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp. If you do not
find an answer to your question under ``Applicant FAQs,'' try
consulting the ``Applicant User Guide'' or contacting http://www.grants.gov via email at [email protected] or telephone at 1-800-
518-4726. In the event that http://www.grants.gov fails to function
properly at the time of application submission, the applicant must
retain the error message received and may e-mail a completed
application to Hillary Sherman-Zelenka at [email protected].
Paper Submissions: If submitting by paper, applicants must submit
one original and two copies of the completed application package via
postal mail, private delivery service, or hand-delivery to:
FY 2010 Triple Bottom Line Accounting Competition, Hillary Sherman-
Zelenka, Program Analyst, Economic Development Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 7009,
Washington, DC 20230.
Applicants are advised that, due to mail security measures, EDA's
receipt of mail sent via the United States Postal Service may be
substantially delayed or suspended in delivery. Applicants may wish to
use a guaranteed overnight delivery service. Please note that overnight
delivery packages are received in the Department of Commerce's mailroom
before distribution to applicable bureaus, a process that can take
approximately three to five business days. Accordingly, we recommend
applicants mail applications a week ahead of the August 13, 2010,
deadline in order take mail processing and distribution into
consideration and avoid delays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on the
Research and Evaluation program or to obtain a paper application
package for this notice, please contact Hillary Sherman-Zelenka via e-
mail at [email protected] (preferred) or by telephone at (202) 482-
3357. Additional information about EDA and its Research and Evaluation
program may be obtained from EDA's Web site at http://www.eda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: Building on the concept of
sustainable development introduced in the 1987 Bruntland Report, John
Elkington coined the term ``triple bottom line'' in his 1994 article in
the California Management Review where he articulated the concept of
``win-win-win'' business strategies. The article highlighted the
limitations of focusing exclusively on traditional economic variables
to determine the impact of industry actions on a regional economy.
Rather than focusing exclusively on profits, Elkington argued,
corporations also should consider the environmental and social
implications of their actions\1\.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``Triple bottom line'' accounting means expanding the
traditional reporting framework to take into account environmental
and social performance in addition to economic performance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the increased focus on sustainable economic development over
the past several years, the triple bottom line concept has been adopted
by a wide array of firms. Companies like Patagonia, General Electric,
and Pepsi have successfully implemented triple bottom line accounting
into their business models.
While the triple bottom line concept is becoming an increasingly
common formula for corporations to utilize to assess their bottom line,
it is rarely utilized by local jurisdictions to determine the impact
economic development efforts have on a region. Instead, most economic
development efforts are exclusively evaluated based on the impact that
the initiative will have on the local tax base and the number of jobs
that will be created. While these are undoubtedly important
considerations, local decision-makers also should consider a range of
other factors, such as whether the project will contribute to sprawl,
whether jobs will go to the local population or whether labor will be
in-sourced, and whether the economic development project utilizes
existing vacant properties or will deplete additional natural
resources.
In large part, development practitioners' and policymakers' lack of
utilization of the triple bottom line concept is due to a lack of
research on how the concept could be adapted from its original
corporate focus to fit the needs of local governments. In order to
rectify this, EDA solicits applications from qualified researchers to
develop and disseminate metrics for assessing the economic, social, and
environmental impacts of development efforts on a regional economy.
Proposed Study: EDA makes grant investments that support and foster
economic development in distressed regions. Currently, EDA's primary
measure for assessing potential investments focuses on economic
outcomes (e.g., the amount of private investment leveraged and the
number of jobs created and retained). For reporting to stakeholders,
EDA employs forecasts of these performance measures in its competitive
grant selection process and post-award administration. EDA seeks to
broaden its perspective using a more comprehensive, triple bottom line,
approach. The study is intended to provide the tools to implement this
approach.
EDA solicits competitive applications from organizations or
consortia that will build on the existing body of research and
experience related to the triple bottom line concept to identify,
develop, and disseminate appropriate metrics for practitioners and
policymakers to utilize to assess the broad array of impacts that
economic development efforts have in their regions. EDA solicits
applications from qualified researchers to accomplish the project tasks
and scope of work described in paragraphs (a)-(f) below:
a. Provide a literature review outlining key research.
In preparing their applications, applicants are encouraged to
examine how economic development efforts at the national, State/
regional, and local levels have used the triple bottom line concept,
challenges that have been encountered, and how these challenges have
been overcome. Applicants should, where possible, examine international
scenarios where the triple bottom line concept has been implemented to
evaluate public development efforts.
The successful applicant will be required to conduct a literature
review
[[Page 38084]]
on relevant work from academic and policy fields. The literature review
should be provided to EDA as a PDF document that can be made available
on EDA's Web site at http://www.eda.gov. The document must include a
short narrative outlining salient points of the research, the
implications of this work, and a bibliographic listing of writings,
articles and books reviewed.
b. Assess how the triple bottom line concept is currently being
employed by policymakers and practitioners and identify best practices.
The successful applicant will be required to solicit input through
surveys or focus groups from practitioners and policymakers on how they
currently utilize the triple bottom line concept, and provide a summary
of the information obtained to EDA in a format that can be made
available on EDA's Web site at http://www.eda.gov.
The successful applicant should ascertain organizations both at
local and at State/Federal levels that are currently using triple
bottom line efforts to assess economic development impacts, and
determine the method that will be used to assess best practices for
implementing the triple bottom line concept. Applicants should propose
a method to collect input from a diverse range of policymakers and
practitioners and develop a broad spectrum of rural and urban best
practices. EDA will work with the successful applicant to finalize the
method for soliciting input and identifying and communicating best
practices, as part of this phase of the project.
c. Identify variables and data sources.
The successful applicant is to identify the variables and data
sources that will be used to determine the triple bottom line of
economic development efforts. The applicant must consider the variety
of types of economic development efforts, and as appropriate,
distinguish the variables and data sources that would be needed to
assess the triple bottom line of different types of projects.
In preparing an application, the applicant should consider whether
variables for policymakers interested in determining the triple bottom
line of a publicly funded initiative would be the same as those
considered by local practitioners. If different variables are
identified for the practitioner and policymaker groups, the applicant
should specify why and how the variation will serve the needs of each
group.
There is a growing body of work that describes ways to assess
environmental impacts, social inclusion, and economic events. Examples
of resources focused on one or more of these areas include: Ecological
Footprint, eco-labels, and the United Nations International Council for
Local Environmental Initiative's approach to triple bottom line using
the ecoBudget metric. The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) has several accredited standards useful for
measuring greenhouse gas emissions. There are a range of Federal data
sources, including the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and
Bureau of Economic Analysis, which offer information on economic and
social variables. Applications under this competitive solicitation
should reflect a familiarity with the data and body of work referenced
above, as well as the appropriate academic literature. EDA will work
with the successful applicant to identify the universe of variables and
data sources as part of this phase of the awarded cooperative
agreement.
d. Create a triple bottom line index for policymakers and
practitioners.
The successful applicant will be expected to create an index that
policymakers and practitioners can easily utilize to determine the
triple bottom line of a particular economic development activity. The
index should identify core variables and data sources in each of the
three categories: social, environmental and economic. The successful
applicant will be required to construct this index from publicly
available data, where possible, to ensure that information can be
accessible to the broadest array of stakeholders.
EDA will work with the successful applicant to consider
implications of various variables as the index is constructed to ensure
as unbiased a construction as possible. Information on the variables
selected and data sources is to be submitted to EDA in a format that
can be made available on EDA's Web site.
e. Create an interactive Web-based tool.
As they are designing their proposals, applicants should refer to
how the EDA-funded Innovation Index, created by the Indiana Business
Research Center, makes data available in an easy-to-use format. The
Innovation Index may be accessed at http://www.statsamerica.org/innovation/index.html. In their application submissions, applicants are
encouraged to outline the structure, template, and unique features of
the Web tool that would be created as part of an award made under this
competitive solicitation.
To display the index of triple bottom line metrics, the successful
applicant will be required to create and implement an interactive web-
based display tool with search capability for determining the triple
bottom line of economic development efforts, which can be housed on or
linked to EDA's Web site at http://www.eda.gov. The successful
applicant must ensure that the index can be calculated for user-defined
regions through the web-based tool.
f. Produce a final report.
The successful applicant will produce a final report that
highlights the major findings of this research, provides policy
recommendations, and offers lessons learned on how both policymakers
and local practitioners can create and implement triple bottom line
metrics to more effectively evaluate the true impact of economic
development efforts. The report shall be posted on EDA's Web site.
Any information disseminated to the public under this announcement
is subject to the Information Quality Act (Pub. L. 106-554). For this
reason, the successful applicant is required to comply with the
Information Quality Guidelines issued by EDA pursuant to the
Information Quality Act, which are designed to ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information
disseminated by EDA. These guidelines can be found on EDA's Web site at
http://www.eda.gov.
Electronic Access: The FFO announcement for the FY 2010 Triple
Bottom Line Accounting competition is available at http://www.grants.gov and at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/FFON.xml.
Funding Availability: Funding appropriated under the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034 at 3114
(2009)) is available for the economic development assistance programs
authorized by the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) (PWEDA), and for the Trade Adjustment
Assistance for Firms Program under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended
(19 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.). Funds in the amount of $255,000,000 have been
appropriated for FY 2010 and shall remain available until expended.
For the Research and Evaluation program, EDA is allocating
$1,500,000 in FY 2010. EDA anticipates that the award made under this
competitive solicitation will involve a single-year project period and
has allocated $500,000 for this purpose.
Statutory Authority: The authority for the Research and Evaluation
program is section 207 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3147). EDA's regulations,
which will govern an award made under this notice and request for
applications, are codified at
[[Page 38085]]
13 CFR chapter III. The regulations and PWEDA are accessible at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Lawsreg.xml.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.312,
Economic Development--Research and Evaluation.
Applicant Eligibility: Pursuant to PWEDA, eligible applicants for
and recipients of EDA investment assistance include a District
Organization; an Indian Tribe or a consortium of Indian Tribes; a
State; a city or other political subdivision of a State, including a
special purpose unit of a State or local government engaged in economic
or infrastructure development activities, or a consortium of political
subdivisions; an institution of higher education or a consortium of
institutions of higher education; and a public or private non-profit
organization or association.
Anticipated Project Period: EDA anticipates a one-year project
period, subject to the availability of funds, EDA policy, and
satisfactory performance under the award. The applicant should ensure
that its application and budget clearly specify how it will complete
the scope of work, which consists of the tasks outlined above under
``Proposed Study'' and section I.B of the FFO announcement, compose the
resulting report and web-based tool, and present the report and web-
based tool to EDA senior management, within this timeframe. A typical
research project period begins with an initial meeting between the
recipient and EDA staff to discuss project scope and to ensure that all
parties are in agreement as to project terms. After the initial
meeting, the recipient generally submits a final work plan to EDA staff
for review and approval. Since an award made under this competitive
solicitation is envisioned as a cooperative agreement, EDA will have
substantial involvement throughout the project period. Progress and
financial reports, and project work will be submitted to EDA based on
the dates agreed to during the initial meeting and as outlined in the
award special terms and conditions.
Typically, the recipient submits a draft research report to EDA at
least 90 days before the end of the project period for EDA's review. If
the draft research report is approved, EDA will approve publication of
a final research report, and the recipient will brief EDA senior
management on research methods and report results.
Cost Sharing Requirement: Generally, the amount of the EDA grant
may not exceed fifty percent of the total cost of the project. Projects
may receive an additional amount that shall not exceed thirty percent,
as determined by EDA, based on the relative needs of the region in
which the project will be located. See section 204(a) of PWEDA (42
U.S.C. 3144) and 13 CFR 301.4(b)(1). The Assistant Secretary of
Commerce for Economic Development has the discretion to establish a
maximum EDA investment rate of up to one-hundred percent where the
project: (i) Merits and is not otherwise feasible without an increase
to the EDA investment rate; or (ii) will be of no or only incidental
benefit to the recipient. See section 204(c)(3) of PWEDA (42 U.S.C.
3144) and 13 CFR 301.4(b)(4).
EDA will consider the nature of the contribution (cash or in-kind),
the amount of any matching share funds, and fairly assess any in-kind
contributions in evaluating the cost to the Government and the
feasibility of the project budget (see the ``Evaluation Criteria''
section below). While cash contributions are preferred, in-kind
contributions, fairly evaluated by EDA, may provide the non-Federal
share of the total project cost. See section 204(b) of PWEDA (42 U.S.C.
3144) and section III.B of the FFO announcement for this request for
applications. In-kind contributions, which may include assumptions of
debt and contributions of space, equipment, and services, are eligible
to be included as part of the non-Federal share of eligible project
costs if they meet applicable Federal cost principles and uniform
administrative requirements. Funds from other Federal financial
assistance awards are considered matching share funds only if
authorized by statute, which may be determined by EDA's reasonable
interpretation of the statute. See 13 CFR 300.3. The applicant must
show that the matching share is committed to the project for the entire
project period, will be available as needed, and is not conditioned or
encumbered in any way that precludes its use consistent with the
requirements of EDA investment assistance. See 13 CFR 301.5.
Intergovernmental Review: Applications under the Research and
Evaluation program are not subject to Executive Order 12372,
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
Application Review and Award Notification Information: To apply for
an award under this request for applications, an eligible applicant
must submit a completed application to EDA before the closing date and
time specified in the ``DATES'' section of this notice, and in the
manner provided in section IV of the FFO announcement. Any application
received or transmitted, as the case may be, after 5 p.m. Eastern Time
on August 13, 2010, will not be considered for funding. Applications
that do not include all items required or that exceed the page
limitations set forth in section IV.C of the FFO announcement will be
considered non-responsive and will not be considered by the review
panel. This competition solicitation may be subject to an external
review panel, in addition to a panel comprised of at least three EDA
staff members (all of whom will be full-time Federal employees) that
will be formed to review applications. If any review panel convened for
this competition is comprised of non-Federal reviewers, each reviewer
will rate and rank each application. The review panel's ratings and
rankings will be presented to the Assistant Secretary, who is the
Selecting Official, under this competitive solicitation. By September
15, 2010, EDA expects to notify the applicant selected for investment
assistance under this notice.
Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated using the
following criteria of approximate equal weight:
(1) Conformance with EDA's statutory and regulatory requirements,
including the extent to which the proposed project satisfies the award
requirements set out below and as provided in 13 CFR 306.2:
Strengthens the capacity of local, State, or national
organizations and institutions to undertake and promote effective
economic development programs targeted to regions of distress;
Benefits distressed regions; and
Demonstrates innovative approaches to stimulate economic
development in distressed regions.
(2) The degree to which an EDA investment will have strong
organizational leadership, relevant project management experience, and
a significant commitment of human resources talent to ensure the
project's successful execution (see 13 CFR 301.8(b)).
(3) The ability of the applicant to successfully implement the
proposed project (see 13 CFR 301.8).
(4) The feasibility of the budget presented.
(5) The cost to the Federal government.
(6) The inclusion of a plan to distribute the research and project
data to development practitioners through a project Web site that can
be accessed free of charge.
(7) The ability to complete key tasks within a timely manner.
(8) The inclusion of a solid plan for sustaining the project after
close of the project period.
[[Page 38086]]
Under this competitive solicitation, EDA will consider applications
submitted only by applicants with the current capacity to undertake
research that advances innovation in economic development practice or
theory, and that have the potential for impact on a regional or
national scale. See section 3 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3122) and 13 CFR
300.3 and 306.2.
Selection Factors: The Assistant Secretary, as the Selecting
Official, expects to fund the highest ranking application submitted
under this competitive solicitation. However, if EDA does not receive
satisfactory applications, the Assistant Secretary may not make any
selection. Depending on the quality of the applications received, the
Assistant Secretary may select more than one application. Also, the
Assistant Secretary may select an application out of rank order for the
following reasons: (1) A determination that the selected application
better meets the overall objectives of sections 2 and 207 of PWEDA (42
U.S.C. 3121 and 3147); (2) the applicant's performance under previous
awards; or (3) the availability of funds.
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Administrative and national policy
requirements for all Department of Commerce awards are contained in the
Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants
and Cooperative Agreements, published in the Federal Register on
February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696).
Paperwork Reduction Act: This request for applications contains
collections of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has
approved the use of Form ED-900 (Application for Investment Assistance)
under control number 0610-0094. Forms SF-424 (Application for Federal
Assistance); SF-424A (Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs;
SF-424B (Assurances--Non-Construction Programs); SF-LLL (Disclosure of
Lobbying Activities); and CD-346 (Applicant for Funding Assistance) are
approved under OMB control numbers 4040-0004, 4040-0006, 4040-0007,
0348-0046, and 0605-0001, respectively. Notwithstanding any other
provision of 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 the
collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Executive Order 12866: This notice has been determined to be not
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132: It has been determined that this notice does
not contain ``policies that have Federalism implications,'' as that
phrase is defined in Executive Order 13132.
Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior
notice and an opportunity for public comments are not required by the
Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning
grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because notice
and opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553
or any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. Therefore, a
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and one has not been
prepared.
Dated: June 25, 2010.
Brian P. McGowan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-16054 Filed 6-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-24-P