[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 15, Volume 1, Parts 0 to 299]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 15CFR290.7]

[Page 436]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
 CHAPTER II--NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT 
                               OF COMMERCE
 
PART 290--REGIONAL CENTERS FOR THE TRANSFER OF MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 290.7  Proposal selection process.

    Upon the availability of funding to establish Regional Centers, the 
Director shall publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting 
submission of proposals from interested organizations. Appliclants will 
be given an established time frame, not less than 60 days from the 
publication date of the notice, to prepare and submit a proposal. The 
proposal evaluation and selection process will consist of four principal 
phases: Proposal qualification; Proposal review and selection of 
finalists; Finalist site visits; and, Award determination. Further 
descriptions of these phases are provided in the following:
    (a) Proposal qualification. All proposals will be reviewed by NIST 
to assure compliance with Sec. 290.5 of these procedures. Proposals 
which satisfy these requirements will be designated qualified proposals; 
all others will be disqualified at this phase of the evaluation and 
selection process.
    (b) Proposal review and selection of finalists. The Director of NIST 
will appoint an evaluation panel to review and evaluate all qualified 
proposals in accordance with the criteria set forth in section 290.6 of 
these procedures, assigning equal weight to each of the four categories. 
From the qualified proposals, a group of finalists will be selected 
based on this review.
    (c) Finalist site visits. NIST representatives will visit each 
finalist organization. Finalists will be reviewed and assigned numeric 
scores using the criteria set forth in Sec. 290.6 of these procedures 
assigning equal weight to each of the four categories. NIST may enter 
into negotiations with the finalists concerning any aspect of their 
proposal.
    (d) Award determination. The Director of NIST or his designee shall 
select awardees for Center Operating Awards based upon the rank order of 
applicants, the need to assure appropriate regional distribution, and 
the availability of funds. Upon the final award decision, a notification 
will be made to each of the proposing organizations.