[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 23, Volume 1] [Revised as of April 1, 2004] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 23CFR636.113] [Page 188] TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS CHAPTER I--FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PART 636_DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTING--Table of Contents Subpart A_General Sec. 636.113 Is the stipend amount eligible for Federal participation? (a) Yes, stipends are eligible for Federal-aid participation. Stipends are recommended on large projects where there is substantial opportunity for innovation and the cost of submitting a proposal is significant. On such projects, stipends are used to: (1) Encourage competition; (2) Compensate unsuccessful offerors for a portion of their costs (usually one-third to one-half of the estimated proposal development cost); and (3) Ensure that smaller companies are not put at a competitive disadvantage. (b) Unless prohibited by State law, you may retain the right to use ideas from unsuccessful offerors if they accept stipends. If stipends are used, the RFP should describe the process for distributing the stipend to qualifying offerors.