[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 44, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 44CFR152.5]



[Page 393-394]

 

              TITLE 44--EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE

 

 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

                                SECURITY

 

PART 152_ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 152.5  Review process and evaluation criteria.



    (a) Every application will be evaluated based on the answers to the 

activity-specific questions during our initial screening. The 

applications that are determined to best address the Assistance to 

Firefighters Grant Program's established priorities during this initial 

screening will be in the ``competitive range'' and subject to a second 

level of review. We will use the narratives/supplemental information 

provided by the applicants in their grant applications to evaluate, on a 

competitive basis, the merits and benefits of each request for funding. 

In selecting applications for award, we will evaluate each application 

for assistance independently based on established eligibility criteria 

and the program priorities. Eligible applicants that best address the 

priorities will advance to a second level of review. The second level of 

review involves an assessment of the financial needs of the applicant, 

and an analysis of the benefits that would result from the grant award.

    (b) In order to be successful at this second level of the 

evaluation, an applicant must complete the narrative section of the 

application package. The narrative should include a detailed description 

of the planned program, uses for the grant funds including details of 

each budget line item. For example, if personnel costs are included in 

the budget, please provide a break down of what those costs are for. The 

narrative should explain why the grant funds are needed and why the 

department has not been able to obtain funding for the planned 

activities on its own. A discussion of financial need should include a 

discussion of any Federal funding received for similar activities. 

Finally, the applicant's narrative should detail the benefits the 

department or community will realize as a result of the grant award.

    (c) This second level of review will be conducted using a panel of 

technical evaluation panelists. These panelists are largely made up of 

non-Federal experts with a fire service background. The panelists will 

assess the application's merits with respect to the clarity and detail 

provided in the narrative



[[Page 394]]



about the project, the applicant's financial need, and the project's 

purported benefit to be derived from the cost. Technical evaluation 

panelists will independently score each application before them and then 

discuss the merits/shortcomings of the application in an effort to 

reconcile any major discrepancies. A consensus on the score is not 

required. The highest scoring applications resulting from this second 

level of review will then be considered for award. We seek to maximize 

the benefits derived from the funding by crediting applicants with the 

greatest financial need and whose proposed activities provide the 

greatest benefit versus the cost.

    (d) In addition to the project narrative, the applicant must provide 

an itemized budget detailing the use of the grant funds. If an applicant 

is seeking funds in more than one eligible activity within a program, 

separate budgets will have to be generated for each activity and then an 

overall or summary budget will have to be generated. For those 

applicants applying on line, the summary budget will be automatically 

generated by the e-grants system.

    (e) Specific rating criteria for each of the eligible programs will 

be published in a Notice of Funding Availability that we will publish 

pursuant to the program's annual appropriation.