COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR CAPACITY BUILDINGAT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUs)



NOTE:  This is a reprint of the announcement as it appeared in the

Federal Register on June 25, 1992.



DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES



Public Health Service



Cooperative Agreements for Demonstration Projects for Capacity Building

at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)



ACTION:  Notice of availability of funds and request for applications.



This demonstration program is to assess whether or not an

infrastructure responsible for the administration of sponsored programs

will enable HBCU institutions to increase their participation in

Federal and private sector health related scientific, technical, and

service activities and thereby improve their capacity to conduct such

activities.



AUTHORITY:  Applications are being accepted under the authority of

section 301 of the Public Health Service Act.



AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS:  It is anticipated that at least three projects

will be funded for an estimated cost of up to $250,000 (indirect and

direct costs) per 12-month budget period for a four year project

period.  There is approximately $750,000 available for funding this

program in fiscal year 1992.



ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:  Eligibility is limited to HBCUs as defined by

the U.S. Department of Education that offer, at a minimum, a

Baccalaureate Degree.  Priority will be given to HBCUs that have some

experience seeking and receiving Federal funding but do not have a

formal office responsible for administering sponsored programs.



OBJECTIVES:  To determine whether or not the capacity of HBCUs to

conduct scientific, technical, and service related activities can be

improved through infrastructure support of an office for sponsored

programs.



BACKGROUND:  In Executive Order 12677 on Historically Black Colleges

and Universities, President Bush outlined his objectives with HBCUs as

being to advance the development of human potential, to strengthen the

capacity of HBCUs to provide quality education, and to increase

opportunities to participate and benefit from Federal programs.  In

keeping with the intent of the Executive Order, the Public Health

Service (PHS) has developed this demonstration activity.



In discussions with representatives of HBCU institutions, both

administrators and Principal Investigators (PIs) and Federal staff

involved in HBCU activities, it has been hypothesized that HBCUs would

be better able to achieve the objectives outlined by the President if

their institutional infrastructure included support for sponsored

program activities.



This support, which has been labeled an office of sponsored programs,

would assist in developing each institution's ability to obtain and

maintain sponsored program activities, i.e., public and private sector

supported-research, training, evaluation, and services grants and

contracts.  In turn, this would improve the institution's capacity to

participate further in Federally sponsored programs aimed at

scientific, technological, and service-related activities and improve

the quality of their educational programs by providing students with

access to research activities and staff who are involved in the conduct

of such activities.



This activity is one that requires the commitment of all key staff at

the institution.  Therefore, those institutions interested in

participating in this activity will need to  document the commitment of

the chief operating and academic officers and the organization that

represents the institution's faculty to support this activity.



The institution will also need to provide a commitment to establish and

operate a sponsored programs office at a level within the institution

that will permit it to carry out the responsibilities set forth below.



The office would:



(a) serve as the key advisor to institutional officials in the

identification and development of institutional capabilities in

scientific, technical, and service delivery activities;



(b) be responsible for the pre and post award activities related to the

application for, and the administration of grants and contracts;



(c) assist the institution's staff in developing their writing skills

and ability to develop applications for support;



(d) identify and assist key administrators to develop institutional

policy to conform with Federal and other sponsor requirements;



(e) identify new and innovative methods of obtaining support for

institutional activities;



(f) assist in the development of applications including writing a

narrative, preparation of a proposed budget, provision of support

documents and certifications such as Civil Rights requirements, animal

use, and human subjects research;



(g) participate in the development of indirect cost rates and audit

activities;



(h) follow up on applications and serve as a continuing interface

between the institution and the funding organization;



(i) assist the PI in applications that are approved but not funded,

returned, or disapproved, to determine what the weaknesses are and how

best they might be overcome through preparation of a revised

application for resubmission;



(j) assist the PI so that the resources required, e.g., space,

personnel, release time, to conduct a funded project are obtained in a

timely manner;



(k) monitor the activities on the supported projects to ensure that (1)

appropriate progress is being made on the sponsored projects, (2)

problems are being dealt with, and (3) funding agencies are being

contacted when appropriate;



(l) assure that all reporting requirements are adhered to by the

institution and the PI, including financial status reports and

programmatic reports.



In addition to the usual technical assistance, the Federal Government

will provide additional substantive programmatic technical assistance

which requires that this program be a cooperative agreement.



On-site technical assistance will be provided by Federal contractors

who have demonstrated expertise in the field of sponsored programs at

other educational institutions.  This will include assistance in the

development of office systems and information resources including

materials, data systems, internal publications, staff surveys of

capabilities and interests, and methods of dealing with the internal

dynamics of an institution of higher education.



In addition, the Federal Government will provide the staff from the

recipient institutions with a general orientation program to PHS

sponsored activities at each PHS agency.  This will acquaint the

recipients with PHS organizations, programs, policies, procedures, and

contacts for further information.



Recipients will be required to develop a method of evaluating the

success of the new office activities at their institution.  This should

include input from faculty and administration.



HEALTHY PEOPLE OBJECTIVES:  The Public Health Service urges applicants

to submit work plans that address specific objectives of "Healthy

People 2000."  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy

People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or "Healthy

People 2000" (Summary Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238).



USE OF GRANT FUNDS:  The grant will provide, at a minimum, funds for

one full-time professional and one support staff person.  In addition,

institutions may provide staff and resources at no cost to the grant.

In order not to delay this demonstration project, the professional

staff person must be employed at the institution, or committed to be an

employee at the institution at the time of award (on or before

September 30, 1992), have knowledge of the institution's programmatic

capabilities, and have some working acquaintance with the

administration of Federal grants and/or contracts.  No funds will be

available under this program for alterations and/or renovations.



FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT:  Listed below are the activities for which the

Federal employees will be substantially involved in this project:



1)  Federal employees and/or contractors will provide on-site

assistance in the establishment of internal systems and procedures for

a sponsored program office.



2)  The Federal government will provide a general orientation session

on Federal programs and grant and contract policies and procedures.



APPLICATION NARRATIVE:  The narrative should contain the following

information, addressed in the same order as in this announcement.



1)  A statement describing the need for an office of sponsored programs

at the institution.  This should include the institution's assessment

of their current activities and capabilities and how the project would

improve their capacity to obtain funding and improve the quality of the

institution's education of its students.



2)  A listing of sponsored activities conducted by the institution over

the past three years giving a synopsis of the activity, annual dollar

amount, and source of support.



3)  A listing of the current staff used to identify sources of funding,

assist in application development and  implementation.



4)  A written commitment from the institution's President/Chief

Academic Officer and the organization that represents the institution's

faculty that they will support the development of this office and use

it for identification of sources of support and assistance in obtaining

and retaining support.



5)  A description of the facilities, support services, and resources to

be available for this project.



6)  A description of start up activities and institutional support

activities for the new office.



7)  A description of how this office will be organized and work on a

daily basis.



8)  A statement as to if and how the institution will support the

continuation of the activity once Federal funding ends.



9)  A clearly detailed list of project goals, objectives, and

milestones for the entire project.



10)  A plan to collect data and other information to evaluate   whether

or not the goals and objectives are met, including baseline and

comparative data, baseline sources, duration, amount, and supported

activities.



11)  A detailed budget narrative must be included with cost

justifications.



12)  A copy of the curriculum vitae of professional staff for the

project must be included.



APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS:  Applications will be reviewed for

technical merit by an objective review panel comprised of qualified

Federal reviewers.  Incomplete and/or applications that are

nonresponsive to the program announcement will be returned to the

applicant without further consideration.



REVIEW CRITERIA:  Applications will be reviewed and evaluated on the

following criteria:



1)  The extent to which the applicant's goals and milestones meet the

objectives of the program.



2)  The level of institutional commitment on the part of the faculty

and the administrative staff toward the establishment and operation of

the office.



3)  The degree to which an organization has a capability that can be

stimulated by this project.



4)  The extent to which professional staff involved in this project are

qualified to accomplish the project objectives and their knowledge of

the institution's infrastructure and operating procedures.



5)  The applicant's view of what constitutes an office of sponsored

programs, the actual location of the office, including organizational

chart, and how the office will function within the institution.



6)  The extent to which the organization is committed to continuing

support for this project once Federal funding terminates.



7)  The degree to which the evaluation plan will be able to measure

achievement of the objective and the quality of the methods to be used.



8)  The extent to which the budget is cost-effective and appropriate to

the scope and objectives of the project.



Funding decisions will be based on the recommendations of the objective

reviewers.  Final funding decisions will be made by the Director,

Office of Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health,

Public Health Service.



LETTER OF INTENT:  HBCUs planning to submit an application for a

cooperative agreement under this program announcement are asked to

submit a letter of intent by June 23, 1992.  The letter of intent

should be sent to Mr. Theodore J. Roumel, Chief, Grants Policy Branch,

Division of Grants and Contracts, ORM/OM, Room 17A45, Parklawn

Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.  Such notification

will be used for review and planning purposes.  The letter of intent is

voluntary and the fact that an HBCU does not elect to submit a letter

of intent does not preclude an HBCU from applying.



APPLICATION FORM:  The standard application form PHS 5161 (3/89) must

be used for this program and applicants must submit a signed original

and two copies of the complete application.  Application kits can be

obtained from and completed applications submitted to the Grants

Management Officer, Office of Minority Health, Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Health, Suite 1102, Rockwall II Building, 5515 Security

Lane, Rockville, MD 20852.  Applicants should not request Federal funds

that exceed the stipulated budgetary limit.



INFORMATION CONTACTS:  Questions regarding programmatic information

should be directed to:  Ms. Nina Darling, Grants Policy Branch,

Division of Grants and Contracts, ORM/OM, Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Health, Room 17A45, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane,

Rockville, MD  20857, telephone (301) 443-1874.  Questions regarding

business management aspects should be directed to Ms. Carolyn Williams,

Office of Minority Health, Suite 1102 Rockwall II Building, 5515

Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, telephone (301) 227-8758.



APPLICATION DEADLINE:  The application deadline is July 22, 1992, and

applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline if they are

either:



(1)  Received on or before the deadline date, or



(2)  Postmarked on or before the deadline date and received in time for

submission to the independent review group.  A legibly dated receipt

from a commercial carrier or U.S. Postal service will be accepted in

lieu of postmark.  Private metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as

proof of timely mailing.



Late applications will not be accepted for processing and will be

returned to the applicant.



This program is not subject to State review under E.O. 12372,

"Intergovernmental Review of Federal Program."



There is no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this

program since it is viewed as a one time project.



.

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