NEWS:

 

AARA Recovery Act Guidance:

TITLE:
Federal Acquisition Regulations; Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-32; FAR Case 2008-026; FAR Cases 2009-008, -009, -010, -011, and -012, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act); Final Rules

FON:
N/A

AGENCY:
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
General Services Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

ITEM:
Notice of final and interim rules to implement several sections of the American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) Act of 2009, which requires contractors to 1) publicize ARRA solicitations issued, contracts awarded, and orders issued under existing task and delivery order contracts; 2) report on their use of ARRA funds; 3) provide whistleblower protections; 4) allow the Government Accountability Office to interview current contractor employees during the audit of the contractor's records; 5) implement ARRA with respect to the Buy American provision (this rule does not cover procurements funded with federal financial assistance such as federal grants); and 6) provide specific authority to audit contracts and subcontracts and to interview contractor and subcontractor employees under contracts using ARRA funds.

ACTION:
All Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other directive material is effective March 31, 2009.

LINKS:
Federal Register notices:

Final Rule
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7027.htm

Publicizing Contract Actions
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7019.htm

Reporting Requirements
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7025.htm

Whistleblower Protections
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7020.htm

GAO Access to Contractor Employees
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7030.htm

Buy American Requirements for Construction Material
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7031.htm

GAO/IG Access
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7029.htm -

CONTACT:
FAR Secretariat, 202/501-4755.

A Grants Resource Center Stimulus Overview Presentation (PDF): (see Agency announcements below)

National Sceince Foundation (NSF) - In response to this landmark legislation, NSF has developed policies, procedures, and Frequently Asked Questions for use by the awardee community. These documents provide up-to-date information regarding NSF’s implementation of the Recovery Act, and are available at www.nsf.gov/recovery. The key elements of NSF’s implementation of the Recovery Act are highlighted below.

Funding Prioritization:

NSF will ensure that Recovery Act funds are awarded in a timely manner while maintaining its commitment to its established merit review processes.The Recovery Act supplements NSF fiscal year 2009 funding by $3.0 billion. NSF is planning to use the majority of the $2 billion available in Research and Related Activities for proposals that are already in house and will be reviewed and/or awarded prior to September 30, 2009.

NSF also expects to expeditiously award funds as specified in the Recovery Act for: the Math and Science Partnership program (funded at $25 million); the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (funded at $60 million); the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction Account (funded at $400 million); the Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI) program (funded at $200 million); and the Science Masters program, (funded at $15 million).

Solicitations for these latter two programs will be posted this spring.

NSF will post a solicitation this spring for the Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) in order to make a sufficient number of awards to utilize the $300 million provided in the legislation. NSF currently anticipates that no other solicitations will be posted that are solely in response to the Recovery Act.In keeping with this, NSF’s overall framework for Recovery Act investments emphasizes the following:

• All grants issued with Recovery Act funds will be standard grants with durations of up to 5 years. This approach will allow NSF to structure a sustainable portfolio.
• Funding of new Principal Investigators and high-risk, high-return research will be top priorities.

With the exception of the MRI, ARI and Science Masters programs, the majority of proposals eligible for Recovery Act funding include those that are already in house and will be reviewed and/or awarded prior to September 30, 2009.

NSF also will consider proposals declined on or after October 1, 2008. The reversal of the decision to decline must be based on both the high quality of the reviews received on the initial submission and the lack of available funding at the time the original decision was made. The cognizant program officer will contact the institution when a reversal is being considered by NSF. Specific procedural information regarding this new process is available on the NSF Recovery website.

UPDATES:

See information about NIST and Department of Education.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has received $610 million in funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The agency will use the funds for programs that support U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness, key factors in spurring economic growth.

Program specifics:

Scientific and Technical Research Services
Purpose: To provide funding for NIST’s in-house research and development effort, competitive grants, additional research fellowships and advanced research and measurement equipment and supplies.

1. Funding Level: $220 million, plus $20 million transfer from the Health Information Technology (HIT) initiative at the Department of Health and Human Services for HIT activities.
2. Allocation Method: Competitive grants
3. Decision-Maker: National Institute of Standards and Technology
4. Eligible Applicants: To be determined, but likely to be U.S. businesses and industries that assist NIST in cooperative research

Special Criteria:

Of the HIT funds, NIST is directed to create and test standards related to health security and interoperability in conjunction with partners at the Department of Health and Human Services
Construction of Research Facilities:
Purpose: To address National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) backlog of maintenance and renovation for construction of new facilities and laboratories

1. Funding Level: $360 million
2. Allocation Method: Competitive grants for $180 million for research science buildings
3. Decision-Maker: National Institute of Standards and Technology
4. Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for grants under NIST’s Technology Construction Grant Program

Special Criteria:

The $180 million for competitive construction grant programs for research science buildings shall include Fiscal Year 2008 and 2009 competitions.

1. For purposes of the construction grant program, NIST defines “research science building” as a building or facility whose purpose is to conduct scientific research, including laboratories, test facilities, measurement facilities and/or observatories
2. Competitive grants are awarded based upon published evaluation criteria

 

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) in association with the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) has an upcoming Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Program competition.  The goals of the TQP Program are to hold teacher programs accountable; improve student achievement; recruit new and mid-career professionals to teaching; and improve teacher quality of current and prospective teachers.   

 Approximately $100 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and $43 million in FY 09 funds will be available for an undermined number of five-year awards.  This will be the program's first competition since FY 04. The application announcement is expected in late spring with a deadline date 30-45 days thereafter.


The following questions may be of interest to potential applicants:

What is an eligible partnership?
An eligible partnership must include a public, private, or independent IHE that has a teacher preparation program, a school of Arts and Sciences, and a high-need LEA.  Any of these entities may be the lead applicant and can apply for more than one TQP Program grant as long as different partners participate.  Also, other educational entities can participate in the partnership, such as community colleges, state agencies, teacher organizations, and public or private nonprofit educational organizations.  Priority will be given to projects with broad support including community organizations.

 Will ARRA funding and FY 09 funding be kept separate?
Yes. ARRA funding recipients will have different requirements and must file quarterly expense and accountability reports.  However, all grantees must be able to meet the 100 percent matching requirement, although a waiver can be obtained from the ED Secretary.

What are the required and optional activities?
Each partnership must have either a Pre-Baccalaureate Program or a one-year Master's Residency Program.  A partnership can have both, or even a five-year master's program where, upon graduation, a student will have both bachelor's and master's degrees.

For the Pre-Baccalaureate Program, particular areas of interest include special education, rural education, teacher recruitment, and early childhood education.  However, grant funds cannot be used for scholarships.

For the Master Residency Program, a "livable wage" stipend must be paid to students. In turn, students must complete a three-year service obligation in a high need school to repay the stipend.  Students must repay the institution if the obligation is not met.  

Optional activities include but are not limited to preparing school leaders and administrators (but not guidance counselors) and developing digital education content.

Interested applicants, particularly past grantees, must read the upcoming announcement carefully because many of the requirements and definitions have been changed from the last competition.  

GRC will provide more information from the webinar as it becomes available, including the PowerPoint presentation and frequently asked questions.  Visit the  TQP Program's current website (http://www.ed.gov/programs/heatqp/index.html) for updates when available, including a move to its new home.  It will soon be housed in ED's Office of Innovation and Improvement and not the Office of Postsecondary Education as in previous years.