Revision of the Cost-Share Requirement and Addition of Bonus Points for Community-Based Organizations Applying To Operate Minority Business Development Centers (MBDC) in Designated Locations

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development Agency

[Docket No. 960402097-6129-02]

RIN 0640-XX02

Revision of the Cost-Share Requirement and Addition of Bonus

Points for Community-Based Organizations Applying To Operate Minority

Business Development Centers (MBDC) in Designated Locations

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Interim final policy request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In order to leverage Federal resources together with those

existing in communities, and to build local capacity to impact growth

in the nation's minority business sector, MBDA is revising its Minority

Business Development Center Competitive Application Package to increase

the Cost-Share requirement from fifteen percent (15%) to forty percent

(40%) and to give an additional ten (10) bonus points to the

applications of community-based organizations in designated locations.

DATES: This interim policy is effective May 31, 1996. Comments on this

interim policy must be submitted on or before July 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mr. Paul R. Webber IV, Assistant

Director for Operations, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S.

Department of Commerce, Room 5073, 14th and Constitution Avenues NW.,

Washington D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Webber IV at (202) 482-1015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Executive Order 11625, MBDA provides

business development assistance to persons who are members of groups

determined by MBDA to be socially or economically disadvantaged, and to

business concerns owned and controlled by such individuals. To deliver

this assistance, MBDA funds MBDCs which offer a full range of

management and technical assistance services, coordinate public and

private resources on behalf of clients, and serve as a conduit for

information concerning business development.

MBDA selects applicants to operate its MBDCs through a competitive

solicitation process. The guidelines for operation of an MBDC are set

forth in a detailed Competitive Application Package (CAP). The funding

instrument for the MBDCs is a cooperative agreement, which, in addition

to the CAP and the competitive solicitation published in the Federal

Register, sets forth the applicable requirements which must be met by

an MBDC operator (collectively, the ``program guidelines'').

Under the program guidelines, the Department of Commerce currently

funds up to 85% of the total budgeted cost of operating an MBDC on an

annual basis. The MBDC operator is required to contribute at least 15%

of the total project cost (the ``cost-share requirement'').

Contributions which may be utilized in satisfying the cost- share

requirement include cash contributions, non-cash applicant

contributions, third party in-kind contributions and client fees.

Under the revised guidelines for the geographic service areas

designated below, and for such additional geographic service areas as

shall from time to time be added to this list, the Department will fund

up to 60% of the total project cost. The operator will be required to

contribute at least 40% of the total project cost in order to satisfy

the cost-share requirement. In addition to the traditional sources of

an MBDC's cost-share contribution, the 40% may be contributed by local,

state and private sector organizations. It is anticipated that some

organizations may apply jointly for an award to operate one of the

designated centers. For administrative purposes, one organization must

be designated as the recipient organization.

Pages 1-7 of the MBDC Competitive Application Package (CAP) address

the scoring of applications. Currently, applicants are evaluated based

upon a 100 point scoring system which addresses the capability of the

applicant, the reasonableness of the applicant's proposed costs, the

applicant's proposed strategies for accomplishing the program mission,

and other selection criteria. This scoring system will be revised to

add ten (10) bonus points to the applications of community-based

organizations which have received a programmatically acceptable and

responsive score. Each qualifying application will receive the full ten

points. Community-based applicant organizations are those organizations

currently located within the geographic service area designated in the

solicitation for the award, and whose headquarters and/or principal

place of business have been located within the geographic service area

during the last five years. Where an applicant organization has been in

existence for fewer than five years or has been present in the

geographic service area for fewer than five years, the individual years

of experience of the applicant organization's principals may be applied

toward the requirement of five years of organization experience. The

individual years of experience must have been acquired in the

geographic service area which is the subject of the solicitation.

Issues concerning the interpretation of the foregoing requirements

and the meanings of key terms shall be governed by the CAP, as amended.

MBDA recognizes that the substantially decreased level of funding

for Agency programs and the instituting of a community-based emphasis

on the selection of service providers may lead to the non-renewal of

some awards upon the expiration of the current award term, yet prior to

the completion of a full, three-year competitive cycle. It is important

to note that under the Agency's existing program guidelines, the

renewal of an award for the second and third budget years is expressly

conditioned upon the availability of funding and shifts in Agency

priorities.

Statement of Policy

In order to implement its revised program in support of the

minority business sector, MBDA will henceforth increase the cost-share

requirement for Business Development Center awards to forty percent

(40%) and add ten bonus points to programmatically acceptable and

responsive applications of community-based organizations in the

following twenty-two locations:

Atlanta

Tampa

Cincinnati

New Orleans

Bronx

Newark/Jersey City

Las Vegas

San Francisco

Jacksonville

West Palm Beach

Brownsville

Oklahoma City

Brooklyn

Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles

Orlando

Chicago

Corpus Christi

Boston

Connecticut

Anaheim

Oxnard

Executive Order 12866

This policy revision was determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

Administrative Procedure Act

Since this notice of policy revision is a matter relating to public

property,

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loans, grants, benefits, or contracts under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), the

requirements of section 553 do not apply.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply to this notice of

policy change because the notice was not required to be promulgated as

a proposed rule before issuance in final form by 5 U.S.C. Sec. 553 or

by any other law. As a result, neither an initial nor final Regulatory

Analysis was required, and none has been prepared.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This notice involves a collection of information which has been

approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number

0640-0006.

Executive Order 12612

This policy statement does not contain policies with Federalism

implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism

assessment under Executive Order 12612.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512 and Executive Order 11625.

Dated: May 24, 1996.

Elio E. Muller, Jr.,

Associate Director for Strategic Planning, Minority Business

Development Agency.

[FR Doc. 96-13691 Filed 5-30-96; 8:45 am]

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