Golden Field Office; Notice of Solicitation for Financial Assistance Applications; Clean Cities Program

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Golden Field Office; Notice of Solicitation for Financial

Assistance Applications; Clean Cities Program

AGENCY: Golden Field Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Solicitation for Financial Assistance Applications

Number DE-PS36-98GO10295.

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SUMMARY: Through this solicitation, DOE is supporting private and/or

public sector efforts to improve the organizational and business

practices of local Clean Cities coalitions organized to achieve the

Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) objectives for accelerating the use

of alternative fuels.

To carry the EPAct initiative forward, DOE's Clean Cities program

has encouraged the formation of public and private sector coalitions in

major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. for the purposes of

working together cooperatively to expand rapidly both production and

utilization of AFVs and development of the necessary refueling

infrastructure to support such vehicle use.

The objective of this scope of work is to incorporate a collection

of information, communication, planning and training tools in order to

best support and assist ongoing local Clean Cities coalition efforts to

be effective organizations in building new markets for alternative

fuels and alternative fuel vehicles. The services provided by this

cooperative agreement award will assist local Clean Cities in achieving

the objectives they established through Memoranda of Understanding with

local partners in each community and DOE.

DATES: The solicitation will be issued on or about April 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the Solicitation once it is issued,

submit a written request to the U.S. Department of Energy, Golden Field

Office, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO, 80401, Attention: Mr. John

Golovach, Contract Specialist. For convenience, requests for the

Solicitation may be faxed to Mr. Golovach at (303) 275-4753. The

Solicitation can also be accessed via the internet at the following

address: http://www.eren.doe.gov/golden/solicit.htm. A list of

requestors of the solicitation will also be published and may be

obtained electronically through the Golden Field Office Home Page at

http://www.eren.doe.gov/golden/solicit.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPAct was enacted to improve energy security

and urban air quality. The Clean Cities program was initiated by DOE

for the purposes of fulfilling voluntary commitment provisions, Section

505 of EPAct, in order to accelerate the public and private sector use

of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The Clean Cities program is a

growing national network of local coalitions that are dependent upon an

integrated information and training system to remain effective. The

scope of the Clean Cities Program will require expertise in the

following exemplary areas of support: (a) Alternative fuels and

alternative fuel vehicles; (b) Alternative fuels and air quality

legislation and regulations; (c) Knowledge of key members of industry;

(d) Intergovernmental organizations; (e) Training and curricula

development and materials; (f) Marketing, advertising, and public

outreach; (g) Organizational planning; and (h) Meetings and workshop

facilitation. Through this solicitation, the Department of Energy seeks

to support local Clean Cities partnerships in the following three

general areas of interest: (1) Training and Outreach to Local Clean

Cities; (2) Public Outreach; and (3) Alternative Fuel Market

Development.

[[Page 18895]]

1. Training and Outreach to Local Clean Cities

Prepare training curricula, materials and conduct up to six

educational workshops in order to strengthen organizational

effectiveness of local Clean Cities coalitions. Provide prepared

materials (slides and/or videos, talking points, handouts) in a fashion

that would enable clean cities coordinators to make condensed

presentations (during local meetings) on a particular training subject.

In essence, this ``train the trainer approach'' would enable more

coalition members the opportunity to participate and learn about a

subject or idea. Training programs in the following topics are desired:

A. Financing Vehicle Purchasing, Infrastructure Development and

Organizational Operations

Work will focus on educating and training coalitions on techniques

for: financing and raising funds, such as seeking funding from

foundations and corporations; incorporating as a nonprofit; grant

writing; event planning; applying for and participating in Congestion

Mitigation Air Quality programs.

B. Community Organization Outreach

Work will focus on educating and training coalitions to identify

and develop partnerships with pertinent local, community organizations,

such as the Lion's Club, Sierra Club, parent/teacher associations,

American Lung Association, etc., in order to integrate alternative

fuels' initiatives into local community agendas.

C. Public Information Outreach

Work will improve coalitions' ability to communicate and present

information to showcase local alternative fuel achievements. Work will

also include assisting Coalitions to develop public information and

outreach strategies.

D. Building Organizational Capability

Work will include training coalitions on how to increase the

organizational capability of local coalitions by explaining how to

establish senior executive and intern programs and motivating

volunteers to conduct coalition activities.

E. Strategic Market Development

Work will be directed toward assisting local coalitions with

establishing strategic market development plans that identify available

resources--people, participating company affiliations, vehicles,

refueling stations, corridors, airports, local laws and incentives; and

then identify gaps to form action plans that will result in Alternative

Fuel Vehicle (AFV) markets.

2. Public Outreach

Develop and design information materials to educate the public

about Alternative Fuels and other advanced transportation technologies.

Work would utilize a variety of electronic and print formats to develop

a coordinated, comprehensive public information strategy in conjunction

with DOE regional efforts. Work guidelines would be developed in

conjunction with the DOE Public Affairs Office in order to maximize

benefit and avoid duplication.

A. Outreach Program

Work would include developing and placing magazine articles to

increase fleet operators', fleet owners', and general public interest

in Clean Cities and alternative fuels. Work could include the

development of case studies and general public information products.

B. Partner Awards

Work would include developing an award and recognition process that

would generate corporate attention to Clean Cities objectives. Awards

and recognition would be communicated utilizing tools developed in (A)

above.

C. Public Service Announcements

Work would include developing appropriate themes on the societal

benefits of driving low emission, alternative fuel, and fuel efficient

vehicles; creating public service announcements based on these themes

for print and broadcast media; and placing these public service

announcements in the appropriate publications and broadcast media.

D. Middle and High School AFV Curricula

Work will be to develop and distribute new and/or build upon

existing educational materials on the value and benefits of alternative

fuel utilization, current and future AFV technology, and infrastructure

for incorporation into middle and high school curricula. Training

teachers on how to use the materials should be part of the task.

3. Alternative Fuel Market Development

Work would focus on developing partnerships in certain,

concentrated market niches demonstrated to be ``critical'' in the

development of a successful, local AFV market, such as airports, taxi

fleets, school bus fleets, rental car, and national parks. Work would

include developing an expertise in each niche; effectively ``tackling''

problem areas or issues in the market area; and identifying programs

that can be replicated in other Clean Cities. Workshops would utilize

the information materials developed. Up to two workshops per market

sector will be considered.

In response to this solicitation, DOE expects to make a single

award. There is a potential for additional single year extensions of

this work with additional future year funds. Additional scope of work

could be negotiated at a later date. Solicitation number DE-PS36-

98GO10295 will include complete information on the program including

technical aspects, funding, application preparation instructions,

application evaluation criteria, and other factors that will be

considered when selecting projects for funding. No pre-application

conference is planned. Issuance of the solicitation is planned on or

about April 17, 1998, with responses due on May 19, 1998.

Issued in Golden, Colorado, on April 8, 1998.

John W. Meeker,

Chief, Procurement, GO.

[FR Doc. 98-10077 Filed 4-15-98; 8:45 am]

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