Federal Agency Name: National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program

Dates: Completed applications must be received at the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program office no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on March 15, 2006.

Federal Funding Opportunity: The Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program supports the acquisition of satellite communications services to provide educational, medical, and cultural needs of Pacific Basin communities and to manage the operations of this network.

Eligible Applicants: Any for-profit or non-profit organization, public or private entity, other than an agency or division of the Federal government. Individuals are not eligible to apply for PEACESAT Program funds.

2. Reports Submitted to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Grants

The Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program was authorized under Public Law 100-584 (102 Stat. 2970) and also Public Law 101-555 (104 Stat. 2758) to acquire satellite communications services to provide educational, medical, and cultural needs of Pacific Basin communities. The PEACESAT Program has been operational since 1971 and has received funding from NTIA for support of the project since 1988. The PEACESAT Program has been administered by the University of Hawaii throughout its history.

NTIA funding for the PEACESAT Program is provided pursuant to Public Law 106-113, which provides that “hereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Pan-Pacific Education and Communication Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program is eligible to compete for Public Telecommunications Facilities, Planning and Construction funds.” Funds appropriated to the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds account do not carry fiscal year limitations.

NTIA funding assistance is in the form of grants. For FY 2006, Public Law 109-108 appropriated $20 million for this account to be awarded for Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) grants and for PEACESAT Program grants. The solicitation notice for the PTFP Program was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2005. Applications submitted in response to this solicitation for PEACESAT applications are not subject to the requirements of the December 13, 2005 Notice and are exempt from the PTFP regulations at 15 CFR Part 2301. NTIA anticipates making a single award for approximately $500,000 for the PEACESAT Program in FY2006. For FY 2005, NTIA awarded one grant in the amount of $499,415. Grants are customarily awarded with a start date of October 1. A grant awarded in this program will be for a period of one year.

Eligible applicants include any for-profit or non-profit organization, public or private entity, other than an agency or division of the Federal government. Individuals are not eligible to apply for PEACESAT Program funds.

If an applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements, the application will be rejected and returned without further consideration.

Grant recipients under this program will not be required to provide matching funds toward the total project cost. However, if the applicant proposes matching funds, the Department expects grantees to expend local matching funds at a rate at least equal to the ratio of the local match to the Federal grant as stipulated in the grant award.

To obtain application materials either (1) write to NTIA/PTFP, Room H-4096, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; (2) send an email to ptfp@ntia.doc.gov; (3) telephone (202) 482-5802; or (4) fax a request to (202) 482-2156.

All applicants are requested to submit one (1) original signed application and five (5) copies, unless doing so would present a financial hardship, in which case the applicant may submit one (1) original and two (2) copies of the application. A complete application includes the following items:

1. Standard Form 424, “Application for Federal Assistance” (page 1 of the form is a certification; the original copy of the application must contain an original signature from an authorized representative of the applicant organization);

3. Standard Form 424B, “Assurances — Non-Construction Programs.” This form is required from all applicants, in spite of the reference to “non-construction” programs, and must have an original signature on the second page.

4. Department of Commerce Form CD-511, “Certifications Regarding Lobbying.” This form is required from all applicants and must have an original signature.

5. Standard Form LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.” This form is required from all applicants that employ lobbyists in an effort to obtain a grant.

6. Department of Commerce Form CD-346 — “Applicant for Funding Assistance.” One complete set of CD-346 forms must be submitted by an applicant that is a private, non-profit corporation (e.g., community licensee, private college, etc.). The form requests information from key individuals in the applicant organization: (1) each officer (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, etc.); (2) executive director or general manager; (3) chief financial officer, business manager; and (4) project director. CD-346 forms do not have to be filed by organizations that are part of state or local governments, including state or city universities and colleges, nor by Indian tribal governments.

Note. It should be noted that all applicants are required to provide a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number when applying for Federal grants. See the October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66177), and April 8, 2003 (68 FR 17000), Federal Register notices for additional information. Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line 1-866-705-5711 or via the Internet www.dunandbradstreet.com.

These requirements are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act and have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040 and 0348-0046.

After an application has completed the review process described in Section V, Application Review Information, below, applicants selected for negotiation may be requested to revise and resubmit parts of the application.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), unless that collection displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

Applications for all projects are due in the PTFP Office by 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on March 15, 2006 . This is the Closing Date. NTIA does not accept a postmark as proof of meeting the PEACESAT deadline. NTIA does not accept fax or email application submissions, or weekend deliveries. Applicants must ensure that the carrier they use guarantees delivery of the application by the Closing Date and Time. Applicants should note that all material sent via the U. S. Postal Service (including “Overnight” or “Express Mail”) is subject to delivery delays of up to two weeks due to mail security procedures at the Department of Commerce. If an application is received after the Closing Date due to (1) carrier error, when the carrier accepted the package with a guarantee for delivery by the Closing Date and Time, or (2) significant weather delays or natural disasters, NTIA will, upon receipt of proper documentation, consider the application as having been received by the deadline. NTIA will not accept applications postmarked on the Closing Date or later and received after the deadline.

Applicants submitting applications by hand delivery are notified that all packages must be cleared by the Department of Commerce security office. Entrance to the Department of Commerce Building for security clearance is through entrance #10 on the 15th Street side of the building.

As soon as possible after the Closing Date all applicants are sent notices that their submissions have been received and giving the file number assigned to each application by NTIA.

Applications not received by the deadline will be returned to the applicant. NTIA will also return any application that is substantially incomplete, or when it finds that either the applicant or the project is ineligible for funding. Applicants will be informed of the reason for the return of any application.

PEACESAT applications are subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,” if the state in which the applicant organization is located participates in the process. Usually submission to the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) needs to be only the first two pages of the Application Form, but applicants should contact their own SPOC offices to find out about and comply with its requirements. The PTFP Internet site has a link to the Office of Management and Budget’s home page which has the names and addresses of the SPOC offices. Applicants may access the OMB Internet site directly at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html. Printed copies of the SPOC list are available from PTFP.

Allowable costs incurred for approved projects shall be determined in accordance with applicable Federal cost principles, i.e., OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-122, or 48 CFR part 31, as applicable. If included in the approved PEACESAT project budget, NTIA will allow costs for personnel, fringe benefits, travel, consultants and other contractual services, supplies, and other costs that are reasonable and necessary to manage the operation of a satellite communications network. Communications and computer equipment costs are eligible as necessary in order to provide communications services to meet the education, medical, and cultural needs of the Pacific Basin communities. The costs allowable under this Announcement are not subject to the limitation on costs contained in the Federal Funding Opportunity announcement for PTFP.

Audits must be performed in accordance with audit requirements contained in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, revised June 27, 2003. OMB Circular A-133 requires that non-profit organizations, government agencies, Indian tribes, and educational institutions expending $500,000 or more in Federal funds during a one-year period conduct a single audit in accordance with guidelines outlined in the circular. Other audits may be conducted by the Office of the Inspector General. Most PEACESAT grant recipients are divisions of state and local governments, all of which routinely conduct annual audits. NTIA will, therefore, fund audit costs only in exceptional circumstances.

The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in an application under the PEACESAT program must not exceed the indirect cost rate negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency or 100 percent of the total proposed direct cost dollar amount in the application, whichever is less.

No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant which has an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either (a) the delinquent account is paid in full; (b) a negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least one payment is received; or (c) other arrangements satisfactory to the Department are made.

Hand-deliveries of applications must be made through Room 1874, located at entrance #10 on 15th Street, NW.

Each eligible application that is timely received, is materially complete, and proposes an eligible project will be considered under the evaluation criteria described here. The first three criteria—1. Meeting the Purposes of the PEACESAT Program, 2. Extent of Need for the Project, and 3. Plan of Operation for the Project—are each worth 25 points. Criterion 4, Budget and Cost Effectiveness is worth 20 points. Criterion 5, Quality of Key Personnel is worth 5 points.

Criterion 1. Meeting the Purposes of the PEACESAT Program, including (I) how well the proposal meets the objectives of the PEACESAT Program and (ii) how the objectives of the proposal further the purposes of the PEACESAT Program.

Criterion 2. Extent of Need for the Project. The extent to which the project meets the needs of the PEACESAT Program, including consideration of: (I) the needs addressed by the project; (ii) how the applicant identifies those needs; (iii) how those needs will be met by the project; and (iv) the benefits to be gained by meeting those needs.

Criterion 3. Plan of Operation for the Project, including (I) the quality of the design of the project; (ii) the extent to which the plan of management is effective and ensures proper and efficient administration of the project; (iii) how well the objectives of the project relate to the purposes of the PEACESAT Program; (iv) the quality of the applicant’s plan to use its resources and personnel to achieve each objective; and (v) how the applicant will ensure that project participants who are otherwise eligible to participate are selected without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or handicapped condition.

Criterion 4. Budget and Cost Effectiveness. The extent to which (I) the budget is adequate to support the project; and (ii) costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives of the project.

Criterion 5. Quality of Key Personnel the applicant plans to use on the project, including (I) the qualifications of the project director if one is to be used; (ii) the qualifications of each of the other key personnel to be used in the project; (iii) the time that each person will commit to the project; and (iv) how the applicant, as part of its nondiscriminatory employment practices, will ensure that its personnel are selected for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or handicapped condition. In this section, “qualifications” refers to experience and training in fields related to the objectives of the project, and any other qualifications that pertain to the quality of the project.

Each eligible application is evaluated by outside reviewers who have demonstrated expertise in the programmatic and technological aspects of the application. The reviewers will evaluate applications according to the criteria in the preceding section and provide individual written ratings of each application.

State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) offices, per Executive Order 12372, may provide recommendations on applications under consideration.

The Public Broadcasting Division (PBD) administers the PEACESAT Program and places a summary of applications received on the Internet. Listing an application merely acknowledges receipt of an application to compete for funding with other applications. Listing does not preclude subsequent return of the application or disapproval of the application, nor does it assure that the application will be funded. The listing will also include a request for comments on the applications from any interested party. Applicants must make a copy of their application available for public inspection during normal business hours. Any opposing public comments must contain a certification that a copy of the comments has been delivered to the applicant. Public comment and replies from the applicant are considered during the evaluation of the application.

The reviewer’s ratings are provided to the PBD staff and a rank order is prepared by priority and score. The PBD program staff prepares summary recommendations for the Director of the Public Broadcasting Division. These recommendations incorporate the outside reviewers’ ratings and incorporate analysis based on the degree to which a proposed project meets the PEACESAT Program purposes and cost eligibility as described in Sections IV and V of this announcement. Staff recommendations also consider (1) project impact, (2) the cost/benefit of a project, and (3) whether the reviewers consistently applied the evaluation criteria. The analysis by program staff is provided to the Director of the Public Broadcasting Division in writing.

The PBD Director will consider the summary evaluations prepared by program staff, rank the applications, and present recommendations to the OTIA Associate Administrator for review and approval.

The Director considers the summary recommendations prepared by program staff, recommends the funding order of the applications for the PEACESAT Program in three categories: “Recommended for Funding,” “Recommended for Funding If Funds Are Available,” and “Not Recommended for Funding.” The Director presents recommendations to the Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA), for review and approval.

The Director’s recommendations and the OTIA Associate Administrator’s review and approval will take into account the following selection factors:

Upon review and approval by the OTIA Associate Administrator, the Director’s recommendations are presented to the Selecting Official, the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, who is the NTIA Administrator. The NTIA Administrator selects the applications to be negotiated for possible grant award, taking into consideration the outside reviewers’ ratings, the Director’s recommendations, and the degree to which the slate of applications, taken as a whole, satisfies the PEACESAT Programs’ stated purposes.

The selected applications are negotiated between NTIA staff and the applicant. The negotiations are intended to resolve whatever differences might exist between the applicant’s original request and what NTIA is considering funding. Negotiation does not ensure that an award will be made. When the negotiations are completed, the Director recommends final selections to the NTIA Administrator, applying the same selection factors described above. The Administrator then makes the final award selections from the negotiated applications taking into consideration the Director’s recommendations and the degree to which the slate of applications, taken as a whole, satisfies the stated purposes for the PEACESAT Program.

No grant will be awarded until confirmation has been received from the FCC that any necessary authorization will be issued.

After final award selections have been made, the Agency will notify the applicant of one of the following actions:

(3) Rejection of the application with an explanation and the reason, if an applicant is not eligible or if the proposed project does not fall within the purposes of the PEACESAT program.

PEACESAT grant awards are usually announced toward the end of September with a starting date of October 1.

Successful applicants are sent a standard Department of Commerce Grant Award package, Form CD-450, containing all of the terms and conditions of the award. The CD-450 signed by the grants officer is the authorizing document and is sent to the applicant’s designated project contact via overnight delivery service. Two copies of the CD-450 must be signed and returned to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Grants and Agreements Management Division (NIST/GAMD) within 30 days. NIST/GAMD provides grant administrative services for all PEACESAT grants.

As a general matter, the Department expects grantees to expend local matching funds at a rate at least equal to the ratio of the local match to the Federal grant as stipulated in the grant award. The Department will not make any payment under an award, unless and until the recipient complies with all relevant requirements

The following required reports may be submitted to NTIA via the Internet through the PTFP On-Line Reporting and Tracking System (PORTS) or via the submission of two paper copies.

(a) Quarterly Performance Reports. During the Grant Award Period, grantees must submit performance reports on a calendar year quarterly basis for the periods ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, or any portions thereof.

(b) Close-out documents. Full close-out documentation must be submitted within ninety days following project completion or the expiration of the Grant Award Period, whichever comes first.

2. Reports Submitted to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Grants

Financial Status Reports (form SF-269) must be submitted in paper copy to the grants office, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Grants and Agreements Management Division (NIST/GAMD) for the six-month periods ending March 31 and September 30, or any portion thereof whether there is any financial activity or not. The reports are due no later than April 30 and October 31, respectively. Failure to provide Financial Status Reports in a timely manner will result in an adverse action being taken. This includes suspension of payment, suspension of award or any other action allowable under the uniform administrative requirements governing the award. A final Financial Status Report must be submitted within ninety days after the expiration of the Grant Award Period. Completed reports are submitted to NIST/GAMD, not to NTIA/PTFP.

PTFP/PEACESAT staff members are prepared to give technical assistance to potential applicants before the Closing Date, within available resources. They may be contacted by telephone at (202) 482-5802, by fax at (202) 482-2156, or by mail at the address given in Section IV, above. PTFP’s email address is ptfp@ntia.doc.gov.

Robert Sestili

Program Officer

rsestili@ntia.doc.gov

Copies of PEACESAT applications must be submitted to their state’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) office, if the state in which the applicant organization is located participates in the process. See Part IV, Section D, above.

The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification of Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register notice of December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389) is applicable to this solicitation.