Notice of Public Interest (NOPI) Soliciting Preliminary Applications for PATH Cooperative Research in Housing Technologies, 29560-29566 [E5-2564]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 98 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29560-29566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-2564]



[[Page 29559]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part II





Department of Housing and Urban Development





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



 Notice of Public Interest (NOPI) Soliciting Preliminary Applications 
for PATH Cooperative Research in Housing Technologies; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 98 / Monday, May 23, 2005 / Notices

[[Page 29560]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4992-N-01]


Notice of Public Interest (NOPI) Soliciting Preliminary 
Applications for PATH Cooperative Research in Housing Technologies

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of public interest soliciting preliminary applications.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Overview Information:
    A. Federal Agency Name. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development 
and Research.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title. Partnership for Advancing Technology 
in Housing (PATH) Cooperative Agreements.
    C. Announcement Type. Initial announcement.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number. The funding opportunity number is: 
FR-4992-N-01. The OMB approval number is pending.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: The CFDA 
number for this announcement is 14.506, General Research and Technology 
Activities.
    F. Dates: Preliminary application submissions will be accepted for 
a period of 60 days following the publication of this notice.
    G. Optional, Additional Overview Content Information:
    1. Program Purpose. The purpose of this notice is to inform 
potential applicants that the Office of Policy Development and Research 
(PD&R) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is interested 
in receiving preliminary applications for cooperative agreements for 
research and activities in support of the Partnership for Advancing 
Technology in Housing (PATH) program.
    PATH is a voluntary partnership in which leaders in the 
homebuilding, product manufacturing, insurance, and financial 
industries join forces with representatives of Federal agencies 
concerned with housing. By working together, PATH partners work to 
improve the quality and affordability of today's new and existing 
homes, while strengthening the technology infrastructure of the United 
States.
    PATH is designed to spur change in housing industry design and 
construction by providing the latest information on innovative building 
materials, techniques and systems. HUD's objective in issuing this 
Notice is to spur the advancement of new technology that can serve as 
models for the building industry and eliminate barriers to acceptance 
of the new technologies by local authorities and homebuyers.
    Previous PATH sponsored efforts have been roadmapping sessions to 
identify the advances critical to furthering the use of new 
technologies in the residential homebuilding industry. The initial 
roadmapping sessions were focused on: Reducing Energy Use in Existing 
Buildings; Information Technology to Accelerate and Streamline the 
Homebuilding Process; Advanced Panelized Systems; Manufactured Housing; 
and Whole House Building Process Redesign. Information on these 
roadmaps is available on the ToolBase Web sites at https://
www.toolbase.org/roadmaps.
    HUD is looking for applications which encourage developing and 
adopting innovative housing components and systems, designs, and 
production methods, collecting and disseminating information on the new 
technology advances, reducing the amount of time needed to move housing 
related technologies to the market place, and removing barriers to the 
acceptance of these new and emerging technologies.
    2. Available Funds. This Notice announces the availability of up to 
$3 million dollars in FY 2005 funds.
    3. Estimated Grant Amount and Period of Performance. Awards are 
expected to range from $50,000 to $1,000,000, dependent upon the work 
to be performed. The period of performance is expected to not exceed 24 
months in duration. Awards will be made in the form of a Cooperative 
Agreement.
    4. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants are for-profit, not-
for-profit, or non-profit housing industry or industry related 
organizations (or teams of organizations). PD&R encourages small 
businesses, minority owned firms, HUB-Zone firms, and other similar 
organizations to participate in this program. For profit applicants 
should be aware that HUD will not pay fee or profit for the work 
conducted under this Notice.
    5. Match. Proposals funded under this program require a minimum 25 
percent match of total project costs.
    6. Number of Applications. There is no limitation on the number of 
applications an applicant may submit, but each application must 
demonstrate the ability to meet the 25 percent matching requirement.
    7. Application materials will be available on https://
www.Grants.gov. Information on the PATH program is available on https://
www.pathnet.org

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    A. Program Description. HUD is soliciting preliminary application 
proposals to further the objectives of the Partnership for Advancing 
Technology in Housing (PATH) program. The purpose of the PATH program 
is to advance technologies that have the potential for improving 
housing performance. Technology advances may include but are not 
limited to, use of new materials, components and systems to complete 
houses, which improve the quality, durability, efficiency and 
environmental performance, and/or affordability of housing. HUD is also 
interested in eliminating barriers to the acceptance of these new and 
emerging technologies by the building industry, State and local 
governments, homeowners and homebuyers.
    1. PATH program goals are:
    a. Accelerate the use of new housing technologies (including 
processes) in the housing industry--this includes conducting basic and 
applied research, development of housing technology, development of 
evaluation measures for housing technology, evaluation of technologies 
on the marketplace, and long term analysis of housing technology;
    b. Disseminate new and existing technological information--this 
includes supporting regulatory acceptance of technologies, 
dissemination of information on promising but underutilized 
technologies, demonstrations of underutilized technologies, and 
provision of a clearinghouse for information on housing technology;
    c. Study and establish mechanisms for sustained housing technology 
development--this includes forecasting of research needs, 
identification of research, and strategic planning and operations; and
    d. Eliminate barriers to the acceptance of new technologies by the 
housing industry and communities.
    2. Priorities for funding under this Notice are efforts which:
    a. Conduct cooperative information gathering and dissemination in 
the U.S. residential construction industry. The work is targeted at 
improving the quality of and access to advanced technological 
information for the U.S. residential construction industry in a non-
commercial manner by identifying the most reliable sources of technical 
information, assessing their accuracy and bias, and providing this 
information

[[Page 29561]]

in an accessible and timely manner. This type effort is considered one 
of PATH's highest levels of preference.
    b. Experimental or innovative programs or initiatives to reduce 
institutional barriers to innovation. This type effort is considered 
one of PATH's highest levels of preference.
    c. Critical research and development efforts that specifically 
implement the roadmaps (including manufactured housing) through 
research or demonstration projects that address PATH objectives. This 
type effort is considered one of PATH's highest levels of preference.
    d. Address the subjects of roadmaps but not specific activities 
identified in the roadmaps. This type effort is considered high 
preference.
    e. Address all other activities that support PATH objectives as 
defined above. This type effort is considered lower preference.
    While PATH does not typically fund basic research through this 
approach (the National Science Foundation has partnered with PATH to 
support basic research in housing issues), some projects in the later 
stages of R&D (applied, development, and commercialization) may be 
considered under the above criteria. Cooperative Agreements under the 
PATH program are not intended to serve as primary investment capital 
and applications that demonstrate varied and extensive sources or 
amounts of non-Federal funding will be more favorably considered.
    B. Authority. This program is authorized by the HUD Fiscal Year 
2005 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 108-447; approved December 8, 2004).

II. Award Information

    A. Total Amount of Funding Available. Up to $3 million dollars in 
FY 2005 funds is being made available in support of the PATH program.
    B. Amount and Anticipated Number of Awards. Awards are expected to 
range from $50,000 to $1,000,000 dependent upon the nature of the 
proposal submitted to HUD. The period of performance is expected to 
range from 12 months to 24 months in duration.
    C. Type of Awards. Awards will be made in the form of a Cooperative 
Agreement. HUD expects to have substantial involvement in the review 
and schedules of deliverables, monitoring of budget expenditures and 
program staff involvement in steering committees, joint filed research, 
and document reviews and acceptance. HUD will entertain proposals for 
new and renewal of existing awards which further the objectives of this 
Notice. No contracts will be awarded under this Notice.

III. Eligibility Information

    A. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants are for profit and non-
profit organizations including trade and industry organizations and 
business, individuals, colleges and universities.
    B. Cost Sharing or Matching. Proposals funded under this program 
require a minimum 25 percent match of total project costs. The match 
can be provided as cash or in-kind contributions. Match provided may 
not be from Federal funds except for Community Development Block Grant 
(CDBG) funds. Match or cost sharing is an apportioning of the total of 
direct and indirect costs for the project between the applicant (or 
some other non-Federal source) and HUD.
    C. Other.
    1. Eligible Activities. Eligible activities are research and 
related activities which further the PATH effort and which are in 
keeping with the priorities contained in this Notice.
    2. Mandatory Electronic Application Submission via Grants.gov. 
Beginning in FY 2005, HUD is mandating electronic application 
submission using the federal government portal https://www.Grants.gov. 
Electronic application submissions require the inclusion of a DUNS 
number and registration with Grants.gov, the Central Contractor 
Registry and a Credential Provider, in order for HUD to accept your 
authenticated electronic signature. Individuals are exempt from the 
DUNS requirement, however they should contact Grants.gov Support to 
discuss how they register and submit their application electronically. 
The Grants.gov support phone number is 800-518-GRANTS or you can email 
the support desk at the following address: Support@grants.gov. For 
further information on electronic application submission, you can go to 
https://www.grants.gov/GetStarted and follow the directions or you can 
review the detailed instructions contained in the General Section of 
the 2005 SuperNOFA, published March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13576). The General 
Section is available on HUD's Web site at https://www.hud.gov/utilities/
intercept.cfm?/offices/adm/grants/nofa05/gensec.pdf.
    3. Threshold Criteria.
    a. Accounting System Review. HUD will not award funds to an 
individual or organization that does not have an accounting system that 
meets Federal requirements. If an organization has never received 
federal funding, HUD may conduct an accounting system review prior to 
awarding any funding. If the review finds deficiencies, HUD may request 
that the applicant obtain the services of an organization to maintain 
and account for program funds or elect not to fund the proposal.
    b. DUNS Number Requirement. Applicants (other than individual 
applicants) must have a Data Universal Numbering System Number (DUNS). 
Failure to include a DUNS number will be considered a technical 
deficiency. Applicants submitting an application via the federal 
government portal will need a DUNS number to submit their application 
electronically. Individual applicants are exempt from this requirement 
as discussed in paragraph III.C.2 above.
    c. Delinquent Federal Debt. Consistent with the purpose and intent 
of 31 U.S.C. 3720B and 28 U.S.C. 3201(e), no award of federal funds 
will be made to an applicant that has an outstanding or delinquent 
federal debt unless: (1) The delinquent account is paid in full, (2) a 
negotiated repayment schedule is established and the repayment schedule 
is not delinquent, or (3) other arrangements satisfactory to HUD are 
made prior to the pre-application submission date.
    d. Compliance With Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws. For 
Threshold requirements pertaining to compliance with fair housing and 
civil rights laws, please see the General Section of the 2005 
SuperNOFA, published March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13576).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    A. Address to Request an Application Package. Copies of this Notice 
and application forms may be downloaded from the grants.gov Web site at 
https://www.grants.gov/FIND. On that site you can choose from links 
provided under the topic ``Search Grant Opportunities,'' which allows 
you to do a basic search or to browse by category or agency. If you 
have difficulty accessing the information, you may receive customer 
support from Grants.gov by calling its help line at (800) 518-GRANTS or 
sending an e-mail to support@grants.gov. The operators will assist you 
in accessing the information. If you do not have Internet access and 
you need to obtain a copy of this Notice, you can contact HUD's NOFA 
Information Center toll-free at (800) HUD-8929. Persons with hearing or 
speech impairments may also call toll-free at (800) HUD-2209.
    The published Federal Register document is the official document 
that HUD uses to solicit applications. Therefore, if there is a 
discrepancy

[[Page 29562]]

between any materials published by HUD in its Federal Register 
publications and other information provided in paper copy, electronic 
copy, or at https://www.grants.gov, the Federal Register publication 
prevails. Please be sure to review your application submission against 
the requirements in the Federal Register file of the program Notice. 
The instructions incorporated into the application found on Grants.gov/
Apply contain the PDF files of the Federal Register publication. By 
accessing the information from the Internet at Grants.gov you will not 
have to wait for copies of the NOPIs/NOFAs or forms to begin to prepare 
your application for funding.
    B. Content and Form of Application Submission. Applications 
submissions under this Notice will be done in a two-step process. 
Applicants are invited to submit a preliminary application for funding 
consideration. If the preliminary application is deemed worthy of 
further consideration, the applicant will be requested to submit a full 
application for funding consideration. Required forms can be found in 
the General Section of the 2005 SuperNOFA, published March 21, 2005 (70 
FR 13576).
    Preliminary proposals should be brief (1-3 pages) and should 
include the following information:
    1. SF 424, Application for Federal Financial Assistance. Mark the 
application submission type in Box 1 as Preapplication, non 
Construction;
    2. A description of your proposal which includes:
    a. The title;
    b. The specific objectives of the research you will be conducting 
if you receive funding;
    c. The problems/issues being addressed;
    d. The relationship of the research to the PATH goals and research 
priorities contained in this Notice;
    e. The methodology to be employed in conducting the research;
    f. A statement why the applicant is a unique source from which the 
work may be obtained (not just a well-qualified, or even best qualified 
source) or the content and nature of the proposal is the private, sole 
possession of the applicant, or is of a direct and immediate value to 
the Government, and cannot be obtained from alternative, nonexclusive 
sources;
    g. The products to be prepared (deliverables, research reports, 
etc.);
    h. The anticipated period of performance needed to conduct the 
research;
    i. A summary budget that includes estimates of salary, fringe 
benefits, supplies, equipment and other relevant budget categories. The 
budget must also identify costs to be allocated from HUD funds and the 
matching share to be provided by the applicant in fulfillment of the 
25% match requirement. Applicants may use form HUD 424 CB to provide 
their budget proposal.
    j. Proposals indicating the acquisition of equipment (defined as a 
durable item that costs more than $5,000) will need to discuss the need 
for such equipment and alternatives to the acquisition. In such 
instances, applicants should discuss why leasing is not a viable 
alternative. No other information should be provided with the 
application.
    k. Facsimile Transmittal Cover Page (HUD 96011). This form must be 
used as part of the electronic application only if you intend to 
transmit third party documents and other information as described in 
the General Section of the FY 2005 SuperNOFA as part of your electronic 
application submittal. Applicants are advised to download the 
application package, complete the SF 424 first and by doing so it will 
pre-populate the Transmittal Cover page. The Transmittal Cover page 
will contain a unique identifier embedded in the page that will help 
HUD associate your faxed materials to your application. Please download 
the cover page and then make multiple copies to provide to any of the 
entities responsible for submitting faxed materials to HUD on your 
behalf.
    No other information should be provided with the application.
    C. Submission Dates and Times. Preliminary applications may be 
submitted any time following publication of this Notice, but no later 
than July 22, 2005. Applications must meet the timely submission 
requirements of this Notice. Applications received after the 60 days 
period will be deemed late and will not be considered under this 
Notice.
    D. Intergovernmental Review. This program is not subject to 
Intergovernmental Review under Executive Order 12372.
    E. Funding Restrictions.
    1. HUD is not responsible for costs incurred in the preparation of 
summary proposals or full proposals should the applicant be requested 
to submit one.
    2. Fee or profit will not be paid for work done under this Notice.
    3. Proposals indicating the acquisition of equipment (defined as a 
durable item that costs more than $5,000) will need prior approval of 
HUD for such expenses.
    4. HUD will not fund the following types of proposals:
    a. Proposals for operating funds, working capital, plant 
information technology, or other investment, including construction.
    b. Proposals that solely or principally relate to or benefit a 
particularly individual, local group, or community (i.e., proposals 
that do not have a primary expectation of national application or 
replication of results).
    c. Demonstration proposals that would require major statutory 
changes in order for the results to be applied.
    d. Proposals for support of the development of consumer, business, 
or proprietary products, systems, or concepts that are later to be 
offered for sale at a profit. (In special instances, unmet needs of 
high national priority--e.g., energy-conservation systems for housing--
may be funded, but only on a solicited, competitive, public Request for 
Proposals basis).
    e. Proposals that duplicate or overlap current or previous work.
    f. Proposals that do not meet Federal criteria for award of sole-
source, non-competitive contracts. Awards may not be made in response 
to an Unsolicited Proposal unless the offerer is the unique source from 
which the work may be obtained (not just a well-qualified, or even 
best-qualified, source), or the content and nature of the proposal is 
the private, sole possession of the offerer, is of direct and immediate 
value to the Government, and cannot be obtained from alternative, 
nonexclusive sources. HUD may conduct market research to verify claims 
of unique sources.
    g. Proposals that require a disproportionate share of HUD's 
research funds.
    h. Proposals that do not provide for significant cost sharing by 
the offerer.
    i. Proposals that are of generally the same subject matter as a 
current PD&R competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) or an invitation 
for assistance agreement (grant or cooperative agreement) applications. 
The period of ineligibility will generally be from the date of the 
first solicitation notice in FedBizOpps or the Federal Register until 
ninety (90) calendar days after competitive selection and award.
    F. Other Submission Requirements.
    1. Application Submission and Receipt Procedure. Applications must 
be submitted via the Grants.gov Web site at https://www.grants.gov/Apply 
by not later than the established submission date. Please read the 
General Section of the SuperNOFA, published March 21, 2005 (70 FR 
13576) carefully and completely for further submission and receipt 
procedures for all applications because failure to comply may 
disqualify your application.

[[Page 29563]]

    2. Waiver of Electronic Application Submission. HUD regulations at 
24 CFR 5.110 permit waivers of regulatory requirements to be granted 
for cause. If you are unable to submit your application electronically, 
you may request a waiver from this requirement. Your waiver request 
must be in writing and state the basis for the request and explain why 
electronic submission is not possible. The basis for waivers for cause 
may include but are not limited to (1) lack of available Internet 
access in the geographic location in which the applicant's business 
office is located or, (2) physical disability of the applicant that 
prevents the applicant from accessing or responding to the application 
electronically.
    The waiver request should also include an email or name and mailing 
address where responses can be directed. You must submit your waiver 
request to the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, 
Attention: Mr. Patrick Tewey, Director of Budget, Contracts and Program 
Control, Office of Policy Development and Research, 451 Seventh Street, 
SW., (Room 8230), Washington, DC 20410. Waiver requests will be 
accepted beginning on the date of publication of this Notice and no 
later than 30 days prior to the application submission date. HUD will 
not consider a waiver request that does not conform to the above 
requirement.
    To avoid a delay in the process, waiver requests should be sent by 
United States Postal Service Express Mail. You, the applicant, should 
retain a receipt for the mailing showing the date submitted to the 
United States Postal Service (USPS). HUD will acknowledge receipt of 
the waiver request by e-mail, if an email address is provided, or by 
United States Postal Service Express Mail or other available means. HUD 
will not make determinations or respond to waiver requests via the 
telephone. Each waiver request will be reviewed and a determination 
made. HUD will inform the applicant, whether or not the waiver has been 
granted. In the event a waiver is granted, the submission date for 
mailed applications will be the same as the electronic application 
submission receipt date. Applicants receiving a waiver will be expected 
to follow the submission instructions immediately following. Requests 
for waivers submitted to the USPS by the established waiver submission 
date and received by HUD no later than 15 days after the established 
waiver submission date (30 day prior to the application submission 
date) will be considered. If the USPS does not have a receipt with a 
digital time stamp, HUD will accept a receipt showing USPS Form 3817, 
Certificate of Mailing with a dated postmark. The proof of submission 
receipt provided by the Postal Service must show USPS receipt no later 
than the established waiver submission deadline. Faxed requests for 
waivers will not be considered.
    3. Submission Instructions for Applicants Receiving a Waiver of 
Electronic Submission. Applicants receiving a waiver of the electronic 
submission requirements must submit an original and 2 copies of their 
application using the United States Postal Service to: Attention: Mr. 
Patrick Tewey, Director of Budget, Contracts and Program Control, 
Office of Policy Development and Research, 451 Seventh Street, SW. 
(Room 8230), Washington, DC 20410. Beginning in FY 2005, HUD will no 
longer accept hand deliveries of applications. Applicants who receive a 
waiver and are therefore allowed to submit paper applications must 
submit them via the United States Postal Service using either Express 
Mail or regular mailing services.
    4. Timely Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission.
    a. Electronic Submission. All applications must be received by 
Grants.gov by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the application submission 
date stated in this Notice. Grants.gov automatically records proof of 
timely submission. An electronic time stamp is generated within the 
Grants.gov system when the application has been successfully received. 
The applicant will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking 
number from Grants.gov with the successful transmission of its 
application. Applicants should print this receipt and save it, along 
with facsimile receipts for information provided by facsimile, as proof 
of timely submission. When HUD successfully retrieves the application 
from Grants.gov, you will be provided an electronic acknowledgment of 
receipt to the email address provided on the SF-424. Your time of 
submission will be the date and time that Grants.gov receives your 
application submittal and the date HUD receives those portions of your 
application submitted by facsimile. If you are including attachments to 
your application that are being submitted by facsimile, all facsimile 
transmissions must be received by the application submission date and 
time.
    Applications received by Grants.gov after the established 
submission deadline for the program will be considered late and will 
not be considered for funding by HUD. Similarly, applications will be 
considered late if information submitted by facsimile as part of the 
application has not received by HUD by the established submission 
deadline. Please take into account the transmission time required for 
submitting your application via the Internet and the time required to 
fax any related documents. HUD suggests that applicants submit their 
applications during the operating hours of the Grants.gov Support Desk 
so that if there are questions concerning transmission, operators will 
be available to assist you through the process. Submitting your 
application during the Support Desk hours will also ensure that you 
have sufficient time for the application to complete its transmission 
prior to the application deadline.
    Applicants using dial-up connections should be aware that 
transmission takes extra time before Grants.gov receives it. Grants.gov 
will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission 
message. The Grants.gov Support Desk reports that some applicants abort 
the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during 
the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to 
process the application. Uploading and transmitting a large file, 
particularly electronic forms with associated eXtensible mark-up 
language (XML) schema, will take considerable time to process and be 
received by Grants.gov.
    b. Applications Receiving Waivers To Submit a Paper Copy 
Application. Applicants granted a waiver to the electronic submission 
requirement must use the United States Postal Service (USPS) to submit 
their applications to HUD. Applicants must take their application to a 
post office to get a receipt of mailing that provides the date and time 
the package was submitted to the USPS. USPS rules now require that 
large packages must be brought to a postal facility for mailing. In 
many areas, the USPS has made a practice of returning to the sender, 
large packages that have been dropped in a mail collection box. Paper 
copy applications submitted to the USPS by the submission date and time 
and received by HUD no later than 15 days after the established 
submission date will receive funding consideration. If the USPS does 
not have a receipt with a digital time stamp, HUD will accept a receipt 
showing USPS Form 3817, Certificate of Mailing with a dated postmark. 
The proof of submission receipt provided by the Postal Service must 
show receipt no later than the application submission deadline. 
Applicants whose applications are determined to be late, who cannot 
furnish HUD with a receipt from the USPS that verifies the package

[[Page 29564]]

was submitted to the USPS prior to the submission due date and time 
will not receive funding consideration. Applicants may use any type of 
mail service provided by the USPS to have their application package 
delivered to HUD in time to meet the submission requirements.
    c. Late Applications, Whether Received Electronically or in Hard 
Copy, Will Not Receive Funding Consideration. HUD will not be 
responsible for directing or forwarding applications to the appropriate 
location. Applicants should pay close attention to these submission and 
timely receipt instructions, as they can make a difference in whether 
HUD will accept your application for funding consideration.
    d. HUD Will Not Accept Fax Transmissions From Applicants Who 
Receive a Waiver To Submit a Paper Copy Application. Paper applications 
must be complete and submitted in their entirety, via the USPS. 
Applicants need to pay attention to providing the required number of 
copies to the appropriate HUD office(s).

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria

    1. Threshold Review. Applications will be reviewed for conformance 
with the goals and objectives of the PATH program and this Notice. 
Proposals will be returned without further review if they do not 
provide for cost sharing, include the unique source statement, address 
PATH objectives or preferences, or provide a proposed budget.
    2. Substantive Review. Applications passing threshold review will 
undergo a substantive review. HUD will review the application against 
the following criteria:
    a. Research Areas To Be Addressed. The degree to which the 
submission most closely aligns with and will have the greatest impact 
in meeting PATH goals and objectives including the preferences for the 
types of research to be conducted contained in this Notice, PATH 
technical roadmaps, and other key PATH program elements. Projects which 
address the following issues will receive preference in the following 
order:
    (1) Highest Preference:
    (a) Conduct Cooperative information gathering and dissemination in 
the U.S. residential construction industry. The work is targeted at 
improving the quality of, and access to, advanced technological 
information for the U.S. residential construction industry in a non 
commercial manner by identifying the most reliable sources of technical 
information, assessing their accuracy and bias, and providing this 
information in an accessible and timely manner.
    (b) Experimental or innovative programs or initiatives to reduce 
institutional barriers to innovation.
    (c) Critical research and development efforts, which specifically 
implement the roadmaps (including manufactured housing) through 
research or demonstration projects that address PATH objectives.
    (2) High Preference: Address the subjects of roadmaps but not 
specific activities identified in the roadmap.
    (3) Lower Preference: Address all other activities that support 
PATH objectives not defined above.
    b. Other Considerations.
    (1) While PATH does not typically fund basic research through this 
approach (the National Science Foundation has partnered with PATH to 
support basic research in housing issues), some projects in the later 
stages of R&D (applied, development, and commercialization) may be 
considered under the above criteria.
    (2) Cooperative Agreements under the PATH program are not intended 
to serve as primary investment capital and applications that 
demonstrate varied and extensive sources or amounts of non-Federal 
funding will be more favorably considered.
    3. Other Review Criteria. In addition to the subject matter 
preferences stated above, HUD will review applications against the 
following additional criteria:
    a. Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant Staff: The proposal's 
description of the applicant's capacity (both managerial and technical) 
will be evaluated. This evaluation will serve to validate the 
likelihood the applicant will be able to successfully provide the 
management and technical staff necessary to complete the work. The 
assessment of capacity will include the applicant proposing the effort 
as well as the applicant's partners. With regard to the technical 
capacity, the capabilities of the applicant and the applicant's 
partners will be considered.
    b. Need/Extent of the Problem: The proposal will be evaluated on 
how the problem or issue to be addressed affects the residential 
construction industry. Project proposals that address issues relevant 
to a specific, proprietary segment of the housing industry or a 
specific geographic location will not be considered as favorably as 
those which are non-proprietary and focus on addressing housing issues 
nationwide. Applicants are urged to review the past PATH and HUD 
research (which is available from https://www.huduser.org/) to ensure 
their proposals have incorporated the results of past research 
completed by HUD and PATH.
    c. Soundness of Approach: The application will be assessed with 
regard to the soundness of the research strategy with respect to both 
the technical and management approach. Applications should provide the 
necessary detail in describing the research strategy and plan for the 
execution of the work to allow both understanding and assessment of the 
proposal.
    d. Leveraging Resources: Applications require a minimum match of 
25% of the Federal share. Applications that can demonstrate a higher 
level of match will receive greater consideration.
    Proposals for the PATH program will be evaluated with equal weight 
being given to Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant Staff; Need/
Extent of the Problem; and Soundness of Approach. The factor, 
Leveraging Resources, will be evaluated but will be a lesser component 
of the overall assessment.
    B. Reviews and Selection Process. The proposals will be reviewed to 
assess how they comply with and advance PATH program goals of advancing 
the diffusion of technology, affordability, durability, energy 
efficiency, and disaster resistance. Proposals will also be evaluated 
from a technical basis with regard to the potential for successful 
completion of the proposed effort. Staff of the Affordable Housing 
Research and Technology Division will be responsible for evaluation of 
the proposals against the merit criteria. Preliminary applications will 
be reviewed against the criteria and a determination shall be made 
whether the application has sufficient merit to warrant HUD requesting 
the applicant to submit a full proposal. Full proposals shall use the 
same criteria as described in this Notice to determine their 
acceptability for funding. Final award selections will be made by the 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development at HUD.
    Evaluation panels will consist of two or three HUD researchers 
selected for their knowledge of the subject area and PATH program. 
Reviewers will evaluate summary and (if requested) full proposals 
independently and then will establish a consensus evaluation. This 
evaluation will include consideration of the effort's technical merit, 
the feasibility, relationship with PATH goals, and the available 
funding. Reviewers will be selected based on their availability, 
experience with the subject material, and understanding of the PATH 
program goals.
    C. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates. It is anticipated that 
selection of proposals for full

[[Page 29565]]

application submissions will begin within 30 days of receipt of a 
preliminary application. Applicants will be notified in writing whether 
their proposal was selected for full application submission or not. The 
notification to selected applicants will provide detailed instructions 
for submission of the full proposal and the date by which the full 
proposal must be received by HUD. Receipt of an invitation to submit a 
more detailed full application does not imply that an award of a 
cooperative agreement for the proposed work is expected. The invitation 
is only an indication that the Preapplication is of sufficient merit to 
have passed preliminary review and to justify preparation of a full 
application submission.
    HUD anticipates that awards can be provided within 120 days 
following full application submission by applicants selected to submit 
full applications. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified within 60 
days of submission of their preliminary or full submission.

VI. Award Administration Information

    A. Award Notices. Successful applicants will be notified by HUD and 
asked to meet with HUD to finalize the award of the Cooperative 
Agreement and also to begin the final refinement of the research 
strategy. If necessary, negotiations with applicants will occur 
following award selection but before award. If these negotiations do 
not result in agreement between HUD and the potential awardee, the 
award process will not be completed. Following successful negotiations, 
the executed Cooperative Agreement award document signed by both HUD 
and the applicant is the authorization document and will govern the 
work to be performed.
    B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
    1. The terms and conditions for the PATH Cooperative Agreements 
will be posted with other information on the PATH Web site at https://
www.pathnet.org/. Successful applicants will be expected to comply with 
OMB circular requirements and the Terms and Conditions of the Award 
Agreement.
    2. Procurement of Recovered Materials. For requirements pertaining 
to purchase of recovered materials by applicants that are state 
agencies or agencies of a political subdivision of a state, please see 
the General Section of the 2005 SuperNOFA, published March 21, 2005 (70 
FR 13576).
    C. Reporting. Following award, grantees will be required to submit 
quarterly and annual reports which describe the progress of the effort. 
The report format is available at https://www.huduser.org/. Periodic 
reports may be submitted in hard copy or electronically as determined 
by HUD. Applicants will also be required to submit a final report which 
summarizes the entire work and achievements conducted under award. This 
report will address the specific outcomes described in the applicant's 
proposal, the cooperative agreement award, achievement of project goals 
and metrics, and the management plan.

VII. Agency Contact(s)

    Please submit any technical questions to: Mr. Dana Bres, P.E., 
Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division, Office of Policy 
Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 708-
4370, ext. 5919, e-mail dana_b._bres@hud.gov.
    Administrative questions should be directed to Mr. Patrick Tewey, 
Director, Budget, Contracts, and Program Control Division, Office of 
Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, telephone 
(202) 708-1796, ext. 4098, e-mail Patrick_j._tewey@hud.gov. (These 
numbers are not toll-free.) For hearing- and speech-impaired persons, 
these numbers may be accessed via TTY (text telephone) by calling the 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
    Technical questions regarding accessing or applying on line via 
Grants.gov should be directed to Grants.gov Support at 800-518-GRANTS. 
The support staff are also available by email at the following address: 
Support@Grants.gov. Grants.gov support is available from 7 a.m. to 9 
p.m., eastern time, Monday-Friday, except Federal holidays.

VIII. Other Information

    A. Related Activities. Efforts which may relate to this 
announcement include contract efforts to conduct field evaluations of 
PATH technologies, ongoing contract efforts to further develop the PATH 
concept house, and PATH marketing and outreach efforts performed by 
contract. If applicants are interested in such activities, they should 
review the HUD Procurement Forecast published by the HUD Office of 
Procurement and Contracts. Information on the PATH program is available 
on the Web at https://www.pathnet.org/ and https://www.toolbase.org/.
    B. Proprietary Information. Because it is the intent of the PATH 
program to accelerate the use of technologies in the residential 
construction, any information or research results that the applicant 
proposes will remain proprietary must be discussed in its application. 
As the diffusion of technologies relies on the exchange of information, 
such requests for retention of proprietary information would be 
considered in the review process.
    C. Other Matters. Please be advised that applicants should not 
begin work or incur expenses that they anticipate would be part of a 
proposed cooperative agreement until they have a fully executed 
agreement. Only the PD&R grants officer can obligate the Government 
through this process. Although PATH expects to award cooperative 
agreements under this announcement, it is possible that awards will be 
made at levels less than discussed above or for total amounts less than 
those discussed above.
    D. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. The information collection 
requirements contained in this document has been submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and OMB approval is 
pending. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless the collection displays a currently 
valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for the collection of 
information is estimated to average 78 hours per annum per respondent 
for the application and grant administration (13 hours for the 
preparation of a preliminary proposal, 39 hours for the preparation of 
a full proposal, and 26 hours to complete the cooperative agreement). 
This includes time for collecting, reviewing, and reporting the data 
for the application. The information will be used for grantee selection 
and monitoring the administration of funds. Response to this request 
for information is required to receive the benefits to be derived.
    E. Environmental Review. This Notice does not direct, provide for 
assistance or loan and mortgage insurance for, or otherwise govern or 
regulate, real property acquisition, disposition, leasing, 
rehabilitation, alteration, demolition, or new construction, or 
establish, revise or provide for standards for construction or 
construction materials, manufactured housing, or occupancy. 
Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(1), this Notice is categorically 
excluded from environmental review under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).


[[Page 29566]]


    Dated: May 16, 2005.
Harold L. Bunce,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs.
[FR Doc. E5-2564 Filed 5-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-27-P