Minority Business Development Agency, DOC.
Notice.
In accordance with Executive Order 11625 and 15 U.S.C. 1512, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is soliciting competitive applications from organizations to operate Minority Business Opportunity Centers (MBOC) (formerly Minority Business Opportunity Committees). The Minority Business Opportunity Centers through their staff will provide brokering services and assistance to MBEs that (a) generate $500,000 or more in annual gross revenues or (b) are capable of creating significant employment and long-term economic impact (commonly referred to as “rapid growth-potential MBEs). In addition, MBOCs provide access to buyers of goods and services and procurement and financing opportunities within the public and private sectors. MBOC operators and executive directors should have experience in and knowledge of the local minority business sector and established working relationships with buying organizations. MBOCs are supported by a volunteer advisory committee that assists the MBOC in implementing program requirements and providing contract and financing opportunities to MBEs. The program is primarily evaluated by MBDA based on the number and dollar value of contracts and financial transactions awarded to minority business enterprises.
The closing date for receipt of applications is October 14, 2005. Completed applications must be received by MBDA no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time at the address below. Applications received after the closing date and time will not be considered. Anticipated time for processing is one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of publication of this notice. MBDA anticipates that awards for the MBOC program will be made with a start date of January 1, 2006.
U.S. Department of Commerce delivery policies for Federal Express, UPS, and DHL overnight services require the packages to be sent to the address above.
U.S. Department of Commerce “hand-delivery” policies state that Federal Express, UPS, and DHL overnight services submitted to the address listed above (Entrance #10) cannot be accepted. These policies should be taken into consideration when utilizing their services. MBDA will not accept applications that are submitted by the deadline but rejected due to Departmental hand-delivery policies. The applicant must adhere to these policies for its application to be considered for award.
(1) SF–424, Application for Federal Assistance;
(2) SF–424B, Assurances—Non-Construction Programs;
(3) SF–LLL (Rev.7–97) (if applicable), Disclosure of Lobbying Activities;
(4) CD 511, Certification Regarding Lobbying; and
(5) Form CD–346, Application for Funding Assistance (Name Check form).
For further information, please visit MBDA's Minority Business Internet Portal at
1. Office of Business Development, 14th and Constitution Avenues, Room 5073, Washington, DC 20230. Contact Stephen Boykin, MBOC Program Manager at 202–482–1712.
2. San Francisco NEC located at 221 Main Street, Suite 1280, San Francisco, CA 94105. This NEC (region) covers the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington and the territory of American Samoa. Contact Linda Marmolejo, NEC Director at 415–744–3001.
3. Dallas NEC is located at 1100 Commerce Street, Suite 7B–23, Dallas, TX 75242. This region covers the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Contact John Iglehart, NEC Director at 214–767–8001.
4. Chicago NEC is located at 55 E. Monroe Street, Suite 1406, Chicago, IL 60603. This region covers the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. Contact Eric Dobyne, NEC Director at 312–353–0182.
5. Atlanta NEC is located at 401 W. Peachtree St., NW., Suite 1715, Atlanta, GA 30308. This Region covers the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contact Robert Henderson, NEC Director at 404–730–3313.
6. New York NEC is located at 26 Federal Plaza, Room 3720, New York, NY 10278. This Region covers the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC. Contact Hayward Davenport, NEC Director at 212–264–3262.
MBDA is soliciting competitive applications from organizations to operate MBOCs in the geographic areas identified below. The maximum Federal Funding Amounts for each location are also shown.
The MBOC Operator should have an established presence in the geographic area(s) identified above. Established presence is defined to mean that the applicant has had an office in the location for three (3) years preceding the date of this Announcement and has established working relationships with buying organizations. Applicants are encouraged to propose as large a service area as possible which may extend beyond the defined areas noted above.
Executive Order 11625 and 15 U.S.C. 1512.
While not a program requirement, the MBOC may charge client fees for brokering services rendered. Client fees may be used towards meeting cost share requirements. Client fees applied directly to the award's cost sharing requirement must be used in furtherance of the program objectives.
1. The evaluations and rankings of the independent review panel;
2. The geographic distribution of the MBOCs;
3. The following funding priorities:
a. Having an existing client base that can be utilized for brokering contract and financial transactions.
b. Ability to establish an MBOC that has an Industry specific(s) focus and that demonstrates the utility of economic clusters including, but not limited to, aerospace, manufacturing, construction, financial services, IT and /or automotive industries; and
4. The availability of funding.
The applicant's proposal will be evaluated with respect to the applicant's experience and expertise in providing the work requirements listed. Specifically, the proposals will be evaluated as follows:
• MBE Community—Experience and knowledge of the local minority business sector and established working relationships with buying organizations. This factor will be evaluated on whether or not the applicant has an established presence in the proposed geographic service area. Established presence is defined to mean that the applicant has had an office in the geographic service area for a minimum of three (3) years preceding this announcement and has established relationships with buying organizations. (10 points);
• Business Acumen—Experience in and knowledge of coaching and mentoring techniques related to serving rapid growth-potential minority firms (3 points);
• Financing—Experience in and knowledge of brokering techniques and facilitating large financial transactions (5 points);
• Procurements and Contracting—Experience in and knowledge of the public and private sector contracting opportunities and gaining access to the buyers to facilitate and broker large deals (5 points);
• Financing Networks—Knowledge of the resources and professional relationships within the corporate, banking and investment community that can be beneficial to minority-owned firms (2 points);
• Experience and knowledge of particular industries and ability to gain access to industry leaders within the geographic service area (5 points).
The applicant's proposal will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
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• Resources—Discuss what resources will be utilized to accomplish the work requirements (not included as part of the cost-sharing arrangement); discuss how you plan to establish and maintain a network of resources. Discuss how the Advisory Committee and subcommittees will be recruited and what their role will be. Discuss how the committees will contribute to the performance measures as outlined in the FFO (10 points);
• Equipment—Discuss how you plan to accomplish the computer hardware and software requirements stated in the FFO (5 points).
The applicant's proposal will be evaluated as follows:
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The applicant's proposal will be evaluated on the following sub-criteria:
• Reasonableness, allowability and allocability of costs (5 points). MBDA anticipates that 75% of the funding level will be allocated to key staff, such as the Executive Director and senior business development persons.
• Proposed cost sharing of 30 percent is required and must be documented, including whether client fees for brokering will be charged and applied to the cost share. Applicants choosing to charge fees should set forth a fee schedule in their proposals (5 points).
• Performance-based Budget. Discuss how the budget is related to the accomplishment of the work requirements and the Performance measures. Provide a budget narrative that clearly shows the connections. (10 points)
• Non Federal Cost sharing exceeding 30 percent that is related to additional staff (5) bonus points).
Applications under this program are not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”
Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for this program. In no event will MBDA or the department of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if this program fails to receive funding or is cancelled because of other agency priorities. Publication of this announcement does not oblige MBDA or the Department of Commerce to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.
Applicant should be aware that they may be required to provide a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering system (DUNS) number during the application process.
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the
A completed proposal submitted by mail, hand delivery, or electronically consists of the following sections:
Failure to include, by the deadline, a signed, original SF–424 with the paper application, or separately in conjunction with an electronically submitted application, will result in the application being rejected and returned to the applicant. Failure to sign and submit the remaining forms with the paper application, or separately in conjunction with an electronically submitted application, by the deadline, will automatically cause an application to lose two (2) points in the overall score. MBDA shall not accept any changes, additions, revisions or deletions to competitive applications after the closing date for receiving applications. MBDA may contact applicants for additional clarifications.
This document contains collection-of-information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) the use of standard forms 424, 424A, 424B, CD 346, and SF–LLL have been approved by OMB under the respective control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 0348–0040, 0605–0001, and 0348–0046.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of 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 Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB control Number.
This notice has been determined to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
Prior notice for an opportunity for public comment are not required by the Administrative Procedure Act for rules concerning public property, loans, grant, benefits and contracts (5 U.S.C. 533(a)(2)). Because notice and opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 533 or any other law, the analytical requirements of the regulatory flexibility Act (5 U.S.C 601