Federal Register Notices
[Federal Register: April 29, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 81)]
[Notices]
[Page 19492-19494]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ap09-31]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Notice of Funds Availability: Inviting
Applications for the Foreign Market Development
Cooperator Program
Announcement Type: New.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.600.
Summary: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
announces that it is inviting proposals for the
2010 Foreign Market Development Cooperator
(Cooperator) program. The intended effect of
this notice is to solicit applications from
eligible applicants and award funds in October
2009.
The Cooperator program is administered by
personnel of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
Dates: All applications must be received by 5
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May 29, 2009.
Applications received after this date will not
be considered.
For Further Information Contact: Entities
wishing to apply for funding assistance should
contact the Program Operations Division, Foreign
Agricultural Service, Portals Office Building,
Suite 400, 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20024, phone: (202) 720-4327,
fax: (202)
720-9361, e-mail:
podadmin@fas.usda.gov. Information is also
available on the Foreign Agricultural Service
Web site at
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/fmdprogram.asp.
Supplementary Information:
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Authority: The Cooperator program is authorized by title VII
of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, as
amended. Cooperator program regulations appear
at 7 CFR part 1484.
Purpose: The Cooperator program is designed to create,
expand, and maintain foreign markets for U.S.
agricultural commodities and products through
cost-share assistance. Financial assistance
under the Cooperator program will be made
available on a competitive basis and
applications will be reviewed against the
evaluation criteria contained herein. All U.S.
agricultural commodities, except tobacco, are
eligible for consideration.
The FAS allocates funds in a manner that effectively supports
the strategic decision-making initiatives of the
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of
1993 and the USDA's Food and Agricultural Policy
(FAP). In deciding whether a proposed project
will contribute to the
effective creation, expansion, or maintenance of
foreign markets, the FAS seeks to identify a
clear, long-term agricultural trade strategy,
and a program effectiveness time line against
which results can be measured at specific
intervals using quantifiable product or country
goals. The FAS also considers the extent to
which a proposed project targets markets with
the greatest growth potential. These factors are
part of the FAS resource allocation strategy to
fund applicants who can
demonstrate performance and address the
objectives of the GPRA and FAP.
II. Award Information
Under the Cooperator program, the FAS enters into agreements
with eligible nonprofit U.S. trade organizations
to share the cost of certain overseas marketing
and promotion activities. Funding priority is
given to organizations that have the broadest
possible producer representation of the
commodity being promoted and that are nationwide
in membership and scope. Cooperators may receive
assistance only for generic activities that do
not involve promotions targeted directly to
consumers. The program generally operates on a
reimbursement basis.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: To participate in the Cooperator
program, an applicant must be a nonprofit U.S.
agricultural trade organization.
2. Cost Sharing: To participate in the Cooperator program, an
applicant must agree to contribute resources to
its proposed promotional activities. The
Cooperator program is intended to
supplement, not supplant, the efforts of the
U.S. private sector. The contribution must be at
least 50 percent of the value of resources
provided by CCC for activities conducted under
the project agreement.
The degree of commitment of an applicant to the promotional
strategies contained in its application, as
represented by the agreed cost share
contributions specified therein, is considered
by the FAS when determining which applications
will be approved for funding. Cost-share may be
actual cash invested or in-kind contributions,
such as professional staff time spent on design
and execution of activities. The Cooperator
program regulations, in sections 1484.50 and
1484.51,
provide detailed discussion of eligible and
ineligible cost-share contributions.
3. Other: Applications should include a justification for
funding assistance from the program--an
explanation as to what specifically could not be
accomplished without federal funding assistance
and why participating organization(s) are
unlikely to carry out the project without such
assistance.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address To Request Application Package: Organizations are
encouraged to submit their FMD applications to
the FAS through the Unified Export Strategy (UES)
application Internet Web site. The UES allows
applicants to submit a single consolidated and
strategically coordinated proposal that
incorporates requests for funding and
recommendations for virtually all of the FAS
marketing programs, financial assistance
programs, and market access programs. The
suggested UES format encourages applicants to
examine the constraints or barriers to trade
that they face, identify activities that would
help overcome such impediments, consider the
entire pool of complementary marketing tools and
program resources, and establish realistic
export goals.
Applicants planning to use the Internet-based system must
contact the FAS/Program Operations Division at
(202) 720-4327 to obtain site access
information. The Internet-based application,
including a help file that contains step-by-step
instructions, may be found at the following URL
address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/cooperators.html.
The FAS highly recommends applying via the Internet-based
application as this format virtually eliminates
paperwork and expedites the FAS processing and
review cycle. However, applicants also have the
option of submitting an electronic version
(along with two paper copies) of their
application to the FAS on compact disc.
Organizations that choose to submit applications
on compact disc can obtain the application
format by contacting the Program Operations
Division on
(202) 720-4327.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: To be
considered for the Cooperator program, an
applicant must submit to the FAS information
required by the Cooperator program regulations
in section 1484.20. In addition, in accordance
with the Office of Management and Budget's
policy (68 FR 38402 (June 27, 2003)) regarding
the need to identify entities that are receiving
government awards, all applicants must submit a
Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number. An applicant may request a
DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated
toll-free DUNS number request line at
1-866-705-5711.
Incomplete applications and applications that do not
otherwise conform to this announcement will not
be accepted for review.
The FAS administers various other agricultural export
assistance programs, including the Market Access
Program (MAP), the Emerging Markets Program, the
Quality Samples Program, and the Technical
Assistance for Specialty Crops Program. Any
organization that is not interested in applying
for the Cooperator program but would like to
request assistance through one of the other
programs mentioned should contact the Program
Operations Division on (202) 720-4327.
3. Submission Dates and Times: All applications must be
received by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May
29, 2009. All Cooperator program applicants,
regardless of the method of submitting an
application, also must submit by the application
deadline, an original signed certification
statement as specified in 7 CFR section
1484.20(a)(14). Applications or certifications
received after this date will not be considered.
4. Funding Restrictions: Certain types of expenses are not
eligible for reimbursement by the program, and
there are limits on other categories of
expenses. CCC also will not reimburse
unreasonable expenditures or expenditures made
prior to approval. Full details are available in
the Cooperator program regulations in sections
1484.54 and 1484.55.
5. Other Submission Requirements and Considerations: All
Internet-based applications must be properly
submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May
29, 2009. Signed certification statements also
must be received by that time at the address
listed below.
All applications on compact disc (with two accompanying paper
copies and a signed certification statement) and
any other form of application must be received
by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May 29, 2009,
at the following address:
Hand Delivery (including FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.): U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural
Service, Program Operations Division, Portals
Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 Maryland Ave.,
SW., Washington, DC 20024.
V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria and Review Process: Following is a description of
the FAS process for reviewing applications and
the criteria for allocating available Cooperator
program funds.
(1) Phase 1--Sufficiency Review and FAS
Divisional Review
Applications received by the closing date will be reviewed by
the FAS to determine the eligibility of the
applicants and the completeness of the
applications. These requirements appear at
sections 1484.14 and 1484.20 of the Cooperator
program regulations. Applications that meet the
requirements then will be further evaluated by
the appropriate Commodity Branch in the FAS
Cooperator Programs Division. The Commodity
Branch will review each application against the
criteria listed in sections 1484.21 and 1484.22
of the Cooperator program regulations. The
purpose of this review is to identify
meritorious proposals and to recommend an
appropriate funding level for each application
based upon these criteria.
(2) Phase 2--Competitive Review
Meritorious applications then will be passed on to the Office
of the Deputy Administrator, Office of Trade
Programs, for the purpose of allocating
available funds among the applicants. Applicants
will compete for funds on the basis of the
following allocation criteria (the number in
parentheses represents a percentage weight
factor):
(a) Contribution Level (40)
The applicant's 6-year average share (2005-2010) of all
contributions (contributions may include cash
and goods and services provided by U.S. entities
in support of foreign market development
activities) compared to;
The applicant's 6-year average share (2005-2010) of all
Cooperator marketing plan expenditures.
(b) Past Export Performance (20)
The 6-year average share (2004-2009) of the value of exports
promoted by the applicant compared to;
The applicant's 6-year average share (2004-2009) of all
Cooperator marketing plan expenditures plus a
6-year average share (2004-2009) of MAP
expenditures.
(c) Past Demand Expansion Performance (20)
The 6-year average share (2004-2009) of the total value of
world trade of the commodities promoted by the
applicant compared to;
The applicant's 6-year average share (2004-2009) of all
Cooperator marketing plan expenditures plus a
6-year average share (2004-2009) of MAP
expenditures.
(d) Future Demand Expansion Goals (10)
The projected total dollar value of world trade of the
commodities being promoted by the applicant for
the year 2015 compared to;
The applicant's requested funding level.
(e) Accuracy of Past Demand Expansion
Projections (10)
The actual dollar value share of world trade of the
commodities being promoted by the applicant for
the year 2008 compared to;
The applicant's past projected share of world trade of the
commodities being promoted by the applicant for
the year 2008, as specified in the 2005
Cooperator program application.
The Commodity Branches' recommended funding levels for each
applicant are converted to percentages of the
total Cooperator program funds available and
then multiplied by each weight factor to
determine the amount of funds allocated to each
applicant.
2. Anticipated Announcement Date: Announcements of funding
decisions for the Cooperator program are
anticipated during October 2009.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: The FAS will notify each applicant in
writing of the final disposition of its
application. The FAS will send an approval
letter and project agreement to each approved
applicant. The approval letter and project
agreement will specify the terms and conditions
applicable to the project, including the levels
of Cooperator program funding, and cost-share
contribution requirements.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements:
Interested parties should review the Cooperator
program regulations, which are available at the
following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/fmdprogram.asp.
Hard copies may be obtained by contacting the
Program Operations Division at (202) 720-2379.
3. Reporting: The FAS requires various reports and
evaluations from Cooperators. Reporting
requirements are detailed in the Cooperator
program regulations in sections 1484.53,
1484.70, and 1484.72.
VII. Agency Contact(s)
For additional information and assistance, contact the
Program Operations Division, Office of Trade
Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Mailing Address:
AgBox 1020, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250-1020. Courier Address:
Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024.
Phone: (202) 720-4327, fax: (202) 720-9361,
e-mail:
podadmin@fas.usda.gov.
Signed at Washington, DC, on the 17th of April 2009.
Patricia R. Sheikh,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. E9-9729 Filed 4-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P
