2019-NIST-Summer Institute-01.pdf

March 28,2019

Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers

Notice of Funding Opportunity 2019-NIST-Summer-Institute-01

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers (NIST Summer Institute) Program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce (DoC)

• Funding Opportunity Title: NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers (NIST Summer Institute) Program

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2019-NIST-SUMMER-INSTITUTE-01

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:

11.620, Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach

• Dates: Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, May 10, 2019. Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at the following times. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time Monday

April 20, 2019 April 22, 2019

May 18, 2019 May 20, 2019

While NIST expects to complete its selection and award processing by July 1, 2019, individuals who are selected to participate in the Summer Institute will be notified no later than May 23, 2019. NIST expects the earliest official start date for awards under this NOFO to be July 8, 2019.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b. Attachment of Required Application Documents of this NOFO with great attention. Applicants should carefully follow the instructions and recommendations regarding attachments and use the Download Submitted Forms and Applications feature on www.grants.gov to check that all required attachments were contained in their submission.

Applications submitted without the required documents will not pass the Initial Administrative Review, described in Section V.2.a. of this NOFO.

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in the SAM.gov (see Section IV.3. and Section IV.7.b. of this NOFO) often takes between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; and (3) applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has received the application. (See grants.gov for full information on application and notification through Grants.gov). Please note that a federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

• Application Submission Address: Applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov.

• Funding Opportunity Description: NIST is soliciting applications from eligible public-school districts and accredited private educational institutions in the U.S.

and its territories. These eligible institutions would nominate middle school science teachers in grades six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8), to participate in the NIST Summer Institute Program. The NIST Summer Institute Program will provide selected teachers hands-on activities, lectures, tours, and visits with NIST scientists and engineers at the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

• Anticipated Amounts: In FY2019, NIST anticipates providing funding to support up to approximately 22 teachers for no more than $4,000 per teacher with project performance periods of up to 2 weeks. Funding is anticipated to total up to a maximum of approximately $78,000.

• Funding Instrument: Cooperative agreement.

• Eligibility: Public school districts and accredited private educational institutions in the U.S. and its territories that offer science classes at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) (often termed middle school).

Applicant school districts and institutions must offer instruction in general science fields, such as earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology.

Individual public-school teachers and individual public middle schools are not eligible to submit applications directly to NIST and instead must be nominated http://grants.gov/ by their school district. Individual teachers at private educational institutions are not eligible to submit applications directly to NIST and instead must be nominated by their private educational institution.

Each individual teacher nominated to participate in the NIST Summer Institute Program must meet all of the following eligibility requirements at the time of application and at the time of award:

a. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident.

b. Be available to commit two (2) full continuous weeks (10 work days, Monday through Friday) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., July 8-19, 2019, to participate in the NIST Summer Institute Program at the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

c. Be employed for the 2019-2020 school year to teach science at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) in a public-school district or accredited private educational institution in the U.S. or its territories.

The topics taught by each nominee must include general science fields, such as earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology.

Applicants are encouraged but are not required to nominate eligible teachers from a “high-need school” as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1021(11).

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Non-federal cost share is not required for awards issued pursuant to this NOFO.

Table of Contents I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information III. Eligibility Information

IV. Application and Submission Information V. Application Review Information VI. Federal Award Administration Information VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

VIII. Other Information

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The statutory authorities for the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers (NIST Summer Institute) Program are 15 U.S.C. § 272(b)(4) and 15 U.S.C. § 278g-2a.

NIST is soliciting applications from eligible public-school districts and accredited private educational institutions in the U.S. and its territories that offer science classes at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) (often termed middle school). Applicant school districts and institutions must offer instruction in general science fields, such as earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology. NIST may award funding that will support the attendance of middle school science teachers in the NIST Summer Institute Program to be held July 8 through July 19, 2019, at the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The aims of the NIST Summer Institute Program are to increase teachers’ understanding of the subjects they teach, provide materials and resources to implement what they have learned at NIST in the classroom, enhance their enthusiasm for science, increase teachers’ understanding of how scientific research is carried out, and provide them with the opportunity to develop an on-going network of scientists and engineers at NIST who will be available for consultation even after the NIST Summer Institute Program has ended.

The NIST Summer Institute Program is a hands-on workshop where middle school science teachers are able to take advantage of resources from the nation’s premier standards and measurement laboratory, NIST. The workshop will provide teachers with instructional materials and ideas to use in their teaching and will emphasize the measurement science done at NIST. The aim is to take a selection of the cutting-edge research at NIST and help the teachers translate this experience through hands-on activities involving classroom-based learning modules. In addition to obtaining ideas and activities to incorporate into lesson plans, teaching tools are directly provided to allow the teachers to carry out activities they learned at the NIST Summer Institute Program with their students. The NIST Summer Institute Program will provide a world-class opportunity for those teaching our nation's next generation of scientists to learn more about the subjects they teach and the research in those subjects conducted at NIST and to offer a platform from which teachers can inspire their students to pursue careers in science and related fields.

For more information see http://www.nist.gov/iaao/teachlearn/.

http://www.nist.gov/iaao/teachlearn/

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument. The funding instrument used in this program will be a cooperative agreement. The nature of NIST’s “substantial involvement” will generally include hosting and providing instruction to the program participants during their award period.

2. Multi-Year Funding Policy. Multi-Year Funding is not available.

3. Funding Availability. In FY2019, NIST anticipates providing funding to support up to approximately 22 teachers for no more than $4,000 per teacher with project performance periods of up to 2 weeks. Funding is anticipated to total up to a maximum of approximately $78,000.

Each teacher selected from each successful applicant will receive $2,000 as a stipend for the two (2)-week program through their school district or private educational institution. In addition, funds may be provided through the cooperative agreements for travel and lodging for the selected teachers traveling more than 50 miles from their primary residence to the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland (up to $2,000 per teacher), for a total of up to $4,000 per teacher.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants. Public school districts and accredited private educational institutions in the U.S. and its territories that offer science classes at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) (often termed middle school). Applicant school districts and institutions must offer instruction in general science fields, such as earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology.

Individual public school teachers and individual public middle schools are not eligible to submit applications directly to NIST and instead must be nominated by their school district. Individual teachers at private educational institutions are not eligible to submit applications directly to NIST and instead must be nominated by their private educational institution.

Each individual teacher nominated to participate in the NIST Summer Institute Program must meet all of the following eligibility requirements at the time of application and at the time of award:

a. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident.

b. Be available to commit two (2) full continuous weeks (10 work days, Monday through Friday) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., July 8-19, 2019, to participate in the NIST Summer Institute Program at the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

c. Be employed for the 2019-2020 school year to teach science at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) in a public-school district or accredited private educational institution in the U.S. or its territories. The topics taught by each nominee must include general science fields, such as earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology.

Applicants are encouraged but are not required to nominate eligible teachers from a “high-need school” as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1021(11).

2. Cost Sharing or Matching. Matching funds are not required.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

The application package is available at grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2019-NIST-SUMMER-INSTITUTE-01.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Application must contain the following:

(1) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424 must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.

SF-424, Item 12, should list the NOFO number as 2019-NIST-SUMMER-

INSTITUTE -01.

The list of certifications and assurances referenced in Item 21 of the SF- 424 is contained in the SF-424B.

(2) SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs.

The Grant Program Function or Activity on Line 1 under Column (a) should be entered as “Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach”. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number in on Line 1 under Column (b) should be entered as “11.620”.

(3) SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs. The SF-424B is required for all applicants that have not updated their System for Award Management (SAM.gov) entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the Federal financial assistance certifications and representations (certs and reps). If an applicant has updated their SAM.gov entity http://www.grants.gov/ registration since February 2, 2019 to include the certifications and representations, then the SF-424B is not required.

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2019-NIST-Summer Institute-01” in the Award Number field. Enter the title of the application, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

(5) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable).

(6) Project Narrative. This is a word-processed document, not to exceed five (5) pages, written by the applicant; it must contain the following information.

(a) Description of the applicant’s education programs that make it eligible to submit a NIST Summer Institute Program application, specifically, offering science classes at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) (often termed middle school), including a description of its course offerings in general science fields, such as earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology.

(b) Summary list of the teacher(s) being nominated and certification that:

i. Certify that each nominated teacher will have teaching responsibilities in general science fields at grade levels six (6), seven (7), and/or eight (8) (often termed middle school) in the 2019-2020 school year. (Applicants must certify to the best current knowledge/plans of the public school district or accredited private educational institution in the U.S. or its territories at the time of application submission.);

ii. Each nominated teacher is a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S.

resident; and

iii. If applicable, that the nominated teacher is from a “high-need school” as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1021(11).

(7) NIST-1103, Teacher Application for the NIST Summer Institute for

Middle School Science Teachers (NIST Summer Institute) or the NIST Research Experience for Teachers (NIST RET) for each teacher nominated for the NIST Summer Institute program, found at NIST-1103.

The form NIST-1103 is used for both the NIST Summer Institute and NIST RET programs. Applications for only the NIST Summer Institute program are being accepted under this NOFO.

https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019/03/11/nist-1103_-_updated1.pdf

IMPORTANT: All of the required application documents listed above may only be submitted by the applicant school district or accredited private educational institution in the U.S. or its territories. In addition, submission of separate NIST-1103 forms (see Section IV.2.a.(7) of this NOFO) without all of the required application documents (see Section IV.2.a. of this NOFO) is not permitted. If NIST receives such submissions, NIST will return them without review.

Teachers interested in the NIST Summer Institute Program should contact their schools directly to express their interest. Public schools interested in the NIST Summer Institute Program should contact their school district well in advance of the closing date of this NOFO (see Section IV.4. of this NOFO) to work closely in the preparation of the application, which only the school district may submit to NIST. Private educational institutions should prepare their applications for direct submission to NIST.

b. Attachment of Required Documents

Items IV.2.a.(1) through IV.2.a.(5) above are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov and can be completed through the download application process.

Items IV.2.a.(6) through IV.2.a.(7) must be completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for transmittal of the documents electronically via Grants.gov.

Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions at www.grants.gov to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an application was transferred to a system. It does not provide details concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) transferred successfully.

Applicants using Grants.gov will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants are strongly advised to use Grants.gov’s “Download Submitted Forms and Applications” option to check that their application’s required attachments were contained in their submission.

After submitting the application, follow the directions found at this link, Check Application Status. If any, or all, of the required attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment directions found above, resubmit the http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm entire application, and check again for the presence of the required attachments.

If the directions found at Grants.gov Online Help are not effective, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk immediately. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place outside the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545- 5035. E-mails should be addressed to support@grants.gov. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, except for Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays.

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system at the following location at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjamz). It can take up to two business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov system to NIST.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov and does not issue Agency Tracking Numbers.

c. Application Format

(1) Application language. English.

(2) Facsimile submissions (fax). Will not be accepted.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (10-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Line spacing. Single.

(5) Margins. One (1) inch top, bottom, left, and right.

(6) Page layout. Portrait orientation only.

(7) Page limit. Five (5) pages.

Page limit excludes: The following forms, including required attachments, are not included in the page limit: SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; SF-424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs; SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs; SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities; CD-511, Certification Regarding https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm mailto:support@grants.gov http://go.usa.gov/cjamz

Lobbying; NIST-1103, Teacher Application for the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers (NIST Summer Institute) or the NIST Research Experience for Teachers (NIST RET).

(8) Page numbering. Number pages sequentially.

(9) Paper size. 21.6 by 27.9 centimeters (8 ½ by 11 inches).

(10) Table of contents. Do not include; not required. If included, will count toward page limit.

(11) Typed document. All applications, including forms, must be typed.

d. Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax Convictions, Unpaid Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent Federal Tax Returns. In accordance with Federal appropriations law, an authorized representative of the selected applicant(s) may be required to provide certain pre-award certifications regarding federal felony and federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax assessments, and delinquent federal tax returns.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. part 25, applicants and recipients (as the case may be) are required to: (i) be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency, unless otherwise excepted from these requirements pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 25.110. NIST will not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time that NIST is ready to make a Federal award pursuant to this NOFO, NIST may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

4. Submission Dates and Times Electronic applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time, Monday, May 10, 2019. NIST will consider the date and time recorded by Grants.gov as the official submission time.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at the following times. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time Monday

April 20, 2019 April 22, 2019

May 18, 2019 May 20, 2019

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in the SAM.gov (see Sections IV.3. and IV.7.b. of this NOFO) often takes between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; and

(3) applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has received the application. (See grants.gov for full information on application and notification through Grants.gov.). Please note that a Federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

5. Intergovernmental Review Applications under this Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372.

6. Funding Restrictions

The award for teachers to attend the NIST Summer Institute Program does not allow for any indirect costs. Although NIST awards will be made directly to school districts and/or institutions, NIST’s intent is that all funding awarded through this program be transferred directly to the selected teachers in the form of stipends, plus travel and lodging expenses if the selected teachers are traveling more than 50 miles from their primary residence to the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

7. Other Submission Requirements.

a. Applications must be submitted electronically.

(1) Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure that all attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicating an application is received does not provide information about whether attachments have been received. For further information or questions regarding applying electronically for the 2019-NIST-SUMMER-INSTITUTE-01 announcement, contact Leon Sampson by phone at 301-975-3086 or by e-mail at grants@nist.gov.

http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:grants@nist.gov

(2) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the approaching due date before logging on and reviewing the instructions for submitting an application through Grants.gov. The Grants.gov registration process must be completed before a new registrant can apply electronically. If all goes well, the registration process takes three to five business days. If problems are encountered, the registration process can take up to two weeks or more. Applicants must have a valid unique entity identifier number and must maintain a current registration in the Federal government’s primary registrant database, the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site (also see Section IV.4. of this NOFO). After registering, it may take several days or longer from the initial log-on before a new Grants.gov system user can submit an application. Only individuals authorized as organization representatives will be able to submit the application, and the system may need time to process a submitted application. Applicants should save and print the proof of submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while using Grants.gov, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error message received and (b) call Grants.gov directly for immediate assistance. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place other than the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035.

Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, except for Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays. For assistance using Grants.gov, the applicant may also contact support@grants.gov.

(3) To find instructions for submitting an application on Grants.gov, Applicants should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the www.grants.gov home page. Clicking on the “Applicants” tab produces two exceptionally useful sources of information, Applicant Actions and Applicant Resources, which applicants are advised to review.

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application. Closely following the detailed information in these subcategories will increase the likelihood of acceptance of the application by the Federal agency’s electronic system.

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under “Applicant FAQs,” as it contains information important to successful submission on Grants.gov, including essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to Grants.gov applications.

https://www.sam.gov/

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants’ schedules for delivery of their application. Applicants are advised that volume on Grants.gov may be extremely heavy leading up to the deadline date.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov. The application is “received” when Grants.gov provides the applicant a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and tracking number, the application has not been received. After the application has been received, it must still be validated. During this process, it may be “validated” or “rejected with errors”. To know whether the application was rejected with errors and the reasons why, the applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select “Applicants” from the top navigation, and select “Track my application” from the drop-down list. If the status is “rejected with errors,” the applicant may still seek to correct the errors and resubmit the application before the deadline. If the applicant does not correct the errors, the application will not be forwarded to NIST by Grants.gov.

Refer to important information in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times, to help ensure the application is received on time.

8. Amendments. Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through

Grants.gov. Applicants may sign up on Grants.gov to receive amendments by e-mail or may request copies by e-mail from summerinstitute@nist.gov.

V. Application Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria. The selection of approximately 22 teachers for the NIST Summer Institute Program will be by random selection using a blind selection process, should there be more than 22 teachers nominated for the program. For purposes of the random selection process, nominated teachers from “high need schools” as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1021(11) and those not from “high need schools,” will be weighted at 3 to 1 ratio to comply with the preference requirement of Section 406 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-358; 124 Stat. 3982), which states that NIST “shall give special consideration to an application from a teacher from a high need school.”

See 15 U.S.C. § 278g-2a(c).

2. Review and Selection Process

Proposals, reports, documents and other information related to applications submitted to NIST and/or relating to financial assistance awards issued by NIST will be reviewed and considered by Federal employees, Federal agents and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel who have entered into conflict of interest and confidentiality agreements covering such information, when applicable.

a. Initial Administrative Review of Applications. An initial administrative review of timely received applications will be conducted to determine applicant and teacher eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to this NOFO and the scope of the stated program objectives. Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, or non-responsive based on this NOFO may be eliminated from further review. For each of the eligible, complete, and responsive applications, NIST will assign each eligible teacher nominated for participation in the NIST Summer Institute Program an identification code.

b. Full Review of Eligible, Complete, and Responsive Applications. The NIST Selecting Official, who is the International and Academic Affairs Officer at NIST, will fill the approximately 22 available slots for the NIST Summer Institute Program by randomly selecting from the assigned identification codes using a blind selection process, as described above in Section V.1. of this NOFO. The selection of applications by the Selecting Official is final.

NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with the applicants that have been selected to receive awards, which may include requesting that the applicant remove certain costs. Additionally, NIST may request that the applicant modify objectives or work plans and provide supplemental information required by the agency prior to award. Substitutions for teachers who decline offers will be made by random selection consistent with the review and selection process (see Section V.2. of this NOFO). NIST also reserves the right to reject an application where information is uncovered that raises a reasonable doubt as to the responsibility of the applicant. NIST may select some, all, or none of the applications, or part(s) of any particular application. The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the NIST Grants Officer are final.

c. Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants. After applications are proposed for funding by the Selecting Official, the NIST Grants Management Division (GMD) performs pre-award risk assessments in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.205, which may include a review of the financial stability of an applicant, the quality of the applicant’s management systems, the history of performance, and/or the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities.

In addition, prior to making an award where the total Federal share is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $150,000), NIST GMD will review and consider the publicly available information about that applicant in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An applicant may, at its discretion, review and comment on information about itself previously entered into FAPIIS by a Federal awarding agency. As part of its review of risk posed by applicants, NIST GMD will consider any comments made by the applicant in FAPIIS in making its determination about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards. Upon completion of the pre-award risk assessment, the Grants Officer will make a responsibility determination concerning whether the applicant is qualified to receive the subject award and, if so, whether appropriate special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Date.

While NIST expects to complete its selection and award processing by July 1, 2019, individuals who are selected to participate in the Summer Institute will be notified no later than May 23, 2019. NIST expects the earliest official start date for awards under this NOFO to be July 8, 2019.

4. Additional Information

a. Safety. Safety is a top priority at NIST. Employees and affiliates of award recipients who conduct project work at NIST will be expected to be safety-conscious, to attend NIST safety training, and to comply with all NIST safety policies and procedures.

b. NIST Visitor Policies. Teachers participating in the NIST Summer Institute Program will be expected to comply with all applicable NIST visitor policies.

This includes new Federal-wide limitations on acceptable identification for site access (see http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/).

c. Notification to Unsuccessful Applicants. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by e-mail.

d. Retention of Unsuccessful Applications. Unsuccessful applications will be retained in accordance with the General Record Schedule 1.2/021.

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/ https://www.archives.gov/files/records-mgmt/grs/grs01-2.pdf

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices. Successful applicants will receive an award package from the NIST Grants Officer.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

a. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements. Through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which apply to awards in this program. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.

b. Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and

Conditions. The Department of Commerce will apply to each award in this program, the Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions in effect on the date of award. The current version, dated October 9, 2018, is accessible at http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/grants_management/policy/.

Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, Grant Rules and Regulations, if you need more information.

c. Pre-Award Notification Requirements. The Department of Commerce will apply the Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements dated December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78390), accessible at http://go.usa.gov/hKkR. Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, Grant Rules and Regulations, for more information.

d. Funding Availability and Limitation of Liability.

In no event will NIST or the Department of Commerce be responsible for application preparation costs, including but not limited to, if this program fails to receive funding or is cancelled because of agency priorities. Publication of this NOFO does not oblige NIST or the Department of Commerce to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

3. Reporting

a. Reporting Requirements. The following reporting requirements described in Section A.01, Reporting Requirements, of the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions dated October 9, 2018 (https://go.usa.gov/xEQGr) apply to awards in this program:

(1) Financial Report. Each award recipient will be required to submit an SF-

425, Federal Financial Report within 90 days after the award expiration http://go.usa.gov/SBYh http://go.usa.gov/SBg4 http://go.usa.gov/hKkR https://go.usa.gov/xEQGr date to the NIST Grants Officer and Grants Specialist named in the award documents, in combination with the final Performance (Technical) Report (see next paragraph).

(2) Performance (Technical) Report.

Each award recipient will be required to submit a final technical progress report to the NIST Grants Officer and the NIST Federal Program Officer within 90 days of the end of the award. Technical reports shall contain information as prescribed to conform to the requirements in 2 C.F.R. § 200.328 (http://go.usa.gov/xkVgP) and Department of Commerce Standard Terms and Conditions, Section A.01 (https://go.usa.gov/xEQGr).

(3) Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters. In accordance with section 872 of Public Law 110-417 (as amended; see 41 U.S.C. 2313), if the total value of a recipient’s currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of an award made under this NOFO, then the recipient shall be subject to the requirements specified in Appendix XII to 2 C.F.R. Part 200, http://go.usa.gov/cTBwC, for maintaining the currency of information reported to SAM that is made available in FAPIIS about certain civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings involving the recipient.

b. Audit Requirements. The Department of Commerce Financial Assistance

Standard Terms and Conditions, Section D.01, and 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart F, adopted by the Department of Commerce through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, require any non-Federal entity (i.e., including non-profit institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations) that expends Federal awards of $750,000 or more in the recipient’s fiscal year to conduct a single or program-specific audit in accordance with the requirements set out in the Subpart.

Additionally, unless otherwise specified in the terms and conditions of the award, entities that are not subject to Subpart F of 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (e.g., for-profit commercial entities) that expend $750,000 or more in DOC funds during their fiscal year must submit to the Grants Officer either: (i) a financial related audit of each DOC award or subaward in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards; or (ii) a project specific audit for each award or subaward in accordance with the requirements contained in 2 C.F.R. § 200.507. Applicants are reminded that NIST, the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, or another authorized Federal agency may conduct an audit of an award at any time.

c. Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. In accordance with 2 C.F.R. Part 170, all recipients of a Federal award made on http://go.usa.gov/xkVgP https://go.usa.gov/xEQGr http://go.usa.gov/cTBwC or after October 1, 2010, are required to comply with reporting requirements under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law No. 109-282). In general, all recipients are responsible for reporting sub-awards of $25,000 or more. In addition, recipients that meet certain criteria are responsible for reporting executive compensation.

Applicants must ensure they have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements should they receive funding.

Also see the Federal Register notice published September 14, 2010, at 75 FR 55663 available here http://go.usa.gov/hKnQ.

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Questions should be directed to the following:

Subject Area Point of Contact

Programmatic and Technical Questions Kara Arnold Phone: 301-975-2471 Fax: 301-975-3530 E-mail: summerinstitute@nist.gov

Technical Assistance with Grants.gov Submissions

Leon Sampson Phone: 301-975- Fax: 301-975-6368 E-mail:

grants@nist.gov Or

Grants.gov Phone: 800-518-4726 E-mail: support@grants.gov

Grant Rules and Regulations Husai Rahman Phone: 301-975- Fax: 301-975-6368 E-mail: Husai.ruhman@nist.gov http://go.usa.gov/hKnQ mailto:grants@nist.gov http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:Husai.ruhman@nist.gov

VIII. Other Information

1. Personal and Business Information The applicant acknowledges and understands that information and data contained in applications for financial assistance, as well as information and data contained in financial, performance and other reports submitted by applicants, may be used by the Department of Commerce in conducting reviews and evaluations of its financial assistance programs. For this purpose, applicant information and data may be accessed, reviewed and evaluated by Department of Commerce employees, other Federal employees, and also by Federal agents and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel, all of whom enter into appropriate conflict of interest and confidentiality agreements covering the use of such information. As may be provided in the terms and conditions of a specific financial assistance award, applicants are expected to support program reviews and evaluations by submitting required financial and performance information and data in an accurate and timely manner, and by cooperating with Department of Commerce and external program evaluators. In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.303(e), applicants are reminded that they must take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other confidential or sensitive personal or business information created or obtained in connection with a Department of Commerce financial assistance award.

In addition, Department of Commerce regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, Public Information. These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding making requested materials, information, and records publicly available under the FOIA. Applications submitted in response to this Federal Funding Opportunity may be subject to requests for release under the Act. If an application contains information or data that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial information that should be exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, and marked as Privileged, Confidential, Commercial or Financial Information. In accordance with 15 CFR § 4.9, the Department of Commerce will protect from disclosure confidential business information contained in financial assistance applications and other documentation provided by applicants to the extent permitted by law.