On May 27, 2008, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it was soliciting proposals under a competitive Construction Grant Program for research buildings (73 FR 30380).

The due date for submission of all proposals was 3 p.m.

Eastern Time, Monday, July

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21, 200 8. Due to technical difficulties some applicants were unable to submit their proposals electronically on Monday, July 21, 200 8. In order to provide all interested parties the opportunity to submit a proposal for the Construction Grant Program, NIST is extending the solicitation period until 3 p.m.

Eastern Time, Friday, August 1, 200 8. Electronic proposals received between 3 p.m.

and 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time on July 21, 2008 will be deemed timely and given full consideration.

Paper proposals received between 3 p.m., Monday, July 21, 2008 and the publication date of this notice will be deemed timely and given full consideration.

During the extended solicitation period, NIST will accept only paper submissions.

Applicants who attempted to submit electronic applications but were unsuccessful are encouraged to resubmit a paper application.

Paper submissions must be received by 3 p.m.

Eastern Time, Friday, August 1, 200 8. Please note that for paper submissions the Program requires one original and two (2) copies of the proposal.

The application submission deadline applies to any mode of paper proposal delivery, including hand-delivery, courier, and express mailing, but not facsimile.

Proposals submitted via facsimile will not be accepted.

NIST will not make any allowances for late submissions.

All NIST Construction Grant Program competition requirements and information announced in the May 27, 2008, Federal Register notice apply to proposals submitted during the extended time period with the exception of the review, selection, and grant award processing time that is now expected to be completed by the middle of November 200 8. The following forms are required for application to this program:
SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; SF-424C, Budget Information - Construction Programs; SF-424D, Assurances - Construction Programs; SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable); and CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying.

The following required documents are written by the applicant, and included as required documents for the application:
Technical Proposal responsive to program description; and Budget Narrative.

Proposals that are submitted without the required forms, a Technical Proposal, and/or a Budget Narrative will be rejected.

There is no set format for the Technical Proposal and the Budget Narrative, other than that they are word-processed documents written by the applicant.

The Technical Proposal should describe in depth the scope of the proposal, its goals, the methods to be used, its schedule, the personnel working on the project and their qualifications, and the institutional capabilities of the applicant.

Additionally, in preparing the Technical Proposal, the selection factors should be taken into account.

The Budget Narrative should detail the funds requested, their purposes, and the timetable for using the funds.

Each applicant is responsible for ensuring that the proposal, whether submitted via Grants.gov or otherwise, is complete and that it conforms to the requirements of this notice.

The Technical Proposal is limited to 30 pages.

There is no page limit on the Budget Narrative.

THE ORIGINAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TEXT DESCRIPTION FOLLOWS:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce (DoC), is soliciting grant proposals for construction of research science buildings.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-161) (the “Act”) appropriated “$30,080,000 .

.

.

for a competitive construction grant program for research buildings” to NIST.

Additional information on the program was provided in an explanatory statement that under Section 4 of the Act has the same effect as a Conference Report:
“The research buildings should span all the applicable sciences, as they relate to DoC.

These grants shall be awarded to colleges, universities, and other non-profit science research organizations on a competitive basis.” 153 Congressional Record H15790 (Dec.

17, 2007).

The goals and objectives of the program are to provide competitively awarded grant funds for research science buildings through the construction of new buildings or expansion of existing buildings.

For purposes of this program, “research science building” means a building or facility whose purpose is to conduct scientific research, including laboratories, test facilities, measurement facilities, and observatories.

Fiscal year 2008 appropriations include approximately $29 million for construction of research science buildings.

NIST anticipates funding two to three (2-3) projects with Federal shares in the $10 million - $15 million range with a project period of performance of up to five (5) years.

The anticipated start date is October 1, 200 8. The period of performance depends on the construction schedule proposed but limited to five (5) years.Although cost sharing is not required it is encouraged for a proposal to be competitive.

A minimum of 25% would be viewed favorably; 50% even more favorably.