ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   Primary awards will be available to nonprofit organizations. Internships are restricted to recent college graduates and have a maximum cumulative duration of 24 months for any individual.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Benefits to the Nation are increased opportunities for recent college graduates to increase public awareness and gain exposure to government programs that affect the Nation's coastal areas and resources. This program will also promote interest in civil service as a career. Benefits also include a transfer of the techniques, technologies, and methods used by NOS to the next generation of engineers, scientists, and managers in the environmental arena. Interns who are selected by the program will receive increased training and skill enhancement as identified by the particular Internship opportunity in which they participate.

Credentials/Documentation:   Applicants are required to satisfy all Department of Commerce (DOC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) standards and regulations, including routine and special terms and conditions, for financial assistance programs application and conduct. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular Nos. A-21 for educational institutions and A-22 for nonprofit organizations.

Pre-application Coordination:   None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

Application Procedure:   Grantee: Candidate partners will submit an application for financial assistance (SF 424) with statement of work to be performed and proposed amount. This program is subject to the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-110 and 15 CFR 24, Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments, as applicable. The Statement of work should include the proposed plan for advertising and recruitment, costs for recruiting, selecting, and administering an intern based on duration and stipend level of the internship. Selection of candidate partners for the Grantee will not be re-competed until fiscal year 2002. Intern: Intern candidates will apply for internships developed, documented, and funded by a component of NOS, and transmitted, after review by the project office, to the grantee who shall advertise them according to their proposed plan. The grantee will screen the applicants based on the documented requirements of the internship and transmit the highest qualified (typically 5 to 10) to NOS for further review. NOS will assign priority sequences to the candidates who will be offered the internship by the grantee in that order. Funding of the intern and administrative supervision will be through the grantee according to their proposal. The interns will work in Governmental offices under the technical supervision of the Government.

Award Procedure:   Awards are made on the basis of proposal evaluation, technical review, and administrative review.

Deadlines:   Applications must be received by NOS 45 days following announcement in the Federal Register.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   Approval time is expected to range from 90 to 180 days, which includes processing of the award through the NOS, NOAA, and DOC financial assistance functions.

Appeals:   None.

Renewals:   Cooperative activities are generally approved on an annual fiscal year basis, but may be continued beyond the first year, subject to satisfactory progress and availability of funds.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   This program has no statutory formula or matching requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Three years with funding approved annually.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Implementation plans are required annually. Progress reports are due semi-annually. Financial status reports are require quarterly. Final reports are due ninety days after expiration of reward.

Audits:   Recipients will be subject to the provisions of the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and revised OMB Circular No. A-133.

Records:   None.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   13-1450-0-1-306.

Obligations:   (Cooperative Agreements) FY 01 $1,032,500; FY 02 est $600,000; and FY 03 est $800,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   Indeterminate and highly variable. Minimum of $40,000 and maximum of $1,500,000 per year (1 to 50 interns)

The initial grant was issued on March 12, 1999, for $267,690 to Environmental Careers Organization covering seven (7) internships, after an open competition which closed October 5, 1998, in response to a Federal Register Notice published August 25, 1998, Vol 63, #164, p. 45223-45227. Additional grants were issued on 10/1/99 covering 2 interns, 7/17/00 covering 4 new interns and extending 2 previously initiated interns. Grants were issued on 7/30/01 covering 12 new interns and extending 3 previously initiated interns and on 9/30/01 covering 8 new interns and extending 3 previously initiated interns. On 12/31/01 a grant covering 4 new interns and extending 5 others was issued.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

None.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   None.

Headquarters Office:  
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED*

Web Site Address:   None at this time.

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

None.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

Proposals are subject to a review process taking into consideration the proposed recruiting plan, qualifications of the applicant, costs, and previous experience.