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34 C.F.R. Subpart C—How Does the Secretary Make a Grant?

Title 34 - Education

Title 34: Education
PART 411—VOCATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH PROGRAM

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Subpart C—How Does the Secretary Make a Grant?

§ 411.20   How does the Secretary evaluate an application?

(a) The Secretary evaluates an application for a grant or cooperative agreement on the basis of the criteria in §411.21.

(b) The Secretary may award up to 100 points, including a reserved 15 points to be distributed in accordance with paragraph (d) of the section, based on the criteria in §411.21.

(c) Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, the maximum possible score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses after the heading for each criterion.

(d) For each competition as announced through a notice published in the Federal Register, the Secretary may assign the reserved points among the criteria in §411.21.

(e) The Secretary awards five points to applications submitted by public or private postsecondary institutions.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2402)

§ 411.21   What selection criteria does the Secretary use?

The Secretary uses the following criteria to evaluate an application:

(a) National need. (20 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which the project would make a contribution of national significance, as measured by such factors as—

(1) The need for the project in relation to any program priority announced in the Federal Register; and

(2) The likelihood that the project will make an important contribution to vocational education.

(b) Plan of operation. (25 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of the plan of operation for the project, including—

(1) High quality in the design of the project;

(2) An effective plan of management that ensures proper and efficient administration of the project;

(3) A clear description of how the objectives of the project relate to the purposes of the program;

(4) The quality of the applicant's plans to use its resources and personnel to achieve each objective; and

(5) How the applicant will ensure that project participants who are otherwise eligible to participate are selected without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.

(c) Key personnel. (15 points) (1) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of key personnel the applicant plans to use on the project, including—

(i) The qualifications of the project director;

(ii) The qualifications of each of the other key personnel to be used in the project;

(iii) The appropriateness of the time that each one of the key personnel, including the project director, will commit to the project; and

(iv) How the applicant, as part of its nondiscriminatory employment practices, will ensure that its personnel are selected for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.

(2) To determine personnel qualifications under paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section, the Secretary considers—

(i) Experience and training in fields related to the objectives of the project;

(ii) Experience and training in project management; and

(iii) Any other qualifications that pertain to the quality of the project.

(d) Budget and cost effectiveness. (10 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which—

(1) The budget for the project is adequate to support the project activities; and

(2) Costs are reasonable and necessary in relation to the objectives of the project.

(e) Evaluation plan. (5 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of the evaluation plan for the project, including the extent to which the applicant's methods of evaluation—

(1) Are clearly explained and appropriate to the project;

(2) To the extent possible, are objective and produce data that are quantifiable;

(3) Includes activities during the formative stages of the project to help guide and improve the project, as well as a summative evaluation that includes recommendations for replicating project activities and results;

(4) If appropriate, identifies expected outcomes of the project participants and how those outcomes will be measured;

(5) If appropriate, will provide a comparison between intended and observed results, and lead to the demonstration of a clear link between the observed results and the specific treatment of project participants; and

(6) To the extent possible, include a third party evaluation.

(f) Adequacy of resources. (5 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the adequacy of the resources that the applicant plans to devote to the project, including facilities, equipment, and supplies.

(g) Dissemination plan. (5 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of the dissemination plan for the project, including—

(1) The extent to which the project is designed to yield outcomes that can be readily disseminated;

(2) A clear description of the project outcomes; and

(3) A detailed description of how information and materials will be disseminated, including—

(i) Provisions for publicizing the project at the local, State, and national levels by conducting or delivering presentations at conferences, workshops, and other professional meetings and by preparing materials for journals articles, newsletters, and brochures;

(ii) Provisions for demonstrating the methods and techniques used by the project to others interested in replicating these methods and techniques; and

(iii) Provisions for assisting others to adopt and successfully implement the project or methods and techniques used by the project.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under Control No. 1830–0013)

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2402)

§ 411.22   What additional factors may the Secretary consider?

After evaluating the applications according to the criteria in §411.21 the Secretary may select other than the most highly rated applications for funding if doing so would—

(a) Improve the geographical distribution of projects funded under this program; or

(b) Contribute to the funding of a variety of approaches for carrying out the activities under this part.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2401 and 2402)

§ 411.23   How does the Secretary evaluate unsolicited applications?

(a) At any time during a fiscal year, the Secretary may accept and consider for funding an unsolicited application that has not been submitted under a competition announced in the Federal Register for that fiscal year, if the project proposes activities described in §411.3.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of 34 CFR 75.100, the Secretary may fund an unsolicited application without publishing an application notice in the Federal Register.

(c) The Secretary may select an unsolicited application for funding in accordance with the procedures in §§411.20(e) and 411.24.

(d) The Secretary assigns the 15 points reserved under §411.20(b) as follows:

(1) Ten points to the selection criterion in §411.21(a)—national need.

(2) Five points to the selection criterion in §411.21(b)—plan of operation.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2402)

§ 411.24   How does the Secretary select an unsolicited application for funding?

(a) After evaluating an unsolicited research application on the basis of the criteria in §411.21, the Secretary compares that application to other unsolicited research applications the Secretary has received.

(b) The Secretary may fund an unsolicited research application at any time during the fiscal year.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2402)

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