[[Page 11727]]

FUNDING AVAILABILITY FOR THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP CENTERS
PROGRAM (COPC)

Program Overview

    Purpose of the Program. To provide funds to community colleges,
four-year colleges, and universities to establish and operate Community
Outreach Partnership Centers (COPCs) to address the problems of urban
areas.
    Available Funds. Approximately $8 million.
    Eligible Applicants. Public and private nonprofit institutions of
higher education granting two- or four-year degrees and accredited by a
national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education.
    Application Deadline. June 1, 2001.
    Match. 50% of the total costs of establishing and operating
research activities and 25% of the total costs of establishing and
operating outreach activities.

Additional Information

    If you are interested in applying for funding under this program,
please review carefully the General Section of this SuperNOFA and the
following additional information.

I. Application Due Date, Application Kits, Further Information, and
Technical Assistance

    Application Due Date. Your completed application is due on or
before 12:00 midnight, Eastern time, on June 1, 2001, at HUD
Headquarters.
    See the General Section of this SuperNOFA for specific procedures
governing the form of application submission (e.g., mailed
applications, express mail, overnight delivery, or hand carried).
    Address for Submitting Applications. Your completed application
consists of an original and two copies. Submit your completed
application to: Processing and Control Branch, Office of Community
Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Room 7251, Washington, DC 20410.
When submitting your application, please refer to COPC and include your
name, mailing address (including zip code) and telephone number
(including area code).
    For Application Kits. For an application kit and supplemental
material you should call the SuperNOFA Information Center at 1-800-HUD-
8929. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may call the Center's
TTY number at 1-800-HUD-2209. When requesting an application kit, you
should refer to COPC and provide your name, address (including zip
code), and telephone number (including area code). You may also
download the application kit on the Internet through the HUD web site
at http://www.hud.gov.
    For Further Information and Technical Assistance. You may contact
Jane Karadbil of HUD's Office of University Partnerships at (202) 708-
1537, ext. 5918. If you have a speech or hearing impairment, you may
call HUD's TTY number (202) 708-0770, or 1-800-877-8399 (the Federal
Information Relay Service TTY). Other than the ``800'' number, these
numbers are not toll-free. You may also reach Ms. Karadbil via the
Internet at Jane_R._Karadbil@hud.gov.
    Satellite Broadcast. HUD will hold an information broadcast via
satellite for potential applicants to learn more about the program and
preparation of an application. For more information about the date and
time of this broadcast, you should consult the HUD web site at the web
address listed above.

II. Amount Allocated

    Up to $8 million has been allocated to fund grants under the
program. This year, HUD will award two kinds of grants--(A) New Grants
to applicants who have never received a COPC grant before to undertake
eligible work and (B) New Directions Grants to fund previous COPC
recipients (as identified in Section III.(B) below) to undertake new
directions in their activities. Institutionalization Grants will not be
funded under this funding announcement for COPC. HUD will use up to
$6.4 million to fund approximately 16 New Grants and up to $1.2 million
to fund approximately 8 New Directions Grants.

III. Program Description; Eligible Applicants; Eligible Activities

    (A) Program Description. The main purpose of this COPC Program is
to assist in establishing or carrying out outreach and applied research
activities addressing the problems of urban areas. But HUD also looks
to the program to encourage structural change, both within an
institution of higher education and in the way the institution relates
to its neighbors. Funding under this program is used to establish and
operate local Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC). The five
key concepts that your COPC Program should include are:
    (1) Outreach, technical assistance, and applied research should be
provided to neighborhoods and neighborhood-based organizations based on
what the residents decide is needed, rather than what the institution
concludes is appropriate for that neighborhood;
    (2) Community-based organizations and residents should be empowered
by the project and be your partners throughout the life of the project
and beyond, from planning to implementation to activities beyond the
grant;
    (3) Your applied research should be related to the outreach
activities and be used to influence your activities within the grant
period or shortly after it ends. HUD will not fund research without
practical application;
    (4) The assistance you provide should be primarily by faculty,
students, or to a limited extent, by neighborhood residents or
community-based organizations funded by the university; and
    (5) Your program should be part of your institution's broader
effort to meet its urban mission, and be supported by its senior
officials, rather than just the work of a few faculty members. Your
proposed activities should not duplicate those of other entities in the
community and should be appropriate for an institution of higher
education to undertake in light of its teaching, and research, and
service missions.
    (B) Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants for both New Grants
and New Directions Grants are public or private nonprofit institutions
of higher education granting two- or four-year degrees and accredited
by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education. For New Grants, only applicants that have
never previously received a New Grant, a New Directions Grant, or an
Institutionalization Grant are eligible. For New Directions Grants,
applicants must meet the following requirements: you must have received
a New Grant in FY 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, or 1998; you must never have
received a New Directions Grant; and you must have drawn down (i.e.,
requests for reimbursement have been processed), by the application due
date, at least 75% of the funds you received from any previous COPC
award. Joint Community Development Program grantees are not eligible
for either kind of funding, nor are FY 1999 and 2000 COPC Grantees.
    Consortia of eligible institutions may apply, as long as one
institution is designated the lead applicant. Since the Statement of
Work and other facets of the technical review are assessed in the
context of the proposed staffing, and in order to fund as many eligible
applicants as possible, HUD has determined that you may be part of only
one consortium or submit only one

[[Page 11728]]

application or you will be disqualified. HUD will hold you responsible
for ensuring that neither you nor any part of your institution,
including specific faculty, participate in more than one application.
For New Directions Grants, if you originally received funding as a
consortium, you are not required to submit again with all the
consortium members. Members of a previously approved consortium may
submit on their own or as part of their old consortium. However, as
with New Grants, only one application from an institution will be
permitted.
    Different campuses of the same university system are eligible to
apply, even if one campus has already received COPC funding. Such
campuses are eligible as separate applicants only if they have
administrative and budgeting structures independent of other campuses
in the system.
    (C) Eligible Activities. Your COPC Program must combine research
with outreach, work with communities and local governments and address
the multidimensional problems that beset urban areas. To meet the
threshold requirements, your New Grant application must be multifaceted
and address three or more urban problems and you must propose at least
one distinct activity to address each separate urban problem. Urban
problems include issues related to housing, economic development,
neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure, health care, job training,
education, crime prevention, planning, the environment, community
organizing, and other areas deemed appropriate by the Secretary. Single
purpose applications are not eligible. For example, if you propose to
undertake health education for elementary school children, organizing
around health issues, and job readiness for the health professions, HUD
will deem your application as single purpose, because it really only
addresses the problem of health care. Likewise, if you propose to
address housing, economic development, and health care problems by
developing a Geographic Information System, your application would also
be considered single purpose because it does not propose separate and
distinct activities for each of the problems you will address. As
examples of eligible projects, if you propose a health care project for
the elderly, a job training program on construction trades for high
school seniors, and an affordable housing fair, you would meet the test
of addressing three urban problems, each with a separate activity.
Alternatively, if you propose a Geographic Information System to
identify economic development potential, an oral history of the
neighborhood, and the creation of block watches, you would also meet
the test. These are just examples. For more information about the
projects that have actually been funded under the program, you should
look at the Office of University Partnerships' web site at www.oup.org.
If you are applying for a New Directions Grant, you will only be
required to address two urban problems and undertake at least one
activity for each of these problems.
    The statute creating COPC is very specific that the program address
the problems of urban areas. HUD uses the Census definition of an urban
area: a single geographic place (e.g., a city, town, or village, but
not a county) with a population of 2,500 or more. You cannot meet this
test by aggregating several places smaller than the population
threshold in order to meet this requirement.
    Funded research must have a clear near-term potential for solving
specific, significant urban problems. You must have the capacity to
apply your research results and to work with communities and local
institutions, including neighborhood groups, local governments, and
other appropriate community stakeholders, in applying these results to
specific real-life urban problems.
    While the list of eligible and ineligible activities is the same
for both New Grant applicants and New Directions Grant applicants, New
Directions Grant applicants must demonstrate that the proposed
activities either implement new eligible projects in the current target
neighborhood(s) or implement eligible projects in a new target
neighborhood(s).
    Eligible activities include:
    (1) Research activities that have practical application for solving
specific problems in designated communities and neighborhoods,
including evaluation of the effectiveness of the outreach activities.
In order to ensure that the primary focus of your project is on
outreach, research may not total more than one-quarter of the total
project costs contained in any grant made under this COPC funding
announcement (including the required 50% match).
    (2) Outreach, technical assistance and information exchange
activities which are designed to address specific urban problems in
designated communities and neighborhoods. Such activities must total no
less than three-quarters of your total project costs (including the
required 25% match). Examples of outreach activities include, but are
not limited to:
    (a) Job training and other training projects, such as workshops,
seminars, and one-on-one and on-the-job training;
    (b) Design of community or metropolitan strategies to resolve urban
problems of communities and neighborhoods;
    (c) Innovative use of funds to provide direct technical expertise
and assistance to local community groups, residents, and other
appropriate community stakeholders to assist them in resolving local
problems such as homelessness, housing discrimination, and impediments
to fair housing choice;
    (d) Technical assistance in business start-up activities for low-
and moderate-income individuals and organizations, including business
start-up training and technical expertise and assistance, mentor
programs, assistance in developing small loan funds, business
incubators, etc;
    (e) Technical assistance to local public housing authorities on
welfare-to-work initiatives and physical transformations of public or
assisted housing, including development of accessible and visitable
housing;
    (f) Assistance to communities to improve consolidated housing and
community development plans and remove impediments to the design and
implementation of such plans;
    (g) Assistance to communities to design ways to use HUD's
Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) technology such
as analyzing building codes and building materials or designing new
building systems. (Remember that actual physical development activities
are not eligible under COPC.) For more information, see the General
Section of the SuperNOFA or visit the website at www.pathnet.org;
    (h) Assistance to communities to improve their fair housing
planning process;
    (i) Services to assist low-income students to attend college, as
part of the U.S. Department of Education's Gaining Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP). (For more information
call 202-502-7676 or visit the Department of Education's website at
www.ed.gov.); and
    (j) Regional projects that maximize the interaction of targeted
inner city distressed neighborhoods with suburban job opportunities
similar to HUD's Bridges-to-Work or Moving to Opportunity programs.
    (3) Funds for faculty development including paying for course time
or summer support to enable faculty members to work on the COPC.
    (4) Funds for stipends or salaries for students (but the program
cannot cover

[[Page 11729]]

tuition and fees) while they are working on the COPC.
    (5) Activities to carry out the ``Responsibilities'' listed under
Section IV (B) below. These activities may include leases for office
space in which to house the Community Outreach Partnership Center,
under the following conditions:
    (a) The lease must be for existing facilities not requiring
rehabilitation or construction;
    (b) No repairs or renovations of the property may be undertaken
with Federal funds; and
    (c) Properties in the Coastal Barrier Resource System designated
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501) cannot be
leased with Federal funds.
    (6) Components of your program may address metropolitan or regional
strategies. You must clearly demonstrate how:
    (a) Your strategies are directly related to what the targeted
neighborhoods and neighborhood-based organizations have decided is
needed; and
    (b) Neighborhoods and neighborhood organizations are involved in
the development and implementation of the metropolitan or regional
strategies.
    (D) Ineligible Activities. Activities ineligible for funding under
this program are as follows:
    (1) Research activities that have no clear and immediate practical
application for solving urban problems or do not address specific
problems in designated communities and neighborhoods.
    (2) Any type of construction, rehabilitation, or other physical
development costs.
    (3) Costs used for routine operations and day-to-day administration
of institutions of higher education, local governments or neighborhood
groups.

IV. Program Requirements

    In addition to the program requirements listed in the General
Section of this SuperNOFA, grantees must meet the following program
requirements:
    (A) Grant Sizes and Terms. If you are applying for a New Grant, you
may not request less than $250,000 nor more than $400,000. This amount
must be spent over a three-year period, and your budget must reflect
this period. Since the Statement of Work (in Section VI.(G)) and the
Narrative Statement Addressing the Factors for Award (in Section
VI.(H)) are assessed in the context of the proposed budget and grant
request, and in the interest of fairness to all applicants, HUD will
not accept a New Grant application that is under $250,000 or over
$400,000.
    If you are applying for a New Directions Grant, you may not request
a grant that exceeds $150,000. This amount must be spent over a two-
year period. Since the Statement of Work and other facets of the
technical review are assessed in the context of the proposed budget and
grant request, and in the interest of fairness to all applicants, HUD
will not accept a New Directions application that is over $150,000.
    (B) Responsibilities. You are required to:
    (1) Employ the research and outreach resources of your institution
of higher education to solve specific urban problems identified by
communities served by your Center;
    (2) Establish outreach activities in areas identified in your
application as the communities to be served;
    (3) Establish a community advisory committee comprised of
representatives of local institutions and residents of the communities
to be served to assist in identifying local needs and advise on the
development and implementation of strategies to address those issues;
    (4) Coordinate outreach activities in communities to be served by
your Center;
    (5) Facilitate public service projects in the communities served by
your Center;
    (6) Act as a clearinghouse for dissemination of information;
    (7) Develop instructional programs, convene conferences, and
provide training for local community leaders, when appropriate; and
    (8) Exchange information with other Centers.
    The clearinghouse function in Section IV(B)(6) above refers to a
local or regional clearinghouse for dissemination of information and is
separate and distinct from the functions in (8) above, which relate to
the provision of information to the University Partnerships
Clearinghouse, which is the national clearinghouse for the program.
    (C) Cap on Research Costs. No more than 25% of your total project
costs (Federal share plus match) can be spent on research activities.
You are, however, not required to undertake any research as part of
your project. You may apply for a project that is totally for outreach
activities.
    (D) Match. The non-Federal share may include cash or the value of
non-cash contributions, equipment and other allowable in-kind
contributions as detailed in 24 CFR part 84, and in particular
Sec. 84.23 entitled ``cost sharing or matching.'' You may not count as
match any costs that would be ineligible for funding under the program
(e.g., housing rehabilitation).
    (1) If you are a New Grant applicant, you must meet the following
match requirements:
    (a) Research Activities. 50% of the total project costs of
establishing and operating research activities.
    (b) Outreach Activities. 25% of the total project costs of
establishing and operating outreach activities.
    (2) If you are a New Directions Grant applicant, you must meet the
following match requirements:
    (a) Research Activities. 60% of the total project costs of
establishing and operating research activities.
    (b) Outreach Activities. 35% of the total project costs of
establishing and operating outreach activities.
    In previous competitions, some applicants incorrectly based their
match calculations on the Federal grant amount, not the total project
costs. An example of how you should calculate the match correctly and a
worksheet for the calculation are included in the application kit. The
worksheet, which is also included in the program area section of the
SuperNOFA, should be included with your application.
    (E) Administrative. Your grant will be governed by the provisions
of 24 CFR part 84 (Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher
Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations), A-21 (Cost
Principles for Education Institutions), and A-133 (Audits of States,
Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations. You may not spend more
than 20% of your grant on planning or administrative costs. The
application kit contains a detailed explanation of what these costs
are. You can access the OMB circulars at the White House website at
http://whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OMB/html/circulars.

V. Application Selection Process

    There will be two separate competitions--one for New Grants and one
for New Directions Grants. For each type of grant, applications will be
rated, ranked, and selected separately. Two types of reviews will be
conducted: a threshold review to determine your application's
eligibility; and a technical review to rate your application based on
the rating factors in Section V.(A) below.
    (A) Additional Threshold Requirements For Funding Consideration.
Under the threshold review, your application can only be rated if you
are both in compliance with the requirements of the General Section of
the SuperNOFA and if the following additional standards are met:

[[Page 11730]]

    (1) You have met the statutory match requirements, if applying for
a New Grant or the higher match levels described above, if applying for
a New Directions Grant.
    (2) You have proposed a program in which at least 75% of the total
project costs will be for outreach activities.
    (3) For New Grants, you have requested a Federal grant between
$250,000 and $400,000. For New Directions Grants, you have requested a
Federal grant that is no more than $150,000.
    (4) You have addressed at least three urban problems, such as
affordable housing, fair housing, economic development, neighborhood
revitalization, infrastructure, health care; job training, education,
crime prevention, planning, the environment, and community organizing
and have proposed at least one separate and distinct activity for each
problem you propose to address.
    (5) You and any part of your organization are participating in only
one application.
    (6) Your project will operate in an urban area.
    (B) Factors For Award Used To Evaluate and Rate Applications. The
factors for rating and ranking applicants, and maximum points for each
factor, are provided below. The maximum number of points for this
program is 102. This includes two EZ/EC bonus points, as described in
the General Section of the SuperNOFA. Unless otherwise noted, New Grant
applications and New Directions Grant applications will receive the
same number of points on a given factor.

Rating Factor 1: Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant
Organizational Experience (15 Points)

    This factor addresses the extent to which you have the
organizational resources necessary to successfully implement the
proposed activities in a timely manner. In rating this factor HUD will
consider the extent to which the proposal demonstrates:
    (1) For New Grants (15 points): For New Direction Grants (7
points).
    (a) The knowledge and experience of your overall proposed project
director and staff, including the day-to-day program manager,
consultants and contractors in planning and managing programs for which
funding is being requested. Experience will be judged in terms of
recent, relevant and successful experience of your staff to undertake
eligible program activities. In rating this factor, HUD will consider
experience within the last 5 years to be recent; experience pertaining
to the specific activities being proposed to be relevant; and
experience producing specific accomplishments to be successful. The
more recent the experience and the more experience your own staff
members who work on the project have in successfully conducting and
completing similar activities, the greater the number of points you
will receive for this rating factor. The following categories will be
evaluated:
    (i) Undertaking research activities in specific communities that
have a clear near-term potential for practical application to
significant urban issues, such as affordable housing, fair housing
including accessible and visitable housing, economic development,
neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure, health care, job training,
education, crime prevention, planning, and community organizing;
    (ii) Undertaking outreach activities in specific communities to
solve or ameliorate significant urban issues;
    (iii) Undertaking projects with community-based organizations or
local governments; and
    (iv) Providing leadership in solving community problems and making
national contributions to solving long-term and immediate urban
problems.
    (2) For New Directions Grants only (8 points). The extent to which
you performed successfully under your previous COPC grant(s), as
measured by:
    (a) Your achievement of specific measurable outcome objectives;
    (b) Your leveraging of funding beyond the funds originally proposed
to be leveraged for that project; and
    (c) The effectiveness of your administration of any previous COPC
grants (including the timeliness and completeness of your compliance
with COPC reporting requirements and your ability to have resolved
problems which presented themselves during the grant period). In
addressing timeliness of reports, you should compare when your reports
were due with when they were actually submitted.

Rating Factor 2: Need/Extent of the Problem (15 Points)

    This factor addresses the extent to which there is a need for
funding your proposed program activities and your indication of the
urgency of meeting the need in the target area. In responding to this
factor, you will be evaluated on the extent to which you document the
level of need for the proposed activity and the urgency in meeting the
need.
    You should use statistics and analyses contained in a data
source(s) that is sound and reliable. To the extent that the targeted
community's Consolidated Plan and Analysis of Impediments to Fair
Housing Choice (AI) identify the level of the problem and the urgency
in meeting the need, you should include references to these documents
in your response.
    If the proposed activity is not covered under the scope of the
Consolidated Plan and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice
(AI), you should indicate such, and use other sound data sources to
identify the level of need and the urgency in meeting the need. Types
of other sources include Census reports, Continuum of Care gaps
analysis, law enforcement agency crime reports, Public Housing
Authorities' Comprehensive Plan, and other sound and reliable sources
appropriate for your program. You may also address needs in terms of
fulfilling court orders or consent decrees, settlements, conciliation
agreements, and voluntary compliance agreements.
    To the extent possible, the data you use should be specific to the
area where the proposed activity will be carried out. You should
document needs as they apply to the area where activities will be
targeted, rather than the entire locality or state.

Rating Factor 3: Soundness of Approach (50 Points)

    This factor addresses the quality and cost-effectiveness of your
proposed work plan. There must be a clear relationship between your
proposed activities, community needs and the purpose of the program
funding for you to receive points for this factor. The factor will be
evaluated based on the extent to which the proposed work plan will:
    (1) (10 points) Identify the specific services or activities to be
performed. Note that you are not required to undertake research as part
of the grant. In reviewing this subfactor, HUD will consider the extent
to which:
    (a) There is a clear research agenda;
    (i) With identifiable research projects and outcomes (e.g.,
reports, surveys, etc.)
    (ii) That identifies each task and who will be responsible for it;
    (iii) Which is tied to the outreach agenda (e.g., if you proposed
to study the extent of housing abandonment in a neighborhood and then
design a plan for reusing this housing, you would be able to
demonstrate the link between your proposed research and outreach
strategies); and
    (iv) Which does not duplicate research by your institution or by
others for the target area previously completed or currently underway.
If other complementary research is underway,

[[Page 11731]]

you need to describe how the proposed research agenda would complement
it.
    (b) There is a clear outreach agenda:
    (i) With identifiable outreach projects;
    (ii) That identifies each task and who will be responsible for it;
    (iii) That involves your institution as a whole (i.e., many
academic disciplines and administrative offices);
    (iv) That provides for on-site or frequent presence in the target
area; and
    (v) That does not duplicate outreach activities by your institution
or others for the target area previously completed or currently
underway.
    (2) (10 points) Involve the communities to be served in a
partnership for the planning and implementation of your activities. In
reviewing this subfactor, HUD will look at the extent to which:
    (a) You have formed or will form one or more Community Advisory
Committees, representative of the communities' diversity (including
businesses, community groups, residents, and others) to be served to
develop and implement strategies to address the needs identified in
Factor 2. You will be expected to demonstrate that you have already
formed such a committee(s) or secured the commitment of the appropriate
persons to serve on the committee(s), rather than just describing
generally the types of people whose involvement you will seek.
    (b) You have involved a wide range of neighborhood organizations
and local government entities in the identification of your research
and outreach activities.
    (c) The committee and your partners will play an active role in all
stages of the project and will not serve as merely advisors or
monitors.
    (d) Your outreach agenda includes training projects for local
community leaders, for example, to increase their capacity to direct
their organizations or undertake various kinds of community development
projects.
    (3) (6 points) Help solve or address an urgent problem as
identified in Rating Factor 2 and will achieve the purposes of the
program within the grant period. In reviewing this subfactor, HUD will
look at the extent to which:
    (a) You identify specific time phased and measurable objectives to
be accomplished; your proposed short and long term program objectives
to be achieved as a result of the proposed activities; the tangible and
measurable impacts your work program will have on the community in
general and the target area or population in particular including
affirmatively furthering fair housing for classes protected under the
Fair Housing Act; and the relationship of your proposed activities to
other ongoing or proposed efforts to improve the economic, social or
living environment in the impact area; and
    (b) Grant funds will pay for activities you conduct directly,
rather than passing funds through to other entities (In order for your
application to be competitive, no more than 25 percent of your grant
funds should be passed to other entities); and
    (c) The activities you propose to undertake are pressing and urgent
needs, as identified in the documents described in Factor 2.
    (4) (4 points) Potentially yield innovative strategies or ``best
practices'' that can be replicated and disseminated to other
organizations, including nonprofit organizations, State and local
governments. In reviewing this subfactor, HUD will assess your
demonstrated ability to disseminate results of research and outreach
activities to other COPCs and communities. HUD will evaluate your past
experience and the scope and quality of your plan to disseminate
information on COPC results, strategies, and lessons learned through
such means as conferences, cross-site technical assistance,
publications, etc. The more proactive your plan for providing
information to a wide range of audiences, the greater the number of
points you will receive.
    (5) (8 points) HUD priorities;
    (a) (3 points) Further and support the policy priorities of HUD
including:
    (i) Promoting healthy homes;
    (ii) Providing opportunities for self-sufficiency, particularly for
persons enrolled in welfare to work programs;
    (iii) Enhancing ongoing efforts to eliminate drugs and crime from
neighborhoods through program policy efforts such as ``One Strike and
You're Out'' or the ``Officer or Teacher Next Door'' initiative;
    (iv) Providing educational and job training opportunities through
such initiatives as GEAR UP, Neighborhood Networks, Twenty/20 Education
Communities (formerly known as Campus of Learners) and linking to
AmeriCorps activities; or
    (v) HUD's Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH)
initiative.
    The Healthy Homes initiative implements a series of activities to
protect children from home hazards such as lead-based paint, radon,
fires, and accidents around the home.
    The GEAR UP initiative promotes partnerships between colleges and
middle or junior high schools in low-income communities, to help teach
students how they can go to college by informing them about college
options, academic requirements, costs, and financial aid, and by
providing support services, including tutoring, counseling, and
mentoring.
    The Neighborhood Networks initiative enhances the self-sufficiency,
employability, and economic self-reliance of low-income families and
the elderly living in HUD-insured and HUD-assisted properties by
providing them with on-site access to computer and training resources.
    The Twenty/20 Education Communities initiative is designed to
transform public housing into safe and livable communities where
families undertake training in new telecommunications and computer
technology and partake in educational opportunities and job training
initiatives.
    The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH)
initiative is a voluntary public/private partnership that seeks to
speed the creation and widespread use of advanced technologies in order
to radically improve the quality, durability, energy efficiency, and
environmental performance and affordability of housing. For more
information, you can go to the PATH web site at www.pathnet.org.
    (b) (5 points) Include activities that affirmatively further fair
housing, for example:
    (i) Working with other entities in the community to overcome
impediments to fair housing, such as discrimination in the sale or
rental of housing or in advertising, provision of brokerage services,
or lending;
    (ii) Promoting fair housing choice through the expansion of
homeownership opportunities and improved quality of services for
minorities, families with children, and persons with disabilities; or
    (iii) Providing housing mobility counseling services.
    (6) For New Grants (12 points): For New Directions Grants (7
points). Result in the COPC function and activities becoming part of
the urban mission of your institution and being funded in the future by
sources other than HUD. The bases for rating an application for this
selection factor will be different, depending on whether the
application is for a New Grant or a New Directions Grant.
    In reviewing this subfactor for a New Grant, HUD will consider the
extent to which:
    (a) COPC activities relate to your institution's urban mission;
demonstrate support and involvement of the institution's executive
leadership; are

[[Page 11732]]

linked by a formal organizational structure to other units related to
outreach and community partnerships; are reflected in budget and
planning documents; are part of a climate that rewards faculty work on
these activities through promotion and tenure policies; benefit
students because they are part of a service learning program or
professional training at your institution (rather than just volunteer
activities); and are reflected in your curriculum. HUD will look at
your institution's commitment to faculty and staff continuing work in
COPC neighborhoods or replicating successes in other neighborhoods and
to your longer term commitment (e.g., five years after the start of the
COPC) of hard dollars to COPC work. HUD will consider the extent to
which your proposed activities are appropriate for an institution of
higher education because they are tied to your institution's teaching
or research mission. In addition, HUD will consider the extent to which
your faculty, staff and students from across many disciplines are
involved in COPC-like activities as a way of demonstrating your
institution's commitment to these kinds of activities.
    (b) You have received commitments for funding from sources outside
the university for related COPC-like projects and activities in the
targeted neighborhood or other distressed neighborhoods. Funding
sources to be considered include, but are not limited to, local
governments, neighborhood organizations, private businesses, your
institution, and foundations.
    In reviewing this subfactor for a New Directions Grant, HUD will
consider the extent to which your New Directions project will sustain
the institutional capacity and commitment of your institution to
undertake outreach activities. HUD will be looking for increases in the
number of faculty undertaking this kind of work, increases in the
number of courses linked to outreach activities and the number of
students taking these courses, formal changes in institutional policies
related to support of outreach, and other measures of the impact of
this work on your institution.
    (7) For New Direction Grants only (5 points). Previous grantees
have a wealth of knowledge that they can and should share with other
institutions. If you send a faculty member of your team who has been
listed in your application to participate in the peer review process
for New Grants, you will receive 5 points.

Rating Factor 4: Leveraging Resources (10 Points)

    This factor addresses the ability of the applicant to secure
community resources which can be combined with HUD's program resources
to achieve program purposes. This factor measures the extent to which
you have established partnerships with other entities to secure
additional resources to increase the effectiveness of your proposed
program activities. Resources may include funding or in-kind
contributions, such as services or equipment, allocated to the
purpose(s) of the award you are seeking. Resources may be provided by
governmental entities, public or private nonprofit organizations, for-
profit private organizations, or other entities willing to establish
partnerships with you. You may also establish partnerships with funding
recipients in other grant programs to coordinate the use of resources
in the target area. In evaluating this factor, HUD will allocate points
as follows:
    (1) Five (5) points will be awarded for a match that is 50% over
the required match, as described in Section IV(D) above. Fewer points
will be assigned depending on the extent of the match. Matching funds
must be provided unconditionally in order to be counted for this
factor.
    HUD is concerned that applicants should be providing hard dollars
as part of their matching contributions to enhance the tangible
resources going into targeted neighborhoods. Thus, while indirect costs
can count towards meeting the required match, they will not be used in
calculating match overage. Only direct costs can count in this factor.
    (2) Up to an additional 5 points will be awarded for the extent to
which you document that matching funds are provided from eligible
sources other than your institution (e.g., funds from the city,
including CDBG, other State or local government agencies, public or
private organizations, or foundations). Fewer points will be assigned
depending on the extent of the outside match.
    You must provide evidence of leveraging/partnerships by including
in the application letters of firm commitment, memoranda of
understanding, or agreements to participate from any entity, including
your own institution, that will be providing matching funds to the
project. Each letter of commitment, memorandum of understanding, or
agreement to participate should include the organization's name,
proposed total level of commitment and responsibilities as they relate
to the proposed program. The commitment must also be signed by an
official of the organization legally able to make commitments on behalf
of the organization. Unless matching funds are accompanied by a
commitment letter, they will not be counted towards the match.

Rating Factor 5: Comprehensiveness and Coordination (10 Points)

    This factor addresses the extent to which you coordinated your
activities with other known organizations, participate or promote
participation in your community's Consolidated Planning process, and
are working towards addressing a need in a holistic and comprehensive
manner through linkages with other activities in the community. If you
propose to work in a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) non-
entitlement jurisdiction, you will only need to address subfactors (1)
and (3). If you are working in a CDBG non-entitlement area, please note
that at the beginning of the discussion of this factor.
    In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider the extent to which
you have:
    (1) Coordinated your proposed activities with those of other groups
or organizations prior to submission in order to best complement,
support and coordinate all known activities and, if funded, the
specific steps you will take to share information on solutions and
outcomes with others. Any written agreements, memoranda of
understanding in place, or that will be in place after award, should be
described.
    (2) Taken or will take specific steps to become active in the
community's Consolidated Planning process (including the Analysis of
Impediments to Fair Housing Choice) established to identify and address
a need/problem that is related to the activities the applicant
proposes.
    (3) Taken or will take specific steps to develop linkages to
coordinate comprehensive solutions through meetings, information
networks, planning processes or other mechanisms with:
    (a) Other HUD-funded projects/activities outside the scope of those
covered by the Consolidated Plan; and
    (b) Other Federal, State or locally funded activities, including
those proposed or ongoing in the community.
    (c) Selections. In order to be funded under COPC, you must receive
a minimum score of 70. HUD intends to fund at least one eligible
applicant that serves colonias, as defined by section

[[Page 11733]]

916(d) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, as
long as the applicant receives a minimum score of 70. HUD will select
the highest ranking colonias application from among the rated colonias
applications.
    If two or more applications have the same number of points, the
application with the most points for Factor 3, Soundness of Approach,
shall be selected. If there is still a tie, the application with the
most points for Factor 4, Leveraging Resources shall be selected.
    HUD reserves the right to make selections out of rank order to
provide for geographic distribution of funded COPCs. If HUD decides to
use this option, it will do so only if two adjacent HUD regions do not
yield at least one fundable COPC on the basis of rank order. If this
occurs, HUD will fund the highest ranking applicant within the two
regions as long as the minimum score of 70 points is achieved.
    After all applications have been rated and ranked and selections
have been made, HUD may require you, if you are selected, to
participate in negotiations to determine the specific terms of your
Statement of Work and grant budget. In cases where HUD cannot
successfully conclude negotiations, or you fail to provide HUD with
requested information, an award will not be made. In such instances,
HUD may elect to offer an award to the next highest ranking applicant,
and proceed with negotiations with that applicant.

VI. Application Submission Requirements

    You should include an original and two copies of the items listed
below. In order to be able to recycle paper, please do not submit
applications in bound form; binder clips or loose leaf binders are
acceptable. Also, please do not use colored paper. Please note the page
limits for some of the items listed below and do not exceed them.
    Your application must contain the items listed in this section.
These items include the standard forms, certifications, and assurances
listed in the General Section of the SuperNOFA that are applicable to
this funding (collectively, referred to as the ``standard forms''). The
standard forms can be found in Appendix B to the General Section of the
SuperNOFA. The remaining application items that are forms (i.e.,
excluding such items as narratives), referred to as the ``non-
standard'' forms, can be found as Appendix A to this program section of
the SuperNOFA. The items are as follows:
    (A) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance.
    (B) HUD-424M, Federal Assistance Funding Matrix.
    (C) Application Checklist.
    (D) Transmittal Letter signed by the Chief Executive Officer of
your institution or his or her designee. If a designee signs, your
application must include the official delegation of signatory
authority;
    (E) Abstract. (1 page limit) An abstract describing the goals and
activities of your program.
    (F) Narrative statement addressing the Factors for Award in Section
V(B). (50 page limit, including letters of commitment, tables and maps,
but not including letters of matching commitments, the match
calculation worksheet, and budget forms). (Please note that although
submitting pages in excess of the page limit will not disqualify your
application, HUD will not consider the information on any excess pages,
which may result in a lower score or failure to meet a threshold.) For
FY 2001 the statement of work and the budget are now a part of Factor
3, Soundness of Approach.
    (1) The Statement of Work incorporates all activities to be funded
in your application and details how your proposed work will be
accomplished. Following an activity and tasks under each activity
format, your Statement of Work must:
    (a) Arrange the presentation of related major activities by project
functional category (e.g., economic development, affordable housing,
capacity building), summarize each activity, identify the primary
persons involved in carrying out the activity, and delineate the major
tasks involved in carrying it out.
    (b) Indicate the sequence in which the tasks are to be performed,
noting areas of work which must be performed simultaneously.
    (c) Identify specific numbers of quantifiable intermediate and end
products and objectives you will deliver by the end of the award
agreement period as a result of the work performed.
    (c) Identify whether you propose to work in a Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement area or not.
    (2) Your budget presentation should be consistent with your
Statement of Work and include:
    (a) Budget Form--The budget form (Form HUD-30003) should be used to
prepare the budget.
    (b) A narrative explanation of how you arrived at your cost
estimates, for any line item over $5,000.
    (c) A statement of your compliance with the 20% limitation on
``Planning and Administration'' Costs.
    (d) An explanation of your compliance with the requirement that not
more than 25% of the total budget be allocated to research activities
(Form HUD-30002).
    (e) An explanation of your compliance with the matching
requirements (Form).
    (3) Your narrative response should be numbered in accordance with
each factor and subfactor.
    (G) Certifications.
    (1) SF-424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs.
    (2) HUD-50071, Certification of Payments to Influence Certain
Federal Transactions;
    (3) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable);
    (4) HUD-2880, Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Form;
    (5) HUD-50070, Certification of Drug-Free Workplace;
    (6) HUD-2992, Certification Regarding Debarment and Suspension;
    (7) HUD-2991, Certification of Consistency with the Consolidated
Plan; and
    (8) HUD-2990, Certification of Consistency with the EZ/EC Strategic
Plan (if applicable);
    (H) Acknowledgment of Receipt of Applications (HUD-2993). If you
wish to confirm that HUD received your application, please complete
this form. This form is optional.
    (I) Client Comments and Suggestions (HUD-2994). If you wish to
offer comments on the COPC NOFA of this SuperNOFA or the SuperNOFA
process, please complete this form. This form is optional.

VII. Corrections to Deficient Applications

    The General Section of the SuperNOFA provides the procedures for
corrections to deficient applications.

VIII. Environmental Requirements

    In accordance with 24 CFR 50.19(b) of the HUD regulations,
activities assisted under this program are categorically excluded from
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and are not
subject to environmental review under the related laws and authorities.

IX. Authority

    This program is authorized under the Community Outreach Partnership
Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 5307 note; the `` COPC Act''). The COPC Act is
contained in section 851 of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1992 (Pub.L. 102-550, approved October 28,

[[Page 11734]]

1992) (HCD Act of 1992). Section 801(c) of the HCD Act of 1992
authorized $7.5 million for each year of the 5-year demonstration to
create Community Outreach Partnership Centers as authorized in the COPC
Act. The FY 2001 HUD Appropriations Act continued the program beyond
the initial five-year demonstration by providing funding for Community
Outreach Partnership Centers for FY 2001.

Appendix A

    The non-standard forms, which follow, are required for your COPC
application.
BILLING CODE 4210-32-P