NLRSEORA: Application Document

OMB Control No. 1028‐0085

Current Collection Expires: 09/30/2015

United States Geological Survey

National Land Remote Sensing Education, Outreach and Research Activity

Proposals for Upcoming Grant – Tentatively Fiscal Year 2017

Program Announcement TBD

Closing Date: approx. December 1, 2016

Applications Must be submitted electronically via

http://www.grants.gov

See instructions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Funding Opportunity Description

2. Award Information

   1. Type of Award

   2. Estimated Number of Awards

   3. Anticipated Period of Performance

   4. Estimated Total Amount of Funding Available

   5. Anticipated Award Date

   6. Application Deadline

3. Eligibility Information

   1. Eligible Institutions

   2. Cost Sharing

   3. Non-responsiveness

4. Application and Submission Information

   1. Location of Application Package

   2. Submission Dates and Times

   3. Content and Form of Application

5. Application Review Information

   1. Evaluation Panel

   2. Evaluation Criteria

6. Award Administration Information

   1. Administrative and Policy Requirements

   2. Reporting Requirements

   3. Method of Payments

7. Agency Contacts

8. General Provisions

I. Funding Opportunity Description

The Land Remote Sensing (LRS) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Climate and Land Use Change (CLU) mission area will solicit applications from qualified Educational Institutions, State and Local Governments, and Non-profit Organizations (NPOs) for a National Land Remote Sensing Education Outreach and Research Activity (NLRSEORA). This effort involves the development of a U.S. national consortium in building the capability to receive, process and archive remotely sensed data for the purpose of providing access to university and State organizations in a ready-to-use form, and to expand the science of remote sensing through education, research / applications development and outreach in areas such as environmental monitoring, climate change research, natural resource management and disaster analysis.

Please note the current grant activity for NLRSEORA is scheduled to end June 30, 2017. This activity was originally designated as being awarded for up to five years, with each “option” year to be funded, dependent upon grantee’s ability to meet all stated grant objectives as well as subject to availability of funds from the Land Remote Sensing Program overseeing this activity.

For this proposed future grant activity, applicants should develop proposals to address the following program objectives:

• Define, consolidate and maintain the data and information requirements of the user community(ies) gathered via a nationwide consortium which includes universities throughout the U.S.

• Place in the public domain for free inspection and access, whenever feasible, all imagery and other sensor system or geospatial data purchased using public funds as the data becomes available. Data should be tailored to maximize usability to the scientific and academic community(ies) in the region.

• Establish strategic partnerships nationwide to develop and deploy remote sensing applications through collaborations involving university research teams, K-12 schools, Federal agencies, tribal, state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and commercial enterprises.

• Promote research and remote sensing experience at the university undergraduate and graduate level to increase numbers and visibility of graduating students with employment skills in remote sensing.

• Develop materials for and conduct or participate in appropriate educational and training organizations, curricula, programs, workshops, meetings, seminars, as well as technology transfer and outreach activities.

II. Award Information

1. Type of Award: Grant

2. Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

3. Anticipated Period of Performance: Grants are normally awarded in, but not restricted to, 12 month budget periods. Project duration may not exceed 5 years.

4. Estimated Total Amount of Funding Available: LRS estimates that up to $5,000,000 will be available for funding this program over a period of up to 5 years. Subject to the availability of funds and initial program results, LRS anticipates funding this as an ongoing program.

5. Anticipated Award Date: Estimated for July 1, 2017

6. Application Deadline: To be determined, depending on when the current grant activity ends (currently set for June 30, 2017).

7. Application Preparation: All detailed budget components must be submitted; Page limit and type size limits WILL be enforced. These limits must be adhered to or the proposal will be rejected.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Recipients: This announcement is open to any non-profit organization, educational institution, or State, Local or Indian Tribal government.

2. Cost Sharing: There will be no cost share or matching requirements under this announcement.

3. Non-responsiveness: Proposals with budgets exceeding the total award limits will not be considered.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Electronic Application Requirement

For the anticipated FY 2017 funding cycle all proposals shall be submitted electronically via Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov). Hard/paper submissions will NOT be accepted. All proposals must be submitted electronically on or before:

Specific dates are to be determined, in coordination with USGS’ Office of Acquisitions and Grants guidance.

Please be aware that the electronic submission process requires first time users to register using an e-Authentication process. This registration process can be somewhat complex and can take up to 3 weeks to complete. Be advised that it is virtually impossible to begin the process of electronic submission for the first time if you start just a few days before the due date. If you are from a university, contact your Office of Sponsored Programs. They may already have completed the registration process and they should work with you to submit the application.

Once at the website, click on “Get Registered” under the For Applications heading and follow the instructions provided. In order to complete the SF 424 forms, everyone must use Adobe Reader 8.1.1, 8.1.2 or 9.0, which are available for download from the grants.gov site at: http://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp#adobe811. To ensure that you have the correct version of Adobe Reader, you can view a test package here: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/AdobeVersioningTestOnly.jsp. Any and all edits made to the application package must be made with a supported version of Adobe Reader. Grants.gov does not guarantee to support other versions of Adobe Reader released prior to version 8.1.1. For more information on Adobe Reader, please see: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp#adobe-reader-error. If you have any questions regarding the registration process, please contact the grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726.

For more information on the Grants.gov registration and submission process, please see http://www.usgs.gov/contracts/grants/grantsgov.html

During the application period an applicant may submit a revised or corrected proposal through grants.gov. Include a cover letter as the first page of the proposal stating that the proposal is revised and indicating that the previous submittal is to be withdrawn from consideration. Such submissions must be completed by September 14, 2015, 2:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time.

B. Content and Form of Application: Your electronic submission shall consist of forms SF-424, SF-424a, and SF-424b, plus the items described below. No additional documents or materials may be submitted. Failure to comply with the required application components listed below may result in the proposal being rejected. To view complete forms instructions, please visit the Grants.gov Forms Repository at http://www.grants.gov/agencies/aapproved_standard_forms.jsp#1

Items 1 through 3 as described below shall be combined together, in the order noted below, and submitted through Grants.gov in either MS Word or PDF format. The application shall not exceed 20 single-spaced pages (including figures, tables, references, appendices, curriculum vitae, etc.), and the type size shall not be smaller than 11 point. All pages of the application shall be numbered. All text, figures, and tables shall be sized to fit on 8½" by 11" paper. The SF forms do not count toward the 20-page limit. The application shall be in color as needed for review by peer review panel members.

In the Grants.gov forms, floating your mouse over a field will provide instructions for completing that field. You can also click on the Check Package for Errors button to check the entire application for validation errors (incomplete fields, etc.)

The application submitted through grants.gov as the Project Narrative Attachment Form (in MS Word or PDF format) shall be assembled in the following order:

1. Proposal Narrative

The first page of the proposal shall contain the following information:

Project Title:

Principal Point of Contact:

Organization Name:

Address:

Phone:

FAX:

Email:

Contact Information for Technical and Administrative Negotiations:

Project Duration:

Proposed Start Date:

Funds Requested:

Total Project Cost:

2. Proposal Text. Please include the following:

a. Background/Relevance. Give a brief introduction outlining the applicant’s capabilities to address the goals of this grant. This should include a description of existing programs and facilities that will contribute to the accomplishment of proposed objectives. Also provide a brief description of applicant’s experience and performance on other awards demonstrating the applicant’s ability to accomplish proposed objectives.

b. Objectives. Clearly state measurable objectives that address the LRS goals under this program announcement.

c. Work Plan/Approach/Methods. Provide detailed discussion of proposed activities, including a timeline to achieve objectives.

d. Budget. Include salaries (including student stipends/tuition), fringe benefits, travel, miscellaneous (supplies and equipment), and indirect costs.

3. Budget Narrative. This information will provide more details than the SF-424A form and will provide adequate information for the Contracting Officer to conduct a detailed analysis of the costs to determine that they are reasonable, allowable and allocable. Please include the following:

1. Salaries, stipends and internships. Provide a list of the number and types of appointments and payments to personnel and students.

2. Fringe benefits/labor overhead. Indicate the rates/amounts in conformance with normal accounting procedures. Explain what costs are covered in this category and the basis of the rate computations.

3. Travel. Briefly itemize the estimated travel costs (i.e., number of people, number of travel days, per diem rate, mileage rate, airfare or other transportation, and any other travel costs).

4. Miscellaneous. This is the section to itemize costs that are not identified elsewhere on the budget sheet.

5. Total Direct Charges. Totals for items a - d.

6. Indirect Charges (Overhead). Indirect cost/general and administrative (G&A) cost. Show the proposed rate, cost base, and proposed amount for indirect costs based on the cost principles applicable to the Applicant's organization. If the Applicant has separate rates for recovery of labor overhead and G&A costs, each charge should be shown. NOTE: A copy of the indirect negotiated cost agreement with the Federal Government will be requested from all applicants recommended for an award. This request will be made at the time of recommendation notification.

7. Amount proposed. Total items e and f.

8. Multi-year projects. The Applicant shall provide summary information as well as a detailed budget for four additional years. The SF 424, however, shall reflect support for the first year only.

V. Application Review Information

A. Proposals will be evaluated by a panel of USGS Mission- and Program-level managers and scientists. The panelists read all the proposals prior to their panel meeting and at the meeting discuss each proposal according to the evaluation criteria. The panel will evaluate the technical merit of the proposals. The peer review panel votes on each proposal based on the criteria established in subsection B below; panel rankings are the principal determination of proposal success pending available funds. Evaluation criteria for upcoming grant opportunities will be established generally per the guidelines below but will be subject to final approval by Program officials with concurrence by the USGS Office of Acquisitions and Grants.

B. All proposals are considered in accordance with the criteria set forth below:

1. National Coordination: (20 points) This factor considers the capability to coordinate activities of a national consortium with the objective of advancement of the science of land remote sensing. This also includes a demonstrated capability to provide a coordinated national level training program for current and future workforces as well as the activities tailored toward increasing land remote sensing awareness at the K-12 level education programs.

2. Quality and Impact: (20 points) Technical quality of the proposal. This factor considers the scientific merit of the proposed approach and the probability of achieving positive results within the designated period. This would include the capability to leverage USGS capabilities along with other freely available data sources and discovery tools to provide basic maintenance of tailored archives intended to provide publicly accessible archives serving States and universities in user-friendly formats.

3. Experience/Competence: (30 points) Competence and recent research performance related to applications or uses for remotely sensed data. This factor:

   1. considers experience and competence of the grant application team and the promptness with which the research results were disseminated to the scientific community from previous funding.

   2. includes performance records and capability to provide the necessary facilities and support that will ensure satisfactory completion of the proposed work.

   3. includes the timely publication of project results and data in peer-reviewed scientific and technical journals, the impact of the results, and whether reporting requirements from previous USGS awards have been satisfied.

4. Budget and Administration: (15 points) Appropriateness and reasonableness of the budget. This factor considers whether the proposed budget is commensurate with the level of effort needed to accomplish the project objectives and whether the cost of the project is reasonable relative to the value of the anticipated results.

5. Performance Metrics: (15 points) This factor considers the availability and effectiveness of a specific set of annual and 5-year program mileposts and metrics against which performance can be easily evaluated.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Administrative and Policy Requirements: The award recipient is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the grant/cooperative agreement and sub-award supported activities to assure compliance with applicable Federal requirements, and that performance goals are being achieved. Recipient monitoring must cover each program, function or activity.

2. Reporting Requirements. The following reports will be required from all award recipients:

1. Interim Reports: The Awardee shall submit an Annual Progress Report to the designated USGS Project Officer, within 90 days of the end of the budget period. The report shall be in narrative form, brief, and formal in content.

The Annual Report shall include:

1. A quantitative description of activities and overall progress in response to the performance metrics.

2. An indication of any current problems which may impede performance.

3. An outline of the anticipated activities and adjustments to the program during the next reporting period.

4. A summary of expenditures incurred during the year, and any unspent balance of funds.

2. Final Report. The Recipient shall submit a final report to the designated USGS Project Officer 90 days after the expiration of the agreement. The final report shall include a quantitative description of activities and overall progress in response to the performance metrics which documents and summarizes the results of the entire grant. The final report shall include tables, graphs, diagrams, sketches, etc., as required to explain the results achieved under the grant. The report shall also include recommendations and conclusions based upon both the experience and the results obtained.

3. Cash Management and Financial Reporting Requirements

1. Annual Financial Reports.

The recipient will submit annual STANDARD FORM 425, FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORT(S) for each individual USGS award. The SF 425 is available at - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms. The SF 425 will be due ninety (90) calendar days after the grant year (i.e., 12 months after the approved effective date of the grant agreement and every 12 months thereafter until the expiration date of the grant agreement). USGS acknowledges that this annual reporting schedule may not always correspond with a specific budget period. The SF 425 must be submitted electronically through the FedConnect Message Center (www.fedconnect.net). If after 90 days, recipient has not submitted a report, the recipient’s account in ASAP will be placed in a manual review status until the report is submitted.

2. Final Financial Report.

a.  The recipient will liquidate all obligations incurred under the award and submit a final STANDARD FORM 425, FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORT through FedConnect (www.fedconnect.net) no later than 90 calendar days after the grant/cooperative agreement completion date.  The SF 425 is available at - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms. Recipient will promptly return any unexpended federal cash advances or will complete a final draw from ASAP to obtain any remaining amounts due.  Once 120 days has passed since the grant/agreement completion date, the ASAP subaccount for this award may be closed by USGS at any time.

b.  Subsequent revision to the final SF 425 will be considered only as follows -

1. When the revision results in a balance due to the Government, the recipient must submit a revised final Federal Financial Report (SF 425) and refund the excess payment whenever the overcharge is discovered, no matter how long the lapse of time since the original due date of the report.

2. When the revision represents additional reimbursable costs claimed by the recipient, a revised final SF 425 may be submitted to the Contracting Officer with an explanation.   If approved, the USGS will either request and pay a final invoice or reestablish the ASAP subaccount to permit the recipient to make a revised final draw.  Any revised final report representing additional reimbursable amounts must be submitted no later than 1 year from the due date of the original report, i.e., 15 months following the agreement completion date. USGS will not accept any revised SF 425 covering additional expenditures after that date and will return any late request for additional payment to the recipient.

C. Method of Payment:

Payments under financial assistance awards must be made using the Department of the Treasury Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system (www.asap.gov).

1. The Recipient agrees that it has established or will establish an account with ASAP. USGS will initiate enrollment in ASAP. If the Recipient does not currently have an ASAP account, they must designate an individual (name, title, address, phone and e-mail) who will serve as the Point of Contact (POC).

2. With the award of each grant/cooperative agreement, a sub-account will be set up from which the Recipient can draw down funds. After recipients complete enrollment in ASAP and link their banking information to the USGS ALC (14080001), it may take up to 10 days for sub-accounts to be activated and for funds to be authorized for drawdown in ASAP.

3. Inquiries regarding payment should be directed to:

Regional Finance Center	Time Zone	Phone Number	Business Hours	Mailing Address
Philadelphia	Eastern	(215) 516-8021	7:30 a.m - 4:00 p.m.	P.O. Box 51317 Philadelphia, PA 19115-6317
Kansas City	Central	(816) 414-2100	7:30 a.m - 4:00 p.m.	P.O. Box 12599-0599 Kansas City, MO 64116-0599
San Francisco	Mountain or Pacific	(510) 594-7182	7:30 a.m - 4:00 p.m.	P.O. Box 24700 Oakland, CA 94623-1700

4. Payments may be drawn in advance only as needed to meet immediate cash disbursement needs.

A waiver has been granted by the Associate Director for Administrative Policy and Services because this award involves payments to a foreign recipient.

1. Payment will be made by Treasury Check upon receipt of a properly prepared SF 270 REQUEST FOR ADVANCE OR REIMBURSEMENT. Submit the SF 270 form to the address specified in E.1. Requests should be submitted on a quarterly basis. Request for the entire award amount will be denied.

2. Payments may be drawn in advance only as needed to meet immediate cash disbursement needs.

VII. Agency Contacts:

Questions concerning the application process at Grants.gov:

Grants.gov Help Desk at: 1-800-518-GRANTS

Questions concerning this Program Announcement and all related grants questions to:

Jeff Caravelli

U.S. Geological Survey

Office of Acquisition and Grants

California State University @ Sacramento

3020 State University Dr. East

Sacramento, CA 95819

916-278-9341

[email protected]

Questions concerning this Program Announcement and all related technical questions to:

Sally Cook

U.S. Geological Survey

Land Remote Sensing Program

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

Mail Stop 516

Reston, VA 20192

Phone: (703) 648-6136

E-mail: [email protected]

VIII. General Provisions

1. Cost Principles, Audit, and Administrative Requirements

The Recipient shall be subject to the following OMB circulars and regulations, which are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these Circulars can be obtained from the Internet at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html.

Educational Institutions

a. 2 CFR 220, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions (OMB Circular No. A-21)

b. 2 CFR 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, hospitals, and Other Non-profit Organizations (OMB Circular No. A-110), as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart F.

c. OMB Circular No. A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations, as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart A: Administrative and Audit Requirements and Cost Principles for Assistance Programs

State and Local Governments

a. 2 CFR 225, Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments (OMB Circular A-87)

b. OMB Circular A-102, Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments; as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart C

c. OMB Circular No. A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations, as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart A: Administrative and Audit Requirements and Cost Principles for Assistance Programs

Non-Profit Organizations

a. 2 CFR Part 230, Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (OMB Circular A-122), except recipients listed in Appendix C to Part 230 are subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 31.2, Contracts with Commercial Organizations (Contract Cost Principles and Procedures)

b. 2 CFR 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, hospitals, and Other Non-profit Organizations (OMB Circular No. A-110), as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart F.

c. OMB Circular No. A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations, as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart A: Administrative and Audit Requirements and Cost Principles for Assistance Programs

Organizations for Profit, Individuals, and Others Not Covered Above

a. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 31.2, Contracts with Commercial Organizations (Contract Cost Principles and Procedures)

b. 2 CFR 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, hospitals, and Other Non-profit Organizations (OMB Circular No. A-110), as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart F.

c. FAR Subpart 42.1, Contract Audit Services; FAR Subpart 42.7, Indirect Cost Rates; FAR Subpart 42.8, Disallowance of Costs

2. Additional Regulations

This award is subject to the following additional Government-wide regulations:

• 2 CFR 180, Government Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement)

• 2 CFR 1400, Department of the Interior Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension

This award is subject to the following additional regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

• 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart E: Buy American Requirements for Assistance Programs

• 43 CFR Part 17, Subpart A: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Race, Color, or National Origin

• 43 CFR Part 17, Subpart B: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap

• 43 CFR Part 17, Subpart C: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age

• 43 CFR Part 17, Subpart E: Enforcement of Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Conducted by the Department of the Interior

• 43 CFR Part 18, New Restrictions on Lobbying

• 43 CFR Part 41, Nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance [Applies only if this award provides assistance to an education program or student(s).]

• 43 CFR Part 43, Governmentwide Requirements for Drug Free Workplace

3. Additional Articles Required For Compliance With Statute Or Regulation

a. Buy American Act Notice (43 CFR Sec. 12.710(c))

Pursuant to Sec. 307(b) of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. FY 2000, Public Law 106-113, please be advised of the following:

In case of any equipment or product that may be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance provided using funds made available in this Act, it is the sense of the Congress that entities receiving the assistance should, in expending the assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.

b. Metric Conversion (43 CFR Sec 12.915)

All progress and final reports, other reports, or publications produced under this award shall employ the metric system of measurements to the maximum extent practicable. Both metric and inch-pound units (dual units) may be used if necessary during any transition period(s). However, the recipient may use non-metric measurements to the extent the recipient has supporting documentation that the use of metric measurements is impracticable or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to the recipient, such as when foreign competitors are producing competing products in non-metric units.

c. Anti-Lobbying (43 CFR Part 18)

The Recipient shall not use any part of the appropriated funds from the Department of Interior for any activity or the publication or distribution of literature that in any way tends to promote public support or opposition to any legislative proposal on which Congressional action is not complete.

d. The Seat Belt Provision (43 CFR Sec. 12.2(e))

Recipients of grants/cooperative agreements and/or sub-awards are encouraged to adopt and enforce on-the-job seat belt use policies and programs for their employees when operating company owned, rented, or personally owned vehicles. These measures include, but are not limited to, conducting education, awareness, and other appropriate programs for their employees about the importance of wearing seatbelts and the consequences of not wearing them.

e. Use of U.S. Flag Air Carriers

Any air transportation to, from, between or within a country other than the U.S. of persons or property, the expense of which will be paid in whole or in part by U.S Government funding, must be performed by, or under a code-sharing arrangement with, a U.S. flag air carrier if service provided by such a carrier is "available" (49 U.S.C. 40118, commonly referred to as the Fly America Act). Tickets (or documentation for electronic tickets) must identify the U.S. flag air carrier's designator code and flight number. See the Federal Travel Regulation §301-10.131 - §301-10.143 for definitions, exceptions, and documentation requirements. (See also Comp. Gen. Decision B-240956, dated September 25, 1991.)

f. Activities on Private And Other Non-Federal Lands

1) The recipient shall comply with applicable State, local and Tribal government laws, including laws relating to private property rights.

This award involves funds appropriated to the biological research activity of the USGS. Therefore the following subsection of this provision applies:

2) Funds provided for the biological research activity in USGS annual appropriations may not be used to conduct surveys on private property, unless specifically authorized in writing by the property owner.

a) Accordingly, the recipient shall not enter non-Federal real property for the purpose of collecting information regarding the property, unless the owner of the property has –

1. consented in writing to the entry;

2. been provided notice of that entry; and

3. been notified that any raw data collected from the property must be made available at no costs, if requested by the land owner.

b) In this provision, the term “recipient” includes any person that is an officer, employee, or agent of the recipient, including a person acting pursuant to a contract or sub-agreement.

g. No Endorsement Provision (43 CFR 12.2(d))

Paragraph 2) applies to all awards.

The remainder of this provision applies because:

• the principal purpose of the agreement is a partnership where the recipient/partner contributes resources to promote agency programs or publicize agency activities, assists in fundraising, or provides assistance to the agency; and

• the agreement authorizes joint dissemination of information and promotion of activities being supported; and

• the recipient is not a State government, a local government, or a Federally-recognized Indian tribal government. ]

1) Recipient shall not publicize or otherwise circulate, promotional material (such as advertisements, sales brochures, press releases, speeches, still and motion pictures, articles, manuscripts or other publications) which states or implies governmental, Departmental, bureau, or government employee endorsement of a product, service, or position which the recipient represents. No release of information relating to this award may state or imply that the Government approves of the recipient's work products, or considers the recipient's work product to be superior to other products or services.

2) All information submitted for publication or other public releases of information regarding this project shall carry the following disclaimer:

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government.

3) Recipient must obtain prior Government approval for any public information releases concerning this award which refer to the Department of the Interior or any bureau or employee (by name or title). The specific text, layout photographs, etc. of the proposed release must be submitted with the request for approval.

4) A recipient further agrees to include this provision in a subaward to any subrecipient, except for a subaward to a State government, a local government, or to a Federally-recognized Indian tribal government.

h. Access To Research Data

1) By regulation (43 CFR 12.936), recipients that are institutions of higher education, hospitals, or non-profit organizations are required to release research data first produced in a project supported in whole or in part with Federal funds that are cited publicly and officially by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (e.g., regulations and administrative orders). “Research data” is defined as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings. It does not include preliminary analyses; drafts of scientific papers; plans for future research; peer reviews; communications with colleagues; physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples, audio or video tapes); trade secrets; commercial information; materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher until publication in a peer-reviewed journal; information that is protected under the law (e.g., intellectual property); personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; or information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study.

2) These requirements do not apply to commercial organizations or to research data produced by State or local governments. However, if a State or local governmental grantee contracts with an educational institution, hospital, or non-profit organization, and the contract results in covered research data, those data are subject to these disclosure requirements.

3) Requests for the release of research data subject to this policy are required to be made to USGS under, which will handle them as FOIA requests under 43 CFR 2.25. If the data are publicly available, the requestor will be directed to the public source. Otherwise, the USGS Contracting Officer/Grants Officer, in consultation with the af­fected recipient and the PI, will handle the request. This policy also provides for assessment of a reasonable fee to cover recipient costs as well as (separately) the USGS costs of responding.

i. Government Furnished Property Or Property Authorized For Purchase

The recipient shall comply with 2CFR Part 215, Section 215.34. Title to nonexpendable personal property acquired wholly or in part with Federal funds shall be vested in the Recipient unless otherwise specified in the award document. The Recipient shall retain control and maintain a property inventory of such property as long as there is a need for such property to accomplish the purpose of the project, whether or not the project continues to be supported by Federal funds. When there is no longer a need for such property to accomplish the purpose of the project, the Recipient shall use the property in connection with other Federal awards the Recipient has received. Under no circumstances shall title to such property be vested in a sub-tier recipient. Disposal of nonexpendable personal property shall be in accordance with the applicable OMB circular.

There is no non-expendable personal property authorized on this grant/cooperative agreement.

The following equipment will be vested:

j. Trafficking in Persons (22 U.S.C. § 7104(g))

1. Provisions applicable to a recipient that is a private entity.

(a) You as the recipient, your employees, subrecipients under this award, and subrecipients’ employees may not--

(1) Engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons during the period of time that the award is in effect;

(2) Procure a commercial sex act during the period of time that the award is in effect; or

(3) Use forced labor in the performance of the award or subawards under the award.

b) We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without penalty, if you or a subrecipient that is a private entity --

(1) Is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term; or

(2) Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to terminate the award to have violated a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term through conduct that is either—

i. Associated with performance under this award; or

ii. Imputed to you or the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part 180, “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),” as implemented by our agency at 43 CFR Part 42.

2. Provisions applicable to any recipient.

(a) You must inform us immediately of any information you receive from any source alleging a violation of a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term.

(b) Our right to terminate unilaterally that is described in paragraph a.2 or b of this section:

(1) Implements section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)), and

(2) Is in addition to all other remedies for noncompliance that are available to us under this award.

(c) You must include the requirements of paragraph a.1 of this award term in any subaward you make to a private entity.

3. Definitions. For purposes of this award term:

(a) “Employee” means either:

(1) An individual employed by you or a subrecipient who is engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award; or

(2) Another person engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award and not compensated by you including, but not limited to, a volunteer or individual whose services are contributed by a third party as an in-kind contribution toward cost sharing or matching requirements.

(b) “Forced labor” means labor obtained by any of the following methods: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

(c) “Private entity”:

(1) Means any entity other than a State, local government, Indian tribe, or foreign public entity, as those terms are defined in 2 CFR 175.25.

(2) Includes:

i. A nonprofit organization, including any nonprofit institution of higher education, hospital, or tribal organization other than one included in the definition of Indian tribe at 2 CFR 175.25(b).

ii. A for-profit organization.

(d) Severe forms of trafficking in persons,” “commercial sex act,” and “coercion” have the meanings given at section 103 of the TVPA, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7102).

k. Prohibition on Text Messaging and Using Electronic Equipment Supplied by the Government while Driving (Executive Order 13513)

Executive Order 13513, Federal Leadership On Reducing Text Messaging While Driving, was signed by President Barack Obama on October 1, 2009 (ref.: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-24203.pdf). This Executive Order introduces a Federal Government-wide prohibition on the use of text messaging while driving on official business or while using Government-supplied equipment. Additional guidance enforcing the ban will be issued at a later date. In the meantime, please adopt and enforce policies that immediately ban text messaging while driving company-owned or rented vehicles, government-owned or leased vehicles, or while driving privately owned vehicles when on official government business of when performing any work for on behalf of the government.

l. Transparency Act Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting (2 CFR Part 170).

a. Reporting of first-tier subawards.

1. Applicability. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term, you must report each action that obligates $25,000 or more in Federal funds that does not include Recovery funds (as defined in section 1512(a)(2) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111–5) for a subaward to an entity (see definitions in paragraph e. of this award term).

2. Where and when to report.

1. You must report each obligating action described in paragraph a.1. of this award term to http://www.fsrs.gov.

2. For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following the month in which the obligation was made. (For example, if the obligation was made on November 7, 2015, the obligation must be reported by no later than December 31, 2015.)

3. What to report. You must report the information about each obligating action that the submission instructions posted at http://www.fsrs.gov.

b. Reporting Total Compensation of Recipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. You must report total compensation for each of your five most highly compensated executives for the preceding completed fiscal year, if—

1. the total Federal funding authorized to date under this award is $25,000 or more;

2. in the preceding fiscal year, you received—

   1. 80 percent or more of your annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); and

   2. $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); and

3. The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm).

2. Where and when to report. You must report executive total compensation described in paragraph b.1. of this award term:

1. As part of your registration profile at http://www.ccr.gov.

2. By the end of the month following the month in which this award is made, and annually thereafter.

c. Reporting of Total Compensation of Subrecipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term, for each first-tier subrecipient under this award, you shall report the names and total compensation of each of the subrecipient's five most highly compensated executives for the subrecipient's preceding completed fiscal year, if—

1. in the subrecipient's preceding fiscal year, the subrecipient received—

(A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); and

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts), and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act (and subawards); and

2. The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm. )

2. Where and when to report. You must report subrecipient executive total compensation described in paragraph c.1. of this award term:

1. To the recipient.

2. By the end of the month following the month during which you make the subaward. For example, if a subaward is obligated on any date during the month of October of a given year ( i.e., between October 1 and 31), you must report any required compensation information of the subrecipient by November 30 of that year.

d. Exemptions

If, in the previous tax year, you had gross income, from all sources, under $300,000, you are exempt from the requirements to report:

1. Subawards,

and

2. The total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of any subrecipient.

e. Definitions. For purposes of this award term:

1. Entity means all of the following, as defined in 2 CFR part 25:

1. A Governmental organization, which is a State, local government, or Indian tribe;

2. A foreign public entity;

3. A domestic or foreign nonprofit organization;

4. A domestic or foreign for-profit organization;

5. A Federal agency, but only as a subrecipient under an award or subaward to a non-Federal entity.

2. Executive means officers, managing partners, or any other employees in management positions.

3. Subaward:

1. This term means a legal instrument to provide support for the performance of any portion of the substantive project or program for which you received this award and that you as the recipient award to an eligible subrecipient.

2. The term does not include your procurement of property and services needed to carry out the project or program (for further explanation, see Sec. __ .210 of the attachment to OMB Circular A–133, “Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations”).

3. A subaward may be provided through any legal agreement, including an agreement that you or a subrecipient considers a contract.

4. Subrecipient means an entity that:

1. Receives a subaward from you (the recipient) under this award; and

2. Is accountable to you for the use of the Federal funds provided by the subaward.

5. Total compensation means the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive during the recipient's or subrecipient's preceding fiscal year and includes the following (for more information see 17 CFR 229.402(c)(2)):

1. Salary and bonus.

2. Awards of stock, stock options, and stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal year in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based Payments.

3. Earnings for services under non-equity incentive plans. This does not include group life, health, hospitalization or medical reimbursement plans that do not discriminate in favor of executives, and are available generally to all salaried employees.

4. Change in pension value. This is the change in present value of defined benefit and actuarial pension plans.

5. Above-market earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax-qualified.

6. Other compensation, if the aggregate value of all such other compensation (e.g. severance, termination payments, value of life insurance paid on behalf of the employee, perquisites or property) for the executive exceeds $10,000.

m. Central Contractor Registration and Universal Identifier Requirements (2 CFR Part 25)

1. Requirement for Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

Unless you are exempted from this requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, you as the recipient must maintain the currency of your information in the CCR until you submit the final financial report required under this award or receive the final payment, whichever is later. This requires that you review and update the information at least annually after the initial registration, and more frequently if required by changes in your information or another award term.

4. Additional General Terms and Conditions

a. Research Integrity

1) USGS requires that all grant or cooperative agreement recipient organizations adhere to the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, Office of Science and Technology Policy, December 6, 2001, 65 Federal Register (FR) 76260, http://www.ostp.gov/html/001207_3.html. The Federal Policy on Research Misconduct outlines requirements for addressing allegations of research misconduct, including the investigation, adjudication, and appeal of allegations of research misconduct and the implementation of appropriate administrative actions.

2) The recipient must promptly notify the USGS Project Office when research misconduct that warrants an investigation pursuant to the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct is alleged.

b. Fiscal Integrity

The recipient will notify the USGS Contracting Officer/Grants officer of any significant problems relating to the administrative or financial aspects of the award, such as misappropriation of Federal funds.

c. Program Income

1) The recipient will have no obligation to the Federal Government for program income earned from license fees and royalties for copyrighted material, in accordance with 43 CFR 12.924(h) (for A-110 recipients) or 43 CFR 12.65(e) (for A-102 recipients).

2) If the recipient is an educational institution or nonprofit research organization, any other program income will be added to funds committed to the project by the Federal awarding agency and recipient and be used to further eligible project or program objectives, as described in 43 CFR 12.924(b)(1).

3) For all other types of recipients, any other program income will be deducted from total allowable costs to determine the net allowable costs before calculating the Government's share of reimbursable costs, as provided in 3 CFR 12.65(g)(1) (for A-102 recipients) or 43 CFR 12.924(b)(3) (for A-110 recipients).

--END OF PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT NO. ********--

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501), please note the following. This information collection is authorized by the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act -- Public Law 102-555. Your response is required to obtain or retain a benefit in the form of a grant. We estimate that it will take approximately 24 hours to prepare an application, including time to review instructions, and complete the application. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number. OMB has reviewed and approved this information collection and assigned OMB Control Number 1028-0085. You may submit comments on any aspect of this information collection, including the accuracy of the estimated burden hours and suggestions to reduce this burden. Send your comments to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, [email protected].