[Federal Register: September 30, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 189)]
[Notices]
[Page 56267-56269]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30se03-48]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Minority Business Development Agency
[Docket No. 000724218-3239-07]
Solicitation of Applications for the Native American Business
Development Center (NABDC) Program
AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Minority Business Development Agency is revising the
announcement soliciting competitive applications to operate its Native
American Development Center (NABDC) Program published on Friday, August
29, 2003 (68 FR 51981). The original solicitation is amended to (1)
clarify the total Federal amount for the Arizona Statewide NABDC award,
(2) clarify that there are only three basic areas under the work
requirements, and (3) update the computer requirements under the
headings Network Design, Desktop Workstations, Maintenance and
Security, and Time for Compliance.
DATES: The closing date for applications for each NABDC project is
October 10, 2003. Anticipated time for processing of applications is
one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the publication of this
Notice. MBDA anticipates that awards for the NABDC program will be made
with a start date of January 1, 2004. Completed applications for the
NABDC program must be (1) mailed (USPS postmark) to the address below;
or (2) received by MBDA no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Applications postmarked later than the closing date or received after
the closing date and time will not be considered.
ADDRESSES: Applicants must submit one signed original plus two (2)
copies of the application. Completed application packages must be
submitted to: Office of Business Development, Native American Business
Development Center Program Office, Office of Executive Secretariat,
HCHB, Room 5063, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department
of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20230.
If the application is hand-delivered by the applicant or his/her
representative, one signed original plus two (2) copies of the
application must be delivered to Room 1874, which is located at
Entrance 10, 15th Street, NW, between Pennsylvania and
Constitution Avenues.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact the
MBDA National Enterprise Center (NEC) for the geographic service area
in which the project will be located or visit MBDA's Minority Business
Internet Portal (MBDA Portal) at http://www.mbda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Minority Business Development Agency
revises its announcement soliciting competitive applications to operate
its Native American Development Center (NABDC) Program published on
Friday, August 29, 2003 (68 FR 51981) to provide clarification
concerning the total Federal amount and the number of basic areas under
the work requirements, and to amend computer requirements for NABDC.
On page 51991 of the Federal Register notice, the total Federal
amount available for the operation of the Arizona Statewide NABDC was
incorrectly stated. The total Federal amount should be $188,000 for
operation of the Arizona Statewide NABDC.
On page 51984, a typographical error appears under the heading
``Work Requirements''. The notice incorrectly states that the NABDC is
required to perform work in four (4) basic areas. This notice clarifies
that there are only three (3) basic areas where the NABDC must perform
work: Market Development, Client Services, and Operational Quality.
Finally, on pages 51986 through 51988 of the Federal Register
notice, the requirements listed under the heading Computer Requirements
for the NABDC Program is amended to reflect the following changes:
1. Under the heading Network Design:
[sbull] The term ``server-based local area network'' has been
substituted for ``Client Server'' for clarity.
[sbull] The requirement for a service pack 3 or greater server has
been deleted;
[sbull] The requirement for a Domain Controller server has been
deleted;
[sbull] Grant recipients may use a Pentium IV class CPU, instead of
a Pentium IV CPU;
[sbull] The requirement for a trusted relationship between the
servers of MBDA's and the award recipient's has been deleted.
2. Under the heading Desktop Workstations:
[sbull] Grant recipients may use a Pentium IV class CPU, instead of
a Pentium IV CPU;
[sbull] The option of XP Professional software has been added to
Operating systems;
[sbull] A requirement for a software or hardware-based Firewall has
been added to the antivirus protection software;
[sbull] The requirement that 50% of all employee workstations to be
fully operational during business hours, has been deleted;
3. Under the heading Maintenance and Security:
[sbull] The requirement for a trusted relationship for any security
component has been deleted.
4. Under the heading Time for Compliance:
[sbull] The requirement for the contact information for the ISP
Technical Contact has been deleted.
The amended Computer Requirements reads as follows:
Computer Requirements
MBDA requires that all award recipients meet certain requirements
related to the acquisition, installation, configuration, maintenance
and security of information technology (IT) assets in order to ensure
seamless and productive interface between and among all grant
recipients, Native American and other minority-owned businesses, the
MBDA Federal IT system and the public. These
[[Page 56268]]
required assets and their configuration are hereinafter referred to as
the ``enterprise.'' The basic components of the enterprise are the
desktop workstations, the server, local area network (LAN) components
and a connection to the Internet.
At a minimum, each grantee shall provide one (1) desktop computer
for the exclusive use of each employee delivering minority business
assistance to the public under an award from MBDA. All desktop
computers shall be inter-connected with a Server computer using an
Ethernet protocol enabling communication with all workstations on the
network. The Server shall have a constant, high-speed Internet
connection, active during all business hours, preferably through a DSL
or cable modem connection. The recipient shall ensure that each of his/
her employees, to include management, administrative personnel,
contractors, full-time, part-time, and non-paid (volunteer) staff have
a unique electronic mail (e-mail) address available to the public. Each
grantee shall design, develop and maintain, in accordance with the
computer requirements, a presence on the Internet's World Wide Web and
shall maintain appropriate computer and network security precautions
during all periods of funding by MBDA. All IT requirements, as
described herein, shall be met within thirty (30) calendar days after
the award.
1. Network Design: At all locations where services are delivered to
the eligible public as defined by Executive Order 11625, the recipient
shall operate a server-based local area network (LAN) enabling each
staff person delivering services to the eligible public exclusive
access to a personal computer workstation during all business hours.
MBDA shall, from time to time, designate certain configurations of the
enterprise hardware and software to meet interface requirements.
Currently, MBDA recommends servers using an operating system that
is fully compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000. Any server providing
principal service to the desktops shall contain 18 or more gigabytes
(GB) of hard drive space using two or more 9 GB+ disks configured
appropriately to ensure data retention should one disk fail. At least
one (1) Pentium IV class central processing unit (CPU), shall be used
in the DC server or any other server providing principal service to the
desktops. Web servers, mail servers and/or servers maintained by a
third party such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) shall meet the
minimum server specifications as stated herein.
2. Desktop Workstations: All desktop systems shall not be more than
two (2) calendar years old at time of award and shall contain a Pentium
IV class central processing unit (CPU), operating at speeds not less
than 2+ Gigahertz (GHz). Each desktop system shall contain a hard drive
with a storage capacity of at least twenty (20) GB and 512 Megabytes of
RAM. All desktop systems shall have installed an operating system fully
compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP Professional, with MS
Office 2000 Professional or higher, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x ,
and a software or hardware-based Firewall. Additionally, at least one
workstation shall have installed both a full page scanner, along with
software fully compatible with Adobe Acrobat software for the
production of electronic document submissions.
3. Maintenance and Security: A network map (``as-built'')
reflecting adherence to the computer and networking requirements set
forth herein shall be maintained by the recipient for review by MBDA at
any time. Each recipient shall designate and train one administrative
person competent in the operation of an operations system fully
compatible with Windows 2000 network and local area network (LAN)
technology as described herein. From time to time, MBDA may require
certain software be loaded on servers and desktops. In any given year,
the cost of this additional software may be $200.00 per workstation and
$500.00 per server, such additional cost may be borne by MBDA. Every
employee of the NABDC shall be assigned a unique username and password
to access the system. Every employee shall be required to sign a
written computer security agreement. (A suggested format for the
computer security agreement will be provided at the time of award.)
Every manager, employee, and contractor and any other person given
access to the computer system shall sign the security agreement and an
original copy of the signed agreement shall be kept in the NABDC's
files. A photocopy of the agreement shall be sent by fax to MBDA at:
(202) 482-2693 no later than thirty (30) days after receipt of the
award. All subsequent new hires and associations requiring access to
the NABDC or MBDA systems shall read, understand and sign the security
agreement prior to issuance of a password. No employee shall have
access to the MBDA system without a signed security agreement on file
at MBDA.
4. Web site: Each recipient shall create and maintain a public Web
site using a unique address (e.g., http://www.center-name.com). The
first page (Index page) of the Web site shall clearly identify the
recipient as a Native American Business Development Center funded by
the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency.
The Index page of the Web site shall load on software fully compatible
with Windows Internet Explorer 6.x browser software using a normal home
computer with 56Kb/s analog phone line connection in less than ten (10)
seconds. The Web site shall contain the names of all managers and
employees, the business and mailing address of the Center, business
phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses of the NABDC and employees,
a statement referencing the services available at the NABDC, the hours
under which the NABDC operates and a link to the MBDA homepage (http://www.mbda.gov
). For purpose of electronically directing clients to the
appropriate NABDC staff, the Web site shall also contain a short
biographical statement for each employee of the NABDC including
management, contractors, part-time, full-time, and non-paid (volunteer)
personnel, providing services directly to the eligible public under an
award from MBDA. This biographical statement shall contain: the full
name of the employee, and a brief description of the expertise of the
employee to include academic degrees, certifications and any other
pertinent information with respect to that employee's qualifications to
deliver minority business assistance services to eligible members of
the public.
No third party advertising of commercial goods and services shall
be permitted on the site. All links from the site to other than
federal, state or local government agencies and non-profit educational
institutions must be requested, in advance and in writing, through the
Chief Information Officer, MBDA Office of Information Technology
Services to the Grants Office for written approval. Such approval shall
not be unreasonably withheld but approval is subject to withdrawal if
MBDA determines the linked site unsuitable. No employee of the NABDC,
nor any other person, shall use the NABDC Web site for any purpose
other than that approved under the terms of the agreement between the
recipient and MBDA. Every page of the Web site shall comply with
Federal standards of the American With Disabilities Act, Section 508,
and be reviewed by the recipient for accuracy, current, and
appropriateness every three (3) months. Appropriate privacy notices and
handicapped accessibility will be
[[Page 56269]]
predominately featured. From time to time, MBDA shall audit the
recipient's Web site and recommend changes in accordance with the
guidelines set forth herein.
5. Time for Compliance: Within thirty (30) days after receipt of
the award, the recipient shall report via e-mail to the Chief
Information Officer, MBDA Office of Information Technology Services and
the MBDA Office of Business Development that he/she has complied with
all technical requirements as specified herein. Within thirty (30) days
after receipt of the award, the recipient shall report the name,
contact telephone number and e-mail address of the Project Director,
Network or System Administrator.
6. Performance System: All required performance reporting to MBDA
shall be conducted via the Internet using the Performance system to be
found at a secure Web site (http://www.mbda.gov). Within thirty (30)
days after the receipt of award, each NABDC business consultant and/or
anyone providing business assistance to the public under the award
shall have satisfactorily completed the Performance System Training
Course (PSTC). This course is available on-line from the Performance
Web site (http://www.mbda.gov). Only those persons giving direct
assistance to the eligible public shall be given passwords and access
to enter Performance data into the system. Only trained staff shall
enter data into the Performance system. There shall be no ``sharing''
of passwords on the Performance system. MBDA encourages input of
information on a daily basis.
7. Data Integrity: The recipient shall take the necessary steps to
ensure that all data entered into MBDA systems, and systems operated by
the recipient in support of the award, or by any employee of the
recipient is accurate and timely.
Dated: September 24, 2003.
Ronald N. Langston,
National Director, Minority Business Development Agency.
[FR Doc. 03-24635 Filed 9-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-21-P