as small business concerns, are rejected as nonresponsive.

§ 127.15-4 Participation by small business concerns in Government procurement or disposal programs. Small business concerns desiring to avail themselves of the set-aside program should (a) determine which Government purchasing or disposal offices are most likely to buy items which they can supply or which disposal offices dispose of property which they desire to purchase, (b) request placement on the bidders lists maintained by such offices, and (c) bid competitively on these procurements and disposals. Information concerning counsel and guidance in connection with contracting with the Government, furnished by SBA, is set forth under § 124.8-4.

PART 128-GRANTS FOR SMALL
BUSINESS RESEARCH

Amount of a grant.
Application for a grant.

Method of evaluating and selecting
an application.

Administration of a grant. 128.7-10 Revocation of a grant. AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 128 issued under secs. 5, 7, 72 Stat. 385, 387, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 634, 636.

SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 128 contained in Revision 1, 24 F.R. 7063, Sept. 1, 1959, unless otherwise noted.

§ 128.7 Statutory provision.

also is

SEC. 7(d). The Administration empowered to make grants to any State Government, or any agency thereof, State chartered development credit or finance corporations, land-grant colleges and universities, and colleges and schools of business, engineering, commerce, or agriculture for studies, research and counseling concerning the managing, financing, and operation of small-business enterprises and technical and statistical information necessary thereto in order to carry out the purposes of section 8(b) (1) by coordinating such information with existing information facilities within the State and by making such information available to State and local agencies. Only one such grant shall be made within any one State in any one year, and no such grant shall exceed an aggregate amount of $40,000. Such grants shall be made from the fund established in the Treasury by section 602(b) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

(a) The regulations in this part govern the issuance of grants by the Small Business Administration for studies, research and counseling concerning the managing, financing and operation of small business enterprises authorized by section 7(d) of the Small Business Act, as amended.

(b) Under section 7(d) of the Act, the Small Business Administration is authorized to make grants to finance the development and gathering of information relating to managing, financing and operation of small business enterprises. This information will be used to provide managerial aids to small business in accordance with the provisions of section 8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act, as amended. (See § 124.8 of this chapter.) This information will be coordinated with informational facilities within the States and made available to State and local agencies. § 128.7-2 Definitions.

As used in this part:

(a) "Act" means the Small Business Act (Pub. Law 85-536), as amended (Pub. Law 85-699).

(b) "Administrator" means the Administrator of SBA.

(c) "Application" means a written request for a grant on SBA Form 459. (d) "Counseling" means consulting and advising with SBA for the purpose of developing information concerning the managing, financing and operation of small business enterprises, such information to be channeled through SBA for the use of national, state and local agencies and institutions listed in section 8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act.

(e) "Director" means the Director of the Office of Management and Research Assistance.

(f) "Grant" means a grant authorized under section 7(d) of the Act.

(g) "Grant Agreement" means the agreement contained in SBA Form 459 and any other conditions of the grant.

(h) "Grantee" means an institution to which a grant has been made.

(i) "Institution" means any State government or any agency thereof, any State chartered development credit or financial corporation, any college, any university, and any school of business, engineering, commerce or agriculture, either public or private.

(j) "Project" means a proposal, or its components when two or more areas

of research are involved, and any amendments thereto, approved by SBA.

(k) "Project Director" means the person assigned by an institution to supervise and be responsible for a research program under a grant.

(1) "Proposal" means a research program, which may include "studies," submitted by an institution in its application for a grant under section 7(d) of the Act.

(m) "Research" means research, studies, and counseling which will result in information to be distributed by SBA, acting as a clearinghouse, to national, state, and local agencies and institutions listed in section 8(b)(1) of the Act. Research includes basic and secondary investigations.

(n) "SBA" means the Small Business Administration.

or

(o) "Small business concern" "Small business enterprise" means a business concern which would qualify as a small business, as defined by SBA in Part 121 of this chapter.

(p) "State" means the several States, the Territories and possessions of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

(q) "State government or agency thereof" means departments, divisions or other designated organizations controlled and operated by the State including State government corporations.

(r) "Studies" means brief investigations of the economic background or problems of an industry or specific small business in its geographic locality but shall not include management or financial counseling or credit analysis.

(s) "Year" means the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

§ 128.7-3 Organization.

(a) The grant program authorized by section 7(d) of the Act is administered through the Office of Management and Research Assistance, Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C. 20416. The Director of this office is responsible for planning and coordinating small business management and research assistance programs and coordinating the activities of the Management Research Advisory Council.

(b) The Management Research Advisory Council is an advisory group established to examine and make recommendations with respect to the merits

of an application for a grant and to furnish advice on the grant program. The function of said Council is purely advisory. The members of the Council are selected and appointed by the Administrator and serve at his pleasure and without compensation.

(c) All recommendations of the Management Research Advisory Council are submitted to the Administrator, who, in his discretion, shall determine which proposals shall be approved and which suggestions shall be put into practice. § 128.7-4 Who is eligible for a grant.

Any State government or any agency thereof, any State chartered development credit or finance corporation, any university, any college and any school of business, engineering, commerce or agriculture, either public or private, is eligible to receive a grant.

§ 128.7-5 Purpose of a grant.

(a) A grant will be made by SBA only to finance research concerning the managing, financing and operation of small business enterprises to develop information or techniques which can be used by public or private organizations to aid small business enterprises, or to develop information which improves knowledge of the economy through research on the small business sector.

(b) No proposal nor portion of a proposal will be approved if its primary purpose is to provide information to be used to urge industry and trade located in one State to move to another.

§ 128.7-6 Amount of a grant.

No grant may exceed an aggregate amount of $40,000. Only one such grant may be made within any one State in any one year. SBA is not authorized to commit itself in any year to make a grant during subsequent years.

§ 128.7-7 Application for a grant.

(a) Applications (SBA Form 459) and instructions (SBA Form 459A) are available at SBA field offices and at the SBA Washington, D.C. office.

(b) An application may be initiated by any institution described in § 128.7-6. Prior to submission, the application and the proposal to perform research under the grant contained therein, may be discussed informally with SBA staff members. When appropriate, SBA staff members may suggest a new proposal or modification of a proposal submitted. If

two or more institutions within a State desire to cooperate in carrying out proposals, such combined proposals may be considered. However, only one grant may be authorized. Therefore, the application must designate which of the cooperating institutions is to be the grantee. This institution will be responsible to SBA for carrying out the project in its entirety and SBA will not be obligated in any way to any institution other than the grantee.

(c) Applications must be received by SBA on or before the 31st day of October of the fiscal year for which the grant is requested. Applications received after that date will not be considered.

(d) Six copies of the application shall be submitted to the Director, Office of Management and Research Assistance, Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C., 20416. Applications received by SBA will not be returned to the applicant.

§ 128.7-8 Method of evaluating and selecting an application.

(a) An application will be reviewed by the Office of Management and Research Assistance for eligibility and other requirements set forth in this part. An application containing a proposal which, on its face, appears eligible and meritorious shall be submitted to the Management Research Advisory Council for a further examination of the merits of the application. The Council will recommend to the Administrator an application which merits a grant. The Administrator may, within his discretion, approve or reject this recommendation.

(b) An application shall be evaluated on the basis of the current need and priority of importance of the anticipated results of the proposal contained therein; the qualifications and experience of the Project Director and staff; the practicability and utility of the proposal; the amount of total direct expenses as compared with overhead expenses; and the amount of added funds to be contributed or arranged for by the institution itself.

(c) Although matching funds are not required, the competing application in any State which is approved will be the one with the greatest amount of matching funds, when other conditions are approximately equal. These matching funds can be measured either in terms of dollar value of services performed (not included as such in the grant) or supplementary contributions of cash to be used in the conduct of the research project.

§ 128.7-9 Administration of a grant.

(a) Conditions of a grant. The grant agreement as set forth in SBA Form 459 contains express conditions, which when accepted will bind the grantee. The conditions contained in the grant agreement may be amended by mutual agreement of the parties but the amount of the original grant may not be increased as a result of any such amendments to an amount in excess of $40,000.

(b) Grant agreement. The grant agreement as set forth in SBA Form 459 is as follows:

It is understood and agreed by the applicant:

(1) That the project will be performed substantially as described in this application and as approved by SBA, and that the funds granted as a result of your request are to be expended for the purposes set forth herein; (2) That if the project proceeds in accordance with the schedule contained in this application, then the grant funds shall be paid in advance on a semi-annual basis in amounts based on the estimated requirements for the subsequent six month period, up to 90 percent of the grant, and the balance upon completion of the project and receipt by this Agency of a satisfactory final report; (3) That the project shall be directed and supervised by the Project Director named herein and no other Project Director shall be appointed without the approval of SBA; (4) That such accounts shall be kept (in accordance with accepted accounting practices) as are necessary to prepare the financial reports required herein and that inspection and audit by representatives of SBA and the United States General Accounting Office of expenditures under the grant shall be permitted during the life of the grant and for three years thereafter; (5) That written reports of the progress of the project and of the expenditure of funds under the grant will be furnished every six months after the grant has been awarded, or more frequently as SBA may reasonably require; that the project shall be completed and the final report submitted to SBA by the date specified herein; that at least 500 copies of the final report shall be furnished to SBA in such form as SBA may approve; and that a typewritten summary statement of not more than 3,000 words covering the major findings of the project shall be prepared and submitted in triplicate; (6) That the grant may be revoked in whole or in part at any time by the Ad

ministrator of the SBA provided that such action shall not affect commitments of funds made prior to the effective date of the revocation if such obligations were made solely for the purposes set forth in this application. If the grant is revoked because of a substantial deviation, not approved by SBA, from the project or this agreement then the amount of the grant then paid may be recovered by SBA.

(c) Establishing the amount of a grant. In considering the budget for a grant, SBA will recognize that substantial contributions may be made by the grantee in such form as space, equipment, library facilities, and, in many cases, as payment of the salaries or parts of the salaries of the Project Director and staff. SBA normally will include in the grant, funds for such items as the salaries of personnel, materials, necessary travel, publication and other direct costs.

(d) Grant period. The Act limits SBA to making one grant within any one States in any one year; however, the project does not have to be completed within the year but may be for a period of longer duration as provided in the grant agreement. When progress of research under the grant is delayed and circumstances make it necessary to request an extension of the grant period without additional funds, SBA may, upon written request of the grantee, permit extensions in time. Such an extension, however, may require a spread out of the remaining payments under the grant.

(e) Payment of a grant. In general, payment will be made in advance to the grantee only, based on the estimated requirements for the subsequent six month period, up to 90 per cent of the grant, and the balance upon completion of the project and approval and acceptance by SBA of the final report.

(f) Accounting procedures and audit. While no particular classification of accounts is required, a grantee shall keep such accounts for each project (in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices) as are necessary to permit it to prepare the required financial reports as required in paragraph (g) of this section, and to make possible a determination by SBA that the grant has been used for the purposes for which the grant was made. All accounting records relating to expenditures under the grant are subject to inspection and audit by representatives of SBA and the United States General Accounting Office during the life of the grant and for three years thereafter.

(g) Reports. (1) Progress and financial reports must be made to SBA on work financed by the grant. Specific conditions regarding frequency of submission and nature of reports will be set forth in each grant agreement.

(2) The final report on the project must be submitted to SBA within the time allowed. From time to time, SBA representatives may visit the project sites and, at such time, verbal reports will be expected.

§ 128.7-10 Revocation of a grant.

Each grant will be made subject to a condition that it may be revoked in whole or in part. A revocation shall not affect any commitment of funds made by the grantee which was made in accordance with the project prior to the effective date of revocation. Any substantial deviation from the project not approved by SBA will be deemed to be a breach of the grant agreement and grounds for termination of the grant in its entirety. In this event SBA assumes no responsibility for any commitment of funds made by the grantee.