[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29325-29327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11099]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Requests for Information: Community Development Financial
Institutions Prize Competition
ACTION: Notice and request for information.
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SUMMARY: The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI
Fund), Department of the Treasury, requests comments from the public
regarding a proposed CDFI Prize Competition to be administered by the
CDFI Fund in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. The proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize
Competition will reward selected applicants with monetary prizes for
proposing innovative ideas and approaches to increasing CDFI investment
and access to capital in underserved rural areas. The CDFI Fund expects
that, through the proposed competition, it will award no less than
$1,000,000 of FY 2016 appropriated funds, through the prize competition
authority granted by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010
(15 U.S.C. 3719) (the Act). The CDFI Fund expects to publish detailed
information regarding the FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition, including
information on how to apply to be considered for prizes to be awarded
through the competition, through www.challenge.gov, on or about June 1,
2016. Capitalized terms found in this notice are defined in the
regulations that govern the CDFI Program, at 12 CFR 1805.104.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. May 25, 2016 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments via email to William Girardo, Portfolio
Manager, CDFI Fund, at [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Girardo, Portfolio Manager,
CDFI Fund, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220, (202)
653-0383 (not a toll-free number). Other information regarding the CDFI
Fund and its programs may be obtained through the CDFI Fund's Web site
at http://www.cdfifund.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3719(d) of the Act states that
Federal
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agencies must ``consult widely both within and outside the Federal
Government'' when selecting topics for prize competitions. The topic of
the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition is to stimulate innovation
that will build capacity to expand CDFI investments in underserved
rural areas, particularly those that are characterized by persistent
poverty. As required by the Act, the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize
Competition will award innovative proposals that (i) identify and
promote new ideas and practices, thereby facilitating their
implementation by CDFIs that serve rural Target Markets, and/or (ii)
create value during and after the competition by encouraging
contestants--and CDFIs that serve rural Target Markets--to change their
behavior or develop new skills that may have beneficial effects during
and after the competition. Please note that the purpose of the proposed
prize competition is to stimulate and reward innovative ideas: Since
the proposed prize competition is not a grant or contract program, the
prize funds are to reward ideas and proposals, and not for their
implementation or the costs of their implementation.
In addition to seeking feedback on this proposed prize competition
topic, the CDFI Fund seeks feedback from the public through this
Request for Information (RFI) regarding a variety of questions on the
proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition, including proposed eligibility
and submission requirements, and evaluation criteria.
I. Request for Information
The CDFI Fund is seeking public comment through this RFI regarding
certain aspects of the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition,
including the proposed topic. In particular, we are interested in
responses to the questions listed in the Section V, Key Questions. We
also seek any additional information beyond these questions that
members of the public believe would assist in the implementation of the
proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition.
The CDFI Fund has scheduled a conference call for May 19, 2016, at
12:00 p.m. EDT, to provide an additional opportunity for public input
on the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition. Please see the CDFI
Fund's Web site for additional information on how to register to
participate in the call.
Please note that the CDFI Fund is not accepting applications for
the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition at this time. This RFI only
seeks public responses to the questions posed herein. The CDFI Fund
will publish detailed information regarding the FY 2016 CDFI Prize
Competition, including information on how to apply to be considered for
prizes to be awarded through the competition, through www.challenge.gov
on or about June 1, 2016.
II. Proposed FY 2016 Prize Competition: Overview
As stated above, the CDFI Fund proposes that the topic of the
proposed FY 2016 Prize Competition is to stimulate innovation that will
build capacity to expand CDFI investments in underserved rural areas,
particularly those that are characterized by persistent poverty. For
purposes of this RFI, an area that is characterized by ``persistent
poverty'' is defined as any county that has had 20 percent or more of
its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by
the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses. Rural areas, especially
those that are persistently poor, often lack access to capital and
financial services that are the lifeblood of a vibrant economy. For
purposes of this RFI, a ``rural area'' is defined as a county or
counties that are considered non-Metropolitan Areas under the CDFI
Program's regulations (12 CFR 1805.104(ff).
Through the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition, the CDFI Fund
expects to select approximately four winners that will each receive a
total of approximately $250,000. See Section III for proposed timeline
and disbursement information.
III. Proposed Eligibility, Application Requirements, and Timeline
Proposed Eligibility: An applicant for the proposed FY 2016 CDFI
Prize Competition will be: (i) A certified CDFI (as defined in 12 CFR
1805.104(h) and 1805.200) that serves a Target Market that comprises a
rural area; (ii) a collaboration of certified CDFIs that serve Target
Markets that comprise rural areas; (iii) an institution that has
partnered with a certified CDFI that serves a Target Market that
comprises a rural area; or (iv) a collaboration of certified CDFIs that
serve Target Market(s) that comprise rural areas. The CDFI Fund expects
that preference will be given to applicants that serve Target Markets
that comprise rural areas that are characterized by persistent poverty.
Proposed Application Requirements: To be considered for an award
through the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition, the CDFI Fund
expects that it will require applicants to submit an application of not
more than 10 pages that describes:
A. The Target Market(s) addressed through the proposal;
B. A description of the problem(s) creating barriers to accessing
capital in Target Market(s) that comprise rural areas (and, if
applicable, that are characterized by persistent poverty);
C. A narrative description that includes:
1. An innovative idea or strategy for solving the problem(s)
described above;
2. If the idea or strategy has not yet been implemented, expected
(within one year) short-term outcomes and expected long-term outcomes
(within five years);
3. If the idea or strategy has been implemented, achieved outcomes,
if applicable;
D. An explanation of any partnerships (and partnership
documentation) that have been or will be created to increase capacity
and expand investments in the Target Market(s), including the roles of
each partner;
Proposed Timeline (dates are approximate and should not be relied
upon): Publication of notice announcing the opening of the FY 2016 CDFI
Prize Competition: June 1, 2016.
Application deadline: July 1, 2016.
Selection of prize winners: September 2016.
Award disbursement: No later than September 30, 2016.
Milestone payment (if applicable): No later than June 30, 2017.
Proposed Disbursements and Reports: As currently proposed, an award
payment of at least 50 percent of the total prize will be disbursed to
each winner by September 30, 2016. For ideas or strategies that have
already been implemented, the award payment will be for 100 percent of
the total prize. For ideas or strategies that have not yet been
implemented, a first milestone payment of the remaining prize amount
would be disbursed no later than June 20, 2017, upon submittal of a
report evaluating the outcomes through the prize winner's efforts to
implement the proposed idea or strategy.
Capacity-building Purposes: For the purposes of furthering its CDFI
capacity-building initiative and disseminating best practices across
the country, the CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion will release to the
public applications, supporting documentation, reports, and any related
information that describes the proposals and successful strategies that
applicants and award winners have taken and will take to expand CDFI
investments in underserved rural areas. Notwithstanding the CDFI Fund's
intention to publicly disseminate the proposals and the winning
applications, please note that intellectual property
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submitted to the proposed prize competition will remain with the
applicants and the award winners.
IV. Proposed Judges; Proposed Evaluation Criteria
The CDFI Fund expects that the judges for the proposed FY 2016 CDFI
Prize Competition will include staff of the CDFI Fund, the Department
of the Treasury, and other Federal government agencies, as well as
certain members of the public who are qualified and experienced in
community and economic development in rural areas. The experience of
proposed judges will be reviewed to determine whether there are any
conflicts of interest with applicants.
The CDFI Fund is considering whether application evaluation
criteria will include, but not be limited to, the following:
A. The depth of need for investment capital and the lack of access
to such capital within the Target Market;
B. The potential to leverage private, public, and philanthropic
capital, including matching funds, if any, for the prize purse;
C. Alignment of the proposed capacity building plan with the
expertise of the applicant;
D. If applicable, the complementarity of the proposed
partnership(s) and the potential it holds for building scale and/or
deepening the capacity of CDFIs;
E. The degree of innovation applied to resolving the problem; and
F. The proposed design of the evaluation and the likelihood that it
has yielded or will yield meaningful insights into the effectiveness of
the solution.
V. Questions for Public Comment: Through this RFI, the CDFI Fund
invites comments and responses to the following questions regarding the
above-described proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition:
A. Is the proposed topic of the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize
Competition appropriate and clearly stated?
B. Has the CDFI Fund adequately described the goals, structure and
submission requirements for the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize
Competition?
C. Do you feel that the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition
will encourage innovative approaches, which might not surface
otherwise, to build the capacity of CDFIs to invest in underserved
rural areas, including those that are characterized by persistent
poverty?
D. As proposed, would the prize(s) enable new partnerships to
increase access to capital in underserved rural areas?
E. Are the proposed prize amounts (approximately $250,000 per
award) appropriate? Are there other incentives, in addition to the
proposed monetary prize, such as convening the winners to share best
practices that might be valuable to include as part of the proposed
prize competition?
F. Are the proposed application requirements sufficient in detail
for the scope of the proposed prize?
G. Are the proposed proposal evaluation criteria appropriate and
sufficient in detail for this prize?
H. Do you feel that the proposed timeline and milestones are
appropriate?
I. Do you have any further suggestions on how to improve the topic,
eligibility and submission requirements, and evaluation criteria for
the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition?
J. Please indicate if your organization has interest in competing
in the proposed FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition, if it is convened. If
not, why not?
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.; 15 U.S.C. 3719; 12 CFR 1805.
Mary Ann Donovan,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2016-11099 Filed 5-10-16; 8:45 am]
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