§ 1862c — Procedures, Guidelines, And Planning Activities

(1) The Director shall, consistent with the objectives of the Program and the criteria set forth in section 1862b(c) of this title, set forth procedures for the Program. (2) The procedures so prescribed shall contain such terms, conditions, and guidelines as may be necessary in the light of Program objectives, but shall in any event provide that— (A) funds to carry out the Program will be awarded only on the basis of merit after a comprehensive review using established Foundation procedures; (B) the membership of merit review panels that assess proposals will be broadly representative of eligible institutions, including research universities and predominantly undergraduate and minority institutions; (C) the institution receiving an award shall provide at least 50 percent of the cost, in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, of the repair, renovation, or replacement involved and shall provide this contribution from private or non-Federal public sources, except that the Director may accept a match of less than 50 percent, but at least 30 percent, for institutions which are not ranked among the top 100 of the institutions receiving Federal research and development funding, as documented in the latest annual report of the Foundation entitled “Federal Support to Universities, Colleges, and Selected Nonprofit Institutions”; and (D) to the extent practicable, eligible institutions of a given type will compete against similar institutions for Program awards. (b) The Director shall conduct comprehensive planning activities, including surveys of research facility needs and other information-gathering activities, necessary to implement the Program and to develop the procedures called for under subsection (a) of this section. (c) Prior to the issuance of the comprehensive plan required by subsection (d) of this section, and consistent with the Program criteria set forth in section 1862b(c) of this title, the Director shall publish in the Federal Register proposed Program guidelines for public review for a comment period of 30 days. Such guidelines shall provide detailed information on eligibility, criteria, terms, and conditions and shall include, but not be limited to— (1) definitions for the terms “institutions of higher education”, “private non-profit research organizations”, “research museums”, “consortia”, “facilities”, “facilities primarily devoted to research”, “instrumentation”, “equipment”, “repair”, “renovation”, and “replacement”; (2) selection criteria to be used by the Foundation in evaluating proposals from institutions and consortia thereof, including criteria for evaluating scientific merit and for evaluating the age and condition of existing research facilities; and (3) requirements for matching a Program award with contributions from non-Federal sources. (d) The Director, after gathering appropriate information and after considering comments on the proposed Program guidelines published in the Federal Register pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, shall develop a comprehensive plan for the Program that— (1) defines the appropriate roles and responsibilities of the Federal Government, institutions of higher education, State governments, private foundations, and other appropriate organizations; (2) states what procedures will be used to ensure that predominantly undergraduate institutions and colleges and universities that historically have received little Federal research and development funding will receive substantial percentages of the funds awarded under sections 1862a to 1862d of this title; (3) states the estimated percentage of Program funds available for each category of eligible institutions, including predominantly undergraduate institutions and colleges and universities that historically have received little Federal research and development funding as well as research universities; and (4) evaluates and addresses, to the maximum extent possible, a variety of factors which include— (A) the unique circumstances and research facilities needs of research universities, undergraduate institutions, and other institutions whose enrollment includes substantial percentages of minorities underrepresented in science and engineering research; (B) innovative approaches in the management of the Program that address both short-term and long-term aspects of the renovation, repair, and replacement of academic research facilities; (C) programmatic approaches that recognize and support excellence, strengthen scientific and engineering research potential and, to the maximum extent possible and consistent with the purposes of this Act, assure an equitable distribution of resources with respect to institutions and geographical areas; and (D) any recommendations necessary to improve the Program and further meet the purposes of sections 1862a to 1862d of this title. (e) The Director shall prepare and submit, not later than June 15, 1989, a report containing the comprehensive plan required by subsection (d) of this section to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. (f) Final guidelines shall be published in the Federal Register not later than 45 days after the submission of the report required under subsection (e). (g) The Director shall, from amounts available to the Foundation under section 101(b) of this Act for fiscal year 1989, make available an amount, not to exceed $1,000,000, to carry out the provisions of this section. None of the funds authorized to be appropriated in section 101 of this Act may be used for grant or contract awards under the Program prior to completion and submission to Congress of the comprehensive plan required by subsection (d) of this section. (h) In conducting the activities under the Program, the Director shall consult with the Secretary of Education and the heads of other related agencies.