If your construction application was preceded by a PTFP-supported Planning
Grant for the proposed facility, you must include a complete copy of the Final
Report in one of the Optional Exhibits of your application.
This section is intended to help you respond to the six criteria that will be used to evaluate your application. (They are printed in §2301.17 of the PTFP Final Rules.)
■ You will find information on where in the application you should place your response to each of the evaluation criteria.
■ You will find recommendations on the kind of information that is responsive to the evaluation criteria for Nonbroadcast Activation and Extension projects.
■ Your principal responses to the criteria will go in the Program Narrative.
■ Two of the criteria are qualifying criteria: Applicant Qualifications and Financial Qualifications. We consider for further review only applications meeting the minimum qualifications for both of these criteria.
■ Your Narrative should begin with an introduction that serves as an Executive Summary of your project. It should be a brief, straightforward statement of what you propose to accomplish. Supporting arguments and justifications belong in the sections that follow.
■ You should then address the six evaluation criteria in separate sections of the Narrative. We recommend that you address them in the order that follows and that you label each section with the name of the criterion being discussed to help the review panel that evaluates your application.
■ The Narrative is limited to a total of five pages for the Executive Summary and the first five criteria, but you may make as much use as you wish of Optional Exhibits to provide a detailed explanation of any subject. You should state the main point(s) in the Narrative, with a cross-reference to the Optional Exhibit in which you provide additional information. There is no page limit on your response to the sixth criterion, “Involvement of Women and Minorities.”
If your construction application was preceded by a PTFP-supported Planning
Grant for the proposed facility, you must include a complete copy of the Final
Report in one of the Optional Exhibits of your application.
A Note on Deferred Applications
If you are reactivating an application that was not funded in last year's grant cycle, you must submit a complete application. If some sections are to be resubmitted unchanged, you may use photocopies of them. You should also examine very critically what was submitted before to see if it can be strengthened.
To assist all who read your application, its narrative sections—Part V, the Program Narrative, and the technical narrative for Exhibit C in response to the evaluation criterion “Technical Qualifications”—should be printed on one side of plain white paper with margins of at least one inch on all sides and in 12-point Times New Roman typeface or equivalent in actual size. This paragraph is in 12-point Times New Roman.
Program Narrative
■ You must indicate at the beginning of the Narrative if your organization is a government entity, an Indian Tribe, or a non-profit organization that has received a prior grant from PTFP.
▫ If your organization has received a prior PTFP grant, no further documentation of eligibility is required at this time.
▫ If yours is a non-profit organization that has never received a PTFP grant, you must supply certified copies of your (1) Articles of incorporation, (2) By-laws, and (3) IRS 501(c)(3) letter in Exhibit BB.
■ Your Narrative should include . . .
▫ your organization’s staffing levels and the capabilities available to construct the proposed facility and operate and maintain it in the future;
▫ content resources committed to the project; and
▫ your organization’s prior experience in providing distance learning service.
■ You should also . . .
▫ discuss affiliations you have with media or educational organizations,
▫ include documentation of community organizations committed to your project,
▫ describe any consultants you have identified to assist in the project, and
▫ discuss the background of the members of your Board of Directors, including their media or business experience if yours is a newly organized non-profit entity
■ Is your organization experienced in distance learning? If not, what source of the appropriate expertise will it have available to assist it in the operation of the new facility?
■ How will your organization oversee the operation of a new distance learning facility? Will it have an advisory board or committee? If so, how will the members be chosen? Will there be any participation by the general public?
In sum, your Program Narrative should demonstrate that your organization
has the experience and resources necessary to complete construction of the
proposed project and to maintain and operate it in the future.
Program Narrative
■ Your discussion of this criterion should begin with a description of your project.
■ What is its mission/purpose? Who will benefit from its operation?
■ A complete technical description of the project should be placed in Exhibit C.
■ You should make a compelling case as to how the proposal will meet the unserved needs of the community. You should include a discussion of . . .
▫ a needs assessment you conducted or one that has been provided to your organization, and
▫ other means of communication your organization considered before deciding on the facility proposed in your application.
■ You should discuss how the project has been planned or coordinated with any telecommunications services in the service area or with local, regional, or state telecommunications agencies. If no coordination has taken place, you should explain why.
■ You must indicate the cost for any continuing interconnection service charges (e.g., telephone line usage charges or satellite transponder charges) that might be associated with your proposed system. You must also discuss how you will raise the funds to pay for those charges.
■ We cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of your providing documentation of thorough planning. Few distance learning applications have remained competitive without evidence of a comprehensive needs assessment having been performed for the proposed system.
■ We urge you to create as many Optional Exhibits as necessary to provide the fullest possible coverage—complete with whatever supporting documentation might be called for—of the subjects discussed in the remainder of this section.
We suggest the following as representative of the kinds of points that you should cover in your application:
■ A distance learning application may be strengthened if your proposed system reaches out beyond your academic institution and brings instructional programming to other community institutions as well (e.g., business firms, medical facilities, or local governments).
■ You should clarify the capabilities of your proposed system (e.g., two-way video; one-way video with no interactivity or with interactivity by telephone line; audio-only supplemented by print materials or by special teacher visits; etc).
■ Applicants are encouraged to consider the use of digital technologies in proposing unique or innovative distance learning projects for funding in this year's grant round. Examples of innovative digital applications include projects . . .
▫ which use broadband technologies for distance learning,
▫ which distribute educational or informational programming via Direct Broadcast Satellite technologies,
▫ which provide multi-media content using the digital television transmission infrastructure and delivered through a method that is not a typical broadcast channel, or
▫ which incorporate video, voice, graphics and data capabilities for online distance learning services.
■ Justification of a request of more than a 50% Federal share of the total project cost.
■ Technical issues should be summarized in the Narrative with more technical discussion included in Exhibit C.
■ You should make clear what audiences are to be reached. What is the degree of interactivity, if any, with each audience? What documentation is there to demonstrate that the target audience(s) will participate? Provide numbers, if available. Be as specific as possible as to how the instructional programming to be transmitted to the various audiences will contribute to the learning/curriculum needs of those audiences.
■ How many hours a day will your proposed system operate? How many channels will you use? What uses could you make of the unused time/channels, preferably by non-commercial services?
■ Does your proposed system offer the prospect of future growth or expansion?
■ What other educational/instructional services—especially with like facilities—are already operating in, or planned for, your area? Why cannot your proposed system use existing services/ facilities?
■ Please indicate what coordination you have accomplished with other distance learning systems nearby your proposed system. We have in mind especially state or regional systems. You should indicate what steps you have taken to ensure that your system will be fully interoperable with these neighboring systems.
■ You should indicate how you intend to accomplish staffing for the construction and continued operation of the facility. Discuss in detail your project’s staffing requirements. How many individuals, if any, will be added to your present staff to operate the proposed system?
■ You should explain how you intend to train users of the proposed system to cope with the distinctive demands of distance learning. (Please note, however, that training costs are not eligible for PTFP assistance.) We are not referring here to maintaining the equipment, although that is certainly important. Rather, we have in mind helping instructors prepare for and present their classes via educational technology. Competence in this area cannot be taken for granted. We want to know what steps you will take to ensure that this specialized competence is developed.
Satellite-Related Projects should also discuss the following issues, which are raised to prompt your review of satellite-related issues. You do not need to answer each question specifically, but you should determine whether the following issues are adequately addressed in your application. Technical issues should be summarized in the Narrative with more technical discussion included in Exhibit C.
■ If a satellite uplink is being requested, does your application discuss . . .
▫ The site(s) for the satellite uplink?
▫ Whether the uplink will be C band or Ku-band, analog or digital?
▫ The type of compression proposed and why this type of compression was selected?
▫ How many uplink channels are being requested and whether is there sufficient information to justify the number of channels proposed?
▫ Whether the uplink will be used primarily (more than 50% of the time) for the intended project?
▫ What other uses justify the investment of Federal funds in the project?
▫ Whether there other uplinks in the area, and, if there are other uplinks, why they cannot be used for the project?
■ If a satellite uplink is not being requested, does your application document the uplink(s) that will be used to supply the satellite feed?
■ If the acquisition of satellite transponder time will be your responsibility, you should discuss the projected annual transponder costs and how those transponder costs will be funded. How will you access the satellite if you do not have your own uplink?
■ If the acquisition of transponder time will not be your responsibility, you should discuss the satellite transponders/time that will be available to support the proposed project.
■ If you are requesting satellite downlinks, how many downlinks are you requesting and are the sites identified in the application? Is there evidence of participation from these user sites? Do any of the downlink sites already have a satellite receive terminal? (If yes, why is another downlink required?) Is there a description of the downlinks requested in the application (e.g., Ku-band only; C/Ku combination; fixed or steerable)? How many channels will be received by each downlink and does the application justify the need for the number of downlink receivers requested?
▫ Will your project serve any existing downlinks? Are the existing downlinks compatible with the satellite, band, and transmission mode proposed by the project?
▫ Are you proposing any interaction project from downlink sites? If so, you should explain how the downlink sites will be accessed by other means (e.g., microwave, ITFS, cable or fiber).
■ If satellite downlinks are not being requested, have you documented that satellite downlinks will be available to complete the project?
Exhibit E
You should submit maps identifying the locations involved in multi-site distance learning projects.
Exhibit F
It is extremely important that distance learning projects provide full documentation of support from residents, community organizations, and local groups within the proposed service area of the project. This documentation usually takes the form of letters of support that are placed in Exhibit F or one of the Optional Exhibits.
NOTE: If you obtain letters of support from members of Congress addressed to the Department of Commerce, NTIA, or PTFP, you should be sure the originals of those letters are mailed separately to the addressees. The originals should not be included in the application folders. You should place copies of the letters in Exhibit F for consideration by the reviewers.
Exhibit CC
■ If your application project involves the leasing of channel space or the use of designated channel space (as with a cable television system), please include in Exhibit CC all documentation relevant to such channel usage. In the case of cable TV distribution, you would ideally have use of an entire channel dedicated to its service.
■ If you propose to use a shared-time system, then you should make clear what control you will have over the hours during which you have access to the system. This is especially important if—as is frequently the case with ITFS projects—the other user is to be a commercial entity. You should place this documentation in Exhibit CC.
Program Narrative
■ You should provide a compelling case that justifies funding the proposed project during the current grant cycle.
■ The distance learning projects PTFP funds generally include both an urgent need for service and a unique opportunity to provide substantial potential benefits to the target audience. Your Narrative, therefore, should address both the urgency of the needs of the intended audience as well as any circumstances that might make it especially desirable that we fund the project during the current grant cycle.
■ You might explain what the prospective distance learning audiences would lose if your proposed services were not to be made available to them. For example, the audiences might be deprived of convenient opportunities to be properly prepared for college entrance examinations, or for academic success once in college, or for advancement in their professions or careers.
■ Ways to document urgency. Documentation of the urgency of non-broadcast activations or extensions can take many forms and may include . . .
▫ the number of people to receive the distance learning service;
▫ the results of needs assessment of the intended audience;
▫ documentation that the intended target audience is eager for service and is supportive of the application (this is sometimes documented in Exhibit F by letters, copies of petitions, resolutions from governmental bodies, etc.);
▫ documentation that relevant groups/educational institutions intend to actively participate in the project (place such documentation in Exhibit F also);
▫ fulfillment of a legislative initiative; or
▫ the presence of unique circumstances such as the availability of a local partner or of matching funds that may be withdrawn after the current grant cycle.
■ The equipment you wish to purchase with a grant must be listed on the equipment pages, Part III, page 4, of the Application Form.
■ In Exhibit B, page 7 of the Application Form, you must provide an inventory of the equipment you presently own that is similar to that requested. The exhibit should give an inventory only of equipment that corresponds to the equipment requested or is closely associated with it. If you have no equipment to list, you should include the form and write “None owned” on it.
■ In exceptional circumstances you may be permitted to include as eligible costs equipment that was purchased prior to the PTFP closing date. (See §2301.6(b)(2) in the Final Rules.) We will consider inclusion of equipment purchased prior to the Closing Date on a case-by-case basis.
▫ You must provide clear and compelling justification in the application; and
▫ you must show when the equipment was acquired and the reasons why you were compelled to purchase the equipment prior to the PTFP closing date.
■ What engineering resources will be available for (a) the construction of the proposed facility and (b) the long-term maintenance of the equipment for its operation and continued useful life?
Exhibit C
■ You should explain in Exhibit C how the equipment requested in Part III is necessary to achieve the objectives of the project. You should describe the technical configuration of the project and relate how the requested equipment will fit with the operation of the proposed facility (e.g., discussing the number of studios in relation to staff size, amount of locally produced programming, number of engineers and equipment maintenance).
■ You should demonstrate that the proposed costs reflect the most efficient use of Federal funds in achieving project objectives. You should also demonstrate that the equipment requested meets current industry performance standards (and FCC standards, if applicable).
■ If alternative technologies are possible, you should provide an evaluation of them and give a rationale for selecting the particular items requested in the application.
Exhibit D
■ You must provide a five-year equipment plan that places you current application in the context of your organization’s long-term objectives.
■ The statute authorizing PTFP requires construction applicants to submit “a 5-year plan outlining the applicant’s projected facilities requirements and the projected costs of such facilities requirements.”
■ PTFP does not specify a format for the plan.
■ You should make it as long as needed to provide an adequate response to the requirement. One or two pages are usually enough.
■ PTFP notes that application reviewers usually reduce the scores they give to individual applications if a 5-year plan is not included.
Exhibit A
■ You must provide a certification of the local matching and other funds in Exhibit A.
■ You should attach to Exhibit A a proposed annual operating budget for your facility.
■ You should describe your organization’s history and demonstrated ability to raise operating and capital funds.
■ One of your greatest challenges will be obtaining your local funds.
▫ We cannot fund many costs involved in setting up a facility, such as building construction or renovation and land improvements.
▫ You will also need local funds to pay for staff and operating costs during the construction phase of your project
▫ You should discuss the funds you currently have available as well as identify funds committed or pledged by others for the construction or operation of the facility.
▫ The Federal government retains a 10-year interest in all equipment funded by PTFP, we are interested in the long-term financial viability of your project.
■ You should, therefore, present a business plan as to how you will raise funds necessary to complete the construction of your proposed facility and pay for its continued operation.
▫ You should explain how you expect to raise the funds to pay all of the costs mentioned.
▫ You should provide documentation of local support that has been committed, with dollar-commitment estimates, even the commitment is conditioned on completion of the project.
▫ If you expect to get financial support from state or local governments, you should include documentation showing that the support actually will be provided if the facility is constructed.
▫ Include any other documentation you have showing that your financial expectations are realistic.
All applicants must respond to this criterion or they will receive no score for this criterion. Points can be awarded for this criterion only when you provide a discussion of this topic as part of your Narrative. Failure to respond to this criterion places your application at a competitive disadvantage and can result in loss of an award because of a loss of possible points. This part of the Narrative does not have to be included within the 5-page limit for your discussions of the other criteria.
In accordance with §392(f) of the Act, the Agency will give special consideration to applications that foster ownership of, operation of, and participation in public telecommunications entities by minorities and women. NTIA has not established any minimum minority or women participation requirements for Special Consideration in PTFP evaluations in order to carry out the objectives of the statute. Rather, NTIA believes that the Congressional intent can be achieved in a fair and flexible manner by taking into account all factual circumstances that might lead to special consideration.
The new PTFP Rules, in §2301.5, provide the following clarifications about special consideration:
Employment of minorities or women is not the only way in which NTIA may assess whether an application promotes significant diversity in the ownership of, operation of, and participation in, by minorities and women. NTIA is also interested in outreach efforts, audience development, and programming strategies. One stated purpose of this program is to respond to the educational, cultural and related programming needs of diverse groups.
Applicants should provide a narrative (with supporting documentation when necessary) that discusses the participation of women and minorities in the station’s ownership and management, especially those concerned with programming decisions and day-to-day operation and management. In preparing their exhibit, applicants should take care to clarify whether they are discussing women, minorities (minorities can be considered as a single group, but the predominant group should be identified as such), or a combination of women and minorities (where the predominant group/gender should be identified, and applicants should express whether they are discussing women or minorities in the case of an individual who is a female minority).