2000-2001

Revised Dec. 5

Purpose of the Grant

Establishment of the Community Technology Fund

The Community Technology Fund of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission was created by state statute (Section 86-1512):

"The Community Technology Fund is created. The fund shall be granted to public entities or for the public entity’s share of public-private partnerships by the commission. The fund shall be used to provide incentives for collaborative community and regional approaches toward more effective and efficient use of technology to meet the needs of citizens, political subdivisions and other entities as determined by the commission. Expenditures from the fund shall be approved by the commission only after review by the technical panel created in section 11 of this act..."

It is anticipated that approximately $270,000 will be available for competitive grants.

Furthering NITC Goals and Community Council Priorities

The Community Technology Fund will be used to further the goals and priorities established by the Nebraska Information Technology Commission (NITC) and the NITC's Community Council.

1. Support the development of a unified statewide telecommunications infrastructure that is scalable, reliable and efficient so as to:

• Improve government efficiency and effectiveness;
• Expand citizen access to government information;
• Broaden educational opportunities to include expanded access to lifelong educational and training opportunities so that Nebraska’s citizens and workforce can prosper in the emerging information society;
• Enhance services to Nebraska communities and citizens.

2. Coordinate the state’s investment in telecommunications infrastructure so as to:

• Develop new ways to aggregate demand, reduce costs, and create support networks;
• Encourage collaboration between communities of interest;
• Encourage competition among technology and service providers.

3. Determine a broad strategy and objectives for developing and sustaining information technology development in Nebraska, including long-range funding strategies so as to:

• Stimulate and support information-based economic development;
• Encourage the appropriate use of information technology in education, health care, and economic development, and every level of government service;
• Encourage and enable long-term infrastructure innovation and improvement;
• Support the rapid deployment of appropriate technology, and reduce or eliminate cumbersome regulations or bureaucracy.

Community Council Priorities:

Nebraska will cultivate an economic, political, and regulatory environment conducive to IT development by:

• Ensuring access to public and private services for all citizens of the State of Nebraska (regardless of impediment--i.e., location and socio-economic status) through the appropriate and efficient use of information technology.

• Promoting the development of an infrastructure (including sufficient bandwidth) that is secure, affordable, reliable, and responsive to the specific needs of various sectors. Efforts should be made to ensure that systems across the state are compatible.

• Developing a workforce knowledgeable of and fluent in the use and applications of information technology. Efforts should be made to promote the recruitment and retention of IT professionals within the state.

• Facilitating IT development and innovation by raising awareness, sharing information, encouraging collaboration, and developing partnerships among public and between public and private entities.

Guidelines

Deadlines

Preproposals must be e-mailed or postmarked by Friday, January 12, 2001. Applications must postmarked or hand-delivered by February 16, 2001. Awards will be announced in April, 2001, and funds will be disbursed in May, 2001.

Eligible/Ineligible Activities

Activities which support one or more of the NITC goals and one or more of the Community Council priorities are eligible for funding unless otherwise restricted by law or regulation. Salaries or stipends are eligible if they are necessary for the implementation of the overall project. Equipment costs and transmission costs are eligible if they are necessary for the implementation of the overall project.

Buildings, rents, non-telecommunications utilities, food and beverages, and indirect costs are ineligible for grant funds but may be used as the match. Payment of staff or consultants to develop proposals is also a nonallowable cost.

Eligible Entities

Only public entities are eligible for Community Technology Fund grants. Public entities are defined as entities that can collect taxes and/or their subdivisions.

Expected Range of Awards

The range of grant awards is expected to be $15,000-$25,000. However, smaller or larger projects of exceptional merit will be given consideration.

Match Requirement

A minimum match of 20 percent of the total project cost is required. The match may be a cash match, an in-kind match, or a combination of the two. An in-kind match can include time, people, machines, buildings, rent, and utilities. Project partners must be able to provide their matching requirement with currently available resources. Projects which do not meet the required match will not be considered for funding.

Projects which are funded will be required to document both cash and in-kind matches. Acceptable documentation of an in-kind match include:

• Copies of sign-in sheets for volunteers or other records of volunteer hours.
• A signed letter from an employee's supervisor indicating that he/she has contributed a specified number of hours working on the project.
• A signed letter from the appropriate supervisor/director documenting the use of facilities and equipment.

Length of Projects

Projects must be completed within 12 months of the initial receipt of funds.

Format and Procedures

Preparation of Applications

In order to facilitate the preparation of Community Technology Fund applications, sample applications, a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and tips are available on the NITC Web Site (http://www.nitc.state.ne.us). Information on the Community Technology Fund can be accessed directly at http://www.nitc.state.ne.us/nitc-cc/grants/2001/ctf2001.html .

Submission of Preproposals

All applicants must submit a preproposal. Applicants who do not submit a pre-proposal will not be considered for funding. Preproposals should include the name of the project, sponsoring entity and contact information (including address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address), a list of project partners, geographic area served, and a brief description of the project. No specific format for the preproposal is required. Preproposals will be used to facilitate the process of identifying qualified reviewers and to identify potentially duplicative projects. Applicants who submit potentially duplicative projects will be contacted and may be asked to combine their proposals.

Preproposals must be e-mailed or postmarked by Friday, January 12, 2001. Preproposals can be e-mailed to Anne Byers at abyers@notes.state.ne.us, or mailed to Anne Byers, Office of the CIO/NITC, Suite 200, 521 So. 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-2707. Receipt of preproposals will be confirmed.

Submission of Applications

Application Form. All applications should be submitted on the form available at http://www.nitc.state.ne.us/nitc-cc/grants/2001/ctf2001app.html . Applicants may download the form or duplicate it on their own word processor.

Supporting Documentation. All partners or collaborators should also include, with the application, their letters of commitment. Other supporting documentation should be kept to a minimum.For example, rather than including a print out of a quotation from Dell for a new computer, include all relevant information in the budget narrative.

Submission of Applications. Applicants should submit a copy of the completed application form signed by a person who has the legal authority to bind the applicant to a contract. A signed paper copy along with any letters of commitment should be mailed to

Anne Byers
Office of the Chief Information Officer/NITC
State of Nebraska
521 South 14th Street, Suite 200
Lincoln, NE 68508-2707

An electronic copy of the application should also be submitted. The electronic copy may be e-mailed to Anne Byers at abyers@notes.state.ne.us as a Word, WordPerfect, Rich Text Format (RTF), or PDF attachment. If supporting documentation can not be e-mailed as an attachment, please note this in your e-mail message. An electronic copy may also be submitted on a disk if an applicant does not have e-mail.

Deadline. Paper copies of the application must be postmarked or hand-delivered by 5:00 p.m. CT, February 16, 2001. Electronic applications should also be sent by 5:00 p.m. CT, February 16, 2001. The postmark or hand delivery date of the paper copy will be used to determine if an application meets the deadline.

Receipt of applications will be confirmed. A list of applications received will also be available on the Community Technology Fund 2000 section of the NITC Web site (http://www.nitc.state.ne.us/nitc-cc/grants/2001/ctf2001.html).

Application Review Process

The completed application forms will be reviewed in the Office of the Chief Information Officer for compliance with minimum eligibility requirements. Ineligible applications will be returned to the applicant with an explanation and recommendation for improving the document.

The Technical Panel will approve members of the Community Technology Fund Review Committee. The Community Technology Fund Review Committee will consist of members of the Community Council, Technical Panel and/or their designees, and NITC staff. Other professionals working in the fields of community development and information technology may also serve as committee members.

The NITC, upon approval of any or all of the proposals recommended by the Community Technology Fund Review Committee, will authorize the disbursement of grant funds.

Contractual Agreement

Grant recipients are required to enter into a contractual agreement with the Nebraska Information Technology Commission. Recipients are also required to submit a copy of their Drug Free Work Place Policy.

Disbursement of Funds

An initial payment of one-half of the funds awarded will be disbursed upon execution of the grant agreement contract.

Disbursement of the second installment will be scheduled approximately two weeks after the deadline for the receipt of the six-month progress report. Disbursements will be made only upon receipt of documentation of satisfactory performance of the agreement and a current and complete accounting. This accounting should include receipts or invoices of all expenditures made with grant funds and documentation of cash and in-kind matches. The payment of the second disbursement may be accelerated with documentation of more rapid progress.

If, at the time the second disbursement is scheduled to be made, the project has not expended a sizable portion of the first installment, the payment schedule and/or amount of the second installment may be renegotiated.

Reporting Requirements

Grant recipients will be required to submit a progress report every six months until the project is completed. It is the expectation of the Community Council that no project will require more than 12 months to complete. A full report, detailing the results of the project, will be required shortly after the project is finished. A copy of materials created from this project should also be submitted. This information will be publicized across the state so that everyone can benefit from the work supported by Community Technology Grant funds.

Amendments to the Agreement

Requests to amend the agreement must be received in writing by the Nebraska Information Technology Committee. Requests to amend grant agreements will be brought before the Community Council for approval.

Right to Audit

The NITC reserves the right to audit any and all grant projects for a period of 2 years after project completion.

For More Information

For further information, please contact:

Anne Byers, Community Technology Manager
Nebraska Information Technology Commission
521 So. 14th Street, Suite 200
Lincoln, NE 68508-2707
phone (402) 471-3805
e-mail: abyers@notes.state.ne.us