OAR 123-088-0070: Review and Decision-Making Processes With Evaluation Criteria

(1) The Review Committee shall evaluate project proposals in the order they are received based on the following criteria: (a) Likelihood that proposal will have economic development benefits for Oregon; (b) Likelihood that the proposal will enhance research and innovation capacity in Oregon including opportunities for student engagement; (c) Balance of funding among campuses and industry sectors; and (d) Amount of federal dollars leveraged per dollar of State UIRF match. (2) Within the Review Committee, every SRO or designee gets one vote and the vote must pass by majority for those present, after a quorum is met. SROs representing proposals under review will not need to recuse themselves from voting. (3) In the event that the Fund has insufficient monies to meet the requested match amount, the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Review Committee that either the required additional match funds or non URIF funding agreements for the required additional match funds are in place. (4) The Review Committee may review a project application and place it in a funding queue for future recommendation if current money in the Fund is insufficient to meet the requested match amount and an alternative source for the match funding cannot be demonstrated. (5) When there is a funding queue and if additional match funding becomes available, the Committee shall make recommendations on project proposals in the funding queue in the order of the date of federal award as designated by the federal agency. (6) A qualifying university may withdraw a proposal that has received Department approval for UIRF match funds at any time prior to entering into a grant agreement with the Department in order to make program funds available for another proposal. (7) If the Review Committee approves UIRF match funding for a proposal and the Director of the Department agrees, the Director shall send a letter to the respective SRO and/or relevant federal agency committing UIRF match to the project contingent upon the conditions under OAR 123-088-080. (8) If the Review Committee does not approve UIRF match funding for a proposal, the Review Committee chair shall notify the SRO for the applying university unless that university’s representative was present for the Review Committee’s vote. (9) If the Department does not approve UIRF match funding for a proposal, Department staff shall send the SRO for the applying university a letter explaining why the UIRFmatch is not being committed. (10) If the Review Committee vote is a tie, the Review Committee shall prepare a list of pro’s and con’s for providing UIRF match funding for a proposal and submit that to the Department for final determination. (11) The Department shall take the Review Committee’s recommendation under advisement but has ultimate authority on funding decisions. The Department shall commit UIRF match funding to approved project proposals on a first-come-first-served basis, based on the date of the federal award notice. (12) In cases of oversubscription, the university(ies) may, upon award, make appeals to the Oregon Innovation Council, another state agency or the Governor’s office; however, there is no guarantee of additional UIRF funds.