OAR 123-089-0050: Application and Proposal Review and Evaluation Approval

(1) The Department will issue calls for grant applications or proposals for programs deploying moneys from the Fund. For requests for grant applications or proposals, the Department will issue a formal request with timelines, proposal requirements, criteria, eligible uses of funds and any other information necessary for an organization to submit a responsive application or proposal. (2) The Department will review grant applications and proposals to determine whether they are complete and the proposer and the project are eligible for program funds. (3) If an individual applicant or organization submitting an application or proposal is determined to be ineligible, the Department will notify the applicant or proposer that the application or proposal is ineligible. (4) The Department may deem an application or proposal ineligible if the: (a) Applicant, proposer or project fails to meet program eligibility requirements, (b) Applicant or proposer fails to provide requested information by the date required by the Department; or (c) Application or proposal contains false or misleading information. (5) The I&E Manager will consider protests of the eligibility determination. Only the affected applicant or proposer may protest. Protests must be submitted in writing to the I&E Manager within 30 days of the date the applicant or proposer was notified of being ineligible. The I&E Manager’s decision is final. (6) The Department will coordinate with Oregon InC to evaluate applications and proposals using the criteria listed in section 123-089-0040 and any other relevant information. The Department and Oregon InC may utilize review committees comprised of Oregon InC members, Department staff and/or other external experts to review eligible applications or proposals and provide feedback on the quality of applications or proposals. (7) Department staff will use the review committee’s feedback to develop a recommendation of what projects should receive awards. Staff will review the recommendation with Department management and Oregon InC. Department staff may schedule a special meeting of Oregon InC to consider grant recommendations if regular meetings will not occur for too long after evaluation processes are complete. (8) Oregon InC may delegate its role in the grant review and award process to a review committee as described in (6) via a delegation of authority resolution. If so, this delegated group will work with Department staff to evaluate proposals and advance the funding recommendation to the Department. Staff will provide a report to Oregon InC at its next meeting on the group’s activities and any funding recommendations or rejections. (9) The Director approves grant awards based on Oregon InC’s and staff’s recommendations. The Director’s funding decisions are final.