Midwest Technology Assistance Center
for Small Public Water Supplies

Due Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2003, 4:30 pm

 

Background

 

The Midwest Technology Assistance Center (MTAC) provides technological assistance to small public water systems.  The Center is a collaborative effort of the Environmental Council and the Illinois Water Resources Center at the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Water Survey.  The mission of the Center is to provide small system administrators and operator with the information necessary to make informed decisions on planning, financing, and the selection and implementation of technological solutions to address their needs.  Small systems are defined as those serving populations of 10,000 or less.

 

 

Solicitation and General Guidelines

MTAC requests research proposals in the following areas:

 

• Development and demonstration of technologies to assist small systems in meeting health-based standards, including methods of increasing security and reducing vulnerability;
• Measures to strengthen source water protection for small systems in the Midwest; and
• Measures to improve the technical, managerial, or financial capacity of small systems.

 

Contingent on receipt of federal funding, up to five projects will be selected.  The expected funding range is $25,000-$50,000 per project.  Projects should commence after January,1 2004 and be completed before August 2005.  Grant dollars should not be used for major capital investments. Preference will be given to proposals received from universities, local governments or other not-for-profit groups.

 

 

Proposal Content and Format

Title Page:  The title page should include the project title, project period and budget.  The name, title, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the principal investigator(s) should also be clearly identified. 

 

Plan of Work: The plan of work should describe 1) project goals, 2) if applicable, technologies to be used and barriers to implementation (why the technology is not already widely used), 3) methodologies, 4) expected results, and 5) products and potential impacts.  The plan of work should not exceed 10 pages.

 

Time-line and Deliverables: A one-page description of deliverables and a one-page graphical representation of the time-line for the plan of work and delivery of products should be included.  The deliverables should include:

 

• Brief quarterly reports to MTAC on the project status and deliverables;
• A high quality final report detailing the project, results and conclusions;
• A technical brief prepared in association with the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse (http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/ndwc/) outlining the results and conclusions of the work;
• Presentation of the work at a suitable conference of national or regional scope; and
• As appropriate, publication of the research in referred research journals literature.

 

Letters of Support:  Letters from partners, state drinking water agency representatives, recognized experts, water system supervisors, and professional or service organizations (AWWA, RWA, RCAP, etc.) are encouraged and will be considered when evaluating proposals. 

 

Budget:  A one-page budget for grant expenditures should include the following categories: 1) salaries of the P.I. and other university professionals, graduate students, and staff beings supported by the project, (2) total salaries and wages, (3) benefits and benefit rates, (4) travel, (5) equipment, (6) supplies, (7) contracted work, (8) construction, (9) other –communications, publications, coping, (10) total direct costs, (11) total indirect costs, (12) total costs.  Additionally, a one-page budget narrative should be submitted to detail all charges and any matching contributions.

 

Curriculum Vitae:  Vitae, not to exceed two pages per person, for each principal investigator and any other major participants should be included.

 

 

Selection Procedure

Upon receipt, proposals will be reviewed by a panel of external expert reviewers selected based on their knowledge of the proposal subject area.  Personal and institutional conflicts of interest will be carefully monitored and avoided during the review process. 

Proposals will be evaluated by the reviewers and by MTAC management staff based on the following criteria:

 

• Applicability to MTAC’s mission and the research priorities specified in the RFP;
• Technical merit of the research plan;
• Qualifications of the investigators;
• Community, agency, or outreach partnerships, including matching contributions; and
• Ties to a university, local government, or nonprofit organization.

 

 

Review Schedule

July 15, 2003                          Request for proposal issued

October 1, 2003                      Proposals due to MTAC office

December 10, 2003                 Official notifications of funding decisions

After January 1, 2004               Projects commence

 

Submission information

Submit 8 copies of the proposal by 4:30 p.m. on October 1, 2003 to:

 

                        Kent Smothers

                        MTAC Managing Director

Illinois State Water Survey

                        2204 Griffith Dr.

                        Champaign, IL 61820-7495

                        217.333.9321 (phone)  217.333.6540 (fax)

                        mtac@isws.illinois.edu

 

                       

Questions

Questions regarding this request for proposals should be addressed to Kent Smothers as noted above.

Also available in: pdf format.