Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary (OST), Procurement Operations Division, M-64, 400 7th Street, S. W. Room 9413, Washington, DC 20590

R -- LIAISON OUTREACH AND SERVICES PROGRAM (LOST) POC Pat Martin, 202/366-2852 or 800/532-1169, Fax/202/366-7538 The Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation will solicit proposals from Trade Associations/Chambers of Commerce which are registered with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and which can effectively demonstrate a commitment to multi-ethnic & multi-racial Diversity in promoting networks and linkages to the Department's small and disadvantage business procurement opportunities. The OSDBU LOSP effort will fucus on increasing the access and number of women-owned, and small and disadvantaged businesses to DOT's financial assistance programs, contracting opportunities, and participation in its procurement efforts through a national competitive process in a few regions still not covered by the provious competition. The regions which are being considered for this competition are the following Region 1 (Connecticut, Main, Massachusetts, & New Hampshire), Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, and Puerto Rico), Region 6 (Arksansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, & Texas), Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, & Wyoming), and finally, Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, & Washington). The LOSP includes activities such as information dissemination, outreach services, conference and seminar participation and referrals to technical assistance agencies (i.e. MBDCs, SBDCs and State DOT highway supportive services contractors) which offer management and technical assistance in financial assistance, marketing and other business areas. This request solicits competitive proposals from Trade Associations/Chambers of Commerce for participation under OSDBU's LOSP. OSDBU will enter into cooperative agreements with the selected Regional LOSP Representative for the duration of one year with the option for renewal upon seccessful performance and availability of funds. This announcement of Requests for proposals contains information concerning: (1) the principal objectives of the competition, eligible applicants, actvities and factors for award; (2) the application process, including how to apply the criteria used for selection; and (3) a checklist of application submission requirements. The OSDBU announcement contains additional information on each of the areas mentioned above, along with instructions for application preparation, application evaluation criteria, and required forms. No application will be accepted after 4:00 pm EST, March 3, 1995. Written requests for the OSDBU application should be submitted to David Benton, LOSP Manager; U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), 400 Seventh Street, SW (Room 9414-S-40), Washington, D.C. (0030)

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