261—102.4 (15E) Program description, application procedures, and delegation of functions.
	   102.4(1) Program description. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to service providers meeting the eligibility requirements described in rule 261—102.6(15E). All awards of financial assistance must ultimately be approved by the board, and a contract must be entered into before funds will be disbursed. All contracts will specify the deliverables required in consideration for the provision of financial assistance.
	   102.4(2) Application and award procedures. Eligible service providers may submit applications to the authority. The applications will receive an initial review to confirm program eligibility before being sent to the committee for a recommendation on funding. The committee will provide its recommendation to the board for a final determination on funding. The board may approve, deny, or defer each application for financial assistance under the program. The board will consider applications for financial assistance during the annual filing window described in subrule 102.4(5). The amount of financial assistance awarded to a service provider is within the discretion of the authority as determined by the board. If the board approves an award of financial assistance for a service provider, the authority will prepare a required contract specifying the terms and conditions under which financial assistance is provided to the service provider.
	   102.4(3) Delegation of certain administrative functions to the corporation. The authority will delegate certain administrative functions of the program to the corporation. The functions that will be delegated are:
	      a.    	 The initial application review process, including an analysis of whether the service provider meets all requirements of eligibility under the program. In analyzing an applicant’s eligibility, the corporation shall verify that all objective criteria for eligibility are met as described in subrule 102.6(1) and shall provide an opinion as to whether and to what extent the applicant meets the subjective criteria described in subrule 102.6(2). The analysis of eligibility shall be compiled in report form and submitted to the committee for its use in making a recommendation and to the board for its use in making a final determination.
	      b.    	 The formulation of deliverables to be required under the contract. The corporation shall recommend to the authority the terms and conditions to be included in the contract in consideration for receipt of the grant funds.
	      c.    	 The tracking and monitoring of the service provider’s performance under a program contract, including an analysis of whether the service provider’s deliverables meet all requirements of the contract and including an evaluation of the value added by the service provider to the businesses of entrepreneurs. The evaluation shall be provided by the corporation in furtherance of the program review and report required of the authority pursuant to Iowa Code section 15E.362.
	   102.4(4) Administrative functions not delegated. The authority will retain, and not delegate, the authority to perform all of the following functions: (1) the final determination as to whether to approve, deny, or defer the award of program funds to a service provider; (2) the disbursal of program funds to a service provider; (3) the final determination as to whether a service provider is in default of a contract entered into under the program, including all decisions regarding appropriate remedies for such a default; and (4) any other function not clearly delegated to the corporation pursuant to subrule 102.4(3).
	   102.4(5) Annual filing window. In order to facilitate the competitive application and scoring process described in rule 261—102.6(15E), the authority and the corporation will accept applications for financial assistance only during the annual filing window. This filing window shall be from May 15 to June 1 of each calendar year. During the month of June, the authority and the corporation will process the applications and prepare them for consideration by the committee and the board at the first monthly meeting of the committee and the board following June 30 of each year. The authority may adjust the annual filing window dates under extenuating circumstances and will notify affected parties of such circumstances.
	   102.4(6) Miscellaneous. The authority may contract with outside service providers for assistance with the program. The authority may also make client referrals to eligible service providers regardless of the amount of financial assistance provided.
[ARC 0611C, IAB 2/20/13, effective 3/27/13; ARC 2501C, IAB 4/27/16, effective 6/1/16]