261—51.5(15E) Application scoring criteria.
	51.5(1) Application scoring. A scoring committee composed of individuals with relevant expertise and experience will be appointed by the director in consultation with the secretary. The committee will evaluate the applications and give them an average numerical score between 0 and 100.
	51.5(2) Scoring criteria. The criteria under which each application will be scored are:
	a. 	The extent to which the project expands processing capacity or increases efficiency: 25 points. Projects that benefit local small-scale farmers by creating or expanding opportunities to market processed meat under private labels, provide greater flexibility or convenience to have animals processed, or establish an essential community asset will receive more points. Projects that are likely to negatively impact existing meat processing businesses will receive fewer points. The committee may also consider the extent of any likely negative impact.
	b. 	The sufficiency of the proposed project’s financing structure, the feasibility of the sources of funds, and the appropriateness of the proposed uses of the funds: 25 points. Applicants that can demonstrate that the applicant has planned for long-term use of the project will receive more points.
	c. 	The extent to which the proposed investment is consistent with the opportunities identified in the assessment completed by CIRAS pursuant to paragraph 51.3(1)“h”: 15 points.
	d. 	The number and quality of jobs to be created by the applicant as a result of the project or the extent to which the proposed investment uses automation to address workforce issues: 15 points. Projects that create more jobs or higher quality jobs will receive more points. Factors the committee will consider in assessing the quality of jobs include, but are not limited to, wages and benefits. Projects that utilize technology to address the workforce needs of the business, resulting in a more skilled workforce or increased processing capacity, will also receive more points.
	e. 	The financial need of the applicant: 10 points. Applicants that received a business improvement grant from the department for expenses incurred between March 1, 2020, and December 1, 2020, or previous financial assistance from the authority will receive fewer points.
	f. 	The completeness of the application information and sufficiency of detail used to describe the project in the application: 10 points.
[ARC 5971C, IAB 10/6/21, effective 9/17/21; ARC 6638C, IAB 11/16/22, effective 10/21/22; ARC 7122C, IAB 11/15/23, effective 12/20/23]