3411.14—Proposal review.
(a)
All grant applications will be acknowledged. Prior to technical examination, a preliminary review will be made for responsiveness to the program solicitation (e.g., relationship of application to announced program area). Proposals which do not fall within the guidelines as stated in the program solicitation will be eliminated from competition and will be returned to the applicant.
(b)
All applications will be carefully reviewed by the Administrator, qualified officers or employees of the Department, the respective peer review group, and ad hoc reviewers, as required. Written comments will be solicited from ad hoc reviewers when required, and individual written comments and indepth discussions will be provided by peer review group members prior to recommending applications for funding. Applications will be ranked and support levels recommended with the limitation of total available funding for each research program area as announced in the program solicitation.
(c)
No awarding official will make a grant based upon an application covered by this part unless the application has been reviewed by a peer review group and/or ad hoc reviewers in accordance with the provisions of this part and said reviewers have made recommendations concerning the merit of such application.
(d)
Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, such recommendations are advisory only and are not binding on program officers or on the awarding official.