Md. Code Regs. 14.04.11.03

Current through Register Vol. 52, No. 1, January 10, 2025

Section 14.04.11.03 - [Effective 1/20/2025] Procedures and Guidelines for Award Decisions

A. In General. TEDCO shall select eligible applicants for an award under the Program based on a written application, applicant's proposal, and TEDCO's diligence.

B. Application Process.

(1) In General. TEDCO shall make available to the public on or through its website:

(a) An application process for awards under the Program; and

(b) Deadlines, if any, to submit the applications.

(2) Required Information. Through an application, an applicant shall provide a grant proposal including information sufficient for TEDCO to establish eligibility for an award, including:

(a) Whether the applicant meets the eligibility requirements as set forth in the Act and under Regulation .02 of this chapter;

(b) Detailed description of the grant proposal including, but not limited to, current and proposed financial budgets, business proposal, and the project's potential impact on growth of the entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem in the State;

(c) The address of applicant's principal business operations in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MSA and a copy of the lease, license agreement, deed, or other document that evidences the applicant's right to occupy the physical location of the principal business operations;

(d) Reasonable metrics of the project's potential impact; and

(e) Any other information required to evaluate program criteria.

(3) Preliminary Evaluation of Eligibility. The Program:

(a) Shall perform an initial review of each application in accordance with the Act and Regulation .02 of this chapter; and

(b) May review the application for program criteria under §B(5) of this regulation and may examine the applicant's grant proposal, business plan, budget, metrics, and other information.

(4) Eligibility Determination. Within 45 days from the date an applicant submits the application to the program, the program shall notify the applicant if TEDCO finds the applicant ineligible for an award under Regulation .02 of this chapter.

(5) Program Criteria. The Program shall consider the following criteria as the basis of a scoring rubric to evaluate eligible applicants:

(a) Whether the applicant's grant proposal is viable, and has a reasonable probability for success;

(b) The analysis of the grant proposal's metrics and potential impact; and

(c) Adherence to the application process.

(6) Diligence. Program diligence may include:

(a) Review of applicant's grant proposal, budgets, and metrics;

(b) Validation of claims and assumptions made in the application; and

(c) An applicant's presentation and interview.

C. Scoring. The Program shall score each applicant in accordance with a uniform scoring rubric based on the program criteria.

D. Final Approval. The Chief Executive Officer or a Chief Executive Officer's designee, shall base TEDCO's final decision regarding an award to an eligible applicant on:

(1) The application; and

(2) The aggregate scores from the evaluation of the program criteria under §C of this regulation.

E. Rejected Applicants. If an applicant is rejected for a grant award, the program shall notify the applicant in writing.

F. Award Amount. In accordance with the Act, program award amounts are $50,000 to each qualifying applicant, subject to funding availability.

Md. Code Regs. 14.04.11.03

Regulation .03 adopted effective 52:1 Md. R. 1-46, eff. 1/20/2025.