(a) The Corporation shall give public notice that it intends to award a grant or contract for a service area on the basis of a competitive bidding process, shall take appropriate steps to announce the availability of such a grant or contract in the periodicals of State and local bar associations, and shall publish a notice of the Request For Proposals (RFP) in at least one daily newspaper of general circulation in the area to be served under the grant or contract. In addition, the Corporation shall notify current recipients, other bar associations, and other interested groups within the service area of the availability of the grant or contract and shall conduct such other outreach as the Corporation determines to be appropriate to ensure that interested parties are given an opportunity to participate in the competitive bidding process.

(b) The Corporation shall issue an RFP which shall include information regarding: who may apply, application procedures, the selection process, selection criteria, the service areas that will be the subject of the competitive bidding process, the amount of funding available for the service area, if known, applicable timetables and deadlines, and the LSC Act, regulations, guidelines and instructions and any other applicable federal law. The RFP may also include any other information that the Corporation determines to be appropriate.

(c) The Corporation shall make a copy of the RFP available to any person, group or entity that requests a copy in accordance with procedures established by the Corporation.