a) The review of the applications shall take into consideration the following criteria:

1. 1) potential effectiveness of the project to increase the number of family physicians available for Illinois' rural and medically underserved areas;
2. 2) degree to which the proposed project adequately provides for the training of health professionals to practice in rural and medically underserved areas;
3. 3) degree to which the applicants demonstrate a commitment to establishing and maintaining long-term collaborative relationships between academic institutions and health care facilities and providers in rural and in medically underserved areas;
4. 4) effectiveness of the organizational arrangements necessary to carry out the project;
5. 5) prior experiences of the applicants in projects which addressed needs of rural and medically underserved populations;
6. 6) extent to which the budget justification is reasonable and indicates that institutional and community support are available to support the project;
7. 7) extent to which the financial information indicates an effective utilization of grant funds and indicates the project has the potential to become self-sufficient.

b) Additional selection criteria which will cause an application to receive priority consideration include:

1. 1) projects which are closest to operational status at time of application;
2. 2) projects which exhibit need for funds from this grant for the shortest period of time.