[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 202 (Thursday, October 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54259-54261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26641]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Freedom Support Act Undergraduate Program
ACTION: Notice--Request for proposals.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Academic Programs, Academic Exchanges Division,
European Programs Branch of the United States Information Agency's
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open
competition for an assistance award. Public and private non-profit
organizations meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR
1.501(c)(3)-1 may apply to recruit, select, place, monitor, evaluate,
and provide follow-on activities for 150-175 undergraduate students
from Armenia, Azerbaijan,* Belarus, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and
Uzbekistan in the fields of agriculture, business, computer science,
criminal justice studies, economics, education, environmental
management, EFL/TEFL, journalism and mass communication, library and
information science, political science, public health, and sociology.
Organizations applying must be able to recruit students via open,
merit-based competition throughout all the New Independent States, as
listed above, and should be able to place the students at diverse
institutions of higher education in the United States, including public
and private universities, colleges, and community colleges. Proposals
for programs involving fewer than the 12 countries listed, or limited
to university-to-university exchange will not be accepted. This program
is subject to the availability of funds.
* Please note: Programs with Azerbaijan are subject to
restrictions of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act: Employees of
the Government of Azerbaijan or any of its instrumentalities are
excluded from participation, and no U.S. participant overseas may
work for the Government of Azerbaijan or any of its
instrumentalities. In addition, the Government of Azerbaijan or any
of its instrumentalities will have no control in the actual
selection of participants.
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Overall grant making authority for this program is contained in the
Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Law 87-
256, as amended, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The purpose of
the Act is ``to enable the Government of the United States to increase
mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the
people of other countries . . . ; to strengthen the ties which unite us
with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural
interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United
States and other nations . . . and thus to assist in the development of
friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States
and the other countries of the world.''
The funding authority for the Freedom Support Act Undergraduate
Program cited above is provided through the FREEDOM Support Act
incorporated into the Foreign Relations Act of 1992-1993.
Programs and projects must conform with Agency requirements and
guidelines outlined in the Solicitation Package. USIA projects and
programs are subject to the availability of funds.
ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE AND NUMBER: All communications with USIA concerning
this announcement should refer to the above title and reference number
E/AEE-97-03.
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: All copies must be received at the U.S.
Information Agency by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Tuesday, November
26, 1996. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents
postmarked November 26, 1996 but received at a later date. It is the
responsibility of each applicant to ensure that proposals are received
by the above deadline.
Grant and Program Duration
Grant awards are anticipated to begin on or about January 15, 1997
and terminate on or about August 31, 1998. Student programs are based
on the ``junior year abroad'' model. It is expected that students will
arrive in the U.S. in August for pre-academic programs, spend the full
1997-1998 academic year in program, and hold an internship during the
summer months before returning home. Participants must return to their
home country immediately following the completion of the USIA-sponsored
program. No extensions or transfers for additional study, academic
training, or new programs will be allowed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: The European Programs Branch,
Academic Exchanges Division, E/AEE, Room 246, U.S. Information Agency,
301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547, telephone: 202/205-0525,
fax: 202/260-7985, e-mail: [email protected] to request a Solicitation
Package containing more detailed award criteria, required application
forms, and standard guidelines for preparing proposals, including
specific criteria for preparation of the proposal budget.
TO DOWNLOAD A SOLICITATION PACKAGE VIA INTERNET: The entire
Solicitation Package may be downloaded from USIA's website at http://
www.usia.gov/ or from the Internet Gopher at gopher://gopher.usia.gov.
Under the heading ``International Exchanges/Training,'' select
``Request for Proposals (RFPs).'' Please read ``About the Following
RFPs'' before downloading.
Please specify USIA Senior Program Manager Mr. Ted Kniker on all
inquiries and correspondence. Interested applicants should read the
complete Federal Register announcement before sending inquiries or
submitting proposals. Once the RFP deadline has passed, Agency staff
may not discuss this competition in any way with applicants until the
Bureau proposal review process has been completed.
SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the
Solicitation Package. The original and nine (9) copies of the
application should be sent to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/AEE-97-
03, Office of Grants Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20547.
Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal on a 3.5'' diskette,
formatted for DOS. This material must be provided in ASCII text (DOS)
format with a maximum line length of 65 characters. USIA will transmit
these files electronically to USIS posts overseas for their review,
with the goal of reducing the time it takes to get posts' comments for
the Agency's grants review process.
[[Page 54260]]
DIVERSITY GUIDELINES: Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation,
programs must maintain a non-political character and should be balanced
and representative of the diversity of American political, social, and
cultural life. ``Diversity'' should be interpreted in the broadest
sense and encompass differences including, but not limited to
ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic
status, and physical challenges. Applicants are strongly encouraged to
adhere to the advancement of this principle both in program
administration and in program content. Please refer to the review
criteria under the ``Support for Diversity'' section for specific
suggestions on incorporating diversity into the total proposal.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview
The Freedom Support Act Undergraduate Program provides full
scholarships for one year of non-degree, undergraduate study in the
United States at professionally accredited institutions in the fields
of agriculture, business, computer science, criminal justice studies,
economics, education, environmental management, EFL/TEFL, journalism
and mass communication, library and information science, political
science, public health, and sociology. The purpose of the program is to
support the economic and democratic development of the New Independent
States of the former Soviet Union by exposing students to key
transition fields and enhancing their education with a practical
training component. Students will have a pre-academic orientation
program, full academic course load beginning in the fall, and as
possible, an internship in a related area in the summer following their
academic year. It is expected that students will return home to
complete degrees at their home institution. Students must receive
academic credit for their experience in the U.S.
Funding for undergraduate programs has been steadily declining over
the last two years. In order to ensure that students from the NIS have
an opportunity to study in the United States, USIA's goal is to keep
the number of participants as high as possible and to keep costs as low
as possible. Therefore, USIA encourages proposals that demonstrate
innovative ways to maintain a high quality, high volume program at the
lowest possible costs.
Guidelines
Applicant organizations must demonstrate the ability to administer
all aspects of the Freedom Support Act Undergraduate Program--
advertisement, recruitment, selection, placement, orientation, Fellow
monitoring and support, financial management, evaluation, follow-on
activities, and alumni tracking and programming. Applicant
organizations should demonstrate the ability to recruit and select a
diverse pool of candidates from various geographic regions within the
NIS through an open, merit-based competition. The program does remain
flexible so that recruitment can target specific institutions deemed by
the USIA and the United States Information Service to be of critical
importance. Additionally, the applicant organization(s) will be asked
to assist in the recruitment and selection of diverse host institutions
throughout the U.S. where students may be clustered in groups of 10-20
for their academic programs. Placement will remain flexible so that
universities that accept fewer students, but have low costs, or high
cost-sharing, can participate in the program. The successful applicant
organization(s) will act as the principal liaison with the host
institutions.
Applicant organizations should demonstrate the ability to work with
private sector organizations in the United States and NIS to facilitate
Fellows' practical training and post-program re-entry. Further details
on specific program responsibilities and goals can be found in the
Project Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI) Statement which is
part of the formal Solicitation Package available from USIA.
Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations.
Awards
USIA anticipates awarding one to two grants for this program.
Should an applicant organization prefer to work with other
organization's in the implementation of this program, USIA prefers that
a subcontract arrangement be developed. USIA will entertain separately
submitted proposals for joint program management, but the proposals
must demonstrate a value-added relationship and must clearly delineate
responsibilities so as not to duplicate efforts.
Proposed Budget
The total budget for the Freedom Support Act Undergraduate Program
is $2,800,000. Each applicant organization must submit a comprehensive
line item budget based upon the specific guidance in the Solicitation
Package. There must be a summary budget as well as a breakdown
reflecting both the administrative budget and the program budget. For
better understanding or further clarification, applicants may provide
separate sub-budgets for each program component, phase, location, or
activity in order to facilitate USIA decisions on funding.
Organizations whose proposals include an administrative budget that is
less than 20% of the grant amount requested from USIA will receive
preference. Please note that indirect rates are considered part of the
administrative costs and should be kept to a minimum or cost-shared as
is possible. Detailed guidance on budget preparation is included in the
POGI Statement. Please refer to the complete Solicitation Package for
complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions.
Please note that the ability of an organization to document and
provide cost-sharing will be a major factor in determining the final
grant award(s). This includes the organizations' ability to leverage
costs from universities, colleges, community colleges, private sector
organizations, and other sources. USIA will also look to applicant
organizations to propose additional ways to keep costs to a minimum. A
low unit cost will also be a decisive factor in determining funding.
Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years
of experience in conducting international exchange programs will be
limited to $60,000.
Review Process
USIA will acknowledge receipt of all proposals and will review them
for technical eligibility. Proposals will be deemed ineligible if they
do not fully adhere to the guidelines stated herein and in the
Solicitation Package. Eligible proposals will be forwarded to panels of
USIA officers for advisory review. All eligible proposals will be
reviewed by the program office, as well as the USIA Office of East
European and NIS Affairs and USIS posts overseas, where appropriate.
Proposals may be reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel or by
other Agency elements. Funding decisions are at the discretion of the
USIA Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final
technical authority for assistance awards (grants or cooperative
agreements) resides with the USIA grants officer.
Review Criteria
Technically eligible applications will be competitively reviewed
according to
[[Page 54261]]
the criteria stated below. These criteria are not rank ordered and all
carry equal weight in the proposal evaluation:
1. Quality of the Program Idea: Proposals should exhibit
originality, substance, precision, innovation, and relevance to Agency
mission.
2. Program Objectives and Planning: Objectives should be
reasonable, feasible, and flexible. Proposals should clearly
demonstrate how the institution will meet the program's objectives and
plan. Detailed agenda and relevant work plan should demonstrate
substantive undertakings and logistical capacity. Agenda and plan
should adhere to the program overview and guidelines described above.
3. Multiplier Effect/Impact: Proposed programs should strengthen
long-term mutual understanding, including maximum sharing of
information and establishment of long-term institutional and individual
linkages.
4. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the
recipient's commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of
diversity.
5. Institution's Record/Ability: Proposals should demonstrate an
institutional record of successful exchange programs, including
responsible fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting
requirements for past Agency grants as determined by USIA's Office of
Contracts. The Agency will consider the past performance of prior
recipients and the demonstrated potential of new applicants. Proposed
personnel and institutional resources should be adequate and
appropriate to achieve the program or project's goals.
6. Follow-on Activities: Proposals should provide a plan for
continued follow-on activity (without USIA support) which insures that
USIA supported programs are not isolated events.
7. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate
the activity's success, both as the activities unfold and at the end of
the program. USIA recommends that the proposal include a draft survey
questionnaire or other technique plus description of a methodology to
use to link outcomes to original project objectives. Award-receiving
organizations/institutions will be expected to submit intermediate
reports after each project component is concluded or quarterly,
whichever is less frequent.
8. Cost-effectiveness: The overhead and administrative components
of the proposal, including salaries and honoraria, should be kept as
low as possible. All other items should be necessary and appropriate.
9. Cost-sharing: Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through
other private sector support as well as institutional direct funding
contributions.
10. Value to U.S.-Partner Country Relations: Proposed programs
should receive positive assessments by USIA's geographic area desk and
overseas officers of program need, potential impact, and significance
in the partner country(ies).
Notice
The terms and conditions published in this RFP are binding and may
not be modified by any USIA representative. Explanatory information
provided by the Agency that contradicts published language will not be
binding.
Issuance of the RFP does not constitute an award commitment on the
part of the Government. The Agency reserves the right to reduce,
revise, or increase proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of
the program and the availability of funds. Awards made will be subject
to periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.
Dated: October 9, 1996.
Dell Pendergrast,
Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-26641 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
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