[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 202 (Thursday, October 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54263-54266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26640]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Summer Institute on the History of the United States: Religion in
America
ACTION: Notice--Request for Proposals (RFP).
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Information Agency's Branch for the Study of the
United States announces an open competition for an assistance award
program entitled: ``Summer Institute on the History of the United
States: Religion in America.'' Public and private non-profit
organizations meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR
1.501(c)(3)-1 may apply to develop and implement a six-week post-
graduate level program designed for a multinational group of 18
experienced foreign university educators. The program is intended to
provide participants with a deeper understanding of U.S. history with
special reference to the role that religion and religious institutions
have played in the development of American civilization. Tentative
program dates are June 28 to August 8, 1997.
USIA is seeking detailed proposals from colleges, universities,
consortia of colleges and universities, and other not-for-profit
academic organizations that have an established reputation in U.S.
history, comparative religion, and/or American studies and related
subdisciplines, and that can demonstrate expertise in conducting post-
graduate programs for foreign educators. Applicant institutions must
have a minimum of four years experience in conducting international
exchange programs. The project director or one of the key program staff
responsible for the academic program must have an advanced degree in
history, religion, American studies, or a related discipline. Staff
escorts traveling under the USIA cooperative agreement support must be
U.S. citizens with demonstrated qualifications for this service.
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.''
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 NAME AND NUMBER: All communications with USIA concerning
this announcement should refer to the above title and reference number
E/AAS--97-02.
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: All copies must be received at the U.S.
Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. Washington D.C. time on Friday,
December 20, 1996. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will
documents postmarked December 20, 1996 but received at a later date. It
is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that proposal
submissions arrive by the deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a Solicitation Package
containing more detailed award criteria, required application forms,
and standard guidelines for preparing proposals (including specific
information on budget preparation), applicants should contact: U.S.
Information Agency, Office of Academic Programs, Branch of the Study of
the United States, E/AAS--Room 252, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20547, Attention: Richard Taylor, Telephone number: (202) 619-
4557, Fax number: (202) 619-6790, Internet address: rtaylor@usia.gov.
Please specify USIA Program Officer Richard Taylor on all inquiries
and correspondence. Interested applicants should read the complete
Federal Register announcement before addressing inquiries to the office
listed above or submitting their proposals. Once the RFP deadline has
passed, USIA staff may not discuss this competition in any way with
applicants until after the Bureau proposal review process has been
completed.
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 Exchange/Training,'' select ``Request
for Proposals (RFPs).''
Please read ``About the following RFPs'' before downloading.
SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the
Solicitation Package. The original and 13 copies of the complete
application should be sent to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/AAS-97-
02, Office of Grants Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20547.
Applicants should 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 strength of 65 characters.
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 and broad range of
responsible views present in 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 and Objectives
``The Summer Institute on the History of the United States:
Religion in America'' is intended to provide foreign university
teachers with an opportunity to increase their understanding of U.S.
civilization through an in-depth examination of the role that religion
and religious institutions have played throughout American history. The
program should focus on the impact of religious thought and practice on
the development of U.S. society and institutions, and in turn the
impact that those institutions--political, social, and economic--have
had on the development and status of religion in the U.S. The program's
ultimate purpose is to improve the quality of teaching and curricula
about the United States at universities abroad.
The Institute should be designed as an intensive, academically
stimulating program that presents a multi-dimensional view of the
United States through an integrated series of lectures, readings,
interactive discussions, research and independent study opportunities,
faculty mentoring and site visits.
The program should be six weeks in length, including an academic
residency segment (at least four weeks in length) at a U.S. college or
university campus, and an integrated study tour segment (not to exceed
two weeks in length) which complements the academic program and
includes visits to one or two additional regions of the U.S.
Program Dates
Tentative program dates are June 28 to August 8, 1997. Based on
these dates,
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participants would be booked to arrive in the U.S. on or about June 27,
and depart on August 9, 1997. USIA is willing to consider adjustment of
these programs dates, based on the needs of the host institution.
However, the institute must be 42 program days in length, and should
take place sometime between June 21 and August 30, 1997.
Participants
The program should be designed for a total of 18 highly-motivated
and experienced foreign university faculty who are interested in using
U.S. history, and an examination of American religion in particular, as
a means to improve teaching and increase understanding of the United
States at their home institutions. Participants can be expected to come
from educational institutions where the study of the U.S. is relatively
well-developed. Thus, while they will not be expected to have in-depth
knowledge of the American religious experience, most will have had
substantial experience in teaching about the United States. Many will
have had sustained professional contact with American scholars and
American scholarship; some may have had substantial prior experience
studying in the U.S. Participants will be drawn from all regions of the
world and will be fluent in English.
Participants will be nominated by U.S. Information Service posts
abroad, and selected by the staff of USIA's Branch of the Study of the
United States in Washington, D.C. USIA will cover all international
travel costs directly.
Guidelines
The conception, structure and content of the institute program is
entirely the responsibility of the organizers. However, given the
multiple possibilities for the successful design of such a program,
organizers are expected to submit proposals that articulate in concrete
detail how they intend to organize and implement the institute.
Please refer to the Solicitation Package for further details on
program design and implementation, as well as additional information on
all other requirements.
Proposed Budget
Unless special circumstances warrant, based on a group of 18
participants, the total USIA-funded budget (program and administrative)
should not exceed $162,000, and USIA-funded administrative costs as
defined in the budget details section of the solicitation package
should not exceed $48,500. Justification for any costs above these
amounts must be clearly indicated in the proposal submission. Any
grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years of
experience in conducting international exchange programs will be
limited to $60,000. Applicant proposals should try to maximize cost-
sharing in all facets of the program and to stimulate U.S. private
sector, including foundation and corporate, support. Applicants must
submit a comprehensive budget for the entire program.
The Agency reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase
proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the program, and
availability of U.S. government funding.
Please refer to the ``POGI'' in the Solicitation Package for
complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions for the
institute program.
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 Geographic Area
Offices. 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 the criteria stated below. These criteria are not rank
ordered, and all carry equal weight in the proposal evaluation:
1. Overall quality: Proposals should exhibit originality and
substance, consonant with the highest standards of American teaching
and scholarship. Program design should reflect the main currents as
well as the debates within the larger discipline of American history,
with attention given to the theme of American religious history.
2. Program planning: Proposals should demonstrate careful planning.
The organization and structure of the institute should be clearly
delineated and be fully responsive to all program objectives. The
travel component should be an integral and substantive part of the
program, reinforcing and complementing its academic segment.
3. Institutional capacity: Proposed personnel, including faculty
and administrative staff as well as outside presenters, should be fully
qualified to achieve the project's goals. Library and media resources
should be accessible to participants; housing, transportation and other
logistical arrangements should be fully adequate to the needs of
participants and should be conducive to a collegial atmosphere.
4. Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the recipient's
commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of diversity
throughout the program. This can be accomplished through documentation,
such as a written statement, summarizing past and/or on-going
activities and efforts that further the principle of diversity within
the organization and its activities. Program activities that address
this issue should be highlighted.
5. Experience: The proposal should demonstrate an institutional
record of successful exchange program activity, indicating the
experience that the organization and its professional staff have had in
working with foreign educators.
6. Evaluation and Follow-up: The proposal should include a plan for
evaluating activities during the Institute and at its conclusion.
Proposals should comment on provisions made for follow-up with returned
grantees as a means of establishing longer-term individual and
institutional linkages.
7. Administration and Management: The proposals should indicate
evidence of continuous on-site administrative and managerial capacity
as well as the means by which program activities will be implemented.
8. Cost Effectiveness: The proposals should maximize costsharing
through direct institutional contributions, in-kind support, and other
private sector support. Overhead and administrative components of the
proposal, including salaries and honoraria, should be kept as low as
possible.
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
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be subject to periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.
Notification
Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by
Congress, and allocated and committed through internal USIA procedures.
Dated: October 9, 1996.
Dell Pendergrast,
Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-26640 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M
