[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 207 (Thursday, October 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54912-54914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26519]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Publication of a Quarterly Reference Journal and Provision of a
Research Service for Overseas Educational Advisers
action: Notice--Request for proposals.
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summary: The Advising and Student Services Branch of the United States
Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
announces an open competition for an assistance award. Public or
private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in
IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) (3)-1 may apply. In collaboration with
the United States Information Agency (USIA), the organization will
research, write, edit, and publish a quarterly reference journal to
bring timely and in-depth information on issues and topics of
importance to overseas educational advisers. Four issues of the
publication are to be prepared during the period of the agreement,
April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997. Significant portions of the journal
must also be made available on the internet. The organization will also
answer reference inquiries from USIA-designated educational advising
offices overseas, and compile a bibliography of recommended
publications for overseas educational advisers. USIA anticipated
awarding up to $102,500 to one organization for these activities.
overview: An ideal proposal should illustrate how the organization will
produce a professional journal for overseas educational advisers who
are responsible for providing accurate, unbiased information and
advising foreign nationals about opportunities for studying in the
United States. Each issue will be centered on an overall theme related
to trends and developments in international student mobility, the
practice of educational advising, or U.S. higher education which will
enhance the guidance given by overseas educational advisers to
international students and others who inquire about opportunities for
studying in the United States. In addition, each issue will contain
current information on one or more of the following: academic news,
university programs, new resources, short-term training opportunities,
current testing announcements, academic accreditation, new degree
programs, news briefs, and financial information considered useful to
overseas educational advisers in the conduct of their duties.
To help expand the worldwide availability of information of
interest to educational advisers and others involved in international
education, the organization must provide electronic access to the major
articles in each issue.
guidelines: The organization will produce four issues of the journal:
Summer 1996, Fall 1996, Winter 1996, and Spring 1997. Each issue will
be at least 32 pages long. The first of the four issues should be
published and available for distribution within 90 days of grant
receipt, with subsequent issues scheduled to be released each ninety
days. In-house desktop publishing facilities are required so that the
journal issues will be produced quickly and efficiently in an
attractive typeset quality format. In addition, funds will be awarded
to enable the recipient to perform supplemental research to provide in-
depth responses to inquiries from USIA-affiliated educational advisers
overseas. The organization should track requests for information to
gauge interest in the field and should use this information to
determine themes of future journals. In addition, the research service
must be designed to also respond to advisers who have questions that
are too narrow or too geographically specific for publication in the
aforementioned journal.
The Advising Branch supplies reference materials to overseas
advising centers; the organization will be charged with monitoring new
print resources related to educational advising and by December 1, 1996
should provide 550 copies of an annotated bibliography of recommended
publications for advisers to the Advising Branch.
PROPOSED BUDGET: A compehensive line item budget should be submitted
together with the proposal. The budget should not exceed $87,500 for
publication of four issues of the advising journal and electronic
access; $10,000 for responding directly to research inquiries for USIA-
affiliated overseas educational advisers; and no more than $5,000 of
production of the
[[Page 54913]]
bibliography. The ability of an organization to sell journal
subscriptions and advertising to offset production costs in excess of
the grant will be a priority criterion for selection. Grants awarded to
eligible organizations with less than four years of experience in
conducting international educational programs will be limited to
$60,000 for publication of the journal and conduct of the research
service.
The applicant is required to submit a comprehensive line item
budget, based on the specific guidance in the Solicitation Package.
There must be a summary budget as well as a break-down of the
administrative budget. USIA's grant assistance will not exceed
$102,500. Of this amount, not more than $32,000 may be attributed to
overhead expenses. The $102,500 is expected to constitute only a
portion of the total project funding. Cost sharing is required and the
proposal should list other anticipated sources of support. Grant
applications should demonstrate financial and in-kind support.
Allowable costs for the program include the following:
(1) Salaries and fringe benefits
(2) Other direct costs, printing, utilities, etc.
(3) Indirect expenses, auditing costs
Applicants should refer to the Solicitation package for complete
budget guidelines and formatting instructions.
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 Agency contracts office, as well as the USIA
Area Offices and the USIS posts overseas, where appropriate. Proposals
may also 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 grant awards resides with USIA's contracting
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. Program Planning: Proposals should exhibit originality,
substance, precision, and relevance to produce an attractive quarterly
journal which will successfully address the need for timely information
and in-depth and balanced exploration of issues and topics important to
overseas educational advisers. In addition, the proposal should
illustrate that the resources and professional contacts necessary to
respond in a timely manner to inquiries by overseas educational
advisers are available.
2. Institution's Track Record/Ability: Proposals should demonstrate
an institutional record of successful programs, including responsible
fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting requirements
for past Agency grants as determined by USIA's Office of Contracts.
Proposed personnel and institutional resources should be adequate and
appropriate to achieve the program goals.
3. Demonstrated Ability: Proposals should clearly demonstrate how
the institution will meet the program's objectives and plan. The
proposal should describe editorial and publication capabilities for
producing four issues of the advising journal and demonstrate the
ability of the organization's staff to provide accurate and timely
supplemental research and reference services for responding directly to
inquiries from USIA-affiliated educational advisers.
4. Project Evaluation: Proposal should provide a plan for
evaluation by the grantee institution, including periodic progress
reports. Proposal should include a plan to evaluate the journal's
success, both as the issues are printed and at the end of the grant
cycle. The recipient organization will be expected to submit
intermediate reports after each project component is concluded or
quarterly, whichever is less frequent.
5. Cost-Effectiveness: The overhead and administrative components
of the proposal, including salaries, should be kept as low as possible.
All other items should be necessary and appropriate.
6. Cost-Sharing: Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through
other private sector support as well as institutional direct funding
contributions. Proposals should demonstrate the ability to sell
subscriptions and advertising to offset some of the costs of publishing
the journal. All income derived from subscription or advertising sales
of the journal must be applied to the production costs.
7. Support of diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the
recipient's commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of
diversity, and should expose readers to the widest possible range of
views and approaches to U.S. higher education. Attention should be
given to printing articles relating to different kinds of schools and
universities from various regions of the U.S.
AUTHORIZATION: Overall grant making authority for this program is
contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961,
Pub. L. 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
cutural 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/ASA-96-08.
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSAL: All copies must be received at the U.S.
Information Agency for 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on December 26,
1995. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents
postmarked on December 26, 1995 but received at a later date. It is the
responsibility of each applicant to ensure that proposals are received
by the above deadline. Grant should begin April 1, 1996 and run through
March 31, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Advising and Student Services, E/ASA,
Room 349, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC
20547, Tel: (202) 619-5434, Fax: (202) 401-1433, E-mail:
althompsusia.gov. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the
program office to request an Application Package, which includes more
detailed award criteria; all application forms, and guidelines for
preparing proposals, including specific criteria for preparation of the
proposal budget. Please specify the USIA Program Officer, Ann Thompson,
on all inquiries and correspondences. Interested applicants should read
the complete Federal Register announcement before addressing inquiries
to E/ASA or submitting their proposals to the United States Information
Agency. Once the RFP
[[Page 54914]]
deadline has passed, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may
not discuss this competition in any way with applicants until after the
Bureau proposal review process has been completed.
SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the
Solicitation Package. The original and ten copies of the complete
application, plus one extra copy of the cover sheet, should be sent to:
U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/ASA-96-08, Office of Grants
Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
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 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 journal content.
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 budget in accordance with the needs of the
program and availability of funding. Final awards cannot be made until
funds have been appropriated by Congress, allocated and committed
through internal USIA procedures.
NOTIFICATION: All applicants will be notified of the results of the
review process on or about March 22, 1996. Awards will be subject to
periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.
Dated: October 20, 1995.
Dell Pendergrast,
Associate Director, Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-26519 Filed 10-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M
