[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68335-68337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32829]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
NIS Secondary School Partnership Program; Notice: Request for
Proposals
SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchange, Youth Programs Division, of
the United States Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the NIS Secondary
School Partnership Program. Public and private non-profit organizations
meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR
1.501 may submit proposals to either enhance or
expand existing partnerships or develop new school partnership programs
with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, or
Ukraine. All submissions must have a thematic focus and feature on-
going joint project activity between the schools, a student exchange
component, and an educator (teacher/administrator) exchange component.
The maximum grant award will be $200,000.
Program Information
The U.S. recipient of the grant is responsible for recruiting,
selecting, and organizing a minimum of two U.S. secondary schools to
form the U.S. network; strengthening an existing working relationship
with an organization or agency of government in the NIS responsible for
a network of at least two schools there; and linking the two networks
through a thematic project and substantive exchange activities.
Overview: The short-term goal of the school partnership program is
to provide partial funding for linkages between U.S. and NIS schools
featuring collaborative substantive projects and student and educator
exchanges. Grant-funded exchanges must have a thematic focus and have
tangible outcomes, such as the development of educational materials.
The long-term goals are to: (1) advance mutual understanding
between the U.S. and the NIS; (2) develop lasting institutional ties
between U.S. and NIS schools and communities; and (3) promote
partnerships developed through governmental, educational, and not-for-
profit sector cooperation that hold promise for a sustainable program
beyond the grant term and serve the needs and interests of the schools.
The linked network of secondary schools in the United States and
network of schools in the NIS must establish or expand ties between the
schools in the network through joint project activity and two sets of
exchange programs: 1) the exchange of secondary school students, from
14 to 18 years of age, between the U.S. and participating NIS
countries, and 2) the exchange of secondary school educators (teachers
and/or administrators) between the U.S. and NIS countries.
Guidelines: A competitive proposal will present a project that
builds upon previous contacts and interaction between the proposed
schools to help ensure a solid foundation for the partnership.
Partnerships should have an existence beyond the scope of this
intitative; that is, there should be an inherent reason for their
linkage apart from the availability of grant funds.
In general, USIA seeks school partnerships that target under-served
countries or regions. For programs with Russia, priority will be given
to partnerships with schools located outside of the Moscow and St.
Petersburg regions. Proposals that feature networks in the cities and
regions noted below will be given priority consideration. These cities
are former nuclear and/or chemical weapon manufacturing locations in
Russia: Gorny, Kambarka, Kizner, Leonidovka, Lesnoy, Maradykovsky,
Novouralisk, Ozersk, Pochep, Sarov, Seversk, Shchuchye, Snezhninsk,
Trekhgnornyy, Zarechnyy, Zelenogorsk, Zheleznogorsk.
Russian Regional Investment Initiative sites: Novgorod, Samara, and
the Russian Far East (Khabarovsk and Sakhalin).
Organizers and school networks in the U.S. and NIS should
collaborate in planning and preparation. Applicants must have an NIS
organizational partner that has its base of operation in the partner
country and not in another country. Proposals should support a working
relationship that will produce something tangible and lasting in
addressing the interests of both sides, beyond the confines of the
funded project. The proposal should specify up front what the
measurable goals and objectives of the program will be. Each school
partnership must also provide a statement of goals and objectives for
their exchange.
USIA funding may not be used to supplant existing private sector
funding. Applicants must indicate how activities have been funded in
the past and how the activities will be expanded with assistance from
USIA. Competitive proposals must demonstrate a solid and comprehensive
follow-on plan to continue after the grant has expired.
Proposals must clearly describe and define substantive
thematically-based projects for each school partnership that are the
focus of the exchange for both students and educators and on-going
joint project activity between the two schools. Applicants should
present a program that succeeds in linking the greater school
community. All participating schools must be identified. Proposals
should describe the selected theme, its importance to the schools and
communities, the specific academic activities, and the expected outcome
or product of the project. Possible themes include but are not limited
to the following: civic education, health education, environmental
issues, youth leadership training, volunteerism/community service,
conflict resolution, computer technology, multicultural education,
agriculture, and business management.
Proposals must clearly present independent educator programs for
teachers/administrators. These programs could include curriculum
development seminars, ``shadowing'' of host peers in the classroom,
university-level courses, or other substantive activities, with an
emphasis on such themes as parent-teacher cooperation, model schools,
teacher training, and collaboration with local businesses. A program
that relies on the educator to act as just an escort will not be
competitive. Although educators can certainly travel with student
groups, a group of educators could travel separately if an organization
developed such a program.
The U.S. recipient of the grant will (1) design the overall plan
that integrates the joint project activity and the exchange components
of the partnership; (2) ensure quality control for all program
elements; (3) keep USIA/USIS informed of its progress; (4) manage all
travel arrangements, logistics, passports, visas, etc.; (5) provide
competent and informed escorts for student groups; and (6) disburse and
account for grant funds. Recipients of the assistance award are
responsible for ensuring the selection of exchange participants who are
most suited for the program and for providing them with a meaningful
pre-departure orientation. Selection of individual participants from
the U.S. and the NIS in the exchange components of the program must be
merit-based; the proposal should describe the mechanisms used for
participant selection. Participants (both Educators and Students) from
the U.S. and the NIS countries should represent a diversity of
backgrounds
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(racial, geographic, economic status, religious, etc.) to give greater
understanding to the culture and society as a whole.
Because the ultimate goal of this program is self-sufficiency,
school partnerships that have received USIA funding under the NIS
Secondary School Initiative for a total of three years are only
eligible to receive up to $20,000 for NIS participant travel costs, per
diem, and allowances.
Significant cost-sharing is mandatory in all proposals and those
that show more generous and creative cost-sharing will be more
favorably viewed. Proposals that contain non-USIA funded items such as
additional students and/or educators on the exchange, U.S. participants
paying for some of their own costs, computer software purchases,
cultural excursions, state/national capital civics programs, and other
significant items will be more competitive proposals than those that do
not. However, NIS participants may not be charged to participate in the
program, aside from paying for in-country costs (such as transportation
to the point of departure), the costs of hosting the U.S. students and
educators, and miscellaneous expenses such as pocket money.
Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. The Agency will
process the IAP-66 forms for travel to the United States. Applicant
organizations are required to use the USIA Accident and Sickness
Program for Exchanges (ASPE) for participants in USIA-funded exchanges.
Applicants who choose not to use the USIA plan must demonstrate that an
alternative plan (1) provides comparable or better coverage, and (2)
costs less. Please refer to the Program Objectives, Goals, and
Implementation (POGI) section of the Solicitation Package for greater
detail regarding the design of the component parts as well as other
program information.
Budget Guidelines
Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the entire
program. Awards may not exceed $200,000. The Agency has set country
allocations for this competition and all proposals must adhere to these
maximum amounts per country.
Only partnerships between secondary schools in the United States
and these countries are eligible for this competition.
These amounts are approximate: Armenia $100,000; Azerbaijan
$150,000; Belarus $200,000; Georgia $100,000; Moldova $100,000; Russia
$350,000; Ukraine $250,000.
Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years
of experience in conducting international exchange programs will be
limited to $60,000.
There must be a summary budget as well as breakdowns reflecting
both administrative and program budgets. Applicants may provide
separate sub-budgets for each program component, phase, location, or
activity to provide clarification. All program costs should clearly
indicate whether they cover U.S. or NIS participants. The cost per NIS
student, NIS educator, U.S. student, and U.S. educator should be listed
separately. Be sure to note the statement on cost-sharing in the
Guidelines section. Please refer to the Solicitation Package for
complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions.
Announcement title and number: All correspondence with USIA
concerning this RFP should reference the above title and number E/PY-
99-26.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Youth Programs Division, E/PY,
Room 568, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC
20547, telephone: (202) 619-6299; fax: (202) 619-5311; E-mail:
clantz@usia.gov to request a Solicitation Package. The Solicitation
Package contains detailed award criteria, required application forms,
specific budget instructions, and standard guidelines for proposal
preparation. Please specify USIA Program Officer Carolyn Lantz on all
other inquiries and correspondence.
Please 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 with applicants
until the 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/education/rfps. Please read all information before
downloading.
To receive a solicitation package via fax on demand: The entire
Solicitation Package may be requested from the Bureau's Grants
Information Fax on Demand System, which is accessed by calling (202)
401-7616. The Table of Contents listing available documents and order
numbers should be the first order when entering the system.
Deadline for proposals: All proposal copies must be received at the
U.S. Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. Washington, DC time on Friday,
February 12, 1999. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time.
Documents postmarked the due date but received on a later date will not
be accepted. Each applicant must ensure that the proposals are received
by the above deadline.
Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation
Package. The original and 10 copies of the application should be sent
to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/PY-99-26, Office of Grants
Management, Room 568, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal on a 3.5'' diskette,
formatted for DOS. These documents 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.
Diversity, Freedom and Democracy 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. Public
Law 104-319 provides that in carrying out programs of educational and
cultural exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom
and democracy, USIA shall take appropriate steps to provide
opportunities for participation in such programs to human rights and
democracy leaders of such countries. Proposals should reflect
advancement of this goal in their program contents, to the full extent
deemed feasible.
Year 2000 Compliance Requirement (Y2K Requirement)
The Year 2000 (Y2K) issue is a broad operational and accounting
problem that could potentially prohibit organizations from processing
information in accordance with Federal management and program specific
requirements including data exchange with USIA. The inability to
process
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information in accordance with Federal requirements could result in
grantees' being required to return funds that have not been accounted
for properly.
USIA therefore requires all organizations use Y2K compliant systems
including hardware, software, and firmware. Systems must accurately
process data and dates (calculating, comparing and sequencing) both
before and after the beginning of the year 2000 and correctly adjust
for leap years.
Additional information addressing the Y2K issue may be found at the
General Services Administration's Office of Information Technology
website at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov.
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. All eligible proposals will be reviewed by the
program office, as well as the USIA Office of East European and NIS
Affairs and the USIA posts overseas. Eligible proposals will be
forwarded to panels of USIA officers for advisory review. Proposals may
also be reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel or by other
Agency elements. Final funding decisions are at the discretion of
USIA's 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. Programmatic planning, objectives, and quality: The program
should demonstrate originality, substance, precision and relevance to
the Agency's mission. Applicant organizations should demonstrate sound
judgment in all aspects of the program design and a thorough
understanding of the NIS. A detailed agenda and relevant work plan
should adhere to the program overview and guidelines described.
Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the institution will meet the
program's objectives and plan.
2. 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. Proposals should also include creative ways to involve
project participants in their host schools and communities.
3. Institutional Capacity and Record: Proposed personnel and
institutional resources should be adequate and appropriate to achieve
the program or project's goals. 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. An
organization's track record will be evaluated based on the achievement
of stated goals and impact on schools in the U.S. and NIS.
4. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate substantive
support of the Bureau's policy on diversity. Achievable and relevant
features should be cited in both program administration (selection of
participants and host families, program venue, and program evaluation)
and program content (orientation and wrap-up sessions, program
meetings, resource materials and follow-up activities).
5. Cost-effectiveness/cost-sharing: 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. Overall per-participant costs will be a factor in the
review of the proposal. Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through
U.S. participant contributions and other private sector support as well
as institutional direct funding contributions. Applicants should
indicate sources of funds for cost-sharing.
6. Follow-on Activities: Proposals should provide a plan for
continued follow-on activity (without USIA support) ensuring that USIA
supported programs are not isolated events.
7. Project Evaluation: Proposals must include a plan to evaluate
the project, 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 a description of a methodology to
use in linking outcomes to original project objectives for each school
partnership. Successful applicants will be expected to submit reports
on each partnership.
Authority
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
program above is provided through the FREEDOM Support Act of 1992.
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.
Notification
Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by
Congress, allocated and committed through internal USIA procedures.
Dated: December 5, 1998.
William B. Bader,
Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-32829 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M
