[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71538-71541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33061]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 3181]
FY 2000 Ron Brown Fellowship Program; Request for Proposals
SUMMARY: Subject to the availability of funds for FY 2000, the Office
of Academic Programs of the United States Department of State's Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition
for the Ron Brown Fellowship Program. The Bureau solicits detailed
proposals from U.S. public or private non-profit organizations with at
least four years of experience in conducting international academic
exchange programs and meet the provisions described in IRS regulation
26 CAR 1.501c to develop and administer the FY 2000 Ron Brown
Fellowship Program. Preference will be given to organizations that have
placement experience at the graduate level and a demonstrated ability
to conduct academic exchange programs. The level of funding for FY 2000
will be approximately $2,500,000. Organizations are invited to submit a
proposal to conduct the final selection (from a pool of well-qualified
candidates), placement, orientation, monitoring, evaluation and follow-
on/alumni activities for approximately 42 Fellows from Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM), Romania, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia,
Kosovo and Montenegro) (FRY), and Slovenia. Participants will be
enrolled in two-year degree programs, or in one-year non-degree
professional development programs (except for the one-year degree
programs in law) at accredited U.S. academic institutions for study at
the Masters' degree level in the fields of business administration,
economics, educational administration, environmental management,
journalism/mass communication, law, public administration, and public
policy. Preference will be given to proposals with budgets that do not
exceed $2,500,000.
Please note: This program will not support Ph.D. studies.
Programs and projects must conform with Bureau requirements and
guidelines outlined in the Solicitation Package. Bureau projects and
programs are subject to the availability of funds.
Authority
The funding authority for the Ron Brown Fellowship Program is
provided through the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of
1989, targeted to advance the democratic and economic transition of
Central and Eastern Europe. In order to comply with mandates for this
program, the grantee organization is required to keep track of the
spending for each of the participating countries under the FY 2000 Ron
Brown Fellowship Program. Funds allocated for one country should not be
used to support Fellows from other countries. Specific country
allocations will be provided at the time of the award.
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.''
Program Information
Overview
The FY 2000 Ron Brown Fellowship Program will provide funding for
approximately 42 fellowships to citizens from Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYROM, Romania, FRY, and Slovenia.
Fellowships will be distributed according to specified country-quotas.
The goal of the Ron Brown program is to provide an opportunity for
university graduates and young professionals who are selected through
open merit-based competition in the aforementioned European countries
to participate in quality graduate study programs at accredited
universities throughout the United States. The fields of study are:
business administration, economics, educational administration,
environmental management, journalism/mass communication, law, public
administration, and public policy. Fellowships will be awarded for one-
year, non-degree professional development programs, except for one-year
degree programs in law, or for two-year degree granting programs.
Program
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enhancements such as workshops, professional development and cultural
enrichment activities, internships, alumni conferences, networking,
etc. are integral components of the Ron Brown Fellowship Program and
highly encouraged. Internships of up to three months for Fellows in
both one-year and two-year degree programs and from three-to-five-
months for non-degree professional development programs are also key
components of the program. Our goal for FY 2000 is to award a greater
number of Fellowships for two-year degree programs, and to attain
equitable representation of the eight eligible fields while achieving
wide distribution among the U.S. host universities. Fast-track
placement ability is essential to enable the greater number of Fellows
to start their academic program in the fall 2000. Clustering of Fellows
should be avoided with no more than three Fellows at any one
university. The Ron Brown Fellowship Program will not support Ph.D
programs.
Guidelines
For FY 2000, as in previous years, program advertisement and
participant recruitment will be the responsibility of the Public
Affairs Sections (PAS) of the U.S. Embassies and/or the Fulbright
commissions. PAS and/or commissions will screen applications for
eligibility, arrange for TOEFL, GMAT and GRE testing where possible,
conduct personal interviews, and compile a dossier on each qualified
applicant. Each FAS and/or commission will compile a pool of applicants
to be forwarded to the administering organization in early spring for
the final selection.
Applicants are asked to develop a program plan to conduct the final
selection, placement, monitoring, follow-on and alumni activities. The
duration of the program should be for two academic years, 2000-2001 and
2001-2002. The program may not begin before May 1, 2000, and must be
completed by December 31, 2002. Proposals should address and discuss in
detail the following areas:
1. Final selection: describe in detail the process for the final
selection of Fellows including method of reviewing a pool of qualified
applications submitted by PAS' and/or Fulbright commissions, and
specific details about the final selection panel.
2. Placement of Fellows: describe criteria for selecting host
universities and measures to ensure participants' academic and cultural
needs are met. A list of universities your organization works with to
place scholars should be included.
3. Notification: describe plans for notifying applicants who have
been selected for an award, including timely confirmation of placement,
scheduling of pre-departure orientation, and all logistical
arrangements.
4. Special programs: describe provisions for ESL or pre-academic
programs, if necessary;
5. Orientation: describe plans for pre-departure, post-arrival and/
or pre-academic orientation programs.
6. Enrichment activities: describe arrangements for cultural and
professional development activities, internships, and other program
enhancements including recommendations for workshops and alumni
activities.
7. Monitoring/evaluating/tracking: describe methodologies for on-
going monitoring and evaluation and adjustment of program accordingly.
Mechanisms for alumni networking and alumni tracking should also be
detailed.
8. Alumni Activities: Over 180 Fellows have completed the Ron Brown
Fellowship Program since it was established in 1994. Alumni
Associations have been formed in several participating countries.
Describe plans to assist the development and expansion of these
fledgling associations.
9. Program Identity: Describe ways to ensure that participants and
alumni identify themselves as Ron Brown Fellows or Ron Brown Alumni.
10. Personnel: proposals should include curriculum vitae of
personnel assigned to administer the Ron Brown program.
Participants
Fellows will be selected from a pool of applicants with a variety
of professional and educational backgrounds. Since one of the purposes
of the fellowships is to promote the development of professional
expertise among the future leaders of central and eastern Europe, grant
recipients should ideally be in the early stages of their careers, with
perhaps a few years of work experience, a demonstrated ability for
leadership, a clearly expressed purpose for studying in the United
States, and a commitment to return home at the end of their fellowships
to share their knowledge, skills and experience in the development of
their countries. Fellows must be under the age of forty, possess the
equivalent of a bachelor's degree, and demonstrate fluency in spoken
and written English with a minimum TOEFL score of 550 or 213 on the
computer-based test (or the ability to attain such a level following a
limited ESL program prior to the beginning of their studies).
Visa/Insurance/Tax Requirements
All foreign participants must be sponsored under an Exchange
Visitor Program on a J visa. Programs must comply with J-1 visa
regulations and should reference this adherence in the proposal
narrative. Ron Brown Fellows must comply with the two-year home
residency requirement as stipulated by the J-visa guidelines. It is the
expressed intent of this program that Fellows return immediately to
their home country following completion of the academic and practical
components of their program. Please refer to program specific
guidelines in the Application Package for further details.
Administration of the program must be in compliance with reporting and
withholding regulations for federal, state, and local taxes, as
applicable. Organizations should demonstrate tax regulation adherence
in the proposal narrative and budget.
Participants will be covered by Department of State-sponsored
Medical Insurance. The administering organization will be responsible
for enrolling the participants in the insurance program.
Budget Guidelines
Funding for the FY 2000 Ron Brown Fellowship Program is anticipated
at $2,500,000. Applicants must submit a comprehensive line item budget
for general program costs, participant program costs, alumni costs, and
administrative costs. There must be a summary budget as well as a
breakdown reflecting both the administrative budget and the program
budget. Please refer to the application packet for complete formatting
instructions. Administrative costs, including indirect costs, should
not exceed 20% of the total request.
The Bureau reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase the
proposal budget in accordance with the needs of the program.
Allowable costs for the program include the following:
(1) General Program Costs
(2) Participant Program Costs
(3) U.S. Administrative Costs
(4) Overseas Administrative Costs
(5) Alumni Activities
Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget
guidelines and formatting instructions.
Medical insurance for participants will be paid directly by the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and,
[[Page 71540]]
therefore, should not be included as a line-item cost in the program
budget. However, a modest line-item may be included for health
insurance for universities not accepting the ECA policy.
Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines
Pursuant to 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 in the program. 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, the Bureau shall take 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 content, to the full
extent deemed feasible.
Year 2000 (Y2K) Compliance 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 the Bureau. The inability to
process information in accordance with Federal requirements could
result in grantees being required to return funds that have not been
accounted for properly.
The Bureau 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 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.otpolicy.gsa.gov.
Announcement Title and Number
All correspondence with the Bureau concerning this RFP should refer
to: The Ron Brown Fellowship Program, reference number ECA/A/E/EUR-00-
05.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: The U.S. Department of State, Annex
44, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Office of Academic
Exchange Programs, European Branch, ECA/A/E/EUR Room 238, 301 4th
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547; Telephone: (202) 619-4420; Fax:
(202) 619-4927; E-mail: ewingate@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 Bureau Program
Officer Ms. Effie Wingate on all inquiries and correspondence.
Please read the complete Federal Register announcement before
sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFP deadline has
passed, staff may not discuss this competition in any way with
applicants until the Bureau proposal review process has been completed.
To Download a Solicitation Package via Internet
The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from the
following website: http://www.usia.gov/education/rfps. Please read all
information before downloading.
Deadline For Proposals
All proposal copies must be received at the Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs by 5:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Thursday,
February 3, 2000. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time.
Documents postmarked by the due date but received at a later date will
not be accepted.
Applicants must follow all instructions given in the Solicitation
Package. The original and nine copies of the completed application,
including required forms, should be sent to: U.S. Department of State,
Annex 44, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ref.: ECA/A/E/
EUR-00-05, Office of Program Management, ECA/XE/PM, Room 336, 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)
formatted with a maximum line length of 65 characters. These files will
be transmitted electronically to the Public Affairs Sections and
Fulbright Commissions overseas for their review, with the goal of
reducing the time it takes to receive their comments for the grant
review process.
Review Process
The Bureau 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 Department of State's
Office of the Coordinator for SEED programs and the Offices of Public
Affairs and Fulbright commissions overseas where appropriate. Proposals
may also be reviewed by the Department of State, Office of the Legal
Adviser or by other Bureau elements. Final funding decisions are at the
discretion of the Department of State's Assistant Secretary for
Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final technical authority for
assistance awards (grants or cooperative agreements) resides with the
Bureau's 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. Program Planning and Management: Proposals should exhibit
substance, precision, innovation, and relevance to the Bureau's
mission. Objectives should be reasonable, feasible, and flexible and
proposals should clearly demonstrate how the organization will meet
these objectives. A detailed agenda and relevant work plan should
demonstrate substantive undertakings and logistical capacity. Agenda
and work plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines
described above.
2. Institutional Capacity and Record: Proposals should demonstrate
an institutional record of successful exchange programs, including
responsible fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting
requirements for past Bureau grants as determined by the grants staff.
The Bureau 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.
3. Multiplier Effect/Impact: Proposed programs should strengthen
long-term mutual understanding, including maximum sharing of
information and
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establishment of long-term institutional and individual linkages.
4. Cost-effectiveness/Cost-sharing: 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.
Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through other private sector
support as well as institutional direct funding contributions.
5. Placement experience: Proposals should demonstrate the
organization's ability and experience with graduate level, fast-track
placements at U.S. universities.
6. Professional and Academic Contacts: Proposals should demonstrate
substantive staff knowledge of the relevant academic fields and
professions to ensure productive engagement with professional and
academic contacts in every phase of program planning and
implementation, including the arrangement of internships and selection
panels.
7. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the
organization's commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding
of diversity and should include a strategy for achieving diverse group
of Fellows and host institutions.
8. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate
the project's success, both during and after the program. A draft
survey questionnaire or other technique and a description of
methodologies that can be used to link the outcomes to original project
objectives should also be included. Grantee organization will be
expected to submit quarterly program and financial reports.
9. Alumni Tracking and Follow-on Activities: Proposals should
provide a plan for effective tracking of current and future Alumni and
demonstrate the organization's willingness to provide data to and
coordinate tracking with the Bureau, Public Affairs Sections and/or
Fulbright commissions. Proposals may also include a plan for continued
follow-on activity (without Bureau support) which insures that Bureau-
supported programs are not isolated events.
Notice
The terms and conditions published in this RFP are binding and may
not be modified by any ECA representative. Explanatory information
provided by the Bureau 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 Bureau reserves the right to reduce,
revise, or increase proposed budgets in accordance with the needs of
the program and the availability of funds.
Awards made will be subject to quarterly reporting and evaluation
requirements.
Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by
Congress, allocated and committed through internal State Department
procedures.
Notification
All applicants will be notified of the results of the review
process on or about March 31, 2000.
Dated: December 14, 1999.
Evelyn S. Lieberman,
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-33061 Filed 12-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-11-M
