[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 233 (Thursday, December 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64255-64258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31786]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship Program
ACTION: Request for proposals.
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SUMMARY: Subject to the availability of funds for FY 1998, the Office
of Academic Programs, Academic Exchanges Division, European Branch of
the United States Information Agency's Bureau of Education and Cultural
Affairs announces an open competition for an assistance award. American
public or private nonprofit organizations with at least four years of
experience in conducting international academic exchange programs and
meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may
apply to develop and administer the FY 1998 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 in Central and Eastern Europe. Organizations
are invited to submit a proposal with a budget not to exceed $2,000,000
to develop and administer the final selection (from a pool of
applicants), placement, orientation, monitoring, evaluation and follow-
on/alumni activities of at least 42 Fellows from the following
countries: Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia,
Poland, Romania, Serbia and Solvenia. 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'
level in the fields of business administration, economics, education
administration/civic education, environmental policy/ resource
management, journalism/mass communication, law, public administration
and public policy.
Please Note: This program will not support Ph.D. studies.
Overall grant making authority for the Ron Brown Fellowship 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 cited above is provided
through the Support for East European Democracies (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,
grantee organization is required to keep track of the spending for each
of the ten countries under the FY98 Ron Brown Fellowship Program.
Specific country allocations will be provided at the time of the award.
Funds allocated for one country should not be used to support Fellows
from other countries.
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 Ron Brown Fellowship Program,
reference number E/AEE-98-05.
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DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: All copies must be received at the U.S.
Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Monday,
January 26, 1998. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Academic Programs,
Academic Exchanges Division, European Branch, E/AEE Room 238, U.S.
Information Agency, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547;
Telephone: (202) 619-4420; Fax: (202) 619-4927; Internet:
[email protected] to request a Solicitation Package containing more
detailed information. Please request 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/education/rfps. Please read all information before
downloading.
TO RECEIVE A SOLICITATION PACKAGE VIA FAX ON DEMAND: The entire package
may be received via the Bureau's ``Grants Information Fax on Demand
System,'' which is accessed by calling (202) 401-7616. Please request a
``Catalog'' of available documents and order numbers when first
entering the system.
Please specify USIA Program Officer Effie Wingate 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 seven copies of the completed
application, including required forms, should be sent to: U.S.
Information Agency, Ref.: E/AEE-98-05, Office of Grants Management, E/
XE, 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. USIA will
transmit these files electronically to U.S. Information Service (USIS)
posts and Fulbright Commissions overseas for their review, with the
goal of reducing the time it takes to get posts' comments for the
Agency's grant 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, socioeconomic 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 account for advancement of this goal in their program contents,
to the full extent deemed feasible.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview
The FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship Program will provide funding for
at least 42 fellowships to citizens from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
Fellowships will be distrubted 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 nine European
countries to participate in quality graduate study programs in the
fields of business administration, economics, education administration/
civic education, environmental policy/resource management, journalism/
mass communication, law, public administration and public policy at
accredited universities throughout the United States. 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 enhancements such as workshops, professional
enrichment activities, internships, alumni conferences, networking,
etc. are integral components of the Ron Brown Fellowship Program and
highly encouraged. Internships of up to six months for Fellows in one-
year programs and up to three months for Fellows in two-year programs
are recommended. USIA's goal for 1998 is to award the 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. 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 1998, program advertisement and participant recruitment will be
the responsibility of the United States Information Service (USIS)
posts and/or the Fulbright commissions. USIS posts 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 USIS post and/or commission
will compile a pool of applicants to be forwarded to the administering
organization 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, 1998-99 and
1999-2000. The program may not begin before May 1, 1998, and must be
completed by December 31, 2000. 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 USIS posts and/or Fulbright commissions; specific details
about the final selection committee(s); and notification of selectees
and non-selectees.
Please note: As in previous years, advertising, recruitment,
screening and semi-final selection will be conducted by the USIS
posts and/or Fulbright commissions in the participating countries.
2. Placement of Fellows
Describe criteria for selecting host universities and measures to
ensure participants' academic and cultural needs are met.
[[Page 64257]]
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/Evaluation/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
Ron Brown Alumni Associations were formed in several participating
countries in October 1997. Describe plans to assist the development and
expansion of these fledgling associations.
9. Program Identity
Describe ways you will 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 and skills 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 (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
Visitors 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
professional 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 USIA-sponsored Health and Accident
Insurance. The administering organization will be responsible for
enrolling the participants in the insurance program.
Proposed Budget
Funding for the FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship Program is anticipated
at $2,000,000. Applicants must submit a comprehensive line item budget
for general program costs, participant program cost, 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. Preference will be given to organizations whose
administrative costs, including indirect costs, are less than 20% of
the total request from USIA.
USIA 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 USIA
and, 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 USIA policy.
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 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 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. Quality of the Program
Proposals should include academic rigor, thorough conception of
project, demonstration of meeting participant needs, contributions to
understanding the partner countries, specific details of selection,
placement, monitoring, follow-on plan, alumni activities, alumni
tracking, evaluation plan and relevance to USIA's mission.
2. Program Planning/Institutional Capacity
A detailed agenda and relevant work plan should demonstrate
substantive undertakings and the organization's logistical capacity.
Agenda and plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines
described above. Proposed personnel and organizational resources should
be adequate and appropriate to implement the program and achieve
project goals.
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3. Organization's Track 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.
4. Multiplier Effect/Impact
Proposed programs should strengthen long-term mutual understanding,
including maximum sharing of information and establishment of long-term
linkages.
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. Proposals should
maximize cost-sharing through other private sector support as well as
institutional direct funding contributions.
6. Area Expertise
Proposals should demonstrate the organization's expertise and
capacity to conduct graduate level academic exchange programs in
Central and Eastern Europe.
7. Placement Experience
Proposals should demonstrate the organization's ability and
experience with placements at U.S. universities at the graduate level.
8. 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.
9. Support of Diversity
Proposals should demonstrate substantive support of the Bureau's
policy on diversity through the selection and placement of
participants, to the extent feasible for organizations.
10. Project Evaluation/Follow-On Activities
Proposals should include a plan to evaluate the program's success.
A draft survey questionnaire plus a description of a methodology to be
used to link outcomes to original project objectives is required.
Proposals should provide a plan for alumni activities and other follow-
on programs (without USIA support) which ensures that USIA-supported
programs are not isolated events. Proposals should include a plan for
alumni tracking that demonstrates the willingness to provide data to
and coordinate tracking with USIA and USIS posts and/or Fulbright
commissions.
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 proposed 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. 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 May 1, 1998. Awards made will be subject to
periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.
Dated: December 1, 1997.
Robert L. Earle,
Deputy Associate Director, Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-31786 Filed 12-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M
