[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 115 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14693]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 16, 1994]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Public and Private Nonprofit Organizations in Support of
International Educational and Cultural Activities--Professional
Development in English Language Teaching: Israel, et al.
ACTION: Notice--request for proposals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchanges (E/P) of the United States
Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
announces a competitive grant program for nonprofit organizations to
conduct a project for enhancing professional development in English
language teaching at the secondary level in Israel (both Arab and
Jewish communities), Gaza, and the West Bank. Participants will be
professionals responsible for developing effective English language
teaching programs; emphasis will be on curriculum development, teaching
methodology, production of classroom-appropriate material, and
organizing professional associations and networks.
A second, underlying, agenda of this project is to convene, on an
egalitarian basis and on neutral territory, a group of Israeli Jews,
Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians who will work together within a
professional discipline--in this case, English language teaching--and
who will, upon returning to their own communities, both maintain
professional, mutually supportive contact and represent, within those
communities, the feasibility of collegial relationships between Jews,
Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians.
The program will be conducted in English.
Interested applicants are urged to read the complete Federal
Register announcement before addressing inquiries to the Office of
Citizen Exchanges or submitting their proposals. After the RFP
deadline, the Office of Citizen Exchanges may not discuss this
competition in any way with applicants until the final decisions are
made.
ANNOUNCEMENT NAME AND NUMBER: All communications with USIA concerning
this announcement should refer to the above title and reference number
E/P-94-31.
DATES: Deadline for Proposals: All copies must be received at the U.S.
Information Agency by 5 p.m., Washington, DC time on August 2, 1994.
Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents postmarked
August 2, 1994 but received at a later date. It is the responsibility
of each grant applicant to ensure that proposals are received by this
deadline.
ADDRESSES: The original and 14 copies of the completed application and
required forms should be submitted by the deadline to: U.S. Information
Agency, Ref: E/P-94-31, Office of Grants Management (E/XE), 301 Fourth
Street SW.--room 336, Washington, DC 20547.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Interested organizations/institutions should contact the Office of
Citizen Exchanges (E/P), room 224, USIA, 301 Fourth Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20547, fax (202) 619-4350, tel. (202) 619-5319, to
request detailed application packages which include all necessary forms
and guidelines for proposals, including specific budget preparation.
Please specify the name of USIA Program Specialist Thomas Johnston on
all inquiries and correspondence.
Background/Objectives of This Program
There is a strong need and desire among educational professionals
in Gaza, the West Bank, Israeli Arab communities, and selected Israeli
Jewish communities for assistance in the development of an effective,
comprehensive program of English language teaching at the secondary
level. Concomitantly, there is an even greater imperative for members
of the diverse communities within Israel and for Palestinians from both
Gaza and the West Bank to meet and work together in a professional,
non-politically charged context.
One goal of this project is to prepare Israeli and Palestinian
participants--individuals active in setting the agenda for high school
and/or community-based English Language teaching programs--to implement
state-of-the-art TESOL curriculum design, teaching methodology, and
material/text development in an effort to enhance English teaching and
learning in their respective communities.
The second goal is to develop a situation in which professionals
from the diverse communities may meet and work together in an
egalitarian, mutually supportive way.
American organizations are invited to submit proposals for a
project to bring 12 English teaching professionals to the United States
for a period of four or five weeks.
Participants should become thoroughly conversant with state-of-the-
art theory and practice of teaching English as a second language. They
should observe and participate in classroom and language lab
instruction, become involved in the complexities of curriculum
development, and produce guidelines for and examples of classroom-
appropriate teaching material. In addition, they should be introduced
to professional associations and networks of teachers, curriculum
developers, and education officials, providing them models of
professional cooperation and information exchange which will be useful
in establishing cross-cultural professional linkages in the region.
The second phase of the project should take place over a period of
approximately six months and should entail the travel at approximately
eight-to-ten-week intervals, of four American specialists/consultants.
Each specialist will conduct a series of two-to-three-day workshops on
one or more of the key issues addressed in the initial phase of the
exchange (e.g., curriculum development; teaching methodology; in-
service training), in each of the locations in Israel, Gaza, and the
West Bank from which participants in the original phase were drawn.
Participants
Participants' professional titles will vary from community to
community, given the independent development of educational
supervisory/oversight institutions in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
They might be drawn from the Ministry of Education, the ranks of
consultants to the educational establishment, teachers' unions,
professional committees, or teacher training institutions. All will be
responsible, in some capacity, for the development of effective English
language teaching programs. Participants will be selected by United
States Information Service officers (The United States Information
Agency's overseas contingent is officially called the United States
Information Service) serving in the American Embassy in Tel Aviv and
the American Consulate in Jerusalem. Individuals may also be
recommended for participation by the grantee institution, but selection
will be made only in close consultation with USIS officers. American
consultants who will travel abroad during the second phase of this
exchange program will be selected by the grantee institution in
consultation with USIA.
USIA officers in participating countries will facilitate the
issuance of visas and other program-related material.
Programmatice Considerations
Thematically, the project should:
--Consider the current status of English Language instruction in the
communities represented by the participants and determine, in
conjunction with USIS posts in Israel and Jerusalem and with the
educators selected as participants, the needs to be addressed by the
project;
--Provide the participants both a general and specific overview of
English Language education--focussing specifically on teaching English
as a second language--as it is practiced in the United States, in the
context of a socially diverse country;
--Be organized, to the extent possible, around open seminar/
discussions, participant observation, and hands-on, experiential
learning;
--Introduce participants to the organization and workings of
professional associations of educators and other means of information
exchange, such as internet, which would provide continued access to
diverse ideas, publications, etc.;
--And include, if feasible, attendance at the TESOL international
convention in Long Beach, California, March 28-April 1, 1995.
Pursuant to the legislation authorizing the Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs, programs must maintain a nonpolitical character
and should be balanced and representative of the diversity of American
political, social, and cultural life.
Beyond the immediate goals of this program, USIA is interested in
supporting programs which will lay the groundwork for new and
continuing links among American, Israeli, and Palestinian institutions
and professional organizations and which will encourage the further
growth and development of democratic structures.
The grantee will be responsible for most arrangements associated
with this program. These include organizing a coherent progression of
activities, providing international and domestic travel arrangements
for all participants, making lodging and local transportation
arrangements for visitors, orienting and debriefing participants,
preparing any necessary support material, and working with host
institutions and individuals to achieve maximum program effectiveness.
To prepare the foreign educators for this project prior to their
arrival in the United States, E/P encourages the grantee organization
to develop material that would be sent to USIS offices overseas for
distribution to participants. This material might include a tentative
project outline and suggested goals and objectives, relevant background
information, and information about American institutions and
individuals involved in the project.
At the beginning of the program, the grantee organization should
conduct an orientation session for the visiting participants which
addresses administrative details of the program and provides general
information about American society and culture which will facilitate
the participants' understanding of and adjustment to daily life in the
United States.
At the conclusion of the program, the group should meet in a
symposium to review what has been presented to and experienced by the
participants and to consider how that which has been learned can most
effectively be applied upon the participants' return to their home
countries.
Additional Guidelines
Program monitoring and oversight will be provided by appropriate
USIA elements. Per Diem support from host institutions during an
internship component is strongly encouraged. However, for all programs
which include internships, a nonprofit grantee institution which
receives funds from corporate or other co-sponsors should then use
those funds to provide food, lodging, and pocket money for the
participants. In no case could the intern receive a wage or ``be
hired'' by the sponsoring institution.
Internships should also have an American studies/values orientation
component at the beginning of the program. The American grantee
institutions should try to maximize cost-sharing in all facets of the
program, and to stimulate U.S. private sector (foundation and
corporate) support.
Proposals incorporating internships will be more competitive if
letters committing prospective host institutions to support these
efforts are provided.
Funding
Competition for USIA funding support is keen. The final selection
of a grantee institution will depend on assessment of proposals
according to the review criteria delineated below.
The amount requested from USIA for this program should not exceed
$135,000. However, organizations with less than four years of
successful experience in managing international exchange programs are
limited to $60,000.
While applicants must provide an all-inclusive budget with the
proposal, they are also encouraged to include separate sub-budgets for
each program component, phase, location or activity.
The recipient's proposal shall include the cost of an audit that:
(1) Complies with the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-133, Audits of
Institutions of Higher Education and Other Nonprofit Institutions; (2)
complies with the requirements of American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants (AICPA) Statement of Position (SOP) No. 92-9; and
(3) includes review by the recipient's independent auditor of a
recipient-prepared supplemental schedule of indirect cost rate
computation, if such a rate is being proposed.
The audit costs shall be identified separately for: (1) Preparation
of basic financial statements and other accounting services; and (2)
preparation of the supplemental reports and schedules required by OMB
Circular No. A-133, AICPA SOP 92-9, and the review of the supplemental
schedule of indirect cost rate computation.
USIA will consider funding the following project costs:
1. International and domestic air fares; visas; transit costs
(e.g., airport taxes); ground transportation costs.
2. Per diem: For the U.S. program, organizations have the option of
using a flat $140/day for international participants or the published
Federal Travel Regulations per diem rates for individual American
cities.
Note: U.S. escorting staff must use the published federal per
diem rates, not the flat rate. For activities in the Middle East the
Standard Government Travel Regulations per diem rates must be used.
3. Book and cultural allowance: Participants are entitled to a one-
time cultural allowance of $150 per person, plus a participant book
allowance of $50. Escorts are reimbursed for actual expenses up to
$150. U.S. staff do not get these benefits.
4. Consultants: May be used to provide specialized expertise or to
make presentations. Honoraria should not exceed $250 per day.
Subcontracting organizations may also be used, in which case the
written contract(s) must be included in the proposal.
5. Room rental (for meeting or conference rooms): Generally should
not exceed $250 per day.
6. Material development: Proposals may contain costs to purchase,
develop and translate material for participants. USIA reserves the
rights to this material for future use.
7. One working meal per project: Per capita cost may not exceed $5-
8 per lunch and $14-20 per dinner, excluding room rental. The number of
invited guests may not exceed the number of participants by a factor of
more than two to one.
8. Return travel allowance: $70 for each participant which is to be
used for incidental expenditures incurred during international travel.
9. Other costs necessary for the effective administration of the
program, including salaries for grant organization employees, benefits,
and other direct and indirect costs per detailed instructions in
application package.
Note: the 22% limitation of ``administrative costs'' included in
previous announcements does NOT apply to this RFP.
E/P encourages cost-sharing, which may be in the form of allowable
direct or indirect costs. E/P would be especially interested in
proposals which demonstrate a program vision which goes well beyond
that which can be supported by the requested USIA grant and which would
try to use a USIA grant to leverage additional funding from other
sources to support elements of the broader program plan.
The Recipient must maintain written records to support all
allowable costs which are claimed as being its contribution to cost
participation, as well as costs to be paid by the Federal Government.
Such records are subject to audit. The basis for determining the value
of cash and in-kind contributions must be in accordance with OMB
Circular A-110, Attachment E, ``Cost-sharing and Matching,'' and should
be described in the proposal. In the event the Recipient does not meet
the minimum amount of cost-sharing as stipulated in the Recipient's
budget, the Agency's contribution will be reduced in proportion to the
Recipient's contribution.
Please Note all delegates will be covered under the terms of a
USIA-sponsored health insurance policy. The premium is paid by USIA
directly to the insurance company.
Application Requirements
Proposals must be structured in accordance with the instructions
contained in the Application Package. Confirmation letters from U.S.
and foreign co-sponsors noting their intention to participate in the
program will enhance a proposal.
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 established herein and in the
Application Package.
Eligible proposals will be forwarded to panels of USIA officers for
advisory review. Proposals will be reviewed by USIS posts and by USIA's
Office of Near Eastern, North African, and South Asian Affairs.
Proposals may also be reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel or
other Agency elements. Funding is at the discretion of the Associate
Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final technical
authority for granting awards resides with USIA's contracting officer.
The awarding of any grant is subject to availability of funds.
The U.S. Government reserves the right to reject any or all
applications received. USIA will not pay for design and development
costs associated with submitting a proposal. Applications are submitted
at the risk of the applicant; should circumstances prevent the awarding
of a grant, all preparation and submission costs are at the applicant's
expense. USIA will not award funds for activities conducted prior to
the actual grant award.
Review Criteria
USIA will consider proposals based on the following criteria:
1. Quality of Program Idea
Proposals should exhibit substance, originality, rigor, and
relevance to the Agency mission. They should demonstrate the matching
of U.S. resources to a clearly defined need.
2. Institutional Reputation/Ability
Institutions should demonstrate their potential for effective
program design and implementation and provide, if available, evidence
of having conducted successful programs. If an applicant has previously
received a USIA grant, responsible fiscal management and full
compliance with all reporting requirements for past Agency grants, as
determined by USIA's Office of Contracts (M/KG), will be considered.
Evaluations of previous projects may also be considered in this
assessment.
3. Project Personnel
Information provided regarding the thematic and logistical
expertise of project personnel should be relevant to the proposal at
hand. In addition to English teaching specialists, applicants for this
grant should have involved, on a consultative basis, individuals with
Middle Eastern and conflict resolution expertise. Resumes or C.V.s
should be summaries appropriate to the specific proposal and should not
exceed two pages each.
4. Program Planning
A detailed agenda and relevant work plan should demonstrate
substantive rigor and logistical capacity.
5. Thematic Expertise
The proposal should demonstrate the organization's expertise in the
subject area and its ability to share information effectively.
6. Cross-Cultural Sensitivity/Area Expertise
Evidence should be provided of sensitivity to historical,
linguistic, religious, and other cross-cultural factors, as well as
relevant knowledge of the target geographic area/country.
7. Ability To Achieve Program Objectives
Objectives should be realistic and feasible. The proposal should
clearly demonstrate how the grantee institution will meet program
objectives.
8. Multiplier Effect
Proposed programs should strengthen mutual understanding and should
contribute to maximum sharing of information and the establishment of
long-term institutional and individual ties.
9. Cost-Effectiveness
Costs to USIA per exchange participant (American and foreign)
should be kept to a minimum, and all items proposed for USIA funding
should be necessary and appropriate to achieve the program's
objectives.
10. Cost-Sharing
Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through private sector
support as well as through direct funding contributions and/or in-kind
support from the prospective grantee organization and its partners.
11. Follow-On Activities
Proposals should provide a plan for continued exchange activity
(without USIA support) which ensures that USIA-supported programs are
not isolated events.
12. Project Evaluation
Proposals should include a plan to evaluate the project. USIA
recommends that the applicant discuss the evaluation methodology chosen
and the techniques which will be employed to assess the effectiveness
of the project and the correspondence between observable outcomes and
original project objectives. Grantees will be expected to submit
intermediate reports after each project component is concluded or
quarterly, whichever is less frequent.
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 which contradicts
published language will not be binding. Issuance of the RFP does not
constitute an award commitment on the part of the American Government.
Awards cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated by
Congress and allocated and committed through internal USIA procedures.
Notification
All applicants will be notified of the results of the review
process on or about September 16, 1994. Awarded grants will be subject
to periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.
Dated: June 11, 1994.
Barry Fulton,
Deputy Associate Director, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-14693 Filed 6-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M
