4572 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 20 / Thursday, January 30, 1997 / Notices

Solicitation Package for the entire

program. There must be a summary

budget as well as a break-down

reflecting both the administrative

budget and the program budget. For

better understanding or further

clarification, applicants must provide

separate sub-budgets for each program

component, phase, location, or activity

in order to facilitate USIA decisions on

funding.

Budget guidelines apply to proposals

submitted in both Category A and B

described above.

Allowable costs for the program

include the following:

(1) round-trip international travel via an

American flag carrier;

(2) domestic travel;

(3) maintenance and per diem;

(4) academic program costs (e.g. book

allowance);

(5) orientation costs;

(6) cultural enrichment costs (e.g.

admissions, tickets, etc.);

(7) U.S.-based administration costs (e.g.

advertisement, recruitment and

selection costs).

Please refer to the Solicitation

Package (the Proposal Submission

Instructions or PSI) for complete budget

guidelines for formatting instructions.

Administrative costs are not to exceed

20 percent of the requested budget.

Cost-sharing is strongly encouraged.

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 USIA Office of Academic Programs,

as well as by the USIA Office of North

African, Near Eastern, and South Asian

Affairs and the USIA post(s) overseas,

where appropriate. Proposals may 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 idea:

Proposals should exhibit originality,

substance, precision, and relevance to

Agency mission.

2. Program planning: Detailed agenda

and relevant work plan should

demonstrate substantive undertakings

and logistical capacity. Agenda and plan

should adhere to the program overview

and guidelines described above.

3. Ability to achieve program

objectives: Objectives should be

reasonable, feasible, and flexible.

Proposals should clearly demonstrate

how the institution will meet the

program’s objectives and plan.

4. Multiplier effect/impact: Proposed

programs should strengthen mutual

understandings, including maximum

sharing of information and

establishment of long-term institutional

and individual linkages.

5. 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, program

venue and program evaluation) and

program content (orientation and wrapup sessions, program meetings, resource

materials and follow-on activities).

6. Institutional Capacity: Proposed

personnel and institutional resources

should be adequate and appropriate to

achieve the program or project’s goals.

7. Institution’s 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.

8. Follow-on Activities: Proposals

should provide a plan for continued

follow-on activity (without USIA

support) which ensures that USIAsupported programs are not isolated

events.

9. Project Evaluation: Proposals

should include a plan to evaluate the

activity’s success, both as the activities

unfold and at the end of the program. A

draft survey questionnaire or other

technique plus description of a

methodology to use to link outcomes to

original project objectives is

recommended. Successful applicants

will be expected to submit intermediate

reports after each project component is

concluded or quarterly, whichever is

less frequent.

10. Cost-effectiveness: 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.

11. Cost-sharing: Proposals should

maximize cost-sharing through other

private sector support as well as

institutional direct funding

contributions.

12. Value to U.S.-Partner Country

Relations: Proposed projects should

receive positive assessments by USIA’s

geographic area desk and overseas

officers of program need, potential

impact, and significance in the partner

country(ies).

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: January 24, 1997.

Dell Pendergrast,

Deputy Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–2302 Filed 1–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

Telecommunications Training Program

for Slovenia

ACTION: Notice—request for proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen

Exchanges of the United States

Information Agency’s Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an

assistance award. Public and private

non-profit organizations meeting the

provisions described in IRS regulation

26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)–1 may apply to

develop training programs in

telecommunications for Slovenia.

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 FulbrightHays Act. The purpose of the Act is ‘‘to

enable the Government of the United

States to increase mutual understanding
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 20 / Thursday, January 30, 1997 / Notices 4573

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 Eastern European

Democracies Act.

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 Title and Number: All

communications with USIA concerning

this announcement should refer to the

above title and reference number E/P–

97–23.

Deadline for Proposals: All copies

must be received at the U.S. Information

Agency by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time

on Friday, March 14, 1997. Faxed

documents will not be accepted, nor

will documents postmarked March 14,

1997 but received at a later date. It is the

responsibility of each applicant to

ensure that proposals are received by

the above deadline.

Program activities should begin after

June 1, 1997.

For Further Information, Contact: The

Office of Citizen Exchanges, E/PE, Room

216, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547,

telephone: 202–619–5319, fax: 202–

619–4350, e-mail address:

(cminer@usia.gov} to request a

Solicitation Package containing more

detailed award criteria, 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/

or from the Internet Gopher at gopher/

/gopher.usia.gov. Under the heading

‘‘International Exchanges/Training,’’

select ‘‘Request for Proposals (RFPs).’’

Please read ‘‘About the Following RFPs’’

before downloading.

Please specify USIA Program Officer

Christina Miner on all inquiries and

correspondences. 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 eight copies

of the application should be sent to:

U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/P–97–

23, Office of Grants Management, E/XE,

Room 326, 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) 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 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.

Supplementary Information:

Overview: Slovenia is beginning the

process of restructuring its

telecommunications sector.

Restructuring involves liberalizing the

provision of voice and data telephony

services and providing opportunities for

alternative telecom operators and

networks to offer more advanced

products and services to a nation than

had been previously available. The first

step is the adoption of legislation

authorizing new entrants into the

nation’s telecom arena. USIA is

interested in proposals that will provide

an overview of the U.S.

telecommunications sector with special

attention focussing on the regulatory

structure as provided by an independent

regulatory authority such as the U.S.

Federal Communications Commission;

the effects of liberalization and

privatization on the telecom sector and

how this restructuring can be

accomplished; and the introduction of

new telecommunications products and

services to consumers and how this can

be accomplished in other markets.

Participants should include officials

from the incumbent

telecommunications service provider;

government officials from the ministry

and parliamentary body that will

oversee the restructuring of the telecom

sector; and other participants who may

represent vendors or potential new

networks. The primary component of

this project will be a U.S. study tour to

give participants an idea of how the

telecommunications sector functions in

the U.S. Exchange and training

programs supported by institutional

grants should operate at two levels: they

should enhance institutional

relationships; and they should offer

practical and comparative information

to individuals to assist them with their

professional responsibilities. Strong

proposals usually have the following

characteristics: an existing partner

relationship between an American

organization and a host-country

institution; a proven track record of

conducting program activity; cost

sharing from American or in-country

sources, including donations of air fares,

hotel and housing costs; experienced

staff with language facility; and a clear,

convincing plan showing how

permanent results will be accomplished

as a result of the activity funded by the

grant. USIA wants to see tangible forms

of time and money contributed to the

project by the prospective grantee

institution, as well as funding from

third party sources.

Note: Research projects or projects limited

to technical issues are not eligible for support

nor are film festivals or exhibits. Exchange

programs for students or faculty or proposals

that request support for the development of

university curricula or for degree-based

programs are also ineligible under this RFP.

Proposals to link university departments or

to exchange faculty and/or students are

funded by USIA’s Office of Academic

Programs (E/A) under the University

Affiliation Program and should not be

submitted in response to this RFP.

Guidelines

1. All grant proposals must clearly

describe the type of persons who will

participate in the program as well as the

process by which participants will be

selected. Note that participants should

be professionals working in the field of

telecommunications and not members

of university faculties. In the selection

of all foreign participants, USIA and

USIS posts retain the right to nominate

participants and to approve or reject

participants recommended by the
4574 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 20 / Thursday, January 30, 1997 / Notices

program institution. Programs must also

comply with J–1 visa regulations.

2. Programs that include internships

in the U.S. should provide letters

tentatively committing host institutions

to support the internships. Letters of

commitment from the hosts of study

tour site visits should also be included,

if applicable.

3. Applicants are encouraged to

consult with USIS offices regarding

program content and partner

institutions before submitting proposals.

Award-receiving applicants will be

expected to maintain contact with the

USIS post throughout the grant period.

Proposal Budget

Please refer to the Solicitation

Package for complete budget guidelines

instructions.

Applicants must submit a detailed

line item budget based on specific

instructions in the Program and Budget

Submission Instructions. Proposals for

less than $60,000 will receive

preference.

The following project costs are

eligible for consideration for funding:

1. International and domestic air

fares; visas; transit costs; ground

transportation costs.

2. Per Diem. For the U.S. program,

organizations have the option of using a

flat $140/day for program participants

or the published U.S. Federal per diem

rates for individual American cities. For

activities outside the U.S., the published

Federal per diem rates must be used.

NOTE: U.S. escorting staff must use the

published Federal per diem rates, not

flat rate.

3. Interpreters. If needed, interpreters

for the U.S. program are provided by the

U.S. State Department Language

Services Division. Typically, a pair of

simultaneous interpreters is provided

for every four visitors. USIA grants do

not pay for foreign interpreters to

accompany delegations from their home

country. Grant proposal budgets should

contain a flat $140/day per diem for

each Department of State interpreter, as

well as home-program-home air

transportation of $400 per interpreter

plus any U.S. travel expenses during the

program. Salary expenses are covered

centrally and should not be part of an

applicant’s proposed budget.

4. Book and cultural allowance.

Participants are entitled to and escorts

are reimbursed a one-time cultural

allowance of $150 per person, plus a

participant book allowance of $50. U.S.

staff do not get these benefits.

5. Consultants. May be used to

provide specialized expertise or to make

presentations. Daily honoraria generally

do not exceed $250 per day.

Subcontracting organizations may also

be used, in which case the written

agreement between the prospective

grantee and subcontractor should be

included in the proposal.

6. Room rental, which generally

should not exceed $250 per day.

7. Materials development. Proposals

may contain costs to purchase, develop,

and translate materials for participants.

8. One working meal per project. Per

capita costs may not exceed $5–8 for a

lunch and $14–20 for a dinner,

excluding room rental. The number of

invited guests may not exceed

participants by more than a factor of

two-to-one.

9. A return travel allowance of $70 for

each participant which is to be used for

incidental expenditures incurred during

international travel.

10. All USIA-funded delegates will be

covered under the terms of a USIAsponsored health insurance policy. The

premium is paid by USIA directly to the

insurance company.

11. 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 the application package.

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 USIA post overseas, where

appropriate. Proposals may 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 idea:

Proposals should respond to the

program requirements of the RFP.

2. Program planning and ability to

achieve objectives: Program objectives

should be stated clearly and precisely

and should reflect the applicant’s

expertise in the subject area and the

region. Goals should be reasonable and

attainable. A detailed agenda and

relevant work plan should demonstrate

how objectives will be achieved. A

timetable indicating when major

program tasks will be undertaken

should be provided. The substance of

seminars, presentations, consulting,

internships, and itineraries should be

spelled out in detail. Responsibilities of

incountry partners should be clearly

described.

3. 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, program

venue and program evaluation) and

program content (orientation and wrapup sessions, program meetings, resource

materials and follow-up activities).

4. 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.

5. Institutional Capacity: Proposed

personnel and institutional resources

should be adequate and appropriate to

achieve the program or project’s goals.

The narrative should demonstrate

proven ability to handle logistics.

Proposals should reflect the institution’s

expertise in the subject area and

knowledge of Slovenia.

6. Follow-on Activities: Proposals

should provide a plan for continued

follow-on activity (without USIA

support) which ensures that USIA

supported programs are not isolated

events.

7. Project Evaluation: Proposals

should include a plan and methodology

to evaluate the project’s success, both as

the activities unfold and at the end of

the program. USIA recommends that the

proposal include a draft survey

questionnaire and/or plan for use of

another measurement technique (such

as a focus group) to link outcomes to

original project objectives. Awardreceiving organizations/institutions will

be expected to submit intermediate

reports after each project component is

concluded or quarterly, whichever is

less frequent.

8. Cost-effectiveness/cost sharing: The

overhead and administrative

components of the proposal, including

salaries, honoraria, and subcontracts for

services, 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
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 20 / Thursday, January 30, 1997 / Notices 4575

institutional direct funding

contributions.

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: January 24, 1997.

Dell Pendergrast,

Deputy Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–2303 Filed 1–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M