Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 1997 / Notices 5679

Dated: January 31, 1997.

Catherine C.M. Teti,

Director, Records Management and

Information Policy.

[FR Doc. 97–2958 Filed 2–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6720–01–P

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Partners in Education Program

ACTION: Notice—request for proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Academic

Programs of the United States

Information Agency’s Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an

assistance award program, not to exceed

$850,000. U.S. educational and other

not-for-profit organizations with a

minimum of four years experience in

successfully administering international

exchange programs, meeting the

provisions described in IRS regulation

26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)–1, may apply to

develop a six-week professional

internship program for approximately

90 secondary school educators in the

social sciences and secondary school

administrators, with language

proficiency, from Russia and Ukraine, in

a 60 to 40 ratio respectively. We

envision that some of the hosting U.S.

school administrators will visit the

schools of their Russian and Ukrainian

participants under the grant to

strengthen the partnerships. This

initiative is intended to provide

participants with opportunities to learn

about secondary level curriculum

development and teaching

methodologies in the U.S. The program

will add a secondary school teacher

component to the Agency’s academic

programming in Russia and Ukraine,

and will build upon USIA’s previous

linkages in the NIS, such as

‘‘Community Connections’’ and youth

exchange. While in the U.S., the

teachers and administrators will have

the opportunity to pursue curriculum

development in their own field of

interest and learn new teaching

methodologies and approaches through

five-week internships in U.S. high

schools. The internship duration for the

administrators may be less than five

weeks, subject to individuals’

availability. The proposed program will

span three academic semesters, starting

in the fall of 1997. The contracted

organization will be expected to recruit

in Russia and Ukraine. After an

orientation in Washington, D.C.,

grantees will be placed in small groups

at various school districts in the U.S.,

and assigned internships in local high

schools. Activities for the Russian and

Ukrainian teachers and administrators

would include: Observing classes,

curriculum development, and teaching

methods; delivering presentations to

student and faculty on their own

schools, local educational systems, and

communities, either alone or together

with their foreign colleagues; reviewing

and collecting teaching materials for

possible use in their home schools; and

collaborating with U.S. school

administrators to provide an

understanding of the U.S. educational

system at the local level. Teachers and

administrators should also come to

understand the relationship between the

community and the educational system.

The teachers and administrators would

also engage in site visits to other

schools, deliver presentations at those

schools as well as to local civic and

community groups, and attend PTA and

school board meetings. We also

encourage participants to establish

contacts that will foster ongoing school

linkages upon their return to Russia and

Ukraine. Program participants will be

required to meet established criteria

upon completion of the program.

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

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

Freedom Support Act, P.L. 102–511.

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/

ASX–97–01.

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 on 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Ilo-Mai Harding, Teacher Exchange

Branch, E/ASX, room 349, 301 4th

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

telephone: (202) 619–4556, fax: (202)

401–1433, Internet:

IHARDING@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/

Specialist, Teacher Exchange branch 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 10 copies of

the application should be sent to: U.S.

Information Agency, Ref.: E/ASX–97–

01, Office of Grants Management, E/XE,

Room 326, 301 4th Street, SW.,

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 this 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
5680 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 1997 / Notices

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview

Grant funding is intended to provide

opportunities for 90 committed and

engaged—especially younger—Russian

and Ukrainian teachers and

administrators from secondary schools

and pedagogical institutions to actively

participate in six-week internships in

U.S. high schools. These potential

future educational leaders would be

placed in various senior high school

clusters around the U.S. to experience

and gain first-hand exposure to the U.S.

educational community. USIA is

interested in proposals that foster longterm linkages between U.S. high schools

and comparable Russian and Ukrainian

schools and pedagogical institutes. The

participating U.S. schools should reflect

a broad institutional and geographic

diversity. Additionally, the recipient

institution should be mindful of USIA’s

goal to reflect the cultural and ethnic

diversity of the U.S. in all programs.

While the benefits of the exchange may

be directly enjoyed by the Russian and

Ukrainian participants, the American

institutions and individuals will also

gain from the cultural and professional

expertise which these foreign educators

are able to offer.

Guidelines

Eligibility

U.S. non-profit educational and other

not-for-profit organizations with a

minimum of four years experience in

successfully administering international

exchange programs are eligible to apply.

Program Planning and Administration

The recipient organization will be

responsible for activities related to

recruitment, screening, orientation

coordination, monitoring in the U.S.

and program evaluation. The recipient

organization will also be responsible for

the identification of up to ten U.S.

school districts for participation in the

program. However, the recipient

organization will maintain overall

oversight for the program.

A. Publicity, Recruitment, Selection,

and Placement of Russian and

Ukrainian Teachers and Administrators

USIA will be responsible for the final

selection of all Russian and Ukrainian

candidates. Participants will be

recruited by the recipient organization,

based in Russia and Ukraine, under

contract with USIA. Special emphasis

will be placed on selecting groups of 6

to 8 qualified candidates, from targeted

geographic regions, subject to the

concurrence of the U.S. Information

Services (USIS) in Moscow and Kiev.

Priority should be given to recruitment

from cities/regions targeted in USIA’s

Business for Russia and Community

Connections programs. For example, in

Russia: Altai Krai, Moscow, Kemerovo,

Tula, Karelia, Vladivostok, Nizhny

Novgorod, Irkutsk, Chelysbinsk, Rostov,

Ekaterinburg, and Tomsk; in Ukraine:

Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk,

Khmeinytskyy, Lviv, Mariupol,

Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sevastopol,

Simferopol, Ternopil, Uzhorod, and

Zaporizhia. The recipient organization

will be responsive for:

—Formulating applications and

publicizing the program;

—Reviewing the Russian and Ukrainian

dossiers, and conducting interviews;

and

—Placing the teachers and

administrators in appropriate

assignments after securing the

approval of each candidate by the

hosting school district.

Selected participants will be fluent in

English. Teachers need to have a

minimum of two years experience and

should be from such disciplines as the

social studies and history.

Administrators need to have been in

leadership positions in their home

schools for a minimum of two years.

Special emphasis should be placed on

candidates displaying the commitment

to follow-on activities who will apply

elements of the exchange experience to

his/her classroom or school activities

with a demonstrated impact on

students, other district teachers and the

community.

B. Logistics, Orientation and

Maintenance

The recipient organization will be

responsible for:

—Arranging in-bond and out-bound

international travel for all

participants;

—Coordinating domestic transportation

in Russia and Ukraine to and from the

point of international travel with

USIS in Moscow and Kiev, if

requested by USIS;

—Arranging U.S. domestic and local

travel for all participants;

—Preparing and sending necessary predeparture orientation materials to all

participants;

—Conducting an orientation seminar on

the U.S. educational system upon

arrival in the U.S.;

—Disbursing stipends and

administering tax withholding and

reporting as required by Federal,

State, and local authorities and in

accordance with relevant tax treaties;

—Providing assistance to Russian and

Ukrainian participants regarding tax

procedures;

—Enrolling participants in USIA

insurance programs and preparing

insurance identification cards:

—Communicaitng clearly the guidelines

and information regarding visa

regulations and the participants’

expedient return upon completion of

the program.

Programs must comply with J–1 visa

regulations. Please refer to program

specific guidelines (POGI) in the

Solicitation Package for further details.

C. Identifying and Coordinating the

Activities of the Host U.S. School

Districts

The recipient organization will be

responsible for:

—Identifying, recruiting, and selecting

up to ten school districts, to

collaborate, on a sub-contractual

basis, in hosting selected groups of

teachers for the school-based

internships;

—The sub-contracted organizations will

also organize homestays and

participant visits to several local high

schools during the five weeks

following an orientation/workshop in

Washington, DC.

Each segment has approximately 30

participants, and takes place during one

school semester (there will be three

segments conducted in three sequential

semesters). We envision a program

agenda guided by the following:

Six-Week Program Agenda

(30 Working days—12 weekend days)

—Three groups of 8–12 arrive in

Washington, D.C., preferably, for an

intensive orientation/workshop that

will include sessions on cross-cultural

training, education in the U.S.,

curricula and methodology in U.S.

schools, and administrative matters

[each group will include one or more

administrator(s)].

—Groups then proceed to school

districts, for twenty working days, to

shadow professional colleagues,

observe educational and
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 1997 / Notices 5681

administrative activities, and talk and

teach about their respective

professional expertise.

—At least five days, during the

assignment to school districts, must

be devoted to workshops, in-service

training, curriculum development

training, etc. Training can be

interspersed during the program or

conducted in five consecutive days.

—Working days:

Orientaiton/Workshop—3–4 days

Training—5 days

In classroom—20 days

(Weekends are reserved for traveling

and homestays)

The grantee organization is expected

to solicit the services of educational/

curriculum specialist(s) to design and

advise about program content. The

advisor(s) will also serve as a consultant

for program participants to enhance the

professional aspects during the training

days. We envision the following

thematically focused professional

activities:

(1) Civic Education: Visit local,

municipal government and learn about

local control of education. Interact with

civic education teachers, observe their

classes, and collect curricula materials.

(2) Methodology/Curriculum

Development Seminar: Participate in

local, or district workshop/seminars on

methodology and curriculum

development/implementation.

(3) Site Visits: Visit local professional

organizations, educational institutions

in order to supplement the learning

experience.

All hosting U.S. high schools will be

required to submit a brief written

proposal that outlines commitment and

program goals. The grantee organization

will be authorized to offer a financial

incentive (not to exceed $5,000) for each

participating U.S. school district.

Proposed budget: The contracted

organization must submit a

comprehensive line-item budget based

on the specific guidance in the

Solicitation Package. There must be a

summary budget as well as a breakdown reflecting both the administrative

budget and the program budget. For

better understanding or further

clarification, applicants may provide

separate sub-budgets for each program

component, phase, location, or activity

in order to facilitate USIA decisions on

funding. Administrative costs should be

kept low; this will be an important

factor in grant competition. Also, the

ability to maximize the number of

grantees within budget guidelines will

enhance competitive proposals.

Allowable costs for the program

include the following:

(1) Participant Costs: Total (per

participant)= $6,175.

—Stipends: $3,000

—Airfare (international/domestic):

$1,900

—Health Insurance: $75

—Book Materials Allowance: $1,000

—Misc: $200

(2) Program Expenses: Total =

$75,000.

—Sub-Contracts with School districts:

$50,000

—Academic Advisor: $25,000

(3) Orientation/workshop Costs: Total

(per participant) = $660.00.

—Per diem and logistical expenses:

$165 a day

Please refer to the Solicitation

Package for complete budget guidelines

and formatting instructions.

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 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 exhibit originality,

substance, precision, and relevance to

Agency mission and principles in the

Freedom Support Act.

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 long-term

mutual understanding, 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 U.S. participating

institutions, program venue and

program evaluation) and program

content.

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 USIA

supported 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

techniques 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).
5682 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 1997 / Notices

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 31, 1997.

Dell Pendergrast,

Deputy Associated Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–2906 Filed 2–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M