Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 220 / Friday, November 14, 1997 / Notices 61165

Dated: November 6, 1997.

John F. Atwood,

Chief, Intellectual Property Rights Branch.

[FR Doc. 97–29922 Filed 11–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Elementary-Level Teacher Education in

Armenia

ACTION: 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. Public and private

non-profit organizations meeting the

provisions described in IRS regulation

26 CFR 1.501(c) may apply to develop

an approximately two-year program to

train a group of Armenian educators of

elementary level teachers, to develop a

manual for elementary teacher

education for use in Armenia, and to

assist the Armenian educators to pilottest the manual in Armenia.

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 (FSA).

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 RFP should refer to the

announcement’s title and reference

number E/AS–98–02.

Deadline for Proposals: All copies

must be received at the U.S. Information

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

on Friday, January 16, 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. It is anticipated that

program activities will begin

approximately in March, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The Advising, Teaching, and

Specialized Programs Division, Room

349, Office of Academic Programs, U.S.

Information Agency, 302 4th Street,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547; or 202–

619–6038 (telephone), 202–619–6790

(telefax), or sukux@usia.gov (Internet) to

request a Solicitation Package

containing more detailed information

and instructions. 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 Solicitation

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

Sally Kux 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/AS–98–02,

Office of Grants Management, E/XE,

Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20547.

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 to 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. 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 objective of this project is to work

in partnership with the Armenian

Ministry of Education to update

Armenian in-service and pre-service

training for elementary-level teachers

(grades 1–4) by training a core team of

Armenian teacher educators and by

assisting them to develop a handbook

on elementary education. The project

will comprise three phases which are

describe in detail in the Project

Objectives, Goals, and Implementation

(POGI).

Participants

The Armenian team will consist of

approximately 6 educators representing

the general content areas of elementary

education in Armenia. These areas are

mathematics, language (Armenian,

Russian, and English) natural science,

arts, and physical education. Armenian

participants will be proficient in

English.

Guidelines

Programs must comply with J–1 visa

regulations. Please refer to program

specific guidelines (POGI) in the

Solicitation Package for further details.

Proposed Budget

Applicants must submit a

comprehensive line item budget based

on the specific guidance in the

Solicitation Package. The award will not

exceed $300,000. Administrative costs

may not exceed 25% of the total USIAfunded expenses.

Grants awarded to eligible

organizations with less than four years

of experience in conducting

international exchange programs will be

limited to $60,000. Please refer to the

Solicitation Package for complete

budget guidelines and formatting

instructions.
61166 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 220 / Friday, November 14, 1997 / Notices

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 USIS Erevan. 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, relevance to

Agency mission, and responsiveness to

the objectives and guidelines stated in

this solicitation. Proposals should

demonstrate substantive expertise.

2. Program Planning and Evaluation

Detailed agenda and work plan

should demonstrate substantive

undertakings and logistical capacity and

should adhere to the program overview

and guidelines stated above. Proposals

should include a plan for continuous

and summative evaluations.

3. Ability To Achieve Program

Objectives

Objectives should be reasonable,

feasible, and flexible. Proposals should

clearly demonstrate how the institution

will meet the program objectives and

how continuous evaluation will be used

to adjust program plans as needed.

4. Multiplier Effect/Impact

Proposed programs should strengthen

long-term mutual understanding,

including maximum sharing of

information and establishment of longterm 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 wrap-up

sessions, program meetings, resource

materials and follow-up activities).

6. Institutional Capacity

Proposed personnel and institutional

resources should be adequate and

appropriate to achieve the program

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) to ensure ongoing

communication and involvement with

Armenian teacher education projects.

9. Cost-Effectiveness and 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.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this REP 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: November 6, 1997.

Robert L. Earle,

Deputy Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–29913 Filed 11–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M