Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Notices 64255

and its staff will meet both programs’

objectives. Proposed personnel and

organizational resources must be

adequate and appropriate to implement

the program in each country.

3. Organization’s track record:

Relevant USIA and outside assessments

of the organization’s experience with

academic exchanges with the NIS,

including responsible fiscal

management and full compliance with

all reporting requirements for past

grants as determined by USIA’s Office of

Contracts.

4. Multiplier effect/impact: Proposed

programs must demonstrate an impact

on the wider community through the

sharing of information and the

establishment of long-term institutional

and individual linkages.

5. Cost-effectiveness: A key measure

of cost-effectiveness is USIA’s cost per

participant. This is the total funds

requested from USIA divided by the

number of participant-months (number

of participants multiplied by the

number of program months). Overhead

and administrative costs, including

salaries and honoraria, should be kept

as low as possible. All other items

should be necessary and appropriate.

6. Cost-sharing: Preference will be

given to proposals that seek to maximize

cost-sharing through other private sector

support as well as institutional direct

funding contributions.

7. Value of U.S.-partner country

relations: The assessment by USIA’s

geographic area office of the need

potential impact, and significance of the

project with the partner country.

8. Support of diversity and pluralism:

Proposals should demonstrate

substantive support of the Bureau’s

policy on diversity through the

recruitment, selection and placement of

participants, to the extent feasible for

organizations.

9. Follow-on activities: 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.

10. Program evaluation: 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.

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.

Options for Renewals

Subject to the availability of funding

for FY 1999 and FY 2000, and the

satisfactory performance of grant

programs, USIA may invite grantee

organizations to submit proposals for

renewal assistance awards for two fiscal

year cycles.

Notification

Final awards cannot be made until

funds have been appropriated by

Congress, allocated and committed

through internal USIA procedures.

Dated: December 1, 1997.

Robert L. Earle,

Deputy Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–31787 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship

Program

ACTION: Request for proposals.

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.
64256 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Notices

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: TREED@USIA.GOV 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 semifinal 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.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Notices 64257

3. Notification

Describe plans for notifying

applicants who have been selected for

an award, including timely confirmation

of placement, scheduling of predeparture orientation, and all logistical

arrangements.

4. Special Programs

Describe provisions for ESL or preacademic programs, if necessary;

5. Orientation

Describe plans for pre-departure, postarrival 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 USIAsponsored 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.
64258 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Notices

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 longterm 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 USIAsupported 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

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Notice of Meeting of the Cultural

Property Advisory Committee

In accordance with the provisions of

the Convention on Cultural Property

Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603 et

seq.) there will be a meeting of the

Cultural Property Advisory Committee

on December 19, 1997, from

approximately 9:00 a.m. to

approximately 4:00 p.m., at the United

States Information Agency, Washington,

D.C. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2605(g), the

Committee will review the status of

implementation of the Memorandum of

Understanding Between the

Government of the United States of

America and the Government of the

Republic of El Salvador Concerning the

Imposition of Import Restrictions on

Certain Categories of Archaeological

Material from the Prehispanic Cultures

of the Republic of El Salvador, signed in

March 1995. This portion of the meeting

will be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

552b(c)(9)(B) and 19 U.S.C. 2605(h).

The Committee’s agenda will also

include a discussion of its internal

procedures for developing findings and

recommendations for bilateral cultural

property agreements and emergency

measures. This portion of the meeting

will be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

552b(c)(2). The closed portions of the

meeting will be from approximately

10:30 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m.

In addition, the Committee will

review a CD-Rom image database project

and a worldwide website project being

developed in support of the ongoing

efforts of the Committee and the Agency

to implement the 1970 UNESCO

Convention. This portion of the meeting

will be open from approximately 9:00

a.m. to approximately 10:30 a.m. during

which time public comment concerning

matters before the Committee will be

invited. Seating is limited. Persons

wishing to attend this portion of the

meeting must notify Cultural Property

staff at 202–619–6612 by 12:00 Noon

(EST) Thursday, December 18, 1997, to

arrange for admission.

Dated: November 28, 1997.

Penn Kemble,

Deputy Director, United States Information

Agency.

Determination to Close a Portion of the

Meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory

Committee, December 19, 1997

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B),

19 U.S.C. 2605(h), and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2), I

hereby determine that portions of the

Cultural Property Advisory Committee

meeting on December 19, 1997, during which

there will be discussions involving (a)

information the premature disclosure of

which would be likely to significantly

frustrate implementation of proposed actions,

and (b) the internal operating procedures of

the Committee, will be closed.

Dated: November 28, 1997.

Penn Kemble,

Deputy Director, United States Information

Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–31785 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M