67438 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 218 / Thursday, November 9, 2000 / Notices

should be necessary and appropriate.

Proposals should maximize cost-sharing

through other private sector support as

well as institutional direct funding

contributions.

Authority

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 above is provided through

legislation of the Freedom Support Act.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP are binding and may not be

modified by any Bureau representative.

Explanatory information provided by

the Bureau 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 Bureau 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 Bureau procedures.

Dated: November 1, 2000.

Helena Kane Finn,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau

of Educational and Cultural Affairs,

Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–28674 Filed 11–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3462]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs; NIS Community College

Partnerships Program

NOTICE: Request for Proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Global

Educational Programs of the United

States Department of State’s Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an

assistance award program. Accredited

institutions offering the two-year

Associate’s degree and meeting the

provisions described in IRS regulation

26 CFR 1.501(c) may apply to pursue

institutional or departmental objectives

in international partnerships with

counterpart institutions from Georgia,

Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine

or Uzbekistan. The underlying purposes

of these partnerships should be: (1) To

support through teaching, scholarship,

and professional outreach from the

partner institutions, the transition of the

New Independent States to democratic

systems based on market economies;

and (2) to strengthen mutual

understanding and cooperation between

the United States and the New

Independent States. Eligible fields are

education, continuing education or

educational administration; the social,

political or economic sciences;

business/accounting/trade; or

journalism/communications.

Program Information

The NIS Community College

Partnerships Program is designed to

encourage community colleges to share

with their educational partners in the

NIS their practical experience in

designing and implementing programs

which provide targeted training in

professional fields; provide outreach

and services to surrounding

communities; and provide education to

underserved populations.

In general, underlying the specific

objectives of projects funded by this

program should be the goal of fostering

freedom and democracy through a

deepened mutual understanding of

fundamental issues and practical

applications in the encouragement of

civil society, economic growth and

prosperity, or the free flow of

information. Creative, innovative

strategies to address these underlying

concerns in the pursuit of clearly

defined institutional goals are

encouraged. The extension of

understanding about these issues

through outreach from academic

institutions to larger communities of

citizens and practitioners is encouraged,

particularly by linking educational

programs in the NIS to the communities

that they serve.

Support from the NIS Community

College Partnerships Program is limited

to partnerships with institutions in

Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia,

Ukraine and Uzbekistan. In addition,

the Bureau also supports institutional

linkages in higher education with

partners from these and other countries

in the New Independent States of the

former Soviet Union through the NIS

College and University Partnerships

Program. A Request for Proposals for

this project was announced on July 27,

2000 with a deadline of January 19,

2001. Community colleges are among

the institutions eligible to apply for that

competition. The Bureau supports

institutional linkages in higher

education with partners worldwide

through the College and University

Affiliations Program; a Request for

Proposals for this project was

announced separately on June 19, 2000

and has a deadline of November 13,

2000. Applicants interested in either of

these two programs should contact the

Bureau’s Humphrey Fellowships and

Institutional Linkages Branch at (202)

619–5289.

Applicant Objectives

In the NIS Community College

Partnerships Program, partner

institutions may pursue specific

institutional goals with support from the

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs through exchanges of teachers

and administrators for any appropriate

combination of teaching, consultation,

research, and outreach, for periods

ranging from one week (for planning

visits) to an academic year.

While the benefits of the project to

each of the participating institutions

may differ significantly in nature and

scope, proposals should outline wellreasoned strategies leading to specific,

demonstrable changes at the department

or institution in the NIS.

For example, proposals may describe

the parameters and possible content of

new courses, new research or teaching

capacities or methodologies, new or

revised curricula or programs, or other

changes anticipated as a result of the

project. Proposals to pursue a limited

number of related thematic objectives at

each institution are preferred to

proposals addressing a large number of

unrelated objectives.

Proposals must focus on curriculum,

faculty, and staff development at the

NIS partner institution(s) in one or more

of the eligible disciplines.

Administrative reform at the foreign

partner institution should also be a

project component. Projects should

involve the development of new

academic programs or the building and/

or restructuring of an existing program

or programs, and should promote higher

education’s role in the transition to

market economies and open democratic

systems. Whenever feasible, participants

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 218 / Thursday, November 9, 2000 / Notices 67439

should make their training and

personnel resources, as well as the

results of their collaborative work,

available to the government, NGOs, and

business community.

To provide adequate time to meet

institutional project objectives, the

Program awards grants for periods of

approximately three years. The strategy

for achieving project goals may include

visits in either or both directions, but no

single formula is anticipated for the

duration, sequence, or number of these

visits. However, visits of one semester

or more for participants from each of the

institutional partners are strongly

encouraged. Programs must comply

with J–1 visa regulations. Please refer to

Solicitation Package for further

information.

Although strong budgetary and

programmatic emphasis may be given to

visits in one direction over another, the

benefits of these visits to the sending as

well as the receiving sides should be

clearly explained in terms of their

contributions to the departmental or

institutional objectives that the project

is designed to achieve. Exchange visits

for the purpose of attending conferences

are not encouraged except in

combination with other grant activities

and in support of specific educational

objectives at one or more of the

participating institutions.

In addition to demonstrating the

capacity of each participating institution

to contribute to its partner(s), proposals

should also explain how this

cooperation would enable each of the

institutions to address its own needs.

Accordingly, applicants are encouraged

to describe the needs as well as the

capabilities of each participating

department as well as the broader social

and educational needs which the

partner institutions attempt to serve.

Effective proposals will explain the

anticipated cooperation in ways that

demonstrate that the institutions

proposed for participation in the

partnership clearly understand one

another and are committed to support

one another in project implementation.

If the proposed partnership would occur

within the context of a previous or ongoing project, the proposal should

explain how the request for Bureau

funding would build upon the preexisting relationship or complement

previous and concurrent projects, which

must be listed and described in an

appendix with details about the

amounts and sources of external

support.

Proposals should outline a

methodology for project evaluation. The

evaluation plan should include an

updated assessment of the current status

of each participating department’s and

institution’s needs at the time of

program inception; ongoing formative

evaluation to allow for prompt

corrective action; and, at the conclusion

of the project, summative evaluation of

the degree to which the project’s

objectives have been achieved together

with observations about the project’s

influence within the participating

institutions and their surrounding

communities or societies. The final

evaluation should also include

recommendations about how to build

upon project achievements, both with

and without the Bureau’s support.

Evaluative observations by external

consultants with appropriate subject or

regional expertise are especially

encouraged. Proposal budgets should

reflect evaluation plans.

Proposals must be submitted by the

U.S. institutional partner and must

include a letter of commitment from the

foreign partner(s). Faxed letters are

acceptable. The letters should be signed

by persons authorized to commit

institutional resources to the project.

U.S. and foreign partner institutions are

encouraged to consult about the

proposed project with program office

staff in Washington, DC.

Costs

The Bureau’s support may be used to

defray the costs of the exchange visits as

well as the costs of their administration

at any partner institution up to a

maximum of 20 percent of the total

grant, including administrative salaries.

All indirect costs are unallowable.

However, substantiated indirect costs

may be included as part of an

institution’s cost-sharing. Although

grants under this program will be issued

to eligible U.S. community colleges,

adequate provision for the

administrative costs of the project at all

partner institutions is encouraged.

Administrative salary support may be

included for project directors and

administrative assistants within the 20

percent maximum that may be allocated

to administrative costs. (See the section

of the POGI on allowable costs.)

Students may participate in the project,

but not with the Bureau’s support for

the costs of their visits.

The proposal may include a request

for funding to reinforce the activities of

exchange participants through the

establishment and maintenance of

Internet and/or electronic mail

communication facilities as well as

through interactive technology or nontechnology-based distance-learning

programs. However, projects focusing

primarily on technology or physical

infrastructure development are not

encouraged. Proposals that include

Internet, electronic mail, and other

interactive technologies should discuss

how the foreign partner institution

would support the costs of such

technologies after the project ends.

Applicants may propose other project

activities not specifically anticipated in

this solicitation if the activities reinforce

exchange activities and their impact.

The commitment of all partner

institutions to the proposed project

should be reflected in the cost-sharing

which they offer in the context of their

respective institutional capacities.

Although the contributions offered by

U.S. and foreign institutions with

relatively few resources may be less

than those offered by other applicants,

all participating institutions are

expected to identify substantial costs to

contribute. These costs may include the

estimated costs of in-kind contributions

for which funds are not exchanged.

Consistent with the ‘‘Review Criteria’’

for this competition listed elsewhere in

this document, proposed cost-sharing

will be considered an important

indicator of each participating

institution’s interest in the project and

of the institution’s potential to benefit

from it.

The maximum award in the FY 2001

competition will be $200,000. Requests

for amounts smaller than the maximum

are eligible. Budgets and budget notes

should carefully justify the amounts

requested. Grants awarded to

organizations with less than four years

of experience in conducting

international exchange programs will be

limited to $60,000. Grants are subject to

the availability of funds for Fiscal Year

2001.

Projects must conform with the

Bureau’s requirements and guidelines

outlined in the solicitation package for

this RFP, which can be obtained by

following the instructions given in the

section below entitled ‘‘For Further

Information’’. The Project Objectives,

Goals, and Implementation (hereafter,

POGI) and the Proposal Submission

Instructions (hereafter, PSI), which

contain additional guidelines, are

included in the Solicitation Package.

Proposals that do not follow RFP

requirements and the guidelines

appearing in the POGI and PSI may be

excluded from consideration due to

technical ineligibility.

Eligible Fields

The NIS Community College

Partnerships Program is limited to the

following academic fields:

(1) business/accounting/trade;

(2) education/continuing education/

educational administration;

67440 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 218 / Thursday, November 9, 2000 / Notices

(3) journalism/communications; and

(4) social, political, or economic

sciences.

U.S. Institution and Participant

Eligibility

In the United States, participation in

the program is open to accredited

institutions offering the two-year

Associate’s degree. Applications from

consortia and other combinations of

cooperating institutions are eligible.

Secondary U.S. partners may include

relevant non-governmental

organizations, non-profit service or

professional organizations, or other

institutions of higher education. If the

lead U.S. institution is responsible for

submitting an application on behalf of a

consortium, the application must

document the lead institution’s

authority to represent the consortium.

With the exception of outside evaluators

on contract with the U.S. institution,

participants representing the U.S.

institution(s) who are traveling under

Bureau grant funds must be faculty or

staff from the participating institution(s)

and must be U.S. citizens.

Foreign Institution and Participant

Eligibility

In other countries, participation is

open to recognized institutions of postsecondary education, including

pedagogical institutes and universities,

technical institutes and universities,

and vocational training schools.

Secondary foreign partners may include

relevant governmental and nongovernmental organizations, non-profit

service or professional organizations.

Participants representing the foreign

institutions must be faculty or staff of

the primary or secondary partner

institution, and be citizens, nationals, or

permanent residents of the country of

the foreign partner, and be qualified to

hold a valid passport and U.S. J–1 visa.

Foreign Country and Location Eligibility

Foreign partners from the following

countries are eligible:

Georgia;

Kazakhstan;

Moldova;

Russia—Preference will be given to

proposals that designate a partner

institution outside Moscow and St.

Petersburg. Proposals that designate a

partner institution in the Russian Far

East, Tomsk, or Samara region are

encouraged.

Ukraine—Preference will be given to

proposals that designate a partner

institution outside Kyiv.

Uzbekistan.

Ineligibility

A proposal may be deemed

technically ineligible if:

(1) It does not fully adhere to the

guidelines established herein and in the

Solicitation Package;

(2) It is not received by the deadline;

(3) It is not submitted by the U.S.

partner;

(4) One of the partner institutions is

ineligible;

(5) The academic discipline(s) is/are

not listed as eligible in the RFP, herein;

(6) The amount requested of the

Bureau exceeds $200,000 for the threeyear project.

Please refer to program-specific

guidelines (POGI) in the Solicitation

Package for further details.

Grant-Making Authority

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 for Russia and

Emerging Eurasian Democracies and

Open Markets Support Act of 1992

(FREEDOM Support Act).

Announcement Title and Number

All communications with the Bureau

concerning this RFP should refer to the

NIS Community College Partnerships

Program and reference number ECA/A/

S/U–01–10.

Deadline for Proposals

All copies must be received at the

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

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

on Friday, February 23, 2001. Faxed

documents will not be accepted at any

time, nor will documents postmarked

on Friday, February 23, 2001 but

received on a later date. It is the

responsibility of each applicant to

ensure compliance with the deadline.

Approximate program dates: Grants

should begin on or about August 15,

2001.

Duration: Approximately August 15,

2001–August 14, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please

contact the United States Department of

State, Bureau of Educational and

Cultural Affairs, Office of Global

Educational Programs, Humphrey

Fellowships and Institutional Linkages

Branch, State Annex 44 (ECA/A/S/U)

room 349, 301 4th Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20547, fax: (202) 401–

1433 to request a Solicitation Package

containing more detailed award criteria;

all application forms; and guidelines for

preparing proposals, including specific

criteria for preparation of the proposal

budget. Please specify Bureau Program

Officer Jonathan Cebra (telephone: 202–

619–4126, email: jcebra@pd.state.gov)

on all inquiries and correspondence

regarding partnerships with institutions

in Moldova or Ukraine; please indicate

Bureau Program Officer Michelle

Johnson (telephone: 202–619–4097,

email: johnsonmi@pd.state.gov) on all

inquiries and correspondence regarding

partnerships with institutions in Russia;

please indicate Bureau Program Officer

Alanna Bailey (telephone: 202–619–

6492, email: abailey@pd.state.gov) on all

inquiries and correspondence regarding

institutions in any other eligible

country.

To Download a Solicitation Package Via

Internet

The entire Solicitation Package may

be downloaded from the Bureau’s

website at: http://exchanges.state.gov/

education/rfps. Please read all

information before downloading.

Interested applicants should read the

complete Federal Register announcement before sending inquiries or

submitting proposals. Once the RFP

deadline has passed, Bureau 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.

Department of State, Bureau of Cultural

and Educational Affairs, Ref.: ECA/A/S/

U–01–10, Program Management Staff,

ECA/EX/PM, Room 534, 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. The Bureau will

transmit these files electronically to

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 218 / Thursday, November 9, 2000 / Notices 67441

public affairs sections at U.S. embassies

overseas for their review, with the goal

of reducing the time it takes to get posts’

comments for the Bureau’s grants

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,’’ the Bureau ‘‘shall take

appropriate steps to provide

opportunities for participation in such

programs to human rights and

democracy leaders of such countries.’’

Public Law 106–113 requires that the

governments of the countries described

above do not have inappropriate

influence in the selection process.

Proposals should reflect advancement of

these goals in their program contents, to

the full extent deemed feasible.

Review Process

The Bureau 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. All

eligible proposals will be evaluated by

independent external reviewers.

The independent external reviewers,

who will be professional, scholarly, or

educational experts with appropriate

regional and thematic knowledge, will

provide recommendations and

assessments for consideration by the

Bureau. The Bureau will consider for

funding only those proposals that are

recommended for further consideration

by the independent external reviewers.

Proposals will also be reviewed by

Department staff as well as by the

officers of the Office of the Coordinator

of United States Assistance to the New

Independent States and the public

diplomacy sections of U.S. Embassies.

Proposals may also be reviewed by the

Office of the Legal Advisor or by other

offices of the U.S. Department of State.

Funding decisions will be made at the

discretion of the Assistant Secretary for

Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final

technical authority for assistance

awards (grants or cooperative

agreements) resides with the Bureau’s

Grants Officer.

Review Criteria

All reviewers will use the criteria

below to reach funding

recommendations and decisions.

Technically eligible applications will be

competitively reviewed according to

these criteria, which are not rankordered or weighted.

(1) Broad Significance of Institutional

Objectives: Project objectives should

have significant but realistically

anticipated ongoing consequences for

the participating institutions that will

also contribute to the transition of the

New Independent States to market

economies and democratic societies.

(2) Clarity and Relevance of Project

Objectives to Institutional Needs:

Proposed projects should outline clearly

formulated objectives that relate

specifically to the needs of the

participating institutions.

(3) Creativity and Feasibility of

Project Implementation: Plan to achieve

project objectives should demonstrate

the feasibility of doing so during a threeyear period by utilizing and reinforcing

exchange activities realistically and

with creativity.

(4) Institutional Commitment to

Cooperation: Proposals should

demonstrate significant understanding

at each institution of its own needs and

capacities and of the needs and

capacities of its proposed partner(s),

together with a strong commitment,

during and after the period of grant

activity, to cooperate with one another

in the mutual pursuit of institutional

objectives.

(5) Project Evaluation: Proposals

should outline a methodology for

determining the degree to which a

project meets its objectives, both while

the project is underway and at its

conclusion. The final project evaluation

should include an external component

and should provide observations about

the project’s influence within the

participating institutions as well as their

surrounding communities or societies.

(6) Cost-effectiveness: Administrative

and program costs should be reasonable

and appropriate with cost-sharing

provided by all participating

institutions within the context of their

respective capacities and as a reflection

of their commitment to cooperate with

one another in pursuing project

objectives. Although indirect costs are

eligible for inclusion among costs to be

contributed by the applicant,

contributions should not be limited to

indirect costs.

(7) Support of Diversity: Proposals

should demonstrate substantive support

of the Bureau’s policy on diversity by

explaining how issues of diversity relate

to project objectives for all institutional

partners and how these issues will be

addressed during project

implementation. Proposals should also

outline the institutional profile of each

participating institution with regard to

issues of diversity.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP are binding and may not be

modified by any Bureau representative.

Explanatory information provided by

the Bureau 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 Bureau 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 Bureau procedures.

Dated: November 1, 2000.

Helena Kane Finn,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau

of Educational and Cultural Affairs,

Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–28673 Filed 11–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–11–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG 2000–8229]

Deepwater Capability Replacement

Project: Programmatic Environmental

Impact Statement

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent and request for

public comments; public meeting

notice.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces

its intent to prepare a draft

Programmatic Environmental Impact

Statement (PEIS) for the development of