Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / Notices 76693

7 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the Exchange. All

submissions should refer to the File No.

SR–PCX–00–40 and should be

submitted by December 28, 2000.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.7

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–31140 Filed 12–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3491]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs; College and University

Affiliations Program for Algeria;

Request for Grant Proposals

SUMMARY: The Office of Global

Educational Programs of the Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an

assistance award program to support the

development of programs of instruction

and faculty training at one or more

universities in Algeria in business

management and entrepreneurship,

public administration, or another field

with significant potential impact on the

Algerian economy. Accredited, postsecondary educational institutions

meeting the provisions described in IRS

regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may apply to

pursue institutional or departmental

objectives in partnership with (an)

Algerian institution(s) with support

from the College and University

Affiliations Program. The means for

achieving the objectives of the applicant

and its partner(s) may include

mentoring, teaching, consultation,

research, distance education, internship

training, and professional outreach to

public and private sector managers and

entrepreneurs.

Overview and Project Objectives: The

project is designed to assist one or more

Algerian universities to develop a

modern curriculum and program in

business management or public

administration to facilitate the

development of business activity and

the quality, efficiency and integrity of

the private and public sectors in

Algeria. While priority will be given to

competitive proposals in business

management, proposals in public

administration and other fields are also

eligible if the proposals demonstrate

their potential impact on the Algerian

economy.

In business management, proposals

emphasizing practical strategies to assist

the faculty to develop a new curriculum

in business management focusing in

accounting, finance, banking, and

entrepreneurship are particularly

encouraged.

In public administration proposals

with potential economic impact through

assistance with curriculum reform and

faculty training in fields such as

taxation, financial management, land

registry/ownership and property rights

are also eligible. All proposals should

explain potential impact on the Algerian

economy.

For each project, applicants are

encouraged to develop outreach to and

collaboration with practitioners by

including them, together with junior

and senior instructors, in working

groups for faculty development and

curriculum design and development.

Bureau policy stipulates that awards

to organizations with less than four

years’ experience in conducting

international exchanges are limited to

$60,000. The Bureau anticipates

awarding one or two grants from a total

of $240,000 that is expected to be

available to support this program. Funds

will be awarded for a period up to three

years to defray the costs of exchanges,

to provide educational materials, and to

increase library holdings and improve

Internet connections. Up to 25% of the

grant total may be used to defray the

costs of project administration. Indirect

administrative costs are not an eligible

expense for Bureau funding under this

competition, but may be presented as

part of the U.S. institutional

contribution.

The project should pursue these

objectives through a strategy that

coordinates the participation of junior

and senior level faculty, administrators

or graduate students for any appropriate

combination of teaching, mentoring,

internships, in-service training and

outreach, for exchange visits ranging

from one week to an academic year.

Visits of one semester for participants

from Algeria are strongly encouraged

and program activities must be tied to

the goals and objectives of the program.

Proposals may also include English

language training for selected

participants whose prior knowledge of

English needs to be activated or

refreshed. Visits by representatives of

the American partner institution to

Algeria are not required, but short visits

may be proposed for eventual

implementation should conditions

permit. All applicants should read the

U.S. Department of State Travel

Warning for Algeria dated March 31,

2000.

U.S. Institution and Participant

Eligibility: In the United States,

participation in the program is open to

accredited two and four-year colleges

and universities, including graduate

schools, as well as to other

organizations meeting the provisions

described in IRS regulation 26 CFR

1.501(c). Applications from consortia or

other combinations of U.S. colleges and

universities are eligible. Secondary U.S.

partners may include governmental and

non-governmental organizations, as well

as non-profit service and professional

organizations. The lead U.S. university

in the consortium or other combination

of cooperating institutions is

responsible for submitting the

application. Each application must

document the lead organization’s

authority to represent all U.S.

cooperating partners.

Participants representing the U.S.

institution must be U.S. citizens. With

the exception of an outside consultant

reporting on the degree to which project

objectives have been achieved,

participants who are traveling under the

Bureau’s grant funds must be teachers,

advanced graduate students, who are

teaching or research assistants, or

administrators from the participating

institution(s). Advanced graduate

students are eligible for Bureau-funded

participation in this program only if

they are working under the direction of

an accompanying faculty participant.

Algerian Institution and Participant

Eligibility: In Algeria, the partner must

be a recognized institution of postsecondary education. Secondary foreign

partners may include relevant

governmental and non-governmental

organizations, as well as non-profit

service and professional organizations

concerned with issues in business

development or public administration

training in Algeria.

Foreign participants must be citizens

or permanent residents of Algeria and

qualified to receive a J–1 visa.

Budget Guidelines: Applicants may

submit a budget of up to $240,000.

Requests for amounts smaller than the

maximum are eligible. Budget and

budget notes should carefully justify the

amounts needed. There must be a

summary budget as well as a breakdown

reflecting the program and

administrative budgets including unit

costs. Cost sharing will be considered an

important indicator of institutional

commitment.

Please refer to the Solicitation

Package for complete guidelines and

formatting instructions.

76694 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / Notices

Announcement Title and Number: All

correspondence with the Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs

concerning this RFGP should reference

the above title ‘‘College and University

Affiliations Program in Algeria’’ and

reference number ECA/A/S/U–01–13.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact the Humphrey Fellowships and

Institutional Linkages Branch, Office of

Global Educational Programs, Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs; ECA/

A/S/U, Room 349, SA–44; U.S.

Department of State, 301 4th Street,

SW., Washington, DC 20547, phone

(202) 619–5289, fax: (202) 401–1433, email: mpizarro@pd.state.gov to request a

Solicitation Package.

The Solicitation Package contains

detailed award criteria, required

application forms, and guidelines for

preparing proposals, including specific

criteria for preparation of the proposal

budget. Please specify the above

reference number on all inquiries and

correspondence.

Please read the complete Federal

Register announcement before sending

inquiries or submitting proposals. Once

the RFGP deadline has passed, Bureau

staff may not discuss this competition

with applicants until the proposal

review process has been completed.

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/rfgps.

Please read all information before

downloading.

Deadline of Proposals: All proposal

copies must be received at the Bureau

of Educational and Cultural Affairs by 5

p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Friday,

March 30, 2001. Faxed documents will

not be accepted at any time. Documents

postmarked by the due date but received

on a later date will not be accepted. It

is the responsibility of each applicant to

ensure compliance with the deadline.

Approximate Program Dates: Grants

should begin on or about August 1,

2001.

Duration: August 1, 2001–August 31,

2004.

Submissions: The U.S. institutional

partner must submit the proposal.

Applicants must follow all instructions

in the Solicitation Package. The original

and 10 copies of the application should

be sent to: U.S. Department of State,

SA–44, Ref.: ECA/A/S/U–01–13,

Program Management, ECA/EX/PM,

Room 534, 301 4th Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20547.

All copies should include the

documents specified under Tabs A

through E in the ‘‘Project Objectives,

Goals, and Implementation’’ (POGI)

section of the Solicitation Package. The

documents under Tab F of the POGI

should be submitted with the original

application and with one of the ten

copies.

Proposals that do not follow RFGP

requirements and the guidelines

appearing in the POGI and PSI may be

excluded from consideration due to

technical ineligibility.

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 the

Public Affairs Section of the U.S.

Embassy in Algiers for its review, with

the goal of reducing the time it takes to

get the Embassy’s comments for the

Bureau’s grants review process.

Diversity, Freedom and Democracy

Guidelines: Pursuant to the Bureau’s

authorizing legislation, projects 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, 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,’’ 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 reviewed by the

program office, as well as the Public

Diplomacy section overseas, where

appropriate. Eligible proposals will be

subject to compliance with Federal and

Bureau regulations and guidelines and

forwarded to Bureau grant panels for

advisory review. Proposals may also be

reviewed by the Office of the Legal

Adviser or by other Department

elements. Final funding decisions are at

the discretion of the Department of

State’s 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: State Department

officers in Washington, D.C. and

overseas will use the criteria below to

reach funding recommendations and

decisions. Technically eligible

applications will be competitively

reviewed according to the criteria stated

below. These criteria are not rankordered or weighed.

1. Quality of the Program Idea:

Proposals should exhibit originality,

substance, precision, and

resourcefulness. Proposals should

exhibit sensitivity to the region, and

have reasonable and feasible project

objectives that are relevant to the needs

of an Algerian university. Proposals

should describe projected benefits to the

institutions involved as well as to wider

communities of educators and

practitioners in Algeria.

2. Program Planning: Proposals

should include creative, realistic and

feasible program plans for the

development of working groups for

faculty and curriculum development; a

detailed schedule, which should

include a well-reasoned combination of

useful and appropriate mentoring,

teaching techniques and outreach

activities supporting the project

objectives.

3. 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 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.

4. Institutional Capacity and

Commitment: Proposals should

demonstrate significant understanding

of the needs and capacities of the

Algerian university as well as the needs

and capacity of the U.S. institution, and

should demonstrate a strong

commitment to on-going cooperation

during and after the period of the grant

activity. Relevant factors include: the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / Notices 76695

match between participating

organizations or departments, and

availability of sufficient number of

faculty and/or administrators willing

and able to participate in project

activities. Proposals should demonstrate

a promise of long-term impact and a

plan for follow-on activities.

5. Institutional Record/Ability:

Proposals should demonstrate an

institutional record of administering

successful exchange programs,

including responsible fiscal

management and full compliance with

all reporting requirements for past

Bureau grants as determined by the

State Department’s contracts officers.

The Bureau will consider the past

performance of prior recipients and the

demonstrated potential of new

applicants. Reviewers will also consider

the quality of exchange participants’

academic credentials, skills,

commitment and experience relative to

the goals and activities of the project

plan.

6. Project Evaluation: The proposal

should outline a methodology to assess

progress toward the achievement of

project goals. The final evaluation

should include an external component

and observations about anticipated longterm impact on the Algerian economy.

7. Cost-Effectiveness: Administrative

and program costs should be reasonable

and appropriate with cost sharing

provided as a reflection of commitment

to the pursuit of project objectives.

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 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 U.S. North African

Economic Partnership.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFGP 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 RFGP 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 29, 2000.

William B. Bader,

Assistant Secretary for Educational and

Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–31076 Filed 12–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3490]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs Request for Grant Proposals:

Summer Institute on Education Reform

for Nigerian Tertiary Education

Administrators and Policy Makers

SUMMARY: The African Programs Branch

of the Office of Academic Exchange

Programs of the Bureau of Educational

and Cultural Affairs announces an open

competition for a Summer Institute on

Education Reform for Nigerian Tertiary

Education Administrators and Policy

Makers. Public and private non-profit

organizations meeting the provisions

described in IRS regulation 26 CFR

1.501(c) may submit proposals to

provide a six-week program for up to 25

Nigerian tertiary level education

administrators and government officials

responsible for making and

implementing education policy.

Requested Bureau funding must not

exceed $200,000.

All Summer Institute programming

and logistics including design and

implementation of the academic,

cultural, and administrative

components will be the responsibility of

the grantee. These responsibilities

include (1) an academic component that

adheres closely to the goals and

objectives set forth in the RFGP, (2) a

cultural component that complements

and reinforces material covered in the

academic component, and includes a

stay of up to a week in Washington and

a trip to another major U.S. city, and 3)

an administrative component to provide

for the comfort and well-being of the

participants which includes arranging

and budgeting for housing, meals,

transportation in the U.S., allowances

for incidental expenses, books, and

excess baggage.

Proposals must conform to

requirements set forth in the Solicitation

Package, that is, the program

information and guidelines stated in

this Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP)

as well as the standard Proposal

Submission Instructions (PSI).

Applications not adhering to the

conditions set forth herein may be

deemed technically ineligible.

The guidelines set forth in this RFGP

are specific to the program mentioned

above and are in addition to the

standard guidelines outlined in the PSI.

In any instance that there is a perceived

disparity between the standard or

program-specific guidelines, the

program-specific guidelines listed in the

RFGP are to be the dominant reference.

The Solicitation Package contains

detailed award criteria, required

application forms, specific budget

instructions, and standard guidelines for

proposal preparation.

Please read the complete Federal

Register announcement before sending

inquiries or submitting proposals. Once

the RFGP deadline has passed, Bureau

staff may not discuss this competition

with applicants until the proposal

review process has been completed.

A. Proposal Submission Information

1. Announcement Title and Number

All correspondence with the Bureau

concerning this RFGP should reference

the above title and number ECA/A/E/

AF–01–02.

2. Application Submission Deadline

All proposal copies must be received

at the Bureau of Educational and

Cultural Affairs by 5 p.m. Washington,

D.C. time on Thursday, February 1,

2001. Faxed documents will not be

accepted at any time. Documents

postmarked on the due date but

received on a later date will not be

accepted.

Each applicant must ensure that the

proposals are received by the above

deadline.

Applicants must follow all

instructions in the Solicitation Package.

The original and seven (7) copies of the

application should be sent to: U.S.

Department of State, SA–44, Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ref.:

ECA/A/E/AF–01–02, Program

Management, ECA/EX/PM, Room 534,

301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC

20547.

3. For Further Information or To

Request a Solicitation Package

Please contact the program officer,

Carol Herrera, by mail at: African