11266 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 47 / Tuesday, March 11, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service

Food and Agricultural Sciences

National Needs Graduate Fellowship

Grants Program

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of application.

SUMMARY: The Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service (CSREES) is announcing the

Food and Agricultural Sciences

National Needs Graduate Fellowship

Grants Program Solicitation of Proposals

for Fiscal Years (FY) 1997 and 1998 and

1997 Supplemental Grants for Special

International Study or Thesis/

Dissertation Research Travel

Allowances. Applications are invited for

competitive grant awards to colleges

and universities for doctoral fellowships

to meet national needs for the

development of professional and

scientific expertise in the food and

agricultural sciences for FYs 1997 and

1998. Additionally, CSREES seeks

applications from recipients of presently

active national needs fellowship grants

for supplemental grants to support

special international study or thesis/

dissertation research experiences for

current Fellows.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey L. Gilmore, USDA/Higher

Education Programs, 202–720–1973,

jgilmore@reeusda.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Food and Agricultural Sciences

National Needs Graduate Fellowship

Grants

Authority

The authority for this program is

contained in Section 1417(b)(6) of the

National Agricultural Research,

Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of

1977, as amended (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)).

Under this program, subject to the

availability of funds, the Secretary may

make competitive grants, for periods not

to exceed five years, to land-grant

colleges and universities, colleges and

universities having significant minority

enrollments and a demonstrable

capacity to carry out the teaching of

food and agricultural sciences, and to

other colleges and universities having a

demonstrable capacity to carry out the

teaching of food and agricultural

sciences, to administer and conduct

graduate fellowship programs to help

meet the Nation’s needs for

development of scientific and

professional expertise in the food and

agricultural sciences.

Targeted Areas

Food and agricultural sciences areas

appropriate for fellowship applications

are those in which shortages of expertise

have been determined and targeted by

CSREES for national needs graduate

fellowship support. Beginning with FY

1997, CSREES will support six national

needs areas on a biennial basis and

combine appropriations from two fiscal

years into one competition to be held

during odd-numbered years. The

targeted national needs areas to be

supported for the combined FY 1997/98

competition are: Biotechnology—

Animal; Biotechnology—Plant;

Engineering—Food, Forest Product, or

Agricultural; Human Nutrition and/or

Food Science; Marketing or

Management—Food, Forest Products, or

Agribusiness; and Water Science. In FY

1997/98, only the doctoral level of study

will be supported.

Proposal Limitations

For the FY 1997/98 program, a

proposal may request funding in only

one national needs area. A proposal may

request a minimum of two fellowships

and a maximum of four fellowships in

the national needs area for which

funding is requested. No limitation is

placed on the number of proposals an

institution may submit. However, the

same college or equivalent

administrative unit within an institution

may only submit a maximum of six

proposals, and no more that one

proposal may be submitted in any one

national needs area by the same college

or equivalent administrative unit within

an institution. While proposals must

document institution willingness to

recruit and train at least two, but not

more than four, fellows in a national

needs area, CSREES may fund fewer

fellows than requested in a proposal.

Available Funding

CSREES anticipates that

approximately $5,800,000 will be

available for fellowship grants for the

FY 1997/98 combined competition,

including $2.9 million from FY 1997

appropriations and $2.9 million in

anticipated FY 1998 appropriations.

Contingent on the availability of these

funds, approximately $970,000 will be

allocated to each of the six national

needs areas. This program is highly

competitive, and it is anticipated that

available funding will support

approximately 108 doctoral fellows

through approximately nine grants in

each of the six targeted areas. No-year

funds drawn from expired fellowship

grants with unspent funds remaining

may be used to fund additional fellows.

Please note that Congress has not yet

enacted a Fiscal Year 1998

appropriations bill for the Department.

Therefore, the $5.8 million cited for FY

1997/98 grants is only tentative and

USDA is not bound by this estimate. If

Congress appropriates other than the

anticipated amount, these combined

appropriated FYs 1997 and 1998 funds

will be allocated equally among all six

national needs areas.

Each institution funded will receive

$54,000 for each doctoral fellowship

awarded. However, it is anticipated that

total program funds available will not be

evenly divisible by $54,000. Therefore,

one fellowship may be supported on a

partial basis with a lesser amount of

funds, or one fellowship may be

supported fully by a combination of FY

1997/98 funds and unspent funds

remaining from expired fellowship

grants. Except in the case of a partially

funded fellowship, fellowship monies

must be used to: (1) support the same

doctoral fellow for three years at

$17,000 per year; and (2) provide for an

institution annual cost-of-education

allowance of $1,000, not to exceed a

total of $3,000 over the duration of the

grant. Total funds awarded to an

institution under the program in FY

1997/98 shall not exceed $648,000.

Application Information

An application package is available

that provides the forms, instructions,

and other relevant information needed

by institutions to apply to the Food and

Agricultural Sciences National Needs

Graduate Fellowship Grants Program

described herein. Copies of the

application package may be requested

from the Proposal Services Unit; Grants

Management Branch; Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture;

STOP 2245; Washington, D.C. 20250–

2245. The telephone number is 202–

401–5048. These materials may also be

requested via Internet by sending a

message with your name, mailing

address (not e-mail) and phone number

to psb@reeusda.gov which states that

you want a copy of the application

materials for the Fiscal Year 1997/98

Food and Agricultural Sciences

National Needs Graduate Fellowship

Grants Program. The materials will then

be mailed to you (not e-mailed) as

quickly as possible.

The proposal narrative must be typed

on one side of the page only, using a

font no smaller than 12 point, and

double-spaced. All margins must be at

least one inch. The proposal should be
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 47 / Tuesday, March 11, 1997 / Notices 11267

paginated and a Table of Contents

should be included preceding the

proposal narrative. Applicants are

cautioned to comply with the 20-page

limitation for the narrative section of the

proposal. Applicants also are cautioned

to include summary faculty vitae

through the use of Form CSREES–708.

When and Where to Submit Proposals

An original plus six copies of a

proposal and one copy of the

institution’s latest graduate catalog must

be submitted. All proposals must be

received by 3:30 p.m. eastern time May

15, 1997. Proposals submitted through

the U.S. mail should be sent to the

following address: Proposal Services

Unit; Grants Management Branch;

Cooperative State Research, Education,

and Extension Service; U.S. Department

of Agriculture; STOP 2245; Washington,

DC 20250–2245. Hand-delivered

proposals, including those submitted

through an express mail or a courier

service, should be sent to the following

address: Proposal Services Unit; Grants

Management Branch; Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture;

Room 303, Aerospace Center; 901 D

Street, SW.; Washington, DC 20024.

Proposals transmitted via a facsimile

(FAX) machine will not be accepted.

Submission of an Intent to Submit a

Proposal form (Form CSREES–706) is

neither required nor requested for the

FY 1997/98 competition.

II. 1997 Special International Study or

Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel

Allowances

Authority

Under the authority contained in

Section 1417(b)(6) of the National

Agricultural Research, Extension, and

Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as

amended (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)), and in

accordance with the Administrative

Provisions for the Food and Agricultural

Sciences National Needs Graduate

Fellowship Grants Program (7 CFR part

3402.5(e)), CSREES will award

supplement grants, on a competitive

basis, for special international study or

thesis/dissertation research travel

allowances. Institutions eligible to

receive supplemental grants are those

that have active National Needs

Graduate Fellowship Grants (awarded in

FY 1996 or earlier). Please note that

CSREES will solicit proposals for

special international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowances

again in 1998.

Eligibility

Eligibility for this opportunity is

limited to any current Fellow with

sufficient time to complete the

international experience before the

termination date of the fellowship grant

under which he/she is supported.

Before the international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel may

commence, a Fellow must have

completed one academic year of fulltime study, as defined by the institution,

under the fellowship appointment and

arrangements must have been

formalized for the Fellow to study and/

or conduct research in the foreign

location(s). All national needs areas

previously supported under the Food

and Agricultural Sciences National

Needs Graduate Fellowships Grants

Program are eligible for the

supplementary grants for special

international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowances.

Available Funding

CSREES has determined that no FY

1997 appropriations will be targeted to

supplemental grants supporting special

international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowances;

rather, no-year funds drawn from

expired fellowship grants with unspent

funds remaining will be used to support

such supplemental grants. Estimated

funds for supplemental grants in FY

1997 are approximately $60,000.

For each travel allowance, the

institution may request up to $3,000.

Travel allowance monies may be used

only to pay travel and living expenses

for the Fellow while the Fellow is on

the specific international assignment as

proposed in the application for the

special international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowances.

No limitation is placed on the number

of applications an institution may

submit. Awards will be made to the

extent possible based on availability of

funds. To the extent possible, all

applications associated with one

CSREES grant number should be

submitted at the same time in order to

facilitate the award of these

supplemental grants and minimize

accounting activity at the grantee

institution.

Application Information

A separate application must be

submitted by a fellowship grant project

director at an eligible institution on

behalf of each Fellow for which a

special international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowance is

requested. Applications for the special

international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowance

supplemental awards may be submitted

at any time prior to 3:30 p.m. eastern

time on October 15, 1997. However, to

allow time for CSREES to process the

applications, proposals should be

submitted at least three months prior to

the proposed beginning date of the

international travel experience.

Applicants are urged to submit their

proposals early.

(Note: Proposals for these special

supplemental awards should not be

submitted as part of the application for a FY

1997/98 Graduate Fellowship grant.)

Each application must include an

‘‘Application for Funding,’’ Form

CSREES–661, and a ‘‘Budget,’’ Form

CSREES–55. To provide the office of

Higher Education Programs (HEP) with

sufficient information upon which to

evaluate the merits of the requests for a

special international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowance,

each application for a supplemental

grant must contain a narrative which

provides the following: (1) the specific

destination(s) and duration of the travel;

(2) the specific study or thesis/

dissertation research activities in which

the Fellow will be engaged; (3) how the

international experience will contribute

to the Fellow’s program of study; (4) a

budget narrative specifying and

justifying the dollar amount requested

for the travel; (5) summary credentials

of both the U.S. and international

faculty or other professionals with

whom the Fellow will be working

during the international experience

(summary credentials must not exceed

three pages per person; ‘‘Summary

Vita—Teaching Proposal,’’ Form

CSREES–708, may be used for this

purpose); (6) a letter from the dean of

the Fellow’s college or equivalent

administrative unit supporting the

Fellow’s travel request and certifying

that the travel experience will not

jeopardize the Fellow’s satisfactory

progress toward degree completion; and

(7) a letter from the fellowship grant

project director certifying the Fellow’s

eligibility, the accuracy of the Fellow’s

travel request, and the relevance of the

travel to the Fellow’s advanced degree

objectives.

The narrative portion of the

application must not exceed 10 pages,

excluding the summary vita/vitae. The

narrative should be typed on one side of

the page only, using a font no smaller

than 12 point, and double-spaced. All

margins must be at least one inch.

An application package containing

the forms, instructions, and other

relevant information needed by

institutions to apply for the special
11268 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 47 / Tuesday, March 11, 1997 / Notices

international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowances

may be requested from the Proposal

Services Unit; Grants Management

Branch; Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service; U.S.

Department of Agriculture; STOP 2245;

Washington, D.C. 20250–2245. The

telephone number is 202–401–5048.

These materials may also be requested

via Internet by sending a message with

your name, mailing address (not e-mail)

and phone number to psb@reeusda.gov

which states that you want a copy of the

application materials for the Fiscal Year

1997/98 Food and Agricultural Sciences

National Needs Graduate Fellowship

Grants Program. The materials will then

be mailed to you (not e-mailed) as

quickly as possible.

Evaluation of Applications

Applications for the special

international travel allowances will be

evaluated as they are received until

available funds for the supplemental

grants are exhausted. Upon receipt of an

application, CSREES staff will first

determine the eligibility of the Fellow

for whom the application was submitted

for an international travel experience.

Eligible and complete requests then will

be reviewed, using the criteria and

weights indicated below, by

professional staff from USDA or other

Federal agencies, as appropriate.

Proposals judged to be worthy of

funding will be eligible for

supplemental awards. Since awards for

supplemental grants will be made as

reviews are completed, there is no

assurance funds will be available late in

the application period for every

acceptable proposal.

The evaluation criteria for special

international study or thesis/

dissertation research travel allowance

applications are indicated below. The

points are provided as a guide to the

relative importance of each criterion,

but all criteria must be addressed

satisfactorily.

a. Destination and duration—the

degree to which the destination and

duration of the travel experience is

appropriate for enhancing the Fellow’s

academic program—10 points.

b. Travel experience activities—the

degree to which the specific

international experiences contribute to

the Fellow’s program of study—30

points.

c. Advance preparations—the degree

to which the proposed study or research

activities are well-planned, including

the likelihood that these activities will

come to fruition and that the

participation of identified personnel

will materialize—20 points.

d. Budget—the degree to which the

budget for the international experience

is justified—10 points.

e. Personnel—the degree to which the

personnel, both U.S. and international,

involved with the travel experience

have the appropriate credentials and

experience to direct the Fellow’s

international experience, and the

likelihood that their participation as

mentors, trainers, advisors, or teachers

will contribute to the educational value

of the travel experiences—20 points.

f. Supporting documentation—the

degree to which letters from the dean of

the college (or equivalent administrative

unit) and the fellowship grant project

director support the application—10

points.

When and where to Submit

Applications

An original plus six copies of each

application must be submitted. Each

copy of the application should be

stapled securely in the upper left-hand

corner. Please do not bind the original

or the copies of the application. All

copies of the application must be mailed

in one package. Applications

transmitted via a facsimile (FAX)

machine will not be accepted.

Applications submitted through the U.S.

mail should be sent to the following

address: Proposal Services Unit; Grants

Management Branch; Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture;

STOP 2245; Washington, D.C. 20250–

2245. hand-delivered proposals,

including those submitted through an

express mail or a courier service, should

be brought to the following address:

Proposal Services Unit; Grants

Management Branch; Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture;

Room 303, Aerospace Center; 901 D

Street, S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20024.

The telephone number is 202–401–

5048. Applications may be submitted at

any time prior to 3:30 p.m. eastern time

on October 15, 1997.

III. Applicable Regulations

This program is subject to the

administrative provisions found at CFR

part 3402 (59 FR 68072, December 30,

1994) which set forth procedures to be

followed when submitting grant

proposals, rules governing the

evaluation of proposals, the awarding of

grants, and post-award administration of

such grants.

In addition, the USDA Uniform

Administrative Requirements for Grants

and Agreements With Institutions of

Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other

Nonprofit Organizations, 7 CFR part

3019 (60 FR 44122 (August 24, 1995)),

to this program. Other Federal statutes

and regulations that apply to this

program are identified in the

administrative provisions.

IV. Supplementary Information

This program is listed in the Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance under

No. 10.210. For the reasons set forth in

the Final Rule-related notice to 7 CFF

part 3015, subpart V, 48 FR 29115, June

24,1983, when the authority to

administer this program resided in the

Agricultural Research Service, this

program is excluded from the scope of

Executive Order 12372 which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials.

Under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35), the collection of

information requirements for this

program have been approved under

OMB Document No. 0524–0022 and

0524–0024.

V. Program Contact

If you have questions concerning the

submission of Food and Agricultural

Sciences National Needs Graduate

Fellowship Grants Program proposals,

please contact Dr. Jeffrey Gilmore,

Higher Education Programs, Science

and Education Resources Development,

CSREES, USDA, at 202–720–1973

(voice), 202–720–2030 (fax), or

jgilmore@reeisda.gov (Internet),

Done at Washington, D.C., this 4th day of

March, 1997.

B.H. Robinson,

Administrator, Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service.

[FR Doc. 97–5915 Filed 3–10–97; 8:45 am]

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