38814 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 138 / Monday, July 20, 1998 / Notices

Dated: July 15, 1998.

Kenneth L. Klothen,

General Counsel, Corporation for National

and Community Service.

[FR Doc. 98–19238 Filed 7–17–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6050–28–P

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Request for Comment on Proposed

Criteria Used to Select and Evaluate

National Service Programs

AGENCY: Corporation for National and

Community Service.

ACTION: Request for comment.

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National

and Community Service (Corporation)

invites comments on proposed changes

to the criteria it uses to select and

evaluate national service programs. The

Corporation applies these criteria to the

following categories of national service

programs: Learn and Serve America;

National Senior Service Corps;

AmeriCorps*VISTA; and

AmeriCorps*State and National. The

revised criteria will apply beginning in

1999 to the Corporation’s selection of

projects and programs, including

recompetitions, and will be phased in

for continuing projects and programs

over the next year.

DATES: The deadline for the submission

of comments is August 19, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

submitted to the Office of Planning and

Program Integration, Corporation for

National Service, 1201 New York

Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Talbot, (202) 606–5000, ext. 470.

T.D.D. (202) 565–2799. For individuals

with disabilities, information will be

made available in alternative formats

upon request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

The Corporation for National and

Community Service was established in

1993 to engage Americans of all ages

and backgrounds in service to their

communities. The Corporation’s

national and community service

programs provide opportunities for

participants to serve full-time and parttime, with or without stipend, as

individuals or as a part of a team.

AmeriCorps*State and National, VISTA,

and National Civilian Community Corps

engage thousands of Americans on a

full-or part-time basis at more than

1,000 locations to help communities

meet their toughest challenges. Learn

and Serve America integrates service

into the academic life of more than

800,000 students in all 50 states. The

National Senior Service Corps utilizes

the skills, talents and experience of over

500,000 older Americans to help make

communities stronger, safer, healthier

and smarter.

The Corporation provides assistance

to organizations that carry out

AmeriCorps*State and National, Learn

and Serve America, and National Senior

Service Corps programs.

AmeriCorps*State and National

programs, which involve 25,000

Americans each year in results-driven

community service, are grant programs

managed by (1) State Commissions that

select and oversee programs operated by

local organizations, (2) national nonprofit organizations that identify and act

as parent organizations for operating

sites across the country; (3) Indian

tribes; or (4) U.S. Territories. Learn and

Serve America grants provide service

learning opportunities for students in

K–12 and higher education settings. The

National Senior Service Corps operates

through grants to local organizations for

Retired Senior Volunteer Programs

(RSVP), Foster Grandparents and Senior

Companions to provide service to their

communities.

The Corporation plays a direct role in

carrying out the AmeriCorps*VISTA

program in assigning more than 4,000

AmeriCorps*VISTA members to service

programs across the nation where they

develop grassroots programs, mobilize

resources and build capacity. The

Corporation itself operates the

AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian

Community Corps) program, providing

an opportunity for approximately 1,000

individuals between the ages of 18 and

24 to participate in a residential

program principally located on

downsized military bases.

For additional information on the

national service programs supported by

the Corporation, go to http://

www.nationalservice.org.

While recognizing the particular

aspects of the different types of national

service programs, the Corporation seeks

to make its evaluation criteria more

consistent across programs. The

proposed criteria for 1999 reflect an

ongoing effort by the Corporation to

streamline and harmonize the various

application processes for organizations

seeking support for their national

service programs. The Corporation’s

Board of Directors has reviewed and

endorsed the proposed 1999 evaluation

criteria.

The Corporation will use the

proposed evaluation criteria in selecting

new and recompeting projects and

programs and to assess the performance

of organizations who have received

assistance to carry out national service

programs. Implementation of the criteria

will begin with the issuance of 1999

guidance to the field. Because the

criteria relate principally to

programming and operations, they will

not necessarily apply to other activities,

such as technical assistance, supported

by the Corporation.

The Corporation will provide

additional guidance in application

materials for each category of national

service program. The additional

guidance will state how the criteria will

be applied, depending on the category

of program (e.g., Learn and Serve

America, National Senior Service Corps)

and the nature of the application for

assistance (new, recompeting, or

continuation).

B. Evaluation Criteria Common to

National Service Programs Assisted by

the Corporation

1. Criteria

The following three categories (and

the three sub-categories under Program

Design) constitute the criteria by which

the Corporation will select and evaluate

organizations receiving assistance in

Learn and Serve America, National

Senior Service Corps,

AmeriCorps*VISTA, and

AmeriCorps*State and National.

a. Program Design (60%), which

includes as subcategories:

i. Getting Things Done, meeting needs

in the areas of education, public safety,

the environment, and health and human

needs;

ii. Strengthening Communities; and

iii. Fostering Participant

Development.

b. Organizational Capacity (25%)

c. Budget/Cost-Effectiveness (15%)

2. Factors That May Be Applied Within

Each Category or Sub-Category

Within each category or subcategory,

the Corporation may apply the

following factors, depending on the type

of program and the nature of the

application. While the majority of

factors will apply to all programs

supported by the Corporation, some

may not, and each type of program may

place a different emphasis on the

respective factors. In addition, some of

the factors may be used to assess

program outcomes rather than initial

applications for assistance. The

Corporation will provide subsequent

guidance in its application materials for

each category of national service

program, stating whether and how these

factors will be applied.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 138 / Monday, July 20, 1998 / Notices 38815

a. Program Design (60%)

i. Getting Things Done

• Well-documented compelling

community need(s).

• Well-designed activities with

measurable goals and objectives that

meet community needs.

• Well-defined roles for participants

that lead to measurable outcomes/

impact.

• Effective involvement of target

community in planning/

implementation.

• Ability to provide or secure

effective technical assistance.

ii. Strengthening Communities.

• Strong community partnerships

including well-defined roles for

community partners.

• Potential for sustainability,

innovation and/or replicability of

project activities.

• Enhanced capacity of organizations

and institutions.

• Mobilization of community

resources, including volunteers.

• Bring together persons of diverse

backgrounds.

iii. Participant Development.

• Effective plans for recruiting,

developing, training, supervising, and

recognizing participants.

• Well-designed activities that

promote an ethic of service/civic

responsibility.

• Well-designed plan to engage

participants in high quality servicelearning as defined by the Corporation.

• Learn to serve together with persons

of diverse backgrounds.

b. Organizational Capacity (25%)

• Ability to provide sound

programmatic and fiscal oversight.

• Sound track record in the issue

area(s) to be addressed by the project.

• Well-defined roles for staff/

administrators.

• Well-designed plans or systems for

self-assessment, evaluation and

continuous improvement.

c. Budget/Cost-Effectiveness (15%)

• Budget adequately supports

program design.

• Applicant organization/host agency

is committed to securing resources for

program implementation and/or

sustainability.

• Cost-effective within program

guidance.

3. Subcategories Within Program Design

To reflect the differences between

Learn and Serve America, National

Senior Service Corps,

AmeriCorps*VISTA, and

AmeriCorps*State and National, the

Corporation proposes to apply different

values to the three subcategories within

Program Design for each category of

national service program. Thus, while

Program Design will uniformly

constitute 60% of an organization’s

evaluation, the Corporation may, for

each national service program, place a

different value on getting things done,

strengthening communities and

fostering participant development, as

follows:

AmeriCorps*State and National:

Getting things done in communities—

things that would not have gotten done

but for AmeriCorps—has been the core

purpose for AmeriCorps*State and

National. Program emphasis is placed

on well-designed program activities that

result in direct and demonstrable

benefits that are both needed and valued

by communities. Strengthening

communities is mainly accomplished by

mobilizing community resources and

enhancing the capacity of organizations

and institutions in order to achieve

sustainability. AmeriCorps* State and

National programs are required to

develop specific strengthening

communities and participant

development objectives with

demonstrable outcomes.

AmeriCorps*VISTA shifts the

emphasis and gets things done more by

mobilizing community resources and

developing the capacity of community

organizations. Strengthening

communities is at the heart of

AmeriCorps*VISTA’s mission. The

potential for sustainability, enhanced

capacity, and mobilization of

community resources (including

volunteers), encompasses

AmeriCorps*VISTA’s most significant

program measures and forms the basis

of virtually all overall program

evaluation activity.

Learn and Serve America’s definition

of getting things done must include

measures of service-learning. A major

concern is how participants will learn

while engaging in projects that get

things done and benefit the community.

Learn and Serve emphasizes lasting

impact on the community as a result of

community involvement and school or

institutional change. Increasing the

acceptance of service-learning as a

pedagogy and tool for strengthening

communities is an essential goal of the

program. Within Learn and Serve

America appropriate participant

development occurs through welldesigned service-learning experiences

that have as an integral component,

positive community impact.

The National Senior Service Corps’

incorporation of Programming for

Impact has placed a new and significant

emphasis on getting things done. Aside

from the previous focus of providing a

volunteer opportunity, there is an

emphasis on channeling and utilizing

the capabilities of participants to

address critical community and human

needs. The traditional Senior Corps

philosophy is that participant

development is very important.

However, the starting point must be

good, solid roles and activities viewed

by the community as valued and

important, that establish a context

within which participant development

occurs.

Within Program Design, the

Corporation will consider the three

subcategories in descending order of

importance, as follows:

AmeriCorps*State and National

(1) Getting Things Done

(2) Participant Development

(3) Strengthening Communities

AmeriCorps*VISTA

(1) Strengthening Communities

(2) Getting Things Done

(3) Participant Development

Learn and Serve America

Getting Things Done—equal

Strengthening Communities—equal

Participant Development—equal

National Senior Service Corps

(1) Getting Things Done

(2) Strengthening Community

(3) Participant Development

Dated: July 14, 1998.

Kenneth L. Klothen,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 98–19210 Filed 7–17–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6050–28–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Waiver of 10 U.S.C. 2534 for Certain

Defense Items Produced in the United

Kingdom

AGENCY: Department of Defense, (DoD).

ACTION: Notice of waiver of 10 U.S.C.

2534 for certain defense items produced

in the United Kingdom.

SUMMARY: The Under Secretary of

Defense (Acquisition and Technology) is

waiving the limitation of 10 U.S.C. 2534

for certain defense items produced in

the United Kingdom (UK). 10 U.S.C.

2534 limits DoD procurement of certain

items to sources in the national

technology and industrial base. The

waiver will permit procurement of items

enumerated from sources in the UK.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This waiver is effective

for one year, beginning August 4, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Walter Henderson, OUSD (A&T),

Director of Defense Procurement,

Foreign Contracting, Room 3C762, 3060