Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 15817 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 6569] 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural 

Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant 

Proposals: 2009 Fellowships in the 

Arts: Documentary Filmmaking and 

Iraq Museum Residencies 

Announcement Type: New 

Cooperative Agreements. 

Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/ 

PE/C/CU–09–49. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number: 00.000. 

Key Dates: 

Application Deadline: May 12, 2009. 

Executive Summary: The Cultural 

Programs Division of the Office of 

Citizen Exchanges in the Bureau of 

Educational and Cultural Affairs 

announces an open competition for two 

Cooperative Agreements to support 

programs for short residency and 

training programs in the United States 

for emerging and mid-career 

documentary filmmakers from around 

the world and museum specialists from 

Iraq. The Bureau anticipates that 

approximately $900,000 will be 

available to support this competition. 

Grantees will design, develop, and 

implement 30–60 day programs in the 

United States for the selected 

participants, individually or in small 

groups. Each program should be built 

around a residency experience, which 

may be supplemented by other program 

elements designed to enhance and 

expand upon the activities of the 

residency. 

Proposed projects should transform 

institutional and individual 

understanding of key international, arts 

and/or cultural issues, foster dialogue, 

and develop professional expertise and 

leadership capacity. Projects should be 

structured to encourage American 

professionals and their international 

counterparts to develop a common 

dialogue for dealing with shared 

challenges and concerns. 

The Bureau is interested in receiving 

proposals from organizations with a 

strong interest, thematic expertise, 

institutional commitment, and a 

successful track-record in conducting 

international exchanges and in the 

specific thematic field their proposal 

addresses. Organizations that have the 

expertise, interest, and institutional 

commitment but lack the required 

experience of conducting exchanges 

may wish to consider developing 

proposals based on consortia type 

relationships with more experienced, 

eligible organizations. Please note that 

for these proposals, the role of each 

organization must be clearly defined 

and any sub-granting agreements must 

be included in the proposal submission. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

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. 

Purpose: This competition is based on 

the premise that people-to-people 

exchanges encourage and strengthen 

understanding of democratic values and 

nurture the cultural and social growth of 

societies. Under this premise, the 

Bureau offers a new funding 

opportunity for organizations to develop 

short residency and training programs 

in the United States for emerging and 

mid-career documentary filmmakers 

from around the world and museum 

professionals from Iraq. Proposals that 

show strong prospects for enhancing 

existing long-term collaborations or 

establishing new collaborative efforts 

among participating organizations will 

be deemed more competitive under the 

program planning criterion listed below. 

The two project themes for which the 

Bureau will accept proposals under this 

competition are as follows: (1) 

Documentary Filmmaker Fellowship 

Program; and (2) Iraq Museum 

Professional Residency Program. 

Under this program, U.S. non-profit 

organizations will conduct projects in 

cooperation with the Bureau of 

Educational and Cultural Affairs, 

Cultural Programs Division on the 

themes listed above, with their 

counterparts abroad for each project 

theme. No guarantee is made or implied 

that cooperative agreements will be 

awarded in both themes. 

In addition to describing extensive 

expertise in the specific thematic area, 

proposals should reflect a practical 

understanding of global issues, and 

demonstrate sensitivity to cultural, 

political, economic, and social 

differences in the specific world regions 

in which the exchange project will 

occur. Special attention should be given 

to describing the applicant 

organization’s experience with planning 

and implementing people-to-people 

international cultural exchange projects. 

Applicants should outline their project 

team’s capacity for successfully 

implementing projects of this nature, 

provide a detailed sample program and 

time line to illustrate planning capacity 

and ability to achieve program 

objectives. Applicants must identify all 

U.S. and foreign partner organizations 

and/or venues with whom they are 

proposing to collaborate, and describe 

previous cooperative projects in the 

section on ‘‘Institutional Capacity.’’ For 

this competition, applicants must 

include in their proposal supporting 

materials or documentation that 

demonstrates a minimum of five years 

experience in conducting international 

arts exchange programs and four years 

experience in conducting exchange 

programs with the U.S. Government. 

Proposals must include references with 

name and contact information for other 

assistance awards the applicant has 

received in the event the Bureau 

chooses to be in touch directly. 

Proposals should acknowledge U.S. 

Embassy involvement in the participant 

nomination process and the Cultural 

Programs Division’s (ECA/PE/C/CU) 

involvement in the final selection of all 

participants. 

For the 2009 Fellowships in the Arts, 

U.S. non-profit organizations may 

submit proposals for either one of the 

two—but not both—project themes and 

countries of exchange that are listed 

below. Please note that for additional 

information about this competition, a 

contact program officer at ECA is listed 

under each of the following two themes: 

1. Documentary Filmmaker 

Fellowship Program (not to exceed 

$400,000): 

Residency and Training cultural 

exchange for foreign emerging 

documentary filmmakers from countries 

to be determined by ECA/PE/C/CU. 

Program Contact: Susan Cohen, tel: 

(202) 203–7509, e-mail: 

CohenSL@state.gov with copy to: 

ProctorLF@state.gov. 

Project Goals: 

ECA seeks programs that will provide 

participants with in-depth exposure to 

their professional discipline as 

practiced in the U.S.; outreach to U.S. 

colleagues and publics, particularly 

youth, and; opportunities for creation 

and presentation of their work. ECA will 

select innovative programs for emerging 

or mid-career professionals in 

documentary filmmaking that will 

introduce them to the diversity of 

15818 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 

cultural expression in the United States; 

provide them with direct, hands-on 

experience with new techniques and 

technology in filmmaking; offer 

opportunities for interaction with U.S. 

filmmakers and other arts professionals; 

assist them with the development of 

their careers; familiarize them with the 

business aspects of documentary 

filmmaking, including measures to 

protect artists’ rights, and; offer them 

opportunities to share their work with 

U.S. audiences. The Bureau is 

particularly interested in program 

components that will provide linkages 

between participants and public school 

students in the U.S. 

Proposals should provide programs 

for a group of twenty (20) participants. 

The proposal should describe the 

proposed program, explain how it 

reflects the diversity of U.S. culture, 

show how it responds to the needs and 

interests of artists coming from a variety 

of countries and backgrounds, and 

demonstrate how it responds to ECA’s 

goals. 

Programs may be 30–60 days in 

length. Applicants should explain their 

rationale for the length of the program 

proposed. Programs should be centered 

on documentary filmmaking, should be 

customized to meet the needs and 

interests of the participants, and include 

the foreign program participants as 

peers of U.S. counterparts. Applicants 

should include other activities that will 

enhance the residency experience, 

including site visits; meetings with U.S. 

film directors, cinematographers, and 

other arts professionals; public 

presentations of program participants’ 

work, and; workshops for U.S. youth 

and educators. All programs must 

include the opportunity for participants 

to create works and to share their 

creation with U.S. colleagues and the 

public, particularly youth. Program 

activities complementary to the 

residency may take place in one or more 

locations in the U.S. This project does 

not include program activities outside 

the U.S. Participation in university 

courses for credit may not be included 

in proposals and participation in 

conferences will be considered only if it 

is clearly relevant to the professional 

background of the participants and 

represents only a small part of the 

overall program. Programs that 

exclusively involve participation in ‘offthe-shelf’ summer institutes or other 

pre-structured training situations are not 

acceptable and will not be funded. 

The Bureau encourages public 

presentation of participants’ 

documentary films and recognizes its 

value to mutual understanding. 

Proposals should therefore include 

opportunities for presentations and for 

public programs, such as panel 

discussions, and other avenues for 

program participants to discuss their 

work with U.S. audiences. Programming 

with U.S. public schools and/or other 

educational institutions is strongly 

encouraged. 

Proposals should include a sample 

program with day-by-day schedules. An 

orientation session in Washington, D.C. 

must be included that provides general 

information about U.S. society and an 

opportunity for ECA to meet and brief 

newly arrived participants. A postprogram event, at a site to be 

determined by grantee, that provides the 

opportunity for presentation of newly 

created documentaries and a de-briefing 

session must also be included. 

Participants: 

Program participants will be emerging 

or mid-career professional documentary 

filmmakers, generally aged 20–40 years 

from around the world. They should 

have also demonstrated a commitment 

to their profession as well as to 

positively influencing their 

communities, particularly minorities 

and youth. In general, participants will 

not have extensive or recent experience 

in the U.S. ECA intends that the 

program be highly competitive and that 

a final selection of nominations will 

result in a diverse mix of participants 

from a variety of countries. 

Applicants must state that they are 

prepared to work with program 

participants from any country or region 

determined by ECA. ECA will determine 

the priority or target countries for 

recruitment of program participants. It 

is unlikely that the Bureau will include 

countries whose artistic film community 

has substantial and ongoing contact 

with its counterpart in the U.S., such as 

Western Europe. Potential program 

participants must have a working 

knowledge of English sufficient to carry 

out the residency program without 

interpretation. 

Participant Selection: 

Foreign participants will be 

nominated in two ways: By the 

Department of State through a call for 

nominations from U.S. Embassies and 

posts, and; by the grantee organization, 

which will utilize its own network of 

contacts overseas (including film 

industry, film associations) and its own 

resources (such as U.S. filmmakers) to 

make a concurrent call for nominations. 

All participant applications will be 

reviewed by a panel organized and 

convoked by the grantee organization 

and consisting of artists and art 

professionals, and an ECA 

representative as an observer. 

Procedures for the nomination, selection 

of participants, and panel members 

must be detailed in the proposal. ECA 

will review and approve nominees prior 

to and following panel consideration. 

Successful programs will achieve the 

following: 

—Enhance participant professional 

capacity. 

—Provide participants with an 

appreciation and a greater 

understanding and respect for diverse 

cultures—focusing specifically on 

U.S. society and culture. Provide 

them a greater understanding of the 

similarities, including shared values 

between the U.S. and the foreign 

countries. 

—Provide participants an understanding 

of how international cultural 

exchange and networking can 

positively influence their lives and 

those of others and provide them the 

tools to accomplish successful 

networking. 

—Provide a platform for dialogue and 

development of enduring professional 

ties between U.S. contacts and foreign 

participants, as well as among foreign 

participants. 

—Enhance participant leadership 

capacity and their ability to initiate 

and support follow-on activities in 

their home countries intended. 

Successful applicants must fully 

demonstrate a capacity to achieve the 

following: 

(1) Work jointly with foreign and U.S. 

partners and/or contacts to design, 

develop, and execute a multi-regional 

documentary film residency program of 

professional development, artistic 

enrichment and cross-cultural dialogue 

that achieves the goals described above. 

(2) Identify, screen, recruit, and select 

twenty (20) foreign documentary 

filmmakers from specified countries 

fitting the above description. 

(3) Provide a sound infrastructure for 

coordination and implementation of the 

entire program. This refers to both 

substantive and administrative 

components of the program, including 

but not limited to: Fellowship and 

workshop content and organization, 

travel, housing, orientation, and visa 

applications. Successful applicants will 

also have U.S. partners able and willing 

to provide cost-sharing (including inkind) in order to help cover program 

costs. 

(4) Design, build, and implement 

intensive 30–60 day professional 

residency filmmaking program in the 

U.S. that will achieve program 

objectives. 

(5) Develop enhancement activities 

and opportunities that reinforce 

program goals after the participants 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 15819 

return to their home countries. Followon components could be public 

presentations of films by program 

participants. Applicants are directed to 

review the PSI for additional 

information on this criterion. 

(6) Provide to ECA/PE/C/CU at the 

conclusion of the program a Web-ready 

package that will showcase participants’ 

involvement in the program as well as 

feature the artistic product of their 

residency. 

ECA expects that this project will lead 

to greater artist-to-artist and institutionto-institution contact as well as 

collaboration across international 

borders. Proposals should describe 

mechanisms for measuring, supporting, 

and enhancing this cooperation during 

the grant period and beyond. 

In the cooperative agreement, ECA/ 

PE/C/CU is substantially involved in 

program activities above and beyond 

routine monitoring. ECA/PE/C/CU 

responsibilities for this program are as 

follows: 

› ECA/PE/C/CU will make a final 

decision regarding countries for 

recruitment of program participants. 

› Embassies will be one channel for 

nominations of program participants. 

Grantee may propose names for 

consideration by Embassy Public Affairs 

Sections and will have the opportunity 

to review the biographic information 

submitted and advise if a specific 

nominee does not appear to have 

attained an appropriate professional 

level of expertise. 

› ECA/PE/C/CU will participate in 

selection of final participants for the 

program. 

› ECA/PE/C/CU will review the 

proposed residency, orientation and debriefing program schedules and provide 

final approval. 

› ECA/PE/C/CU will issue DS–2019s 

needed for travel to the U.S. under the 

J visa program. 

› Following return to their home 

countries, Embassies will showcase the 

participating filmmakers and their work 

developed during or resulting from their 

experience in the U.S. 

2. Iraq Museum Professional 

Residency Program (not to exceed 

$500,000): 

Residency and Training cultural 

exchange for Iraqi museum 

professionals. 

Program Contact: Alan Cross, tel: 

(202) 203–7497, e-mail: 

CrossA@state.gov with copy to: 

BrooksMM@state.gov. 

Project Description: 

ECA seeks an organization to design 

and implement residency programs that 

will provide museum professionals from 

Iraq with in-depth exposure to their 

professional discipline as practiced in 

the U.S.; outreach to U.S. colleagues and 

publics, and; opportunities for 

increasing mutual understanding 

between the people of Iraq and the 

United States. This residency program is 

an integral component of the ‘Iraq 

Cultural Heritage Project’ (ICHP), which 

constitutes ECA’s major commitment to 

that country’s cultural heritage. Over a 

period of three years, approximately 50 

emerging and mid-career Iraqi museum 

professionals will participate in 

approximately 50 residencies in the 

United States designed to increase their 

expertise in collections management, 

cultural heritage conservation, digital 

collections/tools, museum 

administration, community engagement, 

and institutional capacity building. The 

programs will also be expected to 

introduce them to the diversity of 

cultural expression in the United States; 

provide them with direct, hands-on 

experience with new techniques and 

technology in their field; offer them 

opportunities for interaction with U.S. 

museum professionals; familiarize them 

with related fields, including private/ 

public partnerships, volunteerism, and 

new technologies, and; offer them 

opportunities to share their work with 

U.S. audiences. 

Programs will range from 30–60 days 

in length and will be custom designed 

by the grantee organization based on 

input from ECA and/or ECA partners. 

Residency programs will generally be 

sought for individual museum 

professionals, but could also be 

requested for a defined small group of 

museum professionals. 

Proposals should include sample 

programs with day-by-day schedules for 

a 30-day residency. An orientation 

session must be included that will 

provide participants with general 

information about the United States, its 

form of government, society and culture. 

A post-program session in Washington, 

DC must also be included, providing the 

possibility for de-briefing. When 

possible and practicable, orientation 

and de-briefing sessions should take 

place in groups in order to make best 

use of resources. 

The project will entail working with 

ECA and/or its designated partners in 

planning and scheduling all events, 

including: 

› Arranging all air travel (domestic 

and international) and local 

transportation; 

› Oversight of arrivals and 

departures (international and/or 

domestic); 

› Preparation of briefing materials 

for participants; 

› Designing and planning 

residencies as well as additional 

activities; 

› Coordinating escorts as necessary; 

› Arranging payment for all costs 

related to the residency program, 

including those incurred by residency 

hosts (museums or other identified civic 

spaces), per diem and lodging for 

participants; educational materials, 

equipments or supplies; etc. 

Program activities complementary to 

the residency may take place in one or 

more locations in the U.S. This project 

does not include program activities 

outside the U.S. Participation in 

university courses for credit may not be 

included in proposals and participation 

in conferences will be considered only 

if it is clearly relevant to the 

professional background of the 

participants and represents only a small 

part of the overall program. Programs 

that exclusively involve participation in 

‘off-the-shelf’ summer institutes or other 

pre-structured training situations are not 

acceptable and will not be funded. 

Any key U.S. partner institutions 

should be identified and letters of 

support should be provided in the 

proposal. 

Participants: 

Program participants will be emerging 

and mid-career museum professionals, 

generally aged 20–40 years from Iraq. 

They will have various levels of 

experience in the museum field and, in 

general, will not have extensive 

experience in the United States. 

Potential program participants must 

have a working knowledge of English 

sufficient to carry out the residency 

program without interpretation. 

Participant Nomination and 

Selection: 

Foreign participants will be 

nominated through different channels, 

and will include but are not limited to: 

Successful participants from other ICHP 

projects, nominees from the U.S. 

Embassy in Baghdad, and nominees 

from other USG and Iraqi partners. 

Grantee may also propose names for 

consideration by the Public Affairs 

Section of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. 

Final selection of participants will be 

made by ECA. 

Successful programs will achieve the 

following: 

—Enhance participant professional 

capacity. 

—Provide a platform for dialogue and 

development of enduring professional 

ties between U.S. contacts and foreign 

participants, as well as among foreign 

participants. 

—Enhance participant leadership 

capacity and their ability to initiate 

15820 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 

and support follow-on activities in 

their home countries intended. 

—Provide participants with an 

appreciation and a greater 

understanding and respect for diverse 

cultures—focusing specifically on 

U.S. society and culture. Provide 

them a greater understanding of the 

similarities, including shared values 

between the U.S. and Iraq. 

—Provide participants an understanding 

of how international cultural 

exchange and networking can 

positively influence their lives and 

those of others and provide them the 

tools to accomplish successful 

networking. 

Successful applicants must fully 

demonstrate a capacity to achieve the 

following: 

(1) Work jointly with foreign and U.S. 

partners and/or contacts to design, 

develop, and execute a variety of 

museum residency programs for 

professional development, artistic 

enrichment and cross-cultural dialogue 

that achieve the goals described above. 

(2) Provide a sound infrastructure for 

coordination and implementation of the 

entire program. This refers to both 

substantive and administrative 

components of the program, including 

but not limited to: Fellowship and 

workshops content and organization, 

international and domestic travel, 

housing, orientation, and visa 

applications. Successful applicants will 

also have U.S. partners able and willing 

to provide cost-sharing (including inkind) in order to help cover program 

costs. 

(3) Design, build, and implement 

intensive 30–60 day museum residency 

programs in the U.S. that will achieve 

program objectives. 

(4) Develop enhancement activities 

and opportunities that reinforce 

program goals after the participants 

return to their home countries. Followon components could be public 

presentations by program participants. 

Applicants are encouraged to review the 

PSI for additional information regarding 

this criterion. 

(5) Show understanding of the 

challenges of collaboration in the design 

and implementation of the residency 

programs and propose means for 

addressing them. 

ECA expects that this project will lead 

to greater person-to-person and 

institution-to-institution contact as well 

as collaboration across international 

borders. Proposals should describe 

mechanisms for measuring, supporting 

and enhancing this cooperation during 

the grant period and beyond. 

In the cooperative agreement, ECA/ 

PE/C/CU is substantially involved in 

program activities above and beyond 

routine monitoring. ECA/PE/C/CU 

responsibilities for this program are as 

follows: 

fi ECA/PE/C/CU will make the final 

determination of program participants. 

Participants will be nominated as stated 

previously. 

fi ECA/PE/C/CU will review the 

proposed residencies, orientation and 

de-briefing program schedules, and 

provide final approval. 

fi Where applicable, ECA/PE/C/CU 

will issue DS–2019s needed for travel to 

the U.S. under the J visa program. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Cooperative 

Agreements. ECA’s level of involvement 

in this program is listed under number 

I above. 

Fiscal Year Funds: FY–2009. 

Approximate Total Funding: 

$900,000. 

Approximate Number of Awards: 2. 

Approximate Average Award: 

Project 1: $400,000. 

Project 2: $500,000. 

Anticipated Award Date: September 

1, 2009. 

Anticipated Project Completion Dates: 

December 30, 2010 for documentary 

residency; December 30, 2012 for Iraq 

museum residency. 

III. Eligibility Information 

III.1. Eligible applicants: 

Applications may be submitted by 

public and private non-profit 

organizations meeting the provisions 

described in Internal Revenue Code 

section 26 USC 501(c)(3). 

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching Funds: 

There is no minimum or maximum 

percentage required for this 

competition. However, the Bureau 

encourages applicants to provide 

maximum levels of cost sharing and 

funding in support of its programs. 

When cost sharing is offered, it is 

understood and agreed that the 

applicant must provide the amount of 

cost sharing as stipulated in its proposal 

and later included in an approved 

agreement. Cost sharing may be in the 

form of allowable direct or indirect 

costs. For accountability, you must 

maintain written records to support all 

costs which are claimed as your 

contribution, as well as costs to be paid 

by the Federal government. Such 

records are subject to audit. The basis 

for determining the value of cash and 

in-kind contributions must be in 

accordance with OMB Circular A–110, 

(Revised), Subpart C.23—Cost Sharing, 

and Matching. In the event you do not 

provide the minimum amount of cost 

sharing as stipulated in the approved 

budget, ECA’s contribution will be 

reduced in like proportion. 

III.3. Other Eligibility Requirements: 

(a) Bureau grant guidelines require 

that organizations with less than four 

years experience in conducting 

international exchanges be limited to 

$60,000 in Bureau funding. ECA 

anticipates making two separate awards, 

in amounts up to $500,000 to support 

program and administrative costs 

required to implement this exchange 

program. Therefore, organizations with 

less than four years experience in 

conducting international exchanges are 

ineligible to apply under this 

competition. The Bureau encourages 

applicants to provide maximum levels 

of cost sharing and funding in support 

of its programs. 

(b) Proposals must demonstrate that 

an applicant has an established resource 

base of programming contacts and the 

ability to keep this resource base 

continuously updated. This resource 

base should include but is not limited 

to thematically related institutions (e.g., 

film organizations and museums), 

speakers, thematic specialists, and 

practitioners in a wide range of 

professional fields in both private and 

public sectors. 

(c) Technical Eligibility: All proposals 

must comply with the list of 

requirements below or they will result 

in your proposal being declared 

technically ineligible and given no 

further consideration in the review 

process: 

— Applicants may only submit one 

proposal under this open competition. 

Submission of more than one 

proposal per applicant under this 

open competition will render all 

proposals by the applicant technically 

ineligible and will not receive further 

consideration in the review process. 

— Proposals for Project 2 (Iraq Museum 

Professionals Residency program) that 

contain any other country will be 

considered technically ineligible, and 

will not receive further consideration 

in the review process. 

— For this competition, all eligible 

organizations must demonstrate a 

minimum of five years’ experience 

successfully conducting international 

arts exchange programs that involved 

the exchange of participants, as well 

as at least four years’ experience 

successfully conducting international 

programs with the U.S. Government. 

— Key U.S. partner institutions and 

their roles in the project must be 

identified and letters of support 

provided in the proposal. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 15821 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

Note: Please read the complete 

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. 

IV.1 Contact Information to Request 

an Application Package: 

Please contact the Cultural Programs 

Division of the Office of Citizens’ 

Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational 

and Cultural Affairs, ECA/PE/P/CU, 

Room 569, U.S. Department of State, 

SA–44, 301 4th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20547, 202–703–7488, 

fax: 202–203–7525, 

ProctorLM@state.gov, to request a 

Solicitation Package. Please refer to the 

Funding Opportunity Number ECA/PE/ 

C/CU–09–49 located at the top of this 

announcement when making your 

request. Alternatively, an electronic 

application package may be obtained 

from grants.gov. Please see section IV.3f 

for further information. 

The Solicitation Package contains the 

Proposal Submission Instruction (PSI) 

document which consists of required 

application forms, and standard 

guidelines for proposal preparation. 

Please specify Susan Cohen and refer 

to the Funding Opportunity Number 

ECA/PE/C/CU–09–49 located at the top 

of this announcement on all other 

inquiries and correspondence. 

IV.2. To Download a Solicitation 

Package via Internet: 

The entire Solicitation Package may 

be downloaded from the Bureau’s Web 

site at http://exchanges.state.gov/grants/ 

open2.html, or from the Grants.gov Web 

site at http://www.grants.gov. 

Please read all information before 

downloading. 

IV.3. Content and Form of 

Submission: Applicants must follow all 

instructions in the Solicitation Package. 

The application should be submitted 

per the instructions under IV.3f. 

‘‘Application Deadline and Methods of 

Submission’’ section below. 

IV.3a. You are required to have a Dun 

and Bradstreet Data Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) number to 

apply for a grant or cooperative 

agreement from the U.S. Government. 

This number is a nine-digit 

identification number, which uniquely 

identifies business entities. Obtaining a 

DUNS number is easy and there is no 

charge. To obtain a DUNS number, 

access http:// 

www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1– 

866–705–5711. Please ensure that your 

DUNS number is included in the 

appropriate box of the SF–424 which is 

part of the formal application package. 

IV.3b. All proposals must contain an 

executive summary, proposal narrative 

and budget. 

Please Refer to the Solicitation 

Package. It contains the mandatory 

Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) 

document for additional formatting and 

technical requirements. 

IV.3c. You must have nonprofit status 

with the IRS at the time of application. 

Please note: Effective January 7, 2009, 

all applicants for ECA Federal 

assistance awards must include in their 

application the names of directors and/ 

or senior executives (current officers, 

trustees, and key employees, regardless 

of amount of compensation). In 

fulfilling this requirement, applicants 

must submit information in one of the 

following ways: 

(1) Those who file Internal Revenue 

Service Form 990, ‘‘Return of 

Organization Exempt From Income 

Tax,’’ must include a copy of relevant 

portions of this form. 

(2) Those who do not file IRS Form 

990 must submit information above in 

the format of their choice. 

In addition to final program reporting 

requirements, award recipients will also 

be required to submit a one-page 

document, derived from their program 

reports, listing and describing their 

grant activities. For award recipients, 

the names of directors and/or senior 

executives (current officers, trustees, 

and key employees), as well as the onepage description of grant activities, will 

be transmitted by the State Department 

to OMB, along with other information 

required by the Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act 

(FFATA), and will be made available to 

the public by the Office of Management 

and Budget on its USASpending.gov 

Web site as part of ECA’s FFATA 

reporting requirements. 

If your organization is a private 

nonprofit which has not received a grant 

or cooperative agreement from ECA in 

the past three years, or if your 

organization received nonprofit status 

from the IRS within the past four years, 

you must submit the necessary 

documentation to verify nonprofit status 

as directed in the PSI document. Failure 

to do so will cause your proposal to be 

declared technically ineligible. 

IV.3d. Please take into consideration 

the following information when 

preparing your proposal narrative: 

IV.3d.1 Adherence to all Regulations 

Governing the J Visa 

The Bureau of Educational and 

Cultural Affairs places critically 

important emphases on the security and 

proper administration of the Exchange 

Visitor (J visa) Programs and adherence 

by award recipients and sponsors to all 

regulations governing the J visa. 

Therefore, proposals should 

demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to 

meet all requirements governing the 

administration of the Exchange Visitor 

Programs as set forth in 22 CFR 62, 

including the oversight of Responsible 

Officers and Alternate Responsible 

Officers, screening and selection of 

program participants, provision of prearrival information and orientation to 

participants, monitoring of participants, 

proper maintenance and security of 

forms, record-keeping, reporting and 

other requirements. 

ECA/PE/C/CU will be responsible for 

issuing DS–2019 forms to participants 

in this program. 

A copy of the complete regulations 

governing the administration of 

Exchange Visitor (J) programs is 

available at http://exchanges.state.gov 

or from: United States Department of 

State, Office of Exchange Coordination 

and Designation, ECA/EC/ECD–SA–44, 

Room 734, 301 4th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20547, Telephone: 

(202) 203–5029, FAX: (202) 453–8640. 

Please refer to Solicitation Package for 

further information. 

IV.3d.2 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 disabilities. 

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 your 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. 

15822 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 

IV.3d.3 Program Monitoring and 

Evaluation 

Proposals must include a plan to 

monitor and evaluate the project’s 

success, both as the activities unfold 

and at the end of the program. The 

Bureau recommends that your proposal 

include a draft survey questionnaire or 

other technique plus a description of a 

methodology to use to link outcomes to 

original project objectives. The Bureau 

expects that the recipient organization 

will track participants or partners and 

be able to respond to key evaluation 

questions, including satisfaction with 

the program, learning as a result of the 

program, changes in behavior as a result 

of the program, and effects of the 

program on institutions (institutions in 

which participants work or partner 

institutions). The evaluation plan 

should include indicators that measure 

gains in mutual understanding as well 

as substantive knowledge. 

Successful monitoring and evaluation 

depend heavily on setting clear goals 

and outcomes at the outset of a program. 

Your evaluation plan should include a 

description of your project’s objectives, 

your anticipated project outcomes, and 

how and when you intend to measure 

these outcomes (performance 

indicators). The more that outcomes are 

‘‘smart’’ (specific, measurable, 

attainable, results-oriented, and placed 

in a reasonable time frame), the easier 

it will be to conduct the evaluation. You 

should also show how your project 

objectives link to the goals of the 

program described in this RFGP. 

Your monitoring and evaluation plan 

should clearly distinguish between 

program outputs and outcomes. Outputs 

are products and services delivered, 

often stated as an amount. Output 

information is important to show the 

scope or size of project activities, but it 

cannot substitute for information about 

progress towards outcomes or the 

results achieved. Examples of outputs 

include the number of people trained or 

the number of seminars conducted. 

Outcomes, in contrast, represent 

specific results a project is intended to 

achieve and is usually measured as an 

extent of change. Findings on outputs 

and outcomes should both be reported, 

but the focus should be on outcomes. 

We encourage you to assess the 

following four levels of outcomes, as 

they relate to the program goals set out 

in the RFGP (listed here in increasing 

order of importance): 

1. Participant satisfaction with the 

program and exchange experience. 

2. Participant learning, such as 

increased knowledge, aptitude, skills, 

and changed understanding and 

attitude. Learning includes both 

substantive (subject-specific) learning 

and mutual understanding. 

3. Participant behavior, concrete 

actions to apply knowledge in work or 

community; greater participation and 

responsibility in civic organizations; 

interpretation and explanation of 

experiences and new knowledge gained; 

continued contacts between 

participants, community members, and 

others. 

4. Institutional changes, such as 

increased collaboration and 

partnerships, policy reforms, new 

programming, and organizational 

improvements. 

Please note: Consideration should be given 

to the appropriate timing of data collection 

for each level of outcome. For example, 

satisfaction is usually captured as a shortterm outcome, whereas behavior and 

institutional changes are normally 

considered longer-term outcomes. 

Overall, the quality of your 

monitoring and evaluation plan will be 

judged on how well it (1) specifies 

intended outcomes; (2) gives clear 

descriptions of how each outcome will 

be measured; (3) identifies when 

particular outcomes will be measured; 

and (4) provides a clear description of 

the data collection strategies for each 

outcome (i.e., surveys, interviews, or 

focus groups). (Please note that 

evaluation plans that deal only with the 

first level of outcomes [satisfaction] will 

be deemed less competitive under the 

present evaluation criteria.) 

Recipient organizations will be 

required to provide reports analyzing 

their evaluation findings to the Bureau 

in their regular program reports. All 

data collected, including survey 

responses and contact information, must 

be maintained for a minimum of three 

years and provided to the Bureau upon 

request. 

IV.3d.4 Describe your plans for: i.e. 

Sustainability, overall program 

management, staffing, coordination with 

ECA and PAS or any other 

requirements, etc. 

IV.3e. Please take the following 

information into consideration when 

preparing your budget: 

IV.3e.1 Applicants must submit SF– 

424A—‘‘Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs’’ along with a 

comprehensive budget for the entire 

program. Budget requests may not 

exceed $400,000 for project 1 or 

$500,000 for project 2. There must be a 

summary budget as well as breakdowns 

reflecting both administrative and 

program budgets. Applicants may 

provide separate sub-budgets for each 

program component, phase, location, or 

activity to provide clarification. 

IV.3e.2 Allowable costs for the 

program include the following: 

(1) Lodging, per diem, and other 

expenses related to foreign participation 

in residency programs; 

(2) Design and implementation of 

residency program (including, as 

appropriate, staff, administrative 

expenses, educational expenses, 

supplies, equipment, production costs 

for filmmaking project, orientation and 

de-briefing costs, etc.); 

(3) International and domestic travel 

and transportation; 

(4) Other costs related to programs 

complementary to the residency 

program, including presentations to 

public schools, panels, etc. 

Please refer to the Solicitation 

Package for complete budget guidelines 

and formatting instructions. 

IV.3f. Application Deadline and 

Methods of Submission: 

Application Deadline Date: May 12, 

2009. 

Reference Number: ECA/PE/C/CU– 

09–49. 

Methods of Submission: 

Applications may be submitted in one 

of two ways: 

(1) In hard-copy, via a nationally 

recognized overnight delivery service 

(i.e., Federal Express, UPS, Airborne 

Express, or U.S. Postal Service Express 

Overnight Mail, etc.), or 

(2) Electronically through http:// 

www.grants.gov. 

Please Note: ECA strongly encourages 

organizations interested in applying for this 

competition to submit printed, hard copy 

applications as outlined in section IV.3f.1., 

below rather than submitting electronically 

through Grants.gov. This recommendation is 

being made as a result of the anticipated high 

volume of grant proposals that will be 

submitted via the Grants.gov Web portal as 

part of the Recovery Act stimulus package. 

As stated in these RFGPs, ECA bears no 

responsibility for data errors resulting from 

transmission or conversion processes for 

proposals submitted via Grants.gov. 

Along with the Project Title, all 

applicants must enter the above 

Reference Number in Box 11 on the SF– 

424 contained in the mandatory 

Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) 

of the solicitation document. 

IV.3f.1 Submitting Printed 

Applications 

Applications must be shipped no later 

than the above deadline. Delivery 

services used by applicants must have 

in-place, centralized shipping 

identification and tracking systems that 

may be accessed via the Internet and 

delivery people who are identifiable by 

commonly recognized uniforms and 

delivery vehicles. Proposals shipped on 

or before the above deadline but 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 15823 

received at ECA more than seven days 

after the deadline will be ineligible for 

further consideration under this 

competition. Proposals shipped after the 

established deadlines are ineligible for 

consideration under this competition. 

ECA will not notify you upon receipt of 

application. It is each applicant’s 

responsibility to ensure that each 

package is marked with a legible 

tracking number and to monitor/confirm 

delivery to ECA via the Internet. 

Delivery of proposal packages may not 

be made via local courier service or in 

person for this competition. Faxed 

documents will not be accepted at any 

time. Only proposals submitted as 

stated above will be considered. 

Important note: When preparing your 

submission please make sure to include one 

extra copy of the completed SF–424 form and 

place it in an envelope addressed to ‘‘ECA/ 

EX/PM’’. 

The original and nine (9) copies of the 

application should be sent to: U.S. 

Department of State, SA–44, Bureau of 

Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ref.: 

ECA/PE/C/CU–09–49, Program 

Management, ECA/EX/PM, Room 534, 

301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20547. 

Applicants submitting hard-copy 

applications must also submit the 

‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal 

Narrative’’ sections of the proposal in 

text (.txt) or Microsoft Word format on 

a PC-formatted disk. The Bureau will 

provide these files electronically to the 

appropriate Public Affairs Section(s) at 

the U.S. Embassy(ies) for its(their) 

review. 

IV.3f.2 Submitting Electronic 

Applications 

Applicants have the option of 

submitting proposals electronically 

through Grants.gov (http:// 

www.grants.gov). Complete solicitation 

packages are available at Grants.gov in 

the ‘‘Find’’ portion of the system. 

Please Note: ECA strongly encourages 

organizations interested in applying for this 

competition to submit printed, hard copy 

applications as outlined in section IV.3f.1. 

above, rather than submitting electronically 

through Grants.gov. This recommendation is 

being made as a result of the anticipated high 

volume of grant proposals that will be 

submitted via the Grants.gov Web portal as 

part of the Recovery Act stimulus package. 

As stated in these RFGPs, ECA bears no 

responsibility for data errors resulting from 

transmission or conversion processes for 

proposals submitted via Grants.gov. 

Please follow the instructions 

available in the ‘‘Get Started’’ portion of 

the site (http://www.grants.gov/ 

GetStarted. 

Several of the steps in the Grants.gov 

registration process could take several 

weeks. Therefore, applicants should 

check with appropriate staff within their 

organizations immediately after 

reviewing this RFGP to confirm or 

determine their registration status with 

Grants.gov. 

Once registered, the amount of time it 

can take to upload an application will 

vary depending on a variety of factors 

including the size of the application and 

the speed of your Internet connection. 

In addition, validation of an electronic 

submission via Grants.gov can take up 

to two business days. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend 

that you not wait until the application 

deadline to begin the submission 

process through Grants.gov. 

The Grants.gov Web site includes 

extensive information on all phases/ 

aspects of the Grants.gov process, 

including an extensive section on 

frequently asked questions, located 

under the ‘‘For Applicants’’ section of 

the Web site. ECA strongly recommends 

that all potential applicants review 

thoroughly the Grants.gov Web site, 

well in advance of submitting a 

proposal through the Grants.gov system. 

ECA bears no responsibility for data 

errors resulting from transmission or 

conversion processes. 

Direct all questions regarding 

Grants.gov registration and submission 

to: Grants.gov Customer Support. 

Contact Center Phone: 800–518–4726. 

Business Hours: Monday–Friday, 

7 a.m.–9 p.m. Eastern Time. 

E-mail: support@grants.gov. 

Applicants have until midnight 

(12 a.m.), Washington, DC time of the 

closing date to ensure that their entire 

application has been uploaded to the 

Grants.gov site. There are no exceptions 

to the above deadline. Applications 

uploaded to the site after midnight of 

the application deadline date will be 

automatically rejected by the grants.gov 

system, and will be technically 

ineligible. 

Please refer to the Grants.gov Web 

site, for definitions of various 

‘‘application statuses’’ and the 

difference between a submission receipt 

and a submission validation. Applicants 

will receive a validation e-mail from 

grants.gov upon the successful 

submission of an application. Again, 

validation of an electronic submission 

via Grants.gov can take up to two 

business days. Therefore, we strongly 

recommend that you not wait until the 

application deadline to begin the 

submission process through Grants.gov. 

ECA will not notify you upon receipt of 

electronic applications. 

It is the responsibility of all 

applicants submitting proposals via the 

Grants.gov Web portal to ensure that 

proposals have been received by 

Grants.gov in their entirety, and ECA 

bears no responsibility for data errors 

resulting from transmission or 

conversion processes. 

Optional—IV.3f. You may also state 

here any limitations on the number of 

applications that an applicant may 

submit and make it clear whether the 

limitation is on the submitting 

organization, individual program 

director or both. 

IV.3g. Intergovernmental Review of 

Applications: Executive Order 12372 

does not apply to this program. 

V. Application Review Information 

V.1. Review Process 

The Bureau will review all proposals 

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 (cooperative agreements) resides 

with the Bureau’s 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. Program planning: Detailed agenda 

and relevant work plan should 

demonstrate substantive undertakings 

and logistical capacity. Agenda and plan 

should adhere to the program overview 

and guidelines described above. 

2. Ability to Achieve Program 

Objectives: Objectives should be 

reasonable, feasible, and flexible. 

Proposals should clearly demonstrate 

how the institution will meet the 

program’s objectives and plan. 

3. Support of Diversity: Proposals 

should demonstrate substantive support 

of the Bureau’s policy on diversity. 

Achievable and relevant features should 

be cited in both program administration 

(selection of participants, program 

venue and program evaluation) and 

program content (orientation and wrapup sessions, program meetings, resource 

materials and follow-up activities). 

15824 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 

4. Institutional Capacity: Proposed 

personnel and institutional resources 

should be adequate and appropriate to 

achieve the program or project’s goals. 

5. Institution’s 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 Bureau awards 

(grants or cooperative agreements) as 

determined by Bureau Grants Staff. The 

Bureau will consider the past 

performance of prior recipients and the 

demonstrated potential of new 

applicants. 

6. Project Evaluation: Proposals 

should include a plan to evaluate the 

activity’s success, both as the activities 

unfold and at the end of the program. A 

draft survey questionnaire or other 

technique plus description of a 

methodology to use to link outcomes to 

original project objectives is 

recommended. 

7. 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 costsharing through other private sector 

support as well as institutional direct 

funding contributions. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

VI.1a. Award Notices: 

Final awards cannot be made until 

funds have been appropriated by 

Congress, allocated and committed 

through internal Bureau procedures. 

Successful applicants will receive a 

Federal Assistance Award (FAA) from 

the Bureau’s Grants Office. The FAA 

and the original proposal with 

subsequent modifications (if applicable) 

shall be the only binding authorizing 

document between the recipient and the 

U.S. Government. The FAA will be 

signed by an authorized Grants Officer, 

and mailed to the recipient’s 

responsible officer identified in the 

application. 

Unsuccessful applicants will receive 

notification of the results of the 

application review from the ECA 

program office coordinating this 

competition. 

VI.1b The following additional 

requirements apply to this project: 

A critical component of current U.S. 

government Iran policy is the support 

for indigenous Iranian voices. The State 

Department has made the awarding of 

grants for this purpose a key component 

of its Iran policy. As a condition of 

licensing these activities, the Office of 

Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has 

requested the Department of State to 

follow certain procedures to effectuate 

the goals of Sections 481(b), 531(a), 571, 

582, and 635(b) of the Foreign 

Assistance Act of 1961 (as amended); 18 

U.S.C. §§ 2339A and 2339B; Executive 

Order 13224; and Homeland Security 

Presidential Directive 6. These licensing 

conditions mandate that the Department 

conduct a vetting of potential Iran 

grantees and sub-grantees for counterterrorism purposes. To conduct this 

vetting the Department will collect 

information from grantees and subgrantees regarding the identity and 

background of their key employees and 

Boards of Directors. 

Note: To assure that planning for the 

inclusion of Iran complies with 

requirements, please contact Jill Staggs—Iran 

Coordinator at 202–203–7500 or 

StaggsJJ@state.gov, for additional 

information. 

All awards made under this 

competition must be executed according 

to all relevant U.S. laws and policies 

regarding assistance to the Palestinian 

Authority, and to the West Bank and 

Gaza. Organizations must consult with 

relevant Public Affairs Offices before 

entering into any formal arrangements 

or agreements with Palestinian 

organizations or institutions. 

Note: To assure that planning for the 

inclusion of the Palestinian Authority 

complies with requirements, please contact 

Jill Staggs—at 202–203–7500 or 

StaggsJJ@state.gov for additional information. 

Special Provision for Performance in a 

Designated Combat Area (Currently 

Iraq and Afghanistan) (December 2008) 

All Recipient personnel deploying to 

areas of combat operations, as 

designated by the Secretary of Defense 

(currently Iraq and Afghanistan), under 

assistance awards over $100,000 or 

performance over 14 days must register 

in the Department of Defense 

maintained Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker 

(SPOT) system. Recipients of Federal 

assistance awards shall register in SPOT 

before deployment, or if already in the 

designated operational area, register 

upon becoming an employee under the 

assistance award, and maintain current 

data in SPOT. Information on how to 

register in SPOT will be available from 

your Grants Officer or Grants Officer 

Representative during the final 

negotiation and approval stages in the 

Federal assistance awards process. 

Recipients of Federal assistance awards 

are advised that adherence to this policy 

and procedure will be a requirement of 

all final Federal assistance awards 

issued by ECA. 

Recipient performance may require 

the use of armed private security 

personnel. To the extent that such 

private security contractors (PSCs) are 

required, grantees are required to ensure 

they adhere to Chief of Mission (COM) 

policies and procedures regarding the 

operation, oversight, and accountability 

of PSCs. 

VI.2 Administrative and National 

Policy Requirements: 

Terms and Conditions for the 

Administration of ECA agreements 

include the following: 

Office of Management and Budget 

Circular A–122, ‘‘Cost Principles for 

Nonprofit Organizations.’’ 

Office of Management and Budget 

Circular A–21, ‘‘Cost Principles for 

Educational Institutions.’’ 

OMB Circular A–87, ‘‘Cost Principles 

for State, Local and Indian 

Governments’’. 

OMB Circular No. A–110 (Revised), 

Uniform Administrative Requirements 

for Grants and Agreements with 

Institutions of Higher Education, 

Hospitals, and other Nonprofit 

Organizations. 

OMB Circular No. A–102, Uniform 

Administrative Requirements for 

Grants-in-Aid to State and Local 

Governments. 

OMB Circular No. A–133, Audits of 

States, Local Government, and Nonprofit Organizations 

Please reference the following Web 

sites for additional information: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ 

grants. 

http://fa.statebuy.state.gov. 

VI.3. Reporting Requirements: You 

must provide ECA with a hard copy 

original plus nine (9) copies of the 

following reports: 

(1) A final program and financial 

report no more than 90 days after the 

expiration of the award; 

(2) A concise, one-page final program 

report summarizing program outcomes 

no more than 90 days after the 

expiration of the award. This one-page 

report will be transmitted to OMB, and 

be made available to the public via 

OMB’s USAspending.gov Web site—as 

part of ECA’s Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act 

(FFATA) reporting requirements. 

(3) A SF–PPR, ‘‘Performance Progress 

Report’’ Cover Sheet with all program 

reports. 

Award recipients will be required to 

provide reports analyzing their 

evaluation findings to the Bureau in 

their regular program reports. (Please 

refer to IV. Application and Submission 

Instructions (IV.3.d.3) above for Program 

Monitoring and Evaluation information. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 7, 2009 / Notices 15825 

All data collected, including survey 

responses and contact information, must 

be maintained for a minimum of three 

years and provided to the Bureau upon 

request. 

All reports must be sent to the ECA 

Grants Officer and ECA Program Officer 

listed in the final assistance award 

document. 

Program Data Requirements: 

Award recipients will be required to 

maintain specific data on program 

participants and activities in an 

electronically accessible database format 

that can be shared with the Bureau as 

required. As a minimum, the data must 

include the following: 

(1) Name, address, contact 

information, and biographic sketch of 

all persons who travel internationally 

on funds provided by the agreement or 

who benefit from the award funding but 

do not travel. 

(2) Itineraries of international and 

domestic travel, providing dates of 

travel and cities in which any exchange 

experiences take place. Final schedules 

for in-country and U.S. activities must 

be received by the ECA Program Officer 

at least three work days prior to the 

official opening of the activity. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

For questions about this 

announcement, contact: Susan Cohen, 

Cultural Programs Division, ECA/PE/C/ 

CU, Room 568, ECA/PE/C/CU–09–49, 

U.S. Department of State, SA–44, 301 

4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547, 

202–203–7509, fax: 202–203–7525, 

CohenSL@state.gov. 

All correspondence with the Bureau 

concerning this RFGP should reference 

the above title and number ECA/PE/C/ 

CU–09–49. 

Please read the complete 

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. 

VIII. Other Information 

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 per section VI.3 

above. 

Dated: March 31, 2009. 

C. Miller Crouch, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational 

and Cultural Affairs, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. E9–7849 Filed 4–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 6571] 

Culturally Significant Objects Imported 

for Exhibition Determinations: ‘‘An 

Antiquity of Imagination: Tullio 

Lombardo and Venetian High 

Renaissance Sculpture’’ 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the 

following determinations: Pursuant to 

the authority vested in me by the Act of 

October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 

2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 

27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and 

Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 

2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et 

seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of 

October 1, 1999, Delegation of Authority 

No. 236 of October 19, 1999, as 

amended, and Delegation of Authority 

No. 257 of April 15, 2003 [68 FR 19875], 

I hereby determine that the objects to be 

included in the exhibition ‘‘An 

Antiquity of Imagination: Tullio 

Lombardo and Venetian High 

Renaissance Sculpture,’’ imported from 

abroad for temporary exhibition within 

the United States, are of cultural 

significance. The objects are imported 

pursuant to loan agreements with the 

foreign owners or custodians. I also 

determine that the exhibition or display 

of the exhibit objects at the National 

Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, from on 

or about July 4 until on or about October 

31, 2009, and at possible additional 

exhibitions or venues yet to be 

determined, is in the national interest. 

Public Notice of these Determinations is 

ordered to be published in the Federal 

Register. 

For Further Information Contact: For 

further information, including a list of 

the exhibit objects, contact Carol B. 

Epstein, Attorney-Adviser, Office of the 

Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State 

(telephone: 202/453–8048). The address 

is U.S. Department of State, SA–44, 301 

4th Street, SW., Room 700, Washington, 

DC 20547–0001. 

Dated: March 30, 2009. 

C. Miller Crouch, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational 

and Cultural Affairs, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. E9–7856 Filed 4–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[USCG–2007–28535] 

Atlantic Sea Island Group LLC, Safe 

Harbor Energy Liquefied Natural Gas 

Deepwater Port License Application 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; 

reopening of scoping comment period. 

SUMMARY: By Federal Register notice of 

January 9, 2009 (74 FR 982–984) the 

Maritime Administration and the Coast 

Guard announced the intent to prepare 

an environmental impact statement 

(EIS) for the Atlantic Sea Island Group 

LLC, Safe Harbor Energy liquefied 

natural gas deepwater port license 

application located in Federal Waters 

approximately 13.5 miles south of the 

City of Long Beach, New York, 19 miles 

east of Highlands, New Jersey, and 23 

miles southeast of the Ports of New York 

and New Jersey. The proposed project 

location is in the area between the 

Ambrose-to-Nantucket and Hudson 

Canyon-to-Ambrose shipping lanes, 

located at approximately 40°23′ N and 

73°36 W, in water depth of between 60 

and 70 feet covering an area known as 

Cholera Bank. 

The EIS will be prepared with the 

New York State Department of 

Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) 

as a cooperating agency in the 

environmental review with the Coast 

Guard. The EIS will meet the 

requirements of both the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the New York State Environmental 

Quality Review Act (SEQRA). In 

addition, the Coast Guard and the 

Maritime Administration will be 

working with appropriate state agency 

representatives from New Jersey to 

ensure potential impacts and concerns 

of New Jersey are addressed in the EIS. 

The Maritime Administration and 

Coast Guard held public scoping 

meetings for the Safe Harbor Energy 

liquefied natural gas deepwater port 

license application on January 27, 2009 

in Eatontown, New Jersey, as well as on 

January 29, 2009 in Long Beach, New 

York. In addition, the scoping comment 

period was extended an additional 30 

days by the Maritime Administration 

and Coast Guard to accommodate 

several requests for the scoping 

comment period extension. The scoping 

comment period closed on March 11, 

2009. However, this notice announces 

the reopening of the scoping comment 

period, a public meeting to be held in 

connection with the EIS, and request for