17716 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 

25 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

significantly, will enhance the ability of 

institutional investors, retail investors 

and broker-dealers to compare and 

negotiate prices in Agency debt 

securities transactions, and will 

enhance FINRA’s surveillance of the 

debt market in connection with primary 

market transactions and Agency debt 

securities generally; and (ii) the 

proposed fee proposal provides for 

reporting and market data fees that are 

reasonable and mirror the fees currently 

in effect for corporate bonds, and 

provides for the equitable allocation of 

such fees and charges among members 

and other professional market 

participants, qualifying Tax-Exempt 

Organizations and public data 

consumers. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

FINRA does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will result in any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 35 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period (i) 

as the Commission may designate up to 

90 days of such date if it finds such 

longer period to be appropriate and 

publishes its reasons for so finding or 

(ii) as to which the self regulatory 

organization consents, the Commission 

will: 

(A) By order approve such proposed 

rule change, or 

(B) Institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–FINRA–2009–010 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–FINRA–2009–010. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for inspection and copying in 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, 

DC 20549, on official business days 

between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. 

Copies of the filing will also be available 

for inspection and copying at the 

principal office of FINRA. All comments 

received will be posted without change; 

the Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File No. SR–FINRA– 

2009–010 and should be submitted on 

or before May 7, 2009. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.25

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–8656 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 6581] 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural 

Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant 

Proposals (RFGP): Congressionally 

Mandated—One-Time Grants 

Program—Competition B— 

Professional, Cultural, and Youth OneTime Grants Program 

Announcement Type: New Grant. 

Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/ 

PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number: 00.000. 

Key Dates: 

Application Deadline: May 14, 2009. 

Executive Summary: This competition 

is one of two competitions that the 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural 

Affairs is conducting as directed in the 

FY–2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. 

L. 111–8) under Division H of the 

Department of State, Foreign 

Operations, and Related Programs 

Appropriations Act, under ‘‘Educational 

and Cultural Exchange Programs’’ in 

support of a $6 million ‘‘competitive 

one-time grants program.’’ All 

applications must be submitted by 

public or private non-profit 

organizations, meeting the provisions 

described in Internal Revenue code 

section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). Total 

funding for this ‘‘one-time grants 

program’’ is $6 million dollars. $3.9 

million will be dedicated to this 

competition, (Competition B— 

Professional, Cultural and Youth Onetime Grants Program—reference number 

ECA/PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B), and 

$2.1 million will be dedicated to and 

announced simultaneously in a separate 

RFGP, (Competition A—Academic 

Programs One-time Grants Program— 

reference number ECA/A–09–One-timeComp. A). Please note: The Bureau 

reserves the right to reallocate funds it 

has initially allocated to each of these 

two competitions, based upon factors 

such as the number of applications 

received and responsiveness to the 

review criteria outlined in each of the 

solicitations. 

Applicants may submit only one 

proposal (TOTAL) to one of the two 

competitions referenced above. In 

addition, applicants under this 

competition (either ECA/PE/C–09–Onetime-Comp.B or ECA/A–09–One-timeComp. A) may only apply to administer 

one of the listed activities (total). If 

multiple proposals are received from the 

same applicant, all submissions will be 

declared technically ineligible and will 

be given no further consideration in the 

review process. Eligible applicants are 

strongly encouraged to read both RFGPs 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 17717 

thoroughly, prior to developing and 

submitting proposals, to ensure that 

proposed activities are appropriate and 

responsive to the goals, objectives and 

criteria outlined in each of the 

solicitations. 

As further directed by the Congress, 

‘‘The program shall be only for the 

actual exchange of people and should 

benefit a population that is not being 

addressed through existing authorized 

exchanges.’’ 

The Bureau of Educational and 

Cultural Affairs announces a 

competition for grants that support 

international exchanges in order to 

increase mutual understanding and 

build relationships, through individuals 

and organizations, between the people 

of the United States and their 

counterparts in other countries. The 

Bureau welcomes proposals from 

organizations that have not had a 

previous grant from the Bureau as well 

as from those which have; see eligibility 

information below and in section III. 

Organizations that received grant 

funding under the FY–2008 Competitive 

One-time Grants Program (Reference 

numbers: ECA/A–08–One-time-Comp. A 

or ECA/PE/C/–08–One-time-Comp. B) 

are not eligible to apply for this FY– 

2009 One-time Program. 

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. 

Background 

The FY–2009 Omnibus Appropriation 

(Pub. L. 111–8) under Division H of the 

Department of State, Foreign 

Operations, and Related Programs 

Appropriations Act, under ‘‘Educational 

and Cultural Exchange Programs’’ 

provides $6 million for a ‘‘competitive 

one-time grants program. Grants shall 

address issues of mutual interest to the 

United States and other countries, 

consistent with the program criteria 

established in Public Law 110–161. 

Programs shall support the actual 

exchange of people and should benefit 

a population that is not being addressed 

through existing authorized exchanges.’’ 

Purpose: ECA anticipates awarding 

approximately 12–15 grants under this 

FY2009 Competition B Professional, 

Cultural, and Youth One-time Grants 

Program. Each grant must sponsor an 

exchange of approximately equal 

numbers of American participants 

traveling to the partner country(ies) and 

participants from the partner 

country(ies) traveling to the U.S. In 

addition, the projects should set clear 

learning objectives for both foreign and 

American participants, thereby 

supporting the Fulbright-Hays Act 

purpose of increasing mutual 

understanding. Also, the applicant must 

have the necessary capacity in the 

partner country through their own 

overseas offices or a partner institution 

to carry out the proposed project. 

Proposals must respond to one 

specific theme under one of the 

following programs: 

Emerging Youth Leaders: for high 

school students (ages 15–17) and 

educators 

1. Democracy and Governance in Civil 

Society 

2. Science and Environmental issues 

Emerging Young Professionals: for 

young adults (ages 22–35) 

1. Environmental issues 

2. Entrepreneurial and business 

management skills 

3. Post-conflict governing 

4. Development of Grassroots 

Organizations for Women 

Emerging Cultural Leaders: ‘‘Rooted 

in the Arts’’ program for U.S. 

performing artists (ages 25–35) and 

teachers 

Please note each of the 

aforementioned programs is limited to 

specific countries. More detailed 

descriptions of these programs, themes 

and eligible countries are included 

below. 

In order to emphasize ECA’s interest 

in clarity of project purpose and, later, 

to track projects and to evaluate their 

results, all proposals must be presented 

in the following format: 

Tab A—Application for Federal 

Assistance Cover Sheet 

Tab B—Executive Summary 

In one double-spaced page, provide 

the following information: 

1. Names of the applicant 

organization and other participating 

institutions, both American and foreign. 

2. Beginning and ending dates of the 

project 

3. Grant theme being addressed 

4. Numbers of American and foreign 

participants 

5. Types and approximate dates of 

project activities and their venues 

6. Total number of exchange days, 

including only those days when 

international travelers are in program 

status in the partnering country. 

Tab C—Narrative 

In no more than 20 double-spaced, 

single-sided pages, use the following 

format to describe the proposed project 

in detail: 

A. Purpose: 

1. Definition of the overall goal to be 

pursued through a two-way exchange 

project. Name the theme from those 

listed under Emerging Youth Leaders, 

Emerging Young Professionals, or 

Emerging Cultural Leaders into which 

this goal should fit. 

2. Country or countries to take part, 

and why chosen. 

3. Category of persons to participate, 

with explanation of why that category is 

chosen and how it fits the requirement 

that it is a population that is not being 

addressed through existing authorized 

exchanges. 

4. Description of program activities to 

take place (e.g., workshops, internships, 

community service, job shadowing, 

model site visits, cultural activities, etc). 

B. Objectives: Based on the purpose 

described above, delineate your 

project’s main objectives (no more than 

five) and outcomes you expect as a 

result of your project’s activities. For 

each outcome, please state the time 

frame for achievement. Your objectives 

and outcomes should be realistic in 

scope. They should be guided by one or 

more of the following questions. (Please 

see section IV.3d.3. Project Monitoring 

and Evaluation for assistance in 

identifying and defining outcomes.) 

1. What specifically will participants, 

U.S. and foreign, learn as a result of this 

project? 

2. What new attitudes will 

participants, U.S. and foreign, develop, 

or what new ideas will they encounter 

as a result of this project? 

3. How will the participants’ behavior 

change as a result of this project? What 

new actions will they take? 

4. Will participants be a catalyst for 

change in their schools, work-places, 

communities, or institutions? How so? 

C. Baseline: Describe plans for 

baseline measurements of these 

outcomes at the project outset. Based on 

the time-frame for achievement you 

stipulate, what types of data will be 

gathered, when, by what methodology, 

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and what plan will be used to analyze 

data and draw conclusions? 

D. Shorter-term Outcomes: Explain 

plans for measurement of shorter-term 

outcomes at the end of project activities. 

Please note any changes in 

measurement or data collection, since 

baseline data were originally collected. 

E. Longer-term Outcomes: Provide 

plans for measurement of outcomes six 

months or more after the end of project 

activities. Explain the linkages between 

project activities and learning, and 

longer-term outcomes and 

achievements, in the intervening 

months. These outcome measurements 

should be the basis for evaluating the 

overall project and should provide the 

core of the final report to ECA. 

Tab D—Budget 

Both a summary budget for 

administrative and programmatic 

expenses and a detailed, line-item 

budget must be presented in the threecolumn format illustrated in the PSI. 

Eligible expenses are described in IV.3e 

of this RFGP and in the PSI. Enough 

information should be provided so that 

reviewers can determine how line-item 

totals were calculated. 

Tab E—Letters of Endorsement and 

Resumes 

Resumes should not exceed two pages 

each. 

Tab F—Copy of IRS Notification of 

Current Tax-Exempt Status, SF–424B, 

and Other Attachments if Applicable 

Please refer to the Proposal 

Submission Instructions (PSI) document 

for detailed information on proposal 

structuring and formatting. 

Emerging Youth Leaders 

Program Contact: Jon Crocitto, tel: 

202–203–7501, e-mail 

CrocittoJA@state.gov. 

The Emerging Youth Leaders program 

provides opportunities for high school 

students (ages 15–17) and educators in 

the United States and in multiple 

countries around the world to 

participate in two-way exchanges, each 

three to four weeks in duration. Each 

project explores a specific theme 

designed to develop critical leadership 

skills for aspiring young leaders and 

encourages respect for diversity, foster 

mutual understanding, and promote 

critical thinking. An essential element 

of all projects is to build mutual 

understanding and respect among the 

people of the United States and the 

people of the exchange partner 

countries. 

The overarching goals are: 

1. To develop a sense of civic 

responsibility and commitment to the 

global community; 

2. To promote mutual understanding 

between the United States and the 

people of other countries around topics 

of common interest; and 

3. To foster personal and institutional 

ties between participants and partner 

countries. 

The applicant should present a 

program plan that allows the 

participants to thoroughly explore the 

project themes in a creative, memorable, 

and practical way. Activities should be 

designed to be replicable and provide 

practical knowledge and skills that the 

participants can apply to school and 

civic activities at home. 

Applicants will manage the design 

and planning of activities that provide 

a substantive, educational program on 

leadership, critical thinking, and 

conflict management, as well as on one 

of the specified themes, through both 

academic and extracurricular 

components. Activities should take 

place in schools and in the community. 

Community service must also be 

included. It is crucial that programming 

involve the participants’ peers in the 

host countries whenever possible. The 

program will also include opportunities 

for the educators to work with their 

American peers and other professionals 

and volunteers to help them foster 

youth leadership, civic education, and 

community service programs at home. 

A successful project will be one that 

nurtures a cadre of students and 

educators to be actively engaged in 

addressing issues of concern in their 

schools and communities upon their 

return home. Project activities will 

equip youth with the knowledge, skills, 

and confidence to become citizen 

activists and ethical leaders. 

Participants will be engaged in a variety 

of activities such as workshops, 

community and/or school-based 

programs, seminars, and other activities 

that are designed to achieve the 

program’s stated goals. Multiple 

opportunities for participants to interact 

with youth and educators in the host 

country must be included. Participants 

will have homestays with local families 

for the majority of the exchange period, 

although participants may spend a 

modest portion of their time as a group 

in a hotel or dormitory setting. 

Applicants must outline their plan for 

recruiting, screening and orienting host 

families (who will provide both food 

and lodging), as well as a plan for 

appropriate supervision of participants 

in other living arrangements. 

Grant recipients will recruit and 

select the participants in the United 

States, as well as in the partner 

country(ies) through close consultation 

with the relevant U.S. Embassies; 

organize all exchange activities in the 

participating countries; and implement 

follow-on activities in which 

participants may apply at home what 

they have learned during the exchange. 

Applicants must select only one of the 

two themes listed below. The projects 

will provide participants with a 

theoretical framework that will be 

underpinned by site visits that illustrate 

methods and strategies of practical 

implementation. Projects will also help 

the participants develop leadership 

skills, such as influential public 

speaking, team-building, and goalsetting, so that they are prepared to take 

action with what they have learned. 

They will also learn the tools of 

persuasion, negotiation, and mediation 

to effectively manage relationships and 

messages in a positive manner. The 

exchange activities will also examine 

diversity issues and how young people 

can develop skills in critical thinking 

and conflict management techniques. 

Themes and Eligible Partner Countries 

ECA will accept proposals in the 

specific themes and corresponding 

countries as indicated below. A singlecountry project is a two-way exchange 

between the United States and a single 

partner country. With a two-country 

project, participants from the partner 

countries should travel to the United 

States together; the American 

participants’ exchange travel may be to 

just one or to both of the partner 

countries, depending on the applicant 

organization’s program design and 

objectives. Applicants should present a 

rationale for their approach. Proposals 

that target countries or themes not listed 

in this solicitation will be deemed 

technically ineligible. No guarantee is 

made or implied that grants will be 

awarded in all themes and for all 

countries listed. Organizations should 

consider current U.S. Department of 

State travel advisories when selecting 

the countries with which they would 

like to work. 

(1) Democracy and Governance in 

Civil Society: ECA welcomes proposals 

that will explore the issues of citizen 

involvement and effective management 

in government. Projects will 

demonstrate how this can benefit 

individual citizens, non-governmental 

entities, and the public sector. Proposed 

programs will promote a respect for 

transparent governance that is 

responsive to citizens’ concerns and 

increase participant understanding of 

ways that citizens can improve 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 17719 

governance, fight corruption, and ensure 

accountability. 

Projects should demonstrate the 

principles of fair and transparent 

governance and should promote 

dialogue among youth on this theme. 

Projects must be culturally sensitive and 

address specific needs of the partner 

country or countries, or regions. 

Individual projects might have the 

youth participants explore ways that a 

country’s government, media, and NGOs 

can encourage and support the 

involvement of its citizenry, increase 

citizen trust, and expand the democratic 

process. 

Geographic Regions and Eligible 

Countries: 

• Africa 

Æ Senegal (single-country project) 

• Europe and Eurasia 

Æ Armenia and Azerbaijan 

(mandatory two-country project) 

• Middle East and North Africa 

Æ Egypt (single-country project) 

(2) Science and Environmental issues: 

Projects will focus on the shared 

scientific and environmental interests of 

the participating countries in either 

agriculture or natural resource and land 

management. Participants will complete 

projects that illustrate the issue through 

hands-on activities and community 

service. These projects will also include 

a review of the impact of public interest 

and government policies on the issue, as 

well as a comprehensive discussion of 

proposed solutions. Projects will 

demonstrate how this can benefit 

individual citizens, non-governmental 

entities, and the public sector. Proposed 

programs will promote scientificallybased and socially responsible decisionmaking regarding natural resources and 

land management that will increase 

participant understanding of the core 

issues that inform policy creation. 

Projects should demonstrate 

objectivity and should promote dialogue 

among youth on the core issues. Projects 

must be culturally sensitive and address 

specific needs of the partner country or 

countries, or regions. Individual projects 

might have the youth participants 

explore ways that a country’s 

government, academic institutions, and 

NGOs can encourage and support the 

involvement of its citizenry in 

developing scientifically-based and 

socially responsible environmental 

policies. 

Geographic Regions and Eligible 

Countries: 

• Asia 

Æ China (Beijing Municipality only) 

• South America and Caribbean 

Æ Chile or Dominican Republic 

(single-country project) 

Proposal narratives must demonstrate 

the applicant’s capacity in the partner 

country through their own offices or a 

partner institution to successfully 

conduct the proposed exchange 

activities. The requisite capacity 

overseas includes the ability to organize 

substantive exchange activities for the 

American participants, provide followon activities, and handle the logistical 

and financial arrangements. 

Applicants should propose the time 

periods of the two exchanges, but the 

exact timing of the project may be 

altered through the mutual agreement of 

the Department of State and the grant 

recipient. The program should be no 

less than three weeks and up to four 

weeks in duration. 

These two-way exchanges should 

involve the same communities in each 

country, as the second reciprocal 

exchange will help reinforce the 

relationships and program content 

developed during the first exchange. 

Project staff should help facilitate 

regular program-oriented 

communication among the exchange 

participants between the two exchanges. 

The exchange participants will be 

high school students between the ages 

of 15 and 17 who have demonstrated 

leadership abilities in their schools and/ 

or communities, and have at least one 

year of high school remaining after the 

completion of the exchange. The adult 

participants will be high school teachers 

or community leaders who work with 

youth. They will have a demonstrated 

interest in youth leadership and will be 

expected to remain in positions where 

they can continue to work with youth. 

The ratio of youth to adults should be 

between 5:1 and 10:1. Participants will 

be proficient in the English language. 

Emerging Young Professionals 

Program Contact: Curt Huff, tel: 202– 

453–8159, e-mail: HuffCE@state.gov. 

The Emerging Young Professionals 

program offers opportunities for young 

adults (approximately 22–35 years old) 

to participate in two-way exchanges of 

approximately three to four weeks or 

more in duration to develop their 

leadership skills and to increase mutual 

understanding between their countries 

and the United States. ECA is especially 

interested in engaging marginalized 

populations and women from both the 

U.S. and partner countries in the 

exchanges. Exchange projects should 

build participants’ leadership skills, 

including how to conceptualize and 

develop projects to reach diverse 

citizenry, using clear objectives, solid 

management structures and evaluation 

feedback mechanisms for projects at the 

local level. Participants should be 

community leaders, political leaders, 

educators, and/or advocates for youth, 

or persons who show the capacity to 

become effective in those roles. 

Projects should be two-way in 

purpose and implementation, with 

approximately equal numbers of 

participants traveling to and from the 

United States for approximately equal 

periods of time. Consistent with this 

approach, project plans should promote 

learning and teaching by participants 

from all countries in the project to 

promote mutual understanding and 

build individual and institutional 

partnerships that are likely to continue 

beyond the grant project. Proposals that 

clearly delineate salient objectives in 

measurable terms and plan activities in 

a sequence that will progressively lead 

to achieving those objectives, will be 

considered more competitive on the 

review criterion of ability to achieve 

program objectives. 

Projects should be planned around 

one of the following themes: 

(1) Environmental issues: These 

projects should focus on a shared 

environmental issue of the participating 

countries (e.g., use of natural resources, 

pollution, sustainable energy, recycling, 

land management). Participants should 

jointly examine a problem or group of 

issues, through study of public interest 

and government policy statements, and 

then participate in experiential learning 

exercises to build mutual approaches to 

the issue, and develop their own 

recommendations for addressing it. 

(2) Entrepreneurial and business 

management skills: These projects 

should introduce participants to the 

identification of business opportunities, 

the writing of business plans, the 

calculation of risks, and the 

management of new businesses in order 

to maximize the probability of success. 

(3) Post-conflict governance: These 

projects are for countries that are 

emerging from regional or civil war in 

recent years. Projects should allow 

participants to experience creative 

approaches to governing in a postconflict country. Developing working 

relationships with colleagues from 

opposite sides of a past conflict; 

breaking down barriers to implement 

governmental administration; and how a 

new post-conflict government promotes 

tolerance and diversity should be 

addressed in these projects. Participants 

should practice different methods and 

receive hands-on experiential learning. 

(4) Development of Grassroots 

Organizations for Women: These 

projects should work to expand the 

capacity of grassroots organizations 

(NGOs) that advocate empowering 

women. Projects should work to build 

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17720 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 

NGO capacity in practice, giving NGO 

leaders opportunities to adopt best 

practices by doing. When possible, joint 

projects should be developed, 

implemented, monitored and evaluated 

by both the U.S. and international sides. 

Eligible Partner Countries and Regions 

ECA will consider proposals for either 

single-country or multi-country projects. 

A single-country project is a two-way 

exchange between the United States and 

a single partner country. A multicountry project involves participants 

from more than one country coming to 

the United States together, and 

American participants traveling to those 

countries. The Bureau prefers projects 

that will engage both Americans and 

international participants deeply 

enough that relationships will continue 

beyond the grant-funded activities. 

Competitive proposals will be those that 

demonstrate why any country or group 

of countries has been identified for a 

specific project and outline why the 

specific group of participants to be 

selected from that country/countries is 

an effective group to achieve project 

objectives. Proposals that target 

countries or themes not listed in this 

solicitation will be deemed technically 

ineligible. No guarantee is made or 

implied that grants will be awarded in 

all themes and for all countries listed. 

Organizations should consider current 

U.S. Department of State travel 

advisories when selecting the countries 

with which they would like to work. 

Eligible Countries 

Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana 

East Asia/Pacific: China, Korea 

Europe: Armenia, Kosovo 

South and Central Asia: Afghanistan, 

Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan 

Proposal narratives must demonstrate 

the applicant’s capacity in the partner 

country through their own offices or a 

partner institution to successfully 

conduct the proposed exchange 

activities. The requisite capacity 

overseas includes the ability to organize 

substantive exchange activities for the 

American participants, provide followon activities, and handle the logistical 

and financial arrangements. 

Please note: Because of the changing 

nature of the security situation, U.S. 

participants may not be able to travel to 

Afghanistan as part of a two-way exchange 

program. Therefore, proposals should 

include a contingency plan to bring U.S. and 

participants from Afghanistan together in a 

third country for those relevant program 

components. 

Emerging Cultural Leaders 

Program Contact: Jill Staggs, tel: 202– 

203–7500, e-mail: StaggsJJ@state.gov. 

The ‘Rooted in the Arts’ program 

provides opportunities for U.S. 

performing artists (ages 25–35), teachers 

and students to build long-term 

sustainable linkages with their 

counterparts in selected countries. The 

project should connect economically 

and socially diverse populations of high 

school social studies, music and/or art 

students and their teachers in the U.S. 

with comparable populations in the 

selected countries. The project must 

include two-way physical exchanges of 

artists and teachers (but not students), 

each two to four weeks in duration. It 

must also include virtual or distance 

projects that will provide the high 

school students an opportunity to 

communicate with their counterparts 

abroad. Projects must present an 

opportunity for participants to explore 

and learn about their own and another 

country’s history and culture through 

the performing arts. Activities should 

include artistic performances, 

workshops, lecture demonstrations, 

contextual learning, and on-going 

virtual (internet) dialogues and other 

virtual exchanges. 

The overarching goals are: 

1. To articulate identity through 

artistic expression, gain respect for the 

identity and artistic expression of 

another culture; 

2. To learn about their own and 

another country’s history through the 

performing arts; 

3. To incorporate cultural awareness 

and build mutual understanding and 

respect for other countries; 

4. To foster continuing personal and 

institutional ties between participants 

and partner countries. 

A successful project will equip 

participating artists, teachers, and high 

school students with an understanding 

of how the performing arts opens a 

window into a country’s history. For the 

teachers, it will also provide insight on 

how the performing arts can be used as 

a tool to educate students about their 

country and their culture. During their 

exchange experience, participants 

should engage in a variety of activities 

such as performances, workshops, 

community- and/or learning-based 

programs, seminars, and other activities 

designed to achieve the program’s stated 

goals. We encourage exchange projects 

that require collaborative work across 

cultures, that include a public 

presentation, and that involve public 

schools in the U.S. and abroad. 

Proposal narratives must demonstrate 

the applicant’s capacity in the partner 

country through their own offices or a 

partner institution to successfully 

conduct the proposed exchange 

activities. The requisite capacity 

includes the ability to recruit and select 

participants in both the United States 

and the partner countries in close 

consultation with the relevant U.S. 

Embassies; organize substantive 

exchange activities in the participating 

countries; handle the logistical and 

financial arrangements; and implement 

follow-on alumni activities in which 

participants may locally apply what 

they learned during the exchange. While 

Bureau funds may be used to support 

public programming, long-standing ECA 

practice is that Bureau funds are not to 

be used for the public presentation of art 

works in the United States. Cost sharing 

provided by the grantee organization 

may be used for presentation costs in 

the United States and should be noted 

in the budget. 

Proposals must describe a selection 

process for American and international 

participants and demonstrate how the 

participant group represents an underserved community. For example, an 

under-served community could be 

economically disadvantaged, 

geographically isolated or experience 

low literacy rates. Selected participants 

should demonstrate a commitment to 

leadership in their communities. If 

participants are not fluent in English, 

proposals should include provision for 

interpretation as necessary. 

Applicants should identify which 

performing arts fields will be included 

in the exchange and demonstrate how 

each part of the two-way exchange will 

accomplish the over-arching goals of 

this competition. Proposals might focus 

exclusively on an exchange in one field, 

such as music. Alternatively, a more 

community-based project could include 

artists from various performing arts 

fields, as well as a representative of a 

community arts organization. All 

projects must include an examination of 

cultural diversity, history and the arts as 

a means of educational outreach and 

civic engagement. 

Proposed Partner Countries 

ECA will accept proposals for either 

single-country or multi-country projects. 

We can only accept proposals for 

projects with the countries listed below. 

A single-country project is a two-way 

exchange between the United States and 

a single partner country. With a multicountry project, participants from the 

partner countries should travel to the 

United States together; the American 

participants’ exchange travel may be to 

just one or to all of the partner 

countries, depending on the applicant 

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organization’s program design and 

objectives. Applicants should present a 

rationale for their approach. No 

guarantee is made or implied that grants 

will be awarded in all themes and for all 

countries listed. Organizations should 

consider current U.S. Department of 

State travel advisories when selecting 

the countries with which they would 

like to work. 

Eligible Countries 

East Asia: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan 

Western Hemisphere: Mexico, 

Venezuela 

Applicants should propose the period 

of the two exchange components and 

explain how together the exchange in 

each direction will accomplish project 

objectives. The exact timing of the 

project may be altered through the 

mutual agreement of the Department of 

State and the grant recipient. Each 

exchange component should be no less 

than two weeks and up to four weeks in 

duration. Program development should 

begin in late summer/early fall 2009. 

Applicants must include letters of 

support in their proposals. 

For All Themes, Grantee 

Responsibilities will include: 

1. Recruitment and Selection of 

project participants. 

(a) Conduct an open, merit-based 

competition for exchange participants. 

The grantee organization and its 

overseas partner(s) will recruit, screen, 

and select participants in consultation 

with ECA and with the Public Affairs 

Section (PAS) of U.S. Embassies or 

consulates, using clearly identified 

criteria and a formal process for the 

selection. The grantee will also develop 

plans for outreach and recruitment that 

will generate a strong pool of qualified 

candidates representing diverse ethnic 

and socio-economic groups and 

geographic areas; 

(b) Administer an effective English 

language screening process, if 

applicable, or provide for any 

interpretation services, as necessary; 

(c) Recommend participants and 

alternates for selection (Invitations to 

participate may not be issued without 

ECA and Embassy Public Affairs 

clearance). 

2. Preparation of participants. 

(a) Contact participants before the 

project to provide them with project 

information, pre-departure materials, 

and any training necessary for them 

successfully to participate; 

(b) Facilitate the visa process, working 

with ECA and PAS for the U.S. visas 

and directly with the embassy of the 

partner country for its visas; as 

indicated in IV.3.d.1 below, ECA will 

issue the DS–2019 forms required for J 

visas; 

(c) Conduct a pre-departure 

orientation for participants, including 

general and project-specific information; 

(d) Make all round-trip international 

travel arrangements, complying with the 

Fly America Act, and domestic travel 

arrangements for the participants. 

3. Exchange activities. 

(a) Design, plan, and implement one 

or more intensive and substantive 

projects in the U.S. on one of the stated 

themes, and one or more corollary 

projects in the partner overseas 

country(ies). The link of project 

activities to project objectives should be 

explained. 

(b) Arrange appropriate community, 

cultural, social, and civic activities, and 

make provisions for religious 

observance. 

(c) Engage both foreign and U.S. 

participants in at least one community 

service activity (e.g., visit to a food 

bank, a park clean-up) during the U.S.- 

based project. The project should 

provide context for the participants, 

identifying community needs, 

volunteerism, charitable giving, etc., as 

well as a debriefing so that the service 

activity is not an isolated event and 

helps participants understand how they 

can apply their experience at home. 

(d) Provide day-to-day monitoring of 

the project, preventing and dealing with 

any misunderstandings or adjustment 

issues that may arise. 

(e) Provide a closing session to 

summarize the project activities, 

prepare participants for their return 

home, and to plan for the future. 

4. Follow-on activities. 

Conduct follow-on activities with 

project alumni, such as seminars and 

physical or virtual gatherings, to 

reinforce values and skills developed 

during the exchange program and to 

help alumni apply what they learned to 

serve their communities. Encourage 

participants to register in 

Alumni.state.gov. 

5. Work in consultation with ECA and 

the Embassy PAS in the implementation 

of the project, provide timely reporting 

of progress to ECA, and comply with 

financial and project reporting 

requirements. 

6. Manage all financial aspects of the 

project, including participant costs and 

transparent arrangements of sub-grant 

relationships with partner 

organizations, if applicable. 

7. Design and implement an 

evaluation plan that assesses the impact 

of the project. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Grant Agreement. 

Fiscal Year Funds: FY–2009. 

Approximate Total Funding: $3.9 

million. 

Approximate Number of Awards: 12– 

15. 

Approximate Average Award: 

$300,000. 

Floor of Award Range: Depending 

upon an organization’s length of 

experience in conducting international 

exchanges, grants could be awarded for 

less than $60,000. See section III.3.a., 

below. 

Ceiling of Award Range: $350,000. 

Anticipated Award Date: August 

2009. 

Anticipated Project Completion Date: 

No later than, approximately 20 months 

after the start date of the grant. 

Additional Information: As stipulated 

in the legislation, this is a competitive 

one-time grants program. 

III. Eligibility Information 

III.1. Eligible Applicants 

Applications must be submitted by 

public and private non-profit 

organizations meeting the provisions 

described in Internal Revenue Code 

section 26 USC 501(c)(3). 

Organizations listed in the FY–2009 

Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. L. 111–8) 

under Division H of the Department of 

State, Foreign Operations, and Related 

Programs Appropriations Act, under 

‘‘Educational and Cultural Exchange 

Programs’’ in support of a $6 million 

‘‘competitive one-time grants program’’ 

are encouraged to apply. 

In addition, organizations listed in the 

Department of State, Foreign 

Operations, and Related Programs 

Appropriation Act, 2008 (Division J, 

Pub. L. 110–161) under ‘‘Educational 

and Cultural Exchange Programs—a 

competitive one-time grants program’’ 

that did not receive funding under the 

FY–2008 Competitive One-time Grants 

Program are encouraged and eligible to 

apply. 

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 the 

highest possible levels of cost sharing 

and funding in support of its projects, 

noting that cost sharing is one of the 

criteria for reviewing proposals. 

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 grant 

agreement. Cost sharing may be in the 

form of allowable direct or indirect 

costs. For accountability, written 

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records must be maintained to support 

all costs which are claimed as 

contributions, 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 that the 

minimum amount of cost sharing is not 

provided as stipulated in the approved 

budget, ECA’s contribution will be 

reduced in like proportion. 

III.3. Other Eligibility Requirements 

(a) Grants awarded to eligible 

organizations with less than four years 

of experience in conducting 

international exchange programs will be 

limited to $60,000. Therefore, 

applicants should explain, with 

examples, their experience in 

conducting international exchanges, 

and, if that experience is less than four 

years, should limit their proposed grant 

budgets to $60,000. 

(b) Technical Eligibility: All proposals 

must comply with the following: 

—Eligible applicants may submit only 

ONE proposal (TOTAL) for one of the 

two competitions referenced in the 

Executive Summary Section of this 

document. If multiple proposals are 

received from the same applicant, all 

submissions from that applicant will 

be declared technically ineligible and 

will be given no further consideration 

in the review process. In addition, 

applicants under this competition 

(ECA/PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B) 

may only apply to administer one of 

the listed activities (total). 

—Proposals requesting funding for 

infrastructure development activities, 

sometimes referred to as ‘‘bricks and 

mortar support,’’ are not eligible for 

consideration under this competition 

and will be declared technically 

ineligible and will receive no further 

consideration in the review process. 

—The Bureau does not support 

proposals limited to conferences or 

seminars (i.e., one- to fourteen-day 

programs with plenary sessions, main 

speakers, panels, and a passive 

audience). It will support conferences 

only when they are a small part of a 

larger project in duration that is 

receiving Bureau funding from this 

competition. 

—No funding is available exclusively to 

send U.S. citizens to conferences or 

conference-type seminars overseas; 

nor is funding available for bringing 

foreign nationals to conferences or to 

routine professional association 

meetings in the United States. 

—Organizations that received funding 

for a grant under the FY–2008 

Competitive One-time Grants Program 

(Reference numbers: ECA/A–08–Onetime-Comp. A or ECA/PE/C/–08–Onetime-Comp. B) are not eligible to 

apply for this FY–2009 One-Time 

Program. In the event a proposal is 

received from a FY–2008, One-Time 

grant recipient, the proposal will be 

declared technically ineligible and 

will receive no further consideration 

in the review process. Please note: A 

FY–2008, One-time grant recipient, 

per above, is defined by the DUNS 

number of the organization and by the 

signature of the authorized 

representative contained on 

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance 

Form’’ (SF–424) that was submitted 

under the FY–2008 Competitive Onetime Grants Program. 

Please refer to the Proposal 

Submission Instructions (PSI) document 

for additional requirements. 

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 Office of Citizen 

Exchanges, ECA/PE/C, Room 220, U.S. 

Department of State, SA–44, 301 Fourth 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547, tel 

202–453–8176, fax 202–453–8169, 

RossAR@state.gov, to request a 

Solicitation Package. Please refer to the 

Funding Opportunity Number ECA/PE/ 

C–09–One-time-Comp. B also located at 

the top of this announcement when 

making your request. 

The Solicitation Package contains the 

Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) 

document which consists of required 

application forms, and standard 

guidelines for proposal preparation. 

Please specify Program Coordinator 

Alice Ross, and refer to the Funding 

Opportunity Number ECA/PE/C–09– 

One-time-Comp. B 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/ 

education/rfgps/menu.htm. Please read 

all information before downloading. 

IV.3. Content and Form of Submission 

Applicants must follow all 

instructions in the Solicitation Package. 

The original and seven copies of the 

application should be sent per the 

instructions under IV.3e. ‘‘Submission 

Dates and Times 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. The summary and narrative 

must be presented in double-spaced 

typing. 

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 project reporting 

requirements, award recipients will also 

be required to submit a one-page 

document, derived from their project 

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. 

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Please Note: 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 Office of Citizen Exchanges of the 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural 

Affairs is the official program sponsor of 

the exchange program covered by this 

RFGP, and an employee of the Bureau 

will be the ‘‘Responsible Officer’’ for the 

program under the terms of 22 CFR part 

62, which covers the administration of 

the Exchange Visitor Program (J visa 

program). Under the terms of 22 CFR 

part 62, organizations receiving grants 

under this RFGP will be third parties 

‘‘cooperating with or assisting the 

sponsor in the conduct of the sponsor’s 

program.’’ The actions of grantee 

program organizations shall be 

‘‘imputed to the sponsor in evaluating 

the sponsor’s compliance with’’ 22 CFR 

part 62. Therefore, the Bureau expects 

that any organization receiving a grant 

under this competition will render all 

assistance necessary to enable the 

Bureau to fully comply with 22 CFR 

part 62 et seq. 

The Bureau of Educational and 

Cultural Affairs places critically 

important emphases on the secure and 

proper administration of Exchange 

Visitor (J visa) Programs and adherence 

by grantee project organizations and 

project participants to all regulations 

governing the J visa program status. 

Therefore, proposals should explicitly 

state in writing that the applicant is 

prepared to assist the Bureau in meeting 

all requirements governing the 

administration of Exchange Visitor 

Programs as set forth in 22 CFR part 62. 

If the applicant organization has 

experience as a designated Exchange 

Visitor Program Sponsor, the applicant 

should describe their record of 

compliance with 22 CFR part 62 et seq., 

including the oversight of their 

Responsible Officers and Alternate 

Responsible Officers, screening and 

selection of program participants, 

provision of pre-arrival information and 

orientation to participants, monitoring 

of participants, proper maintenance and 

security of forms, record-keeping, 

reporting and other requirements. 

The Office of Citizen Exchanges of 

ECA will be responsible for issuing DS– 

2019 forms to foreign 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 

Fourth Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20547; Telephone: (202) 203–5029; 

FAX: (202) 453–8640. 

IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and 

Democracy Guidelines 

Pursuant to the Bureau’s authorizing 

legislation, projects must maintain a 

non-political character and should be 

balanced and representative of the 

diversity of American political, social, 

and cultural life. ‘‘Diversity’’ should be 

interpreted in the broadest sense and 

encompass differences including, but 

not limited to, ethnicity, race, gender, 

religion, geographic location, socioeconomic status, and disabilities. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to 

adhere to the advancement of this 

principle both in project administration 

and in project 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 project contents, to 

the full extent deemed feasible. 

IV.3d.3 Project Monitoring and 

Evaluation 

This section of the RFGP amplifies the 

direction given in section I above on 

proposal format, which calls for the 

delineation of objectives and planning 

for baseline, early results, and longerterm measurements. Proposals must 

include a plan to monitor and evaluate 

the project’s success, both as the 

activities unfold and at the end of the 

project. The Bureau recommends that 

each proposal include a draft survey 

questionnaire or other instruments plus 

a description of a methodology to use to 

link outcomes to original project 

objectives. The Bureau expects that the 

grantee will track participants or 

partners and be able to respond to key 

evaluation questions, including 

satisfaction with the project, learning as 

a result of the project, changes in 

behavior as a result of the project, and 

effects of the project 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 intended outcomes at the outset of 

a project. 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). (Note the call 

for measurements at the baseline and for 

early results and longer-term results.) 

The more that outcomes are ‘‘smart’’ 

(specific, measurable, attainable, resultsoriented, 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 

project 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 emphasis 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 impact): 

1. Participant satisfaction with the 

project 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; 

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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 each 

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 (e.g., surveys, interviews, tests, 

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.) 

Grantees will be required to provide 

reports analyzing their evaluation 

findings to the Bureau in their regular 

project 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.3e. Please take the following 

information into consideration when 

preparing the proposal budget: 

IV.3e.1. Applicants must submit SF– 

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

comprehensive budget for the entire 

project. There must be a summary 

budget as well as breakdowns reflecting 

both administrative and program 

budgets. Applicants may provide 

separate sub-budgets for each project 

component, phase, location, or activity 

to provide clarification. 

IV.3e.2. Allowable costs for the 

project include the following: 

(1) Travel. International and domestic 

airfare; visas; transit costs; ground 

transportation costs. Please note that all 

air travel must be in compliance with 

the Fly America Act. There is no charge 

for J–1 visas for participants in Bureausponsored programs. 

(2) Per Diem. For U.S.-based 

programming, organizations should use 

the published Federal per diem rates for 

individual U.S. cities. Domestic per 

diem rates may be accessed at: http://

www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/

contentView.do?contentId=

17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC. 

Living costs during foreign-based 

activities must not exceed USGapproved per diem rates, which can be 

found at http://aoprals.state.gov/

content.asp?content_id=

184&menu_id=81. 

(3) Please refer to the Solicitation 

Package for complete budget guidelines 

and formatting instructions. 

IV.3f. Submission Dates and Times 

Application Deadline Date: May 14, 

2009. 

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, 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 this RFGP, 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 competition 

Reference Number (ECA/PE/C–09–Onetime-Comp. B) 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 

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’’. 

Applicants must also submit the 

‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal 

Narrative’’ and budget sections of the 

proposal as well as any essential 

attachments, in Microsoft Word and/or 

Excel on a PC-formatted disk. The 

Bureau will provide these files 

electronically to the appropriate Public 

Affairs Sections at the U.S. Embassies 

for their review. 

The original and seven 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–09–One-time-Comp. B, 

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’’ and ‘‘Budget’’ 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 webportal as 

part of the Recovery Act stimulus package. 

As stated in this RFGP, 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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 17725 

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 lengthy 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. 

IV.3f.3 Once again, please note that 

an applicant may submit only one 

proposal in this competition. 

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 of the relevant U.S. 

Embassy overseas, where appropriate. 

Eligible proposals will be subject to 

compliance with Federal and Bureau 

regulations and guidelines and 

forwarded to Bureau grant panels for 

advisory review. Proposals may also be 

reviewed by the Office of the Legal 

Adviser or by other Department 

elements. Final funding decisions are at 

the discretion of the Department of 

State’s Assistant Secretary for 

Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final 

technical authority for assistance 

awards (grants) resides with the 

Bureau’s Grants Officer. 

Review Criteria 

Technically eligible applications will 

be competitively reviewed according to 

the criteria stated below. 

1. Quality of the project idea and 

project planning: The project’s purpose 

should clearly fit one of the eligible 

themes described above, and the 

proposal should clearly demonstrate 

how the institution plans to pursue the 

project’s objectives. The proposed 

project should be creative and well 

developed, respond to the design 

outlined in the solicitation, and 

demonstrate originality. It should be 

clearly and accurately written, 

substantive, and with sufficient detail to 

ensure practical success. The project 

plan should adhere to the program 

overview and guidelines described 

above. 

2. Ability to achieve project 

objectives: Objectives should be 

reasonable, feasible, and relevant to the 

proposed theme. Proposals should 

clearly plan activities in a sequence that 

will progressively lead to achieving 

those objectives. 

3. Support of diversity: The proposal 

should acknowledge ECA’s policy on 

diversity and should demonstrate the 

recipient’s commitment to promoting 

the awareness and understanding of 

diversity in participant selection and 

exchange project design and content. 

4. Institutional capacity and track 

record: Proposed personnel and 

institutional resources should be 

adequate and appropriate to achieve the 

project goals. The proposal should 

demonstrate an institutional record, 

including solid programming and 

responsible fiscal management. The 

Bureau will consider past performance, 

including compliance with all reporting 

requirements for past Bureau grants. 

5. Project evaluation: The proposal 

should include a plan to evaluate the 

project’s success, both as the activities 

unfold and at the end of the program. 

The proposal should include a draft 

survey questionnaire or other datacollection technique plus description of 

a methodology to link outcomes to 

original project objectives. Please see 

Section IV.3d.3. of this announcement 

for more information. 

6. Cost-effectiveness and cost sharing: 

The applicant should demonstrate 

efficient use of Bureau funds. 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. 

The proposal 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 grant 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. 

VI.1b. Special Provision for Performance 

in a Designated Combat Area (Currently 

Iraq and Afghanistan) 

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 Premstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

17726 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices 

deployment 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.1c. Unsuccessful applicants will 

receive notification of the results of the 

application review from the ECA 

program office coordinating this 

competition. 

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 refer to 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 one copy of the 

following reports: 

1. A final project and financial report 

no more than 90 days after the 

expiration of the award; 

2. A concise, one-page final project 

report summarizing project 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 project 

reports. 

4. Interim project and financial 

reports after each project phase, as 

required in the Bureau grant agreement. 

Award Recipients will be required to 

provide reports analyzing their 

evaluation findings to the Bureau in 

their regular project reports. (Please 

refer to IV. Application and Submission 

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

Monitoring and Evaluation information. 

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. 

VI.4. Project Data Requirements 

Organizations awarded grants will be 

required to maintain specific data on 

project 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 grant or who benefit 

from the grant 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, please contact: Curt 

Huff, Professional Programs, Tel: (202) 

453–8159; E-mail: HuffCE@state.gov. 

All correspondence with the Bureau 

concerning this RFGP should reference 

the above title and number ECA/PE/C– 

09–One-time-Comp.B. 

Please read the complete Federal 

Register announcement before sending 

inquiries or submitting proposals. Once 

the RFGP deadline has passed, Bureau 

staff may not discuss this competition 

with applicants until the proposal 

review process has been completed. 

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: April 8, 2009. 

C. Miller Crouch, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of 

Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department 

of State. 

[FR Doc. E9–8650 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 6578] 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural 

Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant 

Proposals (RFGP): Congressionally 

Mandated—One-Time Grants Program 

for Academic Programs— 

Competition A 

Announcement Type: New Grant. 

Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/ 

A–09–One-time-Comp. A 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number: 00.000 

Key Dates: 

Application Deadline: May 14, 2009. 

Executive Summary: This competition 

is one of two competitions that the 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural 

Affairs is conducting as directed in the 

FY–2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. 

L. 111–8) under Division H of the 

Department of State, Foreign 

Operations, and Related Programs 

Appropriations Act, under ‘‘Educational 

and Cultural Exchange Programs’’ in 

support of a $6 million ‘‘competitive 

one-time grants program.’’ All 

applications must be submitted by, 

public or private non-profit 

organizations, meeting the provisions 

described in Internal Revenue code 

section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). Total 

funding for this ‘‘one-time grants 

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