Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 19, 2000 / Notices 21063

Review Process

In support of first-time applicants, the

grant proposal, budget and review

process has been modified for this

competition. The proposal narrative

should not exceed six pages doublespaced and be developed around the

review criteria below. Budget should be

contained on one page. Please follow

the enclosed Request for Proposal(RFP)

Proposal Submission Instructions(PSI).

Proposals will be reviewed in two tiers.

First, all proposals will be read and

reviewed by a qualified staff team from

the Office of Citizen Exchanges and the

respective Department of State regional

bureaus. Second, the most competitive

will be forwarded to embassies overseas

and to panels of Bureau-wide State

Department officers for formal advisory

review. Non-finalists will be advised at

this point in the process. Final funding

decisions will be made at the discretion

of the Under Secretary of State for

Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

Final technical authority for assistance

awards (grants or cooperative

agreements) resides with the Citizen

Exchanges 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. Quality of program idea and ability

to achieve objectives: Program objectives

should be clearly and precisely stated.

Applications should respond to

priorities in this announcement and

articulate the organization’s ability to

successfully carry out objectives. Staff

and participant responsibilities and

timetable should be clearly designated.

2. Cost effectiveness and Cost sharing:

Administrative costs should be kept

low. Proposals should maximize costsharing through support and in-kind

contributions.

3. Monitoring/Reporting: Proposals

should provide a brief plan for

submitting written reports midway

through the program and at the end.

Reports should include

accomplishments, problems

encountered, and impact on American

and overseas communities.

4. 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).

5. 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 questionannaire or other

technique plus description of a

methodology to use to link outcomes to

original project objectives is

recommended. Successful applicants

will be expected to submit intermediate

reports after each project component is

concluded or quarterly, whichever is

less frequent.

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.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP 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 RFP does not constitute an award

commitment on the part of the

Government.

The Bureau reserves the right to

reduce, revise, or increase proposal

budgets in accordance with the needs of

the program and the availability of

funds. Awards made will be subject to

periodic reporting and evaluation

requirements.

Notification

Final awards cannot be made until

funds have been appropriated by

Congress, allocated and committed

through internal Bureau procedures.

Dated: April 10, 2000.

Evelyn S. Lieberman,

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and

Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–9800 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice #3277]

Shipping Coordinating Committee

Maritime Safety Committee; Notice of

Meeting

The Shipping Coordinating

Committee will conduct an open

meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May

11, 2000, in Room 2415, at U.S. Coast

Guard Headquarters, 2100 2nd Street,

SW, Washington, DC. The purpose of

this meeting will be to finalize

preparations for the 72nd Session of the

Maritime Safety Committee, and

associated bodies of the International

Maritime Organization (IMO), which is

scheduled for May 17–26, 2000, at IMO

Headquarters in London. At this

meeting, papers received and the draft

U.S. positions will be discussed.

Among other things, the items of

particular interest are:

a. Bulk carrier safety;

b. Role of the human element;

c. Formal safety assessment;

d. Piracy and armed robbery against

ships;

e. Reports of seven subcommittees—

Training and watchkeeping; Flag State

implementation; Bulk liquids and gases;

Radiocommunications and search and

rescue; Safety of navigation; Dangerous

goods, solid cargoes and containers; Fire

protection; and, Ship design and

equipment;

Members of the public may attend

this meeting up to the seating capacity

of the room. Interested persons may

seek information by writing to Mr.

Joseph J. Angelo, Commandant (G–MS),

U.S. Coast Guard, 2100 2nd Street, SW,

Room 1218, Washington, DC 20593–

0001 or by calling (202) 267–2970.

Dated: April 6, 2000

Stephen M. Miller,

Executive Secretary, Shipping Coordinating

Committee, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–9729 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–17–U