13004 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 46 / Thursday, March 9, 1995 / Notices

Associate Administrator for Research

and Development, NRD–01, National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration,

Washington, DC 20590, FAX number:

202/366–5930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Richard L. Strombotne, Special

Assistant for Technology Transfer

Policy and Programs, Office of Research

and Development, 400 Seventh Street,

SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone:

202–366–4730. Fax number: 202–366–

5930.

Issued: March 3, 1995.

George L. Parker,

Associate Administrator for Research and

Development.

[FR Doc. 95–5769 Filed 3–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–M

Office of Commercial Space

Transportation

Environmental Impact Statement;

Sierra and Don ̃ a Ana Counties, NM;

Correction

AGENCY: Office of Commercial Space

Transportation (OCTS), U.S. DOT.

ACTION: Correction.

SUMMARY: On February 23, 1995 the

Office of Commercial Space

Transportation (OCST), DOT; published

a Notice of Intent at 60 FR (10139). The

Notice gave the wrong date and location

for the second scoping meeting. The

date was given as March 23, 1995 and

should have been March 21, 1995. The

location was given as the Convention

Center, 300 Daniel Street. The correct

location should have been listed as

Council Room, City Council Chambers,

400 West 4th. This notice makes

correction to the Notice of Intent. In FR

DOC 95–4392, 3rd Column, para 1,

make the following correction:

* * * ‘‘(2) March 21, 1995, 7:00–9:00

pm, Council Room, City Council

Chambers, 400 West 4th, Truth or

Consequences, New Mexico.’’

Dated: March 3, 1995.

Sharon D.W. Boddie,

Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

[FR Doc. 95–5768 Filed 3–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–M

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Support to Develop and Facilitate

Access to Exchange Opportunities for

Post-Secondary International Students

ACTION: Notice; request for proposals.

SUMMARY: The Advising and Student

Services Branch of the United States

Information Agency’s Bureau of

Education and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an

assistance award. Public or private nonprofit organizations or consortia meeting

the provisions described in IRS

regulation 501(c)(3) may apply to

provide an administrative mechanism to

develop and facilitate exchanges

between post-secondary school students

enrolled at institutions in the United

States and in other countries of the

world. Preference will be given to the

organization which maximizes the

number of participants from all world

regions and presents the most flexible

mechanism for administering the

exchanges. The applicants must clearly

demonstrate how the proposed project

differs from traditional ‘‘junior year

abroad’’ programs and how it will create

accessibility to international exchange

for students who otherwise would not

able to have an overseas study

experience. USIA anticipates awarding

up to $350,000 to one organization to

administer this program

Overall grant making authority for

this program is contained in the Mutual

Educational and Cultural Exchange Act

of 1961, Pub. L. 87–256, as amended,

also known as the Fulbright-Hays 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.’’

Programs and project must conform

with Agency requirements and

guidelines outlined in the Solicitation

Package. The USIA projects and

programs are subject to the availability

of funds.

ANNOUNCEMENT NAME AND NUMBER: All

communications with USIA concerning

this announcement should refer to the

above title and reference number E/

ASA–95–13.

DATES: Deadline for proposals: All

copies must be received at the U.S.

Information Agency by 5 p.m.

Washington, DC time on Friday, April

21, 1995. Faxed documents will not be

accepted, nor will documents

postmarked on April 21 but received at

a later date. It is the responsibility of

each applicant to ensure that proposals

are received by the above deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Advising and Student Services, E/ASA,

Room 349, U.S. Information Agency,

301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC

20547, Tel: (202) 619–5434, Fax: (202)

401–1433, E-mail: ahatteme@usia.gov,

to request a Solicitation Package, which

includes all application forms and

guidelines for preparing proposals,

including specific criteria for

preparation of the proposal budget.

Please specify the USIA Program

Officer, Alexandria Hattemer, on all

inquiries and correspondences.

Interested applicants should read the

complete Federal Register

announcement before addressing

inquiries to E/ASA or submitting their

proposals. Once the RFP deadline has

passed, E/ASA may not discuss this

competition in any way with applicants

until the Bureau proposal review

process has been completed.

ADDRESSES: Applicants must follow all

instructions given in the Solicitation

Package and send only complete

applications to: U.S. Information

Agency, Ref.: E/ASA–95–13, Office of

Grants Management, E/XE, Room 336,

301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC

20547.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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

race, gender, religion, geographic

location, socio-economic status, and

physical challenges. Applicants are

strongly encouraged to adhere to the

advancement of this principle.

Overview

An ideal proposal should describe an

administrative mechanism capable of

developing and facilitating exchanges

between post-secondary students

enrolled at institutions in the United

States and their counterparts in Europe,

Latin America, the Middle East, South

Asia, Africa and East Asia (including

Oceania). Numbers of incoming and

outgoing students should be

approximately equal. A minimum of

forty percent of the exchanges must take

place outside of Western Europe within

a broad range of non-traditional study

abroad countries, although preference

will be given to applicants who can

demonstrate a higher number of nonEuropean exchanges. All world regions

must be represented in this program; the
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 46 / Thursday, March 9, 1995 / Notices 13005

applicant should especially target

exchanges with Africa, the Near East,

South and East Asia.

Exchange students should be drawn

from the broadest possible range of

universities and colleges. These

institutions should be diverse—

representing both public and private

institutions, offering the greatest

possible choice of location, academic

discipline, size, and cost; and allowing

the use of financial aid for study abroad

when at all possible. Recruitment of

student populations not usually

involved in international exchanges

should be stressed. A funding level of

up to $350,000 is available for this

program.

Guidelines

The proposal should describe how

colleges and universities in the U.S. and

abroad will be recruited to participate,

the standards established for

participation, and the means to evaluate

compliance with those standards. The

proposal should describe the criteria for

student participation, the obligations of

the student (including financial), and

the services which the applicant will

provide to the student and why this

assistance is not available from other

sources. The proposal should describe

methods of evaluating the effectiveness

of the exchange mechanism (See Review

Criteria for further information).

Programs must comply with J–1 visa

regulations.

Proposed Budget

The applicant is required to submit a

comprehensive administrative line item

budget, based on the specific guidance

in the Solicitation Package. There must

be a summary budget as well as a breakdown of the administrative budget.

USIA’s grant assistance, up to $350,000

in total, is expected to constitute only a

portion of the total project funding. Cost

sharing is required and the proposal

should list other anticipated sources of

support. Grant applications should

demonstrate financial and in-kind

support.

Grnats awarded to eligible

organizations with fewer than four years

of experience in conducting

international exchange programs will be

limited to $60,000.

Allowable costs for the program

include the following:

(1) Salaries and fringe benefits; travel,

although the Agency reserves the right

not to fund travel to Western Europe;

(2) Other direct costs, inclusive of rent,

utilities, etc.;

(3) Indirect expenses, auditing costs.

Please refer to the Solicitation

Package for complete budget guidelines

and formatting instructions.

Review Process

USIA will acknowledge receipt of all

proposals and will review them for

technical eligibility. Proposals will be

deemed ineligible if they do not fully

adhere to the guidelines stated herein

and in the Solicitation Package. Eligible

proposals will be forwarded to panels of

USIA officers for advisory review. All

eligible proposals will be reviewed by

the Agency contracts office, as well as

the USIA Area Offices and the USIS

posts overseas, where appropriate.

Proposals may also be reviewed by the

Office of the General Counsel or by

other Agency elements. Funding

decisions are at the discretion of the

USIA Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs. Final technical

authority for grant awards resides with

the USIA 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 the program idea:

Proposals should exhibit originality,

substance, precision, and relevance to

Agency mission.

2. Program planning: Detailed agenda

and relevant work plan should

demonstrate substantive undertakings

and logistical capacity, specifically the

ability to increase exchanges with nontraditional regions. Agenda and plan

should adhere to the program overview

and guidelines described above.

3. Ability to achieve program

objectives: Proposal should clearly

demonstrate how the institution will

meet the program’s objectives and plan.

4. Multiplier effect/impact: Proposed

programs should strengthen long-term

mutual understanding, including

maximum sharing of information and

establishment of long-term institutional

and individual linkages with the

maximum number of exchanges and

number of countries.

5, Support of Diversity: Proposals

should demonstrate the recipient’s

commitment of promoting the

awareness and understanding of

diversity and should target diverse

locations for exchanges as well as

creating access to international

exchange for students from all

backgrounds and ethnic groups.

6. Institutional Capacity: Proposed

personnel and institutional resources

should be adequate and appropriate to

achieve the program or project’s goals.

7. 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 of past Agency grants as

determined by USIA’s Office of

Contracts. The Agency will consider the

past performance of prior recipients and

the demonstrated potential of new

applicants.

8. Follow-on Activities: Proposals

should provide a plan for continued

follow-on activity (without USIA

support) which ensures the USIA

supported programs are not isolated

events.

9. 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.

USIA recommends that the proposal

include a draft survey questionnaire or

other technique plus description of a

methodology to use to link outcomes to

original projects objectives. USIA

requires an evaluation survey return rate

of at least 70 percent. Award-receiving

organizations/institutions will be

expected to submit biannual reports.

10. Cost-effectiveness: 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.

11. Cost-sharing: Proposals should

maximize cost-sharing through other

private sector support as well as

institutional direct funding

contributions.

12. Value to U.S.-Partner Country

Relations: Proposed projects should

receive positive assessments by USIA’s

geographic area desks and overseas

officers of program need, potential

impact, and significance in the partner

country(ies).

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in the RFP are binding and may not be

modified by the USIA representative.

Explanatory information provided by

the Agency that contradicts published

language will not be binding.

Notification

All applicants will be notified of the

results of the review process on or about

July 1, 1995. Awards made will be

subject to periodic reporting and

evaluation requirements.
13006 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 46 / Thursday, March 9, 1995 / Notices

Dated: February 28, 1995.

Dell Pendergrast,

Deputy Associate Director, Educational and

Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 95–5506 Filed 3–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M