3028 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 1995 / Notices

Francisco, from on or about February

28, 1995 through April 30, 1995, and at

the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle,

Washington, from on or about

September 9, 1995 through March 31,

1996, and at the Peabody Essex Museum

of Salem, Massachusetts, from on or

about April 25, 1996 through July 22,

1996, is in the national interest. Public

Notice of this determination is ordered

to be published in the Federal Register

Dated: January 6, 1995.

Les Jin,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 95–710 Filed 1–11–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–30–M

Workshop/Seminar Grants in the

People’s Republic of China

ACTION: Notice—Request for Proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Academic

Programs of the United States

Information Agency’s Bureau of

Education and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an

assistance award. Educational

institutions and law associations

meeting the provisions as described in

IRS regulation 501 (c) may apply to

develop workshop/seminars in

‘‘American Corporations’’ and

‘‘American Law’’ in the People’s

Republic of China Support is offered for

Workshops and Seminars. There will be

two separate workshops and/or

seminars. This is a request for proposals

from educational institutions and

professional associations only.

Overall grant making authority for

this program is continued in the Mutual

Educational and Cultural Exchange Act

of 1961, as amended, Public Law 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 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

other countries of the world.’’

Programs and projects must conform

with Agency requirements and

guidelines outlined in the Solicitation

Package. USIA projects and programs

are subject to the availability of funds.

ANNOUNCEMENT NAME AND NUMBER: All

communications with USIA concerning

the announcement should refer to the

above title and reference number E/

AEF–95–07.

DATES: Deadline for proposals: All

copies must be received at the U.S.

Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. EST

on Friday, February 10, 1995. Faxed

documents will not be accepted, nor

will documents postmarked on February

10, 1995 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:

William Shine, Room 208, E/AEF, 301

4th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20547,

FAX: 202–401–1728, or E-Mail:

WSHINE@ USIA.GOV to request a

Solicitation Package, which includes

more detailed award criteria; all

application forms; and guidelines for

preparing proposals, including specific

criteria for preparation of the proposal

budget. Requests via Fax are

encouraged. Interested applicants

should read the complete Federal

Register announcement before

addressing inquiries to the Office of

Academic Programs or submitting their

proposals. Once the RFP deadline has

passed, the Office of Academic

Programs may not discuss this

competition in any way with applicants

until the Bureau proposal process has

been completed.

ADDRESSES: The original and 12

complete copies of the application,

including required forms, should be

addressed as follows: U.S. Information

Agency, Ref: E/AEF–95–07, Office of

Grants Management, E/XE, Room 336,

301 4th Street, S.W., 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: The overall purpose of this

RFP is to provide opportunities for U.S.

educational institutions and law

associations to conduct scholarly

workshops/seminars in the People’s

Republic of China in the theory and

practice of the American Corporation

and of American Law and thereby give

the opportunity for Chinese institutions

to offer their members access to recent

information and perspectives in these

fields as well as to allow for the

substantive exchange of ideas. The focus

of the proposals should be on the

academic study of the American

Corporation and the Rule of Law in

American Society respectively. An

approach combining theoretical sessions

and sessions emphasizing the

implementation of theory in practice is

requested.

Workshops/seminars should take

place in one Chinese city. American

organizations are encouraged, however,

to propose programs that would include

participants from a variety of Chinese

institutions from across the People’s

Republic of China. A workshop on

American judicial process, for example,

could include law professors, law

students, as well as legal and judicial

officials. Applicants should specify the

workshop length and venue, the

intended audience, the audience’s level

of sophistication, e.g., faculty, graduate

students, researchers, government

officials, and whether there would be

any co-sponsor.

A. Workshop/Seminar in American

Corporations

Such a program is intended to outline

the legal foundation, organization and

structure, management principles and

status of the corporation in the United

States; and the sociology of corporate

life and the place of the corporation in

American society. The project seeks to

satisfy two goals. The first is to satisfy

the need of the Chinese universities to

get a better understanding of how an

American corporation works in a market

economy as they examine models for

China’s economic development. The

second goal is to promote understanding

of American life and society by looking

at the American corporation from a

sociological and cultural point of view.

The venue will be People’s University

in Beijing. The American institution

will be required to coordinate its

program with the Foreign Affairs Office

of People’s University.

B. Seminar/Workshop in American Law

Grant funding under this category is

intended to enhance and expand the

scope of American legal studies

programs in the People’s Republic of

China. Proposals with a particular

emphasis upon the rule of law in

American Society and its relevance to

China are encouraged. Familiarity with

the functioning of Chinese civil law is

a preference factor. Intense, scholarly 3–

4 week summer programs are preferred.

Individual participants on the American

side must be citizens of the U.S. Both

projects that have been previously

conducted and new projects are eligible.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 1995 / Notices 3029

Duration: Applications will be

accepted for projects from at least 21

days to no more than 30 days duration.

Programs should be completed by

September 30, 1995.

Guidelines: Preference will be given

to organizations with demonstrated

expertise in the proposed workshop/

seminar fields.

Previous experience with conducting

scholarly seminars in the People’s

Republic of China and/or current

working relations with Chinese

educational institutions will be

considered a plus. A substantive history

of organizing subject-specific programs

led by acknowledged experts in the field

who also have considerable teaching

experience is highly advantageous.

Proposals should present a very clearly

designed program plan that shows

specific objectives and that

demonstrates the likelihood of

substantive follow-through. Be specific

as to what issues the workshop/seminar

will address and who the intended

audience is. In the context of the

intended audience(s), please describe

clearly the proposed approach, e.g.,

didactic, participatory, etc., and

resource materials to be used.

Proposed Budget

Organizations must submit a

comprehensive line item budget based

on the specific guidance in the

Solicitation Package. Project awards to

U.S. institutions can be made in a range

of amounts but will not exceed $75,000.

The Agency reserves the right to reduce,

revise or increase budgets. For

organizations with less than four years

of experience in international exchange

activities, total grants will be limited to

a maximum of $60,000 from USIA, and

total proposed budgets should not

exceed this amount.

Please Note: Applicants must submit

a comprehensive budget for the entire

program. There must be a summary

budget as well as a breakdown reflecting

both the administrative budget and the

program budget. For better

understanding or further clarification,

applicants may provide a separate subbudget for each program component,

phase, location, or activity in order to

facilitate USIA decisions on funding.

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 established

herein and in the Solicitation Package.

Eligible proposals will be forwarded to

panels of USIA officers for advisory

review. All eligible proposals will also

be reviewed by the Agency’s Office of

East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the USIS

section of the American Embassy in

Beijing, and the Agency contracts

offices. Proposals may also be reviewed

by the Agency’s Office of General

Counsel or 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 USIA’s contracting

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: 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. Agenda and plan

should adhere to the program overview

and guidelines described above.

3. Ability to achieve program

objectives: Objectives should be

reasonable, feasible and flexible.

Proposals should clearly demonstrate

how the institution will meet the

program’s objectives and plan.

4. Multiplier Effect/impact: Proposed

program should strengthen long-term

mutual understanding, including

maximum sharing of information and

establishment of long-term institutional

and individual linkages.

5. Support of Diversity: Proposals

should demonstrate the recipient’s

commitment to promoting the

awareness and understanding of

diversity.

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 for 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 insures that USIA

supported programs are not isolated

events.

9. Project Evaluation: Proposals

should include a plan to evaluate the

program’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 project objectives. Awardreceiving organizations/institutions will

be expected to submit intermediate

reports after each project component is

concluded or quarterly, whichever is

less frequent.

10. Cost-effectiveness: The overhead

and administration 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 office and overseas

offices of program need, potential

impact, and significance in the partner

country.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP are binding and may not be

modified by any USIA representative.

Explanatory information provided by

the Agency that contradicts published

language will not be binding. Issuance

of the RFP does not constitute an award

commitment on the part of the

Government. Final award cannot be

made until funds have been fully

appropriated by Congress, allocated and

committed through internal USIA

procedures.

Notification

All applicants will be notified of the

results of the review process on or about

May 12, 1995. Awards made will be

subject to periodic reporting and

evaluation requirements.

Dated: January 5, 1995.

John P. Loiello,

Associate Director for Educational and

Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 95–711 Filed 1–11–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M