15324 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 56 / Thursday, March 23, 1995 / Notices

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to this proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues are

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS should be

directed to FHWA at the address

provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning

and Construction. The regulations

implementing Executive Order 112372

regarding intergovernmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this

program)

Issued: March 15, 1995.

Richard C. Madrzak,

Statewide Projects Engineer, Madison,

Wisconsin.

[FR Doc. 95–7164 Filed 3–22–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Burmese Refugee Program

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. Public and private

non-profit organizations meeting the

provisions described in IRS regulation

501 (c) (3) may apply to develop an

educational program for approximately

5–7 Burmese students and professionals

who left Burma after August 1988 and

have since been living outside of Burma

as refugees to receive undergraduate

and/or graduate training in a variety of

fields in the humanities and sciences in

American colleges and universities.

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.’’

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

this announcement should refer to the

above title and reference number E/

AEF–95–05.

DATES: Deadline for proposals: All

copies must be received at the U.S.

Information Agency by 5 p.m.

Washington, D.C. time on Friday, April

28, 1995. Faxed documents will not be

accepted, nor will documents

postmarked on April 28, 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:

Office of Academic Programs; East

Asian Programs Branch—E/AEF, Room

208, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547,

(202) 619–5402 (phone), (202) 401–1728

(fax), 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.

Please specify USIA Program Officer

Wayne Peterson or Carol Elford on all

inquiries and correspondences.

Interested applicants should read the

complete Federal Register

announcement before addressing

inquiries to the East Asian Programs

Branch or submitting their proposals.

Once the RFP deadline has passed, the

East Asian Programs Branch officers

may not discuss this competition in any

way with applicants until after the

Bureau proposal review process has

been completed.

ADDRESSES: Applicants must follow all

instructions given in the Solicitation

Package. The original and 10 copies of

the complete application should be sent

to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/

AEF–95–05, Office of Grants

Management, E/XE, Room 336, 301 4th

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 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 goal of the program is to support

the economic and democratic

development of Burma by helping to

educate potential leaders of Burma who

could assist that country in future

transition to a democratic government.

It is USIA’s intent to provide grantees

with programs of the highest quality

that meet their academic and personal

needs and to further the Agency’s

mission to promote mutual

understanding.

Guidelines

Project Description

A. The applicant shall design a

proposal to recruit, nominate, select,

place and monitor the Burmese students

in accredited U.S. academic institutions

for academic programs lasting a

minimum of one year.

Note: Funding for the entire period of the

student program should be projected in the

proposal.

B. Students should be selected for

either an undergraduate program or a

graduate level program as appropriate.

Programs shall include such

enhancements as pre-departure and

arrival orientations and interim

workshops focusing on assessment of

skills development and transition into

the workplace and related adjustments.

C. Given the language difficulties

experienced by most of the previous

Burmese Refugee grantees, the programs

may include an intensive English

language study component.

D. The organization must work with

USIA, INS and the American Embassy

in Bangkok to coordinate public interest

parole status for the grantees since they

are not eligible for J–1 visas.

E. Since it is unlikely that the grantees

will be able to return to Burma at the

conclusion of the program, the

organization must provide relocation

assistance to them at the time their

studies are terminated.

F. Program participants must carry the

requisite level of health and accident

insurance.

Proposed Budget

USIA anticipates awarding one grant

not to exceed $300,000 for this program.

Organizations must submit a

comprehensive line item budget,

including a budget summary page,

based on the specific guidance in the

Application Package.

Please note that it is required that

requested administrative funds,

including indirect costs and
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 56 / Thursday, March 23, 1995 / Notices 15325

administrative expenses for orientation,

not exceed 20 percent of the total

amount requested from USIA;

administrative expenses should be costshared. Grants awarded to eligible

organizations with less than four years

of experience in conducting

international exchange programs will be

limited to $60,000.

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 separate subbudgets for each program component,

phase, location, or activity in order to

facilitate USIA decisions on funding.

Allowable costs for the program

include the following:

A. Program costs

(1) One-way economy fare

international travel from their overseas

location (on an American flag carrier for

as much of the route as possible);

(2) Domestic travel;

(3) Tuition, room and board,

incidental expenses, maintenance for

university vacation periods;

(4) Educational materials;

(5) Costs of standardized test fees;

(6) Per diem for orientation,

professional, academic and cultural

enrichment.

B. Administrative costs (not to exceed

20% of the budget)

(1) Staff salaries and benefits;

(2) Staff travel;

(3) Communications (including

telephone, fax, postage, etc.);

(4) Office supplies;

(5) Other direct costs.

Please refer to the Solicitation

Package for complete budget guidances

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 Office of East Asian and

Pacific Affairs and the USIA post

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 applicants 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. 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. Support of Diversity: Proposals

should demonstrate the recipient’s

commitment to promoting the

awareness and understanding of

diversity.

5. Institutional Capacity: Proposed

personnel and institutional resources

should be adequate and appropriate to

achieve the program or project’s goals.

6. 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.

7. 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 project objectives. Awardreceiving organizations/institutions will

be expected to submit intermediate

reports after each project component is

concluded or quarterly, whichever is

less frequent.

8. 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.

9. Cost-sharing: Proposals should

maximize cost-sharing through other

private sector support as well as

institutional direct funding

contributions.

10. Value to U.S.-Partner Country

Relations: Proposed projects should

receive positive assessments by USIA’s

geographic area desk and USIS Bangkok

officers of program need, potential

impact, and significance in the partner

country(ies).

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP are binding and may be 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. The needs of the program

may require the award to be reduced,

revised, or increased. Final awards

cannot be made until funds have been

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

June 16, 1995. Awards made will be

subject to periodic reporting and

evaluation requirements.

Dated: March 15, 1995.

Dell Pendergrast,

Deputy Associate Director, Educational and

Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 95–6780 Filed 3–22–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

Meeting of the Advisory Board for

Cuba Broadcasting

The Advisory Board for Cuba

Broadcasting will conduct a meeting at

10 a.m. on Friday, March 24, 1995, at

the Doral Hotel and Resort, 4400 NW.

87th Avenue, Miami, Florida. The

intended agenda is listed below.

Presidential Advisory Board Meeting,

March 24, 1995

Agenda

I. Continuation of the Discussion on the

Feasibility Study on Radio and T.V.

Martı ́ Relocation

II. Old Business

III. New Business

Members of the public interested in

attending the meeting should contact

Ms. Angela R. Washington, at the

Advisory Board Office. Ms. Washington

can be reached at (202) 401–2178.

Due to the limited availability of

Advisory Board members and other

scheduling problems and the need to

move the project forward, this

announcement will appear for less than

15 days.