Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 1996 / Notices 18465

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IRPAC

reports to the National Director, Office

of Service Center Compliance, who is

the executive responsible for

information reporting and is charged

with its system wide planning and

improvement. IRPAC is instrumental in

providing advice to enhance the IRP

Program. Increasing participation by

external stakeholders in the planning

and improvement of the tax system will

help achieve the goals of increasing

voluntary compliance and reduction of

burden. IRPAC is currently comprised

of 20 representatives from various

segments of the private sector payer

community. IRPAC members are not

paid for their time or services, but

consistent with Federal regulations,

they are reimbursed for their travel and

lodging expenses to attend two meetings

each year.

DATES: The meeting will be open to the

public, and will be in a room that

accommodates approximately 90

people, including members of IRPAC

and IRS officials. Seats are available to

the public on a first-come, first-served

basis. In order to get your name on the

building access list, notification of

intent to attend this meeting must be

made with Ms. Tommie Matthews no

later than Friday, May 10, 1996. Ms.

Matthews can be reached at 202–622–

4214 (not a toll-free number).

Notification of intent to attend should

include your name, organization and

phone number. If you leave this

information for Ms. Matthews in a

voice-mail message, please spell out all

names. A draft of the agenda will be

available via facsimile transmission the

week prior to the meeting. Please call

Ms. Matthews on or after Monday May

6, 1996 to have a copy of the agenda

faxed to you. Please note that a draft

agenda will not be available until

Monday, May 6.

ADDRESSES: If you would like to have

IRPAC consider a written statement at a

future IRPAC meeting (not the May 1996

meeting), please write to Kate LaBuda at

IRS, Office of Service Center

Compliance, CP:CO:SC:P, Room 2013,

1111 Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC, 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To

give notification of intent to attend this

meeting, call Ms. Tommie Matthews at

202–622–4214 (not a toll-free number).

For general information about IRPAC

call Kate LaBuda at 202–622–3404 (not

a toll-free number).

Dated: April 18, 1996.

Bob Longford,

(Acting) Director, Office of Payer Compliance,

Service Center Compliance.

[FR Doc. 96–10281 Filed 4–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship

Program

ACTION: Notice; request for proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Academic

Programs, Academic Exchange Programs

Division, European Programs Branch of

the United States Information Agency’s

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs announces an open competition

for an assistance award. Public and

private non-profit organizations meeting

the provisions described in IRS

regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)–1 may

apply to administer the recruitment,

selection, placement, monitoring,

evaluation, and follow-on activities for

the Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship

Program. Organizations with less than

four years of experience in conducting

international exchange programs are not

eligible for this competition.

The Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship

Program selects outstanding citizens of

the New Independent States (NIS) and

the Baltics to receive scholarships for

Master’s-level study and professional

development in the United States in the

fields of business administration,

economics, law, and public

administration. Fellowships are

awarded to qualified young and midcareer individuals who are citizens of

Armenia, Azerbaijan*, Belarus, Estonia,

Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,

Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian

Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,

Ukraine, or Uzbekistan. Interested

organizations should read the complete

Federal Register announcement and

request a Solicitation Package from

USIA prior to preparing a proposal.

*Please note: Programs with Azerbaijan are

subject to restrictions of Section 907 of the

Freedom Support Act: Employees of the

Government of Azerbaijan or any of its

instrumentalities are excluded from

participation, and no U.S. participant

overseas may work for the Government of

Azerbaijan or any of its instrumentalities. In

addition, the Government of Azerbaijan or

any of its instrumentalities will have no

control in the actual selection of participants.

Edmund S. Muskie Fellows enroll in

graduate degree, certificate, and nondegree programs lasting one-to-two

academic years. It is estimated that

approximately 100–130 Fellows will

participate in the 1997 program.

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 TITLE AND NUMBER: All

communications with USIA concerning

this announcement should refer to the

above title and reference number E/

AEE–97–01.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: All copies

must be received at the U.S. Information

Agency by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time

on Thursday, June 20, 1996. Faxed

documents will not be accepted, nor

will documents postmarked June 20,

1996, 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: The

Office of Academic Programs, European

Programs Branch, E/AEE, Room 246,

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

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547, (P)202–

205–0525, (F)202–260–7985, (E–Mail)

LShane@USIA.gov to request a

Solicitation Package containing more

detailed award criteria, required

application forms, and standard

guidelines for preparing proposals,

including specific criteria for

preparation of the proposal budget.

TO DOWNLOAD A SOLICITATION PACKAGE

VIA INTERNET: The Solicitation Package

may be downloaded from USIA’s

website at http://www.usia.gov/ or from

the Internet Gopher at gopher.usia.gov.

Select ‘‘Education and Cultural

Exchanges’’, then select ‘‘Current

Request for Proposals (RFPs).’’ Please

read ‘‘About the Following RFPs’’ before

beginning to download.

Please specify USIA Program Officer/

Specialist Laura Shane on all inquiries

and correspondence. Interested
18466 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 1996 / Notices

applicants should read the complete

Federal Register announcement before

sending inquiries or submitting

proposals. Once the RFP deadline has

passed, Agency staff may not discuss

this competition in any way with

applicants until the Bureau proposal

review process has been completed.

SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all

instructions given in the Solicitation

Package. The original and 14 copies of

the application should be sent to: U.S.

Information Agency, Ref.: E/AEE–97–01,

Office of Grants Management, E/XE,

Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20547.

Applicants must also submit the

‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal

Narrative’’ sections of the proposal on a

3.5′′ diskette, formatted for DOS. This

material must be provided in ASCII text

(DOS) format with a maximum line

length of 65 characters. USIA will

transmit these files electronically to

USIS posts overseas for their review,

with the goal of reducing the time it

takes to get posts’ comments for the

Agency’s grants review process.

DIVERSITY GUIDELINES: 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

ethnicity, race, gender, religion,

geographic location, socio-economic

status, and physical challenges.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to

adhere to the advancement of this

principle both in program

administration and in program content.

Please refer to the review criteria under

the ‘‘Support for Diversity’’ section for

specific suggestions on incorporating

diversity into the total proposal.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview

The Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship

Program is designed to foster

democratization and the transition to

market economies in the former Soviet

Union and Baltic States though

intensive academic and professional

training. Since the program’s inception

in fiscal year 1992, over 650

Fellowships have been awarded. The

academic component of the program

begins in the fall semester of the year of

award and follows the normal one- or

two-year academic cycle. Fellows take

part in eight- to twelve-week internships

during the summer following the first

academic year. While Fellows are

closely assisted in their internship

search by host institutions, sponsoring

organizations, and USIA, the primary

responsibility for securing appropriate

internships remains with the Fellows.

Fellows placed in one-year graduate

programs return home at the conclusion

of their internship. Fellows placed in

two-year graduate programs return to

their academic placement following the

internship. The Muskie Program is not

intended as a precursor to doctoral

studies in the United States. At the end

of their designated academic and

internship programs, Fellows are

required to return to their home

countries.

The Muskie Program includes the

fields of business administration,

economics, law, and public

administration. USIA anticipates that

the fields of mass communications/

journalism, education administration,

library and information science, and

public policy may be added to the 1997

Muskie Program. Therefore,

organizations should address their

abilities to administer the program in

these fields as well as the four original

Muskie fields.

In the past, the Muskie Program has

been administered consortially by four

organizations, working in close

partnership for all phases of the

program. It is anticipated that decreases

in program funding will necessitate that

the number of organizations

administering the Muskie Program be

reduced. Applicant organizations may

apply to administer the program

individually or via a consortial

arrangement as long as one organization

is designated as the recipient of the

grant. Organizations may also indicate

in their proposals a plan to work

cooperatively with one or more

applicant organizations. However,

organizations must also clearly state

their individual capabilities.

Proposing organizations must

demonstrate the ability to administer all

aspects of the Muskie program—

advertisement, recruitment, selection,

placement, orientation. Fellow

monitoring and support, financial

management, evaluation, follow-on, and

alumni tracking and programming.

Applicant organizations should

demonstrate the ability to recruit and

select a diverse pool of candidates from

various geographic regions within the

NIS and Baltics. Additionally,

organizations will be asked to assist in

the recruitment and selection of

appropriate host institutions from

throughout the United States for preacademic, ESL, and academic programs.

Administering organizations will act as

the principal liaison with Muskie host

institutions. Additionally, organizations

should demonstrate the ability to work

with private sector organizations in the

United States, NIS and Baltics to

facilitate to Fellows’ professional

development and post-program re-entry.

Further details on specific program

responsibilities can be found in the

Project Objectives, Goals, and

Implementation (POGI) Statement

which is part of the formal Solicitation

Package available from USIA.

Awards will begin on or about

October 1, 1996, and will be

approximately three years in duration.

Initial recruitment and selection

activities will be performed by the

current administering organizations.

Guidelines

Programs must comply with J–1 visa

regulations. Please refer to program

specific guidelines (POGI) in the

Solicitation Package for further details.

The level of funding for fiscal year

1997 is uncertain; proposal budgets

should not exceed $5 million.

Organizations must submit a

comprehensive line item budget based

on the specific guidance in the

Solicitation Package. There must be a

summary budget as well as a breakdown reflecting both the administrative

budget and the program budget.

Organizations whose proposals include

an administrative budget that is less

than 20% of the grant amount requested

from USIA will be given preference.

Detailed guidance on budget

preparation is included in the Project

Objectives, Goals and Implementation

(POGI) statement. Please refer to the

complete 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 program office, as well as the USIA

Office of Eastern Europe and NIS Affairs

and the USIA posts overseas, where

appropriate. Proposals may 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 assistance awards (grants

or cooperative agreements) resides with

the USIA grants officer.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 1996 / Notices 18467

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 plan:

Proposed programs should include

academic rigor, thorough conception or

project, demonstration of meeting

participant needs, contributions to

understanding the partner country,

proposed alumni activities, specific

details of recruitment, selection and

monitoring processes, a thorough

evaluation plan, proposed follow-on,

and relevance to USIA’s mission.

(2.) Program planning and

institutional capacity: A detailed agenda

and relevant work plan should

demonstrate substantive undertakings

and logistical capacity. Proposals

should clearly demonstrate how the

institution and its staff will meet the

program objectives and plan.

(3.) Track record: Relevant USIA and

outside assessments of the

organization’s experience with

international exchanges;

(4.) Multiplier effect/impact: The

impact of the exchange activity on the

wider community and on the

development of continuing ties, as well

as the contribution of the proposed

activity in promoting mutual

understanding will be evaluated.

(5.) Value of U.S.-partner country

relations: The assessment by USIA’s

geographic area office of the need,

potential impact, and significance of the

project with the partner countries.

(6.) Cost-effectiveness: A key measure

of cost-effectiveness is the unit cost to

the Agency. This is the total request of

USIA monies divided by the number of

fellow-months (number of fellows

multiplied by the number of program

months). 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.

(7.) Cost-sharing: Proposals should

maximize cost-sharing through other

private sector support as well as

institutional direct funding

contributions.

(8.) Diversity and pluralism:

Preference will be given to proposals

that demonstrate efforts to provide for

the participation of students with a

variety of major disciplines, from

diverse regions, and of different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, to

the extent feasible for the applicant

institutions. The Agency will seek to

achieve maximum geographic diversity

in recruitment, selection and placement

of participants through its award of

grants.

(9.) Follow-on activities: Proposals

should provide a plan for continued

follow-on activity which insures that

USIA-supported programs are not

isolated events. Proposals should

include a plan for alumni tracking and

coordination that demonstrates the

willingness to provide data to and

coordinate tracking with USIA and USIS

Posts overseas.

(10.) Project evaluation: Proposals

should provide a plan for evaluation by

the grantee institution to determine the

success of the project. Special attention

should be given to measuring long-term

program effectiveness.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

kin 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. The Agency 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 USIA procedures.

Dated: April 19, 1996.

Dell Pendergrast,

Deputy Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 96–10239 Filed 4–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M