[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 115 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14512]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 16, 1994]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Samantha Smith Memorial Exchange Program--Youth Exchanges
ACTION: Request for proposals.
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SUMMARY: The United States Information Agency (USIA) invites
applications from U.S. educational, cultural, and other not-for-profit
institutions to conduct exchanges of youth under the age of 21 with
Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-
Hercegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macdeonia, or the Newly Independent States (NIS) of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Proposals may
address more than one country in each area but cannot combine NIS
countries with those of Central and Eastern Europe. However,
organizations may submit two different proposals for these two
geographic areas. These exchanges represent part of the activities of
the Samantha Smith Memorial Exchange Program and are subject to the
availability of funding for the Fiscal Year 1995 program. A request for
proposals in support of exchanges of college and university
undergraduate students under the AEGIS of the Samantha Smith program
will be published separately by the office of Academic Exchanges.
DATES: Deadline for proposals: All copies must be received at the U.S.
Information Agency in Washington, DC by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, September
2, 1994. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents
postmarked on a September 2 but received at a later date. It is the
responsibility of each grant applicant to ensure that complete
proposals are received by the above deadline. Grant funds are unlikely
to be available before February 1, 1995.
ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: This Announcement number is E/P-95-03. Please
refer to this number in all correspondence or telephone calls to USIA.
ADDRESSES: One complete signed original, three complete, fully tabbed
copies, and ten partial copies (parts A through D only), not bound,
must be submitted before the deadline to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref:
E/P-95-03, Office of Grants Management, E/XE, room 336, 301 4th St.
SW., Washington, DC, 20547.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested organizations and
institutions should write or fax: U.S. Information Agency, Office of
Citizen Exchanges, E/PY, room 314, 301 4th St., SW., Washington, DC
20547, FAX for NIS (202) 619-5311, for Central and Eastern Europe FAX
(202) 619-4350 to request detailed application packages, which include
award criteria additional to this announcement, all necessary forms,
and guidelines for preparing proposals, including specific budget
preparation information. Questions may be directed to E/PY (202) 619-
6299 (NIS) or E/PN (202) 619-5348 (Central and Eastern Europe).
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. Overall authority for these
programs is contained in the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchanges
Act of 1961, as amended, Public Law 87-256 (Fulbright-Hays Act).
Overview
Grant funding is intended to promote the exchange of young people
21 years of age or younger between the U.S. and the Newly Independent
States (NIS) or Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and
Uzbekistan, and the Central and Eastern European countries of Albania,
Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Proposals may address more
than one country in each area, for example, a project with Bulgaria,
Latvia, and Slovenia, or Belarus, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan. Proposals
cannot combine NIS countries with those of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Agency's main objective is to foster interaction between American
and foreign youth. Consequently, extensive interaction is a
requirement. Proposals should demonstrate how American and foreign
youth will interact in a way that encourages the exchange of ideas,
values, culture, and information.
This competition will give priority consideration to projects
taking place in Russia in areas other than Moscow and St. Petersburg,
and to projects taking place outside of capital cities in all the
eligible countries.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of the available funds will be reserved
for organizations that have not received Samantha Smith grants in the
past year. Grants are awarded to expand or enhance existing exchange
programs or to encourage the development of new exchanges. Programs may
involve the U.S. organization in a partnership with organizations in
one or more countries. The minimum length of stay in country for a
project should be three weeks.
Two categories of grants are being offered.
Category A--School-to-School Exchanges
A school-to-school exchange is one that involves a direct linkage
between a U.S. and a Central and Eastern European or NIS elementary,
middle, or high school, or a two-year college. (4-year colleges and
universities are not eligible under this competition). An applicant
must be a school, school district, or two-year college. The maximum
grant for this category is $15,000. The exchange program activity
should be reciprocal and permit students to live in each other's
countries during the academic year when schools are in session. (This
would include officially-sponsored summer school sessions). The
proposal should provide detailed information on the classroom and other
activities in both the U.S. and the partner country. The duration of
the projects may be one academic year, one semester, or short-term
(generally understood to mean three to eight weeks). Organizations
which are receiving funding under other USIA grants for youth exchanges
must insure that proposals submitted under this solicitation do not
duplicate or overlap with programs already being funded by USIA.
Category B--General Youth Exchange
This category includes all other projects, which will be eligible
for grants of up to $75,000. Semester and year-long high school or two-
year college study programs conducted by exchange organizations may
fall within this category, as may projects involving the annual
exchange of groups of students and teachers among several linked
schools for short-term stays during the academic year. (4-year colleges
and universities are not eligible under this competition). For short-
term (3-8 weeks) exchanges, preference is given to projects with a
thematic focus. Eligible foci may include, but are not limited to: The
arts (theater, dance, music, fine arts, literature, folklore, and film/
video); language and culture; science, technology, and mathematics;
conservation and the environment; historic preservation; museum
training; social, political, and economic issues; agriculture; business
and administration/management (including enterprise promotion). While a
thematic focus is not an absolute requirement, care should be taken to
avoid proposing a program which is too heavily weighted toward
``touristic'' activities and lacking in substance. Projects requesting
support for tours of performing arts groups or sports teams are
eligible if the primary purpose of the program is interaction among
international participants and their hosts. Tours of performing arts
groups or sports groups where the primary activity is performance or
competition are not eligible.
Reciprocity is not a requirement for this category, but in general,
USIA gives preference to proposals for reciprocal exchanges. The
proposal should provide detailed information on the activities in both
the U.S. and the partner country. The number of U.S. and foreign
participants should be roughly equal. Such proposals must provide
written evidence of the commitment of a counterpart organization in the
partner country willing and able to engage in the proposed activities.
In most cases the counterpart organization should assume a significant
portion of the cost of hosting the American participants in the
reciprocal portion of the program.
Guidelines
All categories of proposals must include: Participant selection
criteria and a description of the selection process. All participants
must be under the age of 21 at the time they begin the program. In all
cases, selection should be merit-based. Selection criteria should
include actual or potential leadership qualities, and may also include
some or all of the following: maturity, academic achievement, interest
in the program, motivation, recommendations of teachers, and language
ability, although no participant should be chosen solely on the basis
of language ability. As far as possible, participants should reflect
the diversity of the communities from which they come. Ability to pay
should not be a determining factor for either American or foreign
participants.
Description of Orientation Programs
There should be ample introduction to the program theme,
administrative procedures, basic historical, cultural, and social
information, and substantive issues likely to be raised by their U.S.
or foreign counterparts. The orientation program should help minimize
the ``culture shock'' of the participants when they are in the partner
country.
Information Concerning Stays in the Host Country
Preference is generally given to longer stays in-country. The
proposal should describe in detail the selection and orientation
processes for both U.S. and host families and institutions.
Consideration will be given to those projects which for reasons or
requirements of the partner country(ies) are of short duration, but the
length of stay in country should be a minimum of three weeks.
Information Concerning Language Qualifications
Speaking ability in the language of the host country for both
American and foreign participants is preferred, but not required. It is
recognized that relatively few American young people will speak the
languages of the host countries, given the fact that relatively few
American schools teach these languages. Ideally, some participants in
each incoming delegation should be conversant in English, and some
participants in each outgoing delegation should be conversant in the
host country language. However, no participant should be selected
solely on the basis of his or her language ability.
Details on Planning
The proposal should show evidence of adequate lead/planning time to
ensure a successful exchange program. A proposed time frame should also
be included, as should provisions for monitoring and evaluating the
program.
Proposed Budget
Organizations must submit a comprehensive line item budget for
which specific details are available in the application packet.
Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years
of experience in conducting international exchange programs will be
limited to $60,000. Organizations should be familiar with grant
regulations described in OMB circulars A110, A122, and A133.
Cost sharing is encouraged. Cost sharing may be in the form of
allowable direct or indirect costs. The grant recipient must maintain
written records to support all allowable costs which are claimed as
being its contribution to cost participation, as well as cost to be
paid by the Federal government. Such records are subject to audit. The
basis for determining the value of cash and in-kind contributions must
be in accordance with OMB Circular A110, Attachment E--Cost Sharing and
Matching, and should be described in the proposal. In the event the
recipient does not provide the minimum amount of cost sharing as
stipulated in the recipient's budget, the Agency's contribution will be
reduced in proportion to the recipient's contribution.
Allowable Costs
Grant-funded expenditures will generally be limited to the
following categories:
--In-country travel and per diem; i.e., lodging, meals, clothing,
maintenance, and incidentals, or stipends.
--Orientation, honoraria, or preparation costs; briefing materials.
Honoraria is limited to $150/day/speaker.
--Educational and cultural enrichment activities up to a limit of $150
per program youth participant.
--Tuition, conference/seminar registration fees, and other program
admission fees.
--International travel, normally limited to partial support for
Americans traveling to the NIS, Baltic Republics, or Central and East
Europe, and Central and East Europeans traveling to the U.S. The
American participants and/or the American organization should be
encouraged to fund a portion of the Americans' travel costs, although
full funding of participants from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds is encouraged. The NIS partner organizations should also be
encouraged to make a contribution toward international travel, but in
this regard one should avoid a situation in which participants are
chosen largely or wholly on the basis of their ability to pay, thus
creating an unrepresentative group. In some cases 100% of the travel
costs for NIS participants will be paid from USIA funds.
--Proposals should demonstrate substantial cost sharing in both program
and administrative expenses.
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 adhere to the guidelines established herein and in the
application package. Eligible proposals will be forwarded to panels of
USIA officers for advisory review. All eligible proposals will also be
reviewed by the appropriate geographic area office, and the budget and
contracts offices. Proposals may also be reviewed by the Agency's
Office of General Counsel. Funding decisions are at the discretion of
the Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final
technical authority for grant awards resides with the USIA's grants
officer.
Review Criteria
Technically eligible applications will be reviewed according to the
following criteria in addition to what has been outlined already in
this RFP:
1. Quality of Program Idea
Quality of the program plan and adherence of proposed activities to
the criteria and conditions described above.
2. Reasonable, Feasible, and Flexible Objectives
Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the institution will meet
the program's objectives and plan.
3. Multiplier Effect/Impact
Proposed programs should strengthen long-term mutual understanding,
to include maximum sharing of information and establishment of long-
term institutional and individual linkages. A program is also
considered to have a strong ``multiplier effect'' if it affects a
significant number of persons in addition to the actual program
participants. For example, a group of high school students may have
extensive interaction with community groups.
4. Value to U.S.--Partner Country Relations
Assessments by USIA's geographic area desk, and overseas officers
of the need, potential, impact, and significance in the partner
country(ies).
5. Cost Effectiveness
The overhead and administrative components of grants, as well as
salaries and honoraria, should be kept as low as possible. Proposals
which utilize grant funds for program rather than administrative costs
will, in general, be more favorably reviewed. All other items should be
necessary and appropriate. Proposals should to the extent possible
maximize cost-sharing through other private sector support as well as
institutional direct funding contributions. Other things being equal, a
proposal with a low cost per participant and/or a low cost per
participant program day will have an advantage.
6. Institutional Capacity
Proposed personnel and institutional resources should be adequate
and appropriate to achieve the program or project's goals.
7. Institution's Track Record/Ability
Proposals should demonstrate potential for program excellence and/
or the track record of applicant institution. The Agency will consider
the past performance of prior grantees and the demonstrated potential
of new applicants. A documented record of successful exchange programs,
whether USIA financed or not, is one way in which an applicant may
demonstrate strength in this area.
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. Evaluation Plan
Proposals should provide a plan for evaluation of the program by
the grantee institution.
10. Participant Diversity
Programs should strive for a diversity among participants and
include members of underrepresented groups; e.g., racial and ethnic
minorities and persons with disabilities.
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 awards 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 by February, 1995. Awarded grants will be subject to periodic
reporting and evaluation requirements.
Dated: June 8, 1994.
John P. Loiello,
Associate Director, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-14512 Filed 6-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M