[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27502]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 10, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

 

Freedom Support Act Secondary School Initiative--U.S./NIS 
Academic Studies Inbound/Outbound Program

ACTION: Notice--Request for Proposals.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The NIS Secondary School Initiative Division, Office of 
Citizen Exchanges of the United States Information Agency's Bureau of 
Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for an 
assistance award to facilitate academic exchanges between American high 
school students and students from the 12 Newly Independent States (NIS) 
of the former Soviet Union. Public or private non-profit organizations 
and educational institutions meeting the provisions described in IRS 
regulation 501(c)(3) may apply to develop projects that promote the 
purposes of this program, which are to: (a) Build the capacity of 
organizations to conduct academic exchanges at the secondary school 
level between the U.S. and the NIS; (b) promote study abroad 
opportunities in the NIS for Americans; and (c) sponsor study 
opportunities in the U.S. for NIS high school-aged students. Applicants 
may apply for grants of up to two years duration. Full-year exchanges 
are permitted only in the second year of the grant. Exchanges of three 
to five months duration may take place during the 1996 spring semester, 
the 1996 fall semester, the 1997 spring semester, and the 1997 fall 
semester. Full year exchanges for both inbound and outbound students 
may take place during the 1996-97 academic year.
    Overall grant making authority for this program is contained in the 
Secondary School Exchange Initiative, as originally authorized in the 
Freedom Support Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-391). It is anticipated that 
$5 million will be allotted to this program. However, grants are 
subject to the availability of funds in Fiscal Year 1995.
    Programs and projects must conform with Agency requirements and 
guidelines as outlined in the Solicitation Package.

ANNOUNCEMENT NAME AND NUMBER: All communications with USIA concerning 
this announcement should refer to the above title and reference number 
E/P-95-24. This is a request for proposals only for the program models 
described above. Requests for proposals in support of other youth 
exchange programs with the NIS are being published separately.

DATES: Deadline for proposals: All copies must be received at the U.S. 
Information Agency by 5 p.m. Washington, DC time on Friday, January 20, 
1995. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents 
postmarked on January 20, 1995 but received at a later date. It is the 
responsibility of each applicant to ensure that proposals are received 
by the above deadline. Notification of awards will be announced on or 
after March 24, 1995. Grant funds should be available by June 1, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Dallas, Division for the Secondary School Initiative, E/PY, room 
314, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20547, telephone: (202)619-6299; Fax (202) 619-5311, to request a 
Solicitation Package. This package includes all application forms; more 
detailed award criteria; and guidelines for preparing proposals, 
including specific criteria for preparation of the proposal budget. 
Interested applicants should read the complete Federal Register 
announcement before addressing inquiries to the Division of the 
Secondary School Initiative. Once the RFP deadline has passed, Agency 
representatives may not discuss this competition in any way with 
applicants until after the Bureau's 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/P-95-24, 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

    The purpose of this program is to provide the opportunity for 
American students to study at a school and experience life with a host 
family and its community in one of the 12 Newly Independent States of 
the former Soviet Union, and, to sponsor students from countries of the 
former Soviet Union to study at an American school and experience life 
with a host family and its community in the U.S. Grant funding is also 
intended to provide avenues that will enhance the students' 
understanding of each country's political, social, and cultural and 
ethnic diversity; to promote the exchange of ideas; and to foster long-
term friendships. The countries of the NIS are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, 
Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrogyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Guidelines

    This program has four components. Please note that each component 
is independent of the other and is not subject to reciprocity. However, 
applicants may opt to apply for any component or a combination of any 
or all four.

A. Outbound Semester

    This component will give American high-school students a chance to 
live with a host family and study at the secondary school level in an 
NIS country for a period of no less than three months.

B. Inbound Semester

    This component provides opportunities for NIS high school students 
to live with a host family and study at secondary level institutions 
for one academic semester in the U.S.

C. Academic Year Outbound

    This component provides opportunities for American high school 
students to study for a full year in one of the countries of the former 
Soviet Union, and to more fully experience the life and culture of a 
host family and its community.

D. Academic Year Inbound

    This component provides the opportunity for students from the 
former Soviet Union to study for a full year at an American high 
school, and to more fully experience the life and culture of a host 
family and its community.
    There is no prescribed formula for either component of the program. 
However, organizations should encourage students to participate in 
extracurricular activities as well as provide students with community 
based activities. Also, organizations have the option to disperse 
students widely or concentrate groups of students in regional clusters. 
The purpose of clustering is to facilitate periodic gatherings for 
ongoing orientation, excursions and cultural programming, as well as 
supervision and feedback. Organizations should identify in their 
proposals the target regions, states and/or communities in which 
placements will be sought. Regardless of the placement plan, 
organizations may propose periodic gatherings of students locally, 
regionally or nationally.
    Grantee organizations working with their offices overseas and/or 
NIS partners will: Recruit and select students based on merit using 
their own criteria; arrange for their placement in schools; select and 
orient host families; make all travel and logistical arrangements; 
conduct orientation sessions; conduct re-entry and debriefing sessions; 
supervise students, solve problems, and provide counseling as needed; 
develop a mechanism for the transfer of academic credit and/or the 
certification of school attendance; interact with the schools on an 
ongoing basis; and evaluate the program's success. Proposals should 
succinctly describe how these elements will be handled, with special 
attention to the following factors:

--Organizations must demonstrate the capacity to secure quality 
homestays and school placements for the number of students on which 
they are bidding in conformance with the regulations governing J visas 
for inbound secondary school students.
--The proposal should include a description of the process the 
organization uses to identify and screen potential host families, as 
well as its system for making school placements.
--Proposals using the cluster method should: Specify the cluster size 
and likely locations; and include a description of how clustering will 
affect the program, such as scheduling periodic gatherings of the 
students. A sample schedule of gatherings and topics or themes to be 
addressed should be included.
--An organization using the dispersal method should include a 
justification for not using the cluster model and explain its placement 
philosophy; and if planning period gatherings the proposal should 
include a tentative itinerary for a sample meeting.
--Inbound students should be sufficiently proficient in English upon 
arrival in the U.S. to function in a high-school environment. No USIA 
grant funding will be provided for English training under this program. 
Preference will be given to proposals that include language skills as a 
selection criterion for American students going to the NIS. Applicant 
organizations with alternative approaches to language qualifications 
should discuss them in the proposal.
--Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Please refer to 
program specific guidelines in the Solicitation Package for further 
details.

Eligibility

    Both private not-for-profit organizations and public educational 
institutions including secondary schools, school districts and state 
education agencies are eligible. Organizational and educational 
consortiums are invited to participate.

Proposed Budget

    Applicants must submit a comprehensive line-item budget for the 
entire program. There must be a summary budget as well as a brake-down 
reflecting both the administrative budget and the program budget. For 
better understanding or further clarification, applicants may provide 
separate sub-budgets for each program component, phase, location, or 
activity in order to facilitate USIA decisions on funding. Cost-sharing 
is encouraged and may be in the form of allowable direct or indirect 
costs. Please refer to the Solicitation Package and Guidelines for 
complete budget and formatting instructions.
    Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years 
of experience in conducting international exchange programs will be 
limited to $60,000.

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 also be 
reviewed by the Agency contracts office, as well as the Agency's Area 
Office 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 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's mission 
and the program idea as described above.
    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. Proposals should also clearly demonstrate how students will be 
selected on the basis of merit and the qualifications needed for a 
successful program.
    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 programs 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 throughout the program. This can be accomplished through 
documentation (such as a written statement or account) summarizing past 
and/or ongoing activities and efforts that further the principle of 
diversity within both the organization and the program activities.
    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 ensures that 
USIA supported programs are not isolated events.
    9. Project evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate 
the success of the program, both as the activities unfold and at its 
conclusion. USIA recommends that the proposal include a draft survey 
questionnaire or other technique, plus a description of a methodology 
to use to link outcomes to original project objectives. Grantee 
organizations/institutions will be expected to submit intermediate 
reports after each project component is concluded or quarterly reports, 
whichever is less frequent.
    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 desk and 
overseas 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 
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 March 24, 1995. Awards made will be subject to 
periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.

    Dated: November 1, 1994.
John P. Loiello,
Associate Director, Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-27502 Filed 11-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M