[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4230-4232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1412]



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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

Third World Journalism Seminar

ACTION: Notice--Request for Proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the United States 
Information Agency's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs announces 
an open competition for an assistance award program. Public or private 
non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in IRS 
regulation 501(c)(3) may apply to develop a project to provide 
logistical support and American speaker recruitment services for the 
1995 Annual ``Third World Journalism Seminar,'' which will bring 18 
professional institutional spokespersons to Tunis to discuss 
professionalism in public relations.
    Overall grant-making and funding 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 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 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. The 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/P-95-34.

DATES: Deadline for proposals: All copies must be received at the U.S. 
Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Friday, 
February 17, 1995. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will 
documents postmarked on February 17, 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:
The Division of African Affairs and North African/Near Eastern/South 
Asian Affairs of the Office of Citizen Exchanges (E/PS), Room 224, U.S. 
Information Agency, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 29547, 
telephone number: (202) 619-5319, fax number: (202) 619-4350, internet 
address: [email protected] 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/Specialist Charlotte Peterson on all inquiries and 
correspondence. Interested applicants should read the complete Federal 
Register announcement before addressing inquiries to the Office of 
Citizen Exchanges or submitting their proposals. Once the RFP deadline 
has passed, the Office of Citizen Exchanges may not discuss this 
competition in any way with applicants until the Bureau proposal review 
process has been completed.

ADDRESSES: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the 
Solicitation Package and send only complete applications (the original 
and 14 copies) to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/P-95-34, 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 
[[Page 4231]] 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. The Agency encourages proposals from eligible non-profit 
organizations whose staff reflects a broad variety of ethnic 
backgrounds, whose programs encompass a range of diversity interests, 
and/or whose mission is to further the interests of traditionally 
under-represented groups. Selection of program participants should 
reflect all forms of diversity, including race, gender, and geographic 
region.

Overview

    From June 10-24, 1995, the African Center for the Training of 
Journalists and Communicators (CAPJC), a Tunis-based NGO, will sponsor 
the twelfth in a series of seminars to enhance journalistic skills and 
the journalistic environment in the region of North Africa and Sub-
Saharan Africa. CAPJC will, as in other years, work closely with the 
U.S. Information Service Office of the U.S. Embassy in Tunis in 
organizing the seminar. The title of the 1995 seminar will be 
``Professionalism in Public Relations: Promoting Democracy and Market 
Economies through Better Institutional Accountability.'' The seminar 
will be conducted in French. The recipient of this grant will be 
responsible for providing general administrative and logistical support 
to CAPJC and USIS Tunis, and for recruiting three American speakers.

Background

    For the past eleven years CAPJC has been sponsoring seminars that 
are geared towards teaching hands-on, practical journalistic skills to 
third-world journalists. Each year USIS Tunis has worked closely with 
CAPJC to design the seminars and select the participants. An American 
NGO has provided logistical support. Past themes have included news 
agency writing, newspaper reporting, radio journalism, economic 
reporting, and investigative journalism, all of which are part of an 
effort to promote more capable and responsible journalists.
    The June 1995 seminar will address the parallel need for 
responsible and responsive institutions with which the journalists can 
interact, the overall concept of accountability, and the right to 
public information which journalists need in order to fulfill their 
responsibility to the public. The seminar will be conducted in French, 
led by a team of American and Tunisian professionals.
    Eighteen institutional communicators/press spokespersons from both 
government and the private sector will be invited to participate in 
this seminar. Twelve participants will come from French-speaking 
African and Arab countries, and six participants will be residents of 
Tunisia. CAPJC and USIS Tunis, in consultation with the USIS posts in 
the region, will be responsible for selection of these individuals.

Guidelines

    1. Working closely with CAPJC and USIS Tunis, the grantee will 
provide administrative and logistical support for the June 1995 ``Third 
World Journalism Seminar'' in Tunis, specifically including the 
following services:

--Recruitment of three American professional and/or academic speakers/
instructors for the seminar, under the guidance of USIS Tunis and 
CAPJC.
--Air travel reservations and ticketing, ground transportation, and 
accommodation arrangements for the America speakers and the twelve 
participants from Arab and African countries.
--On-site services to participants and speakers during the seminar 
including airport reception and per diem disbursements.
--Registration costs for Tunisian participants.
--Accounting for disbursements.

    2. All proposals should demonstrate substantial experience with 
seminar organization and with North Africa, preferably Tunisia.
    3. Applicants should employ French-speaking staff or consultants 
available to travel to Tunis as necessary for consultations with CAPJC 
before and during the seminar.
    4. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the U.S. 
Information Service office at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis before 
submitting proposals.
    5. The U.S. recipient should try to maximize cost-sharing in all 
facets of the program and stimulate private-sector support. Since USIA 
grant assistance constitutes only a portion of total project funding, 
proposals should list and provide evidence of other anticipated sources 
of financial and in-kind support. Cost-sharing may be in the form of 
allowable direct or indirect costs.
    6. All USIA-funded delegates (outside their home countries, i.e. 
not the Tunisians) and the American speakers will be covered under the 
terms of a USIA-sponsored health insurance policy.
    7. Drafts of all printed materials developed for this program 
should be submitted to the Agency for review and approval. All official 
documents should highlight the U.S. Government's role as program 
sponsor and funding source. USIA requests that it receive the copyright 
use and be allowed to distribute the material as it sees fit.

Proposed Budget

    USIA will consider providing funding of up to approximately 
$80,000. 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. 
Please refer to the Application Package for complete formatting 
instructions. For better understanding or further clarification, 
applicants may provide separate sub-budgets for each program component 
or activity to facilitate USIA decisions on funding.
    Allowable costs for the program include the following:
    (1) International and domestic air fares; visas; transit costs; and 
ground transportation costs.
    (2) Per Diem. The published Federal per diem rates must be used.
    (3) Consultants may be used to provide specialized expertise or to 
make presentations. Daily honoraria generally do not exceed $250. 
Subcontracting organizations may also be used, in which case the 
written agreement between the prospective grantee and subcontractor 
should be included in the proposal.
    (4) One working meal per project. Per capita costs may not exceed 
$5-8 for a lunch and $14-20 for a dinner; this includes room rental if 
applicable. The number of invited guests may not exceed participants by 
more than a factor of two to one.
    (5) Materials development. Proposals may contain costs to purchase, 
develop and reproduce materials for participants.
    (6) Other costs necessary for the effective administration of the 
program, including salaries for grant organization employees, benefits, 
and other direct and indirect costs per detailed instructions in the 
application package.
    Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget 
guidelines and formatting instructions. [[Page 4232]] 

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 
North African, Near Eastern, and South Asian Affairs; the USIA Office 
of African Affairs; and USIS Tunis. 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 
assistance awards (grants or cooperative agreements) 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. 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 describe 
above.
    2. 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.
    3. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the 
recipient's commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of 
diversity.
    4. Institutional Capacity: Proposed personnel and institutional 
resources should be adequate and appropriate to achieve the program or 
project's goals.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Cost-sharing: Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through 
other private sector support as well as institutional direct funding 
contributions.
    8. Area expertise: Proposals should give evidence of relevant 
knowledge of the geographic area.

Notice

    The terms and conditions published in this RFP are binding and may 
not be modified by an 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 17, 1995. Awards made will be subject to 
periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.

    Dated: January 12, 1995.
Dell Pendergrast,
Deputy Associate Director, Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-1412 Filed 1-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M