[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 78 (Monday, April 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20075-20078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10012]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[Docket No. 950329080-5080-01]
Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT)
AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces availability of funds for the Special
American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT), for training
business executives and scientists (also referred to as ``interns'')
from the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. The
Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA)
established the SABIT program in September 1990 to assist the former
Soviet Union's transition to a market economy. Since that time, SABIT
has been matching business executives and scientists from the NIS with
U.S. firms which provide them with three to six months of hands-on
training in a market economy.
Under the SABIT program, qualified U.S. firms will receive funds
through a cooperative agreement with ITA to help defray the cost of
hosting interns. ITA will interview and recommend eligible interns to
participating companies. Interns may be from any of the following
Independent States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and
Uzbekistan. The U.S. firms will be expected to provide the interns with
a hands-on, non-academic, executive training program designed to
maximize their exposure to management or commercially-oriented
scientific operations. At the end of the training program, interns must
return to the NIS.
DATES: The closing date for applications is April 30, 1996. An original
and two copies of the application (Standard Form 424 (Rev. 4-92) and
supplemental material) are to be sent to the address designated in the
Application Kit and postmarked by the closing date. Applications will
be considered on a ``rolling'' basis as they are received, subject to
the availability of funds. If available funds are depleted prior to the
closing date, a notice to that effect will be published in the Federal
Register. Processing of complete applications takes approximately two
to three months.
ADDRESSES: Request for Applications: Competitive Application kits will
be available from ITA starting on the day [[Page 20076]] this notice is
published. To obtain a copy of the Application Kit please telephone
(202) 482-0073, or facsimile (202) 482-2443 (these are not toll free
numbers) or send a written request with two self-addressed mailing
labels to Liesel C. Duhon, Acting Director, SABIT Program, HCHB Room
3319, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20230. Only one copy of the Application Kit will be
provided to each organization requesting it, but it may be reproduced
by the requester.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liesel C. Duhon, Acting Director,
SABIT Program, U.S. Department of Commerce, phone--(202) 482-0073,
facsimile--(202) 482-2443. These are not toll free numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SABIT exposes NIS business managers and
scientists to a completely new way of thinking in which demand,
consumer satisfaction, and profits drive production. Senior-level
interns visiting the U.S. for internship programs with public or
private sector companies will be exposed to an environment which will
provide them with practical knowledge for transforming their countries'
enterprises and economies to the free market. The program provides
first-hand, eye-opening experience to managers and scientists which
cannot be duplicated by American managers travelling to their
territories.
Business Executives: SABIT assists economic restructuring in the
NIS by providing top-level business managers with practical training in
American methods of innovation and management in such areas as
strategic planning, financing, production, distribution, marketing,
accounting, wholesaling, and labor relations. This first-hand
experience in the U.S. economy enables interns to become leaders in
establishing and operating a market economy in the NIS, and creates a
unique opportunity for U.S. firms to familiarize key executives from
the NIS with their products and services.
Scientists: SABIT provides opportunities for gifted scientists to
apply their skills to peaceful research and development in the civilian
sector, in areas such as defense conversion, medical research, and the
environment, and exposes them to the role of scientific research in a
market economy where applicability of research relates to business
success. Sponsoring firms in the U.S. scientific community also benefit
from exchanging information and ideas, and different approaches to new
technologies.
All internships are for three to six months; however, ITA reserves
the right to allow an intern to stay for a shorter period if the U.S.
company agrees and the intern demonstrates a need for a shorter
internship based on his or her management responsibilities.
Funding Availability: Pursuant to section 632(a) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the ``Act'') funding for the
program will be provided by the United States Agency for International
Development (A.I.D). ITA will award financial assistance and administer
the program pursuant to the authority contained in section 635(b) of
the Act. The estimated amount of financial assistance available for the
program is $1.4 million. Additional funding may become available during
this funding period.
Funding Instrument and Project Duration: Federal assistance will be
awarded pursuant to a cooperative agreement between ITA and the
recipient firm. ITA will reimburse companies for the round trip
international travel of each intern from the intern's home city in the
NIS to the U.S. internship site, upon submission to ITA of the travel
invoice and the form SF-270, ``Request for Advance or Reimbursement.''
Travel under the program is subject to the Fly America Act. Recipient
firms provide $30 per day directly to interns; ITA will reimburse
companies for this stipend of $30 per day per intern for up to six
months, upon submission by company of an end-of-internship report and
form SF-270. Each award will have a cap of $7,500 per intern for total
cost of airline travel and stipend. ITA reserves the right to allow an
award to exceed this amount in cases of unusually high costs, such as
airfare from remote regions of the NIS. There are no specific matching
requirements for the awards. Host firms, however, are expected to bear
the costs beyond those covered by the award, including: visa fees,
housing, insurance, any food and incidentals costs beyond $30 per day,
any training-related travel within the U.S., and provision of the
hands-on training for the interns.
U.S. firms wishing to utilize SABIT in order to be matched with an
intern without applying for financial assistance may do so. Such firms
will be responsible for all costs, including travel expenses, related
to sponsoring the intern.
Eligibility: Eligible applicants for the SABIT program will be any
for profit or non-profit U.S. corporation, association, organization or
other public or private entity. Branches or divisions of the federal
government are not eligible.
Evaluation Criteria: Consideration for financial assistance will be
given to those SABIT proposals which:
(1) Demonstrate a commitment to the intent and goals of the program
to provide practical, on-the-job, non-academic, non-classroom,
training: in the case of manager interns, an appropriate management
training experience, or, in the case of scientist interns, a practical,
commercially-oriented scientific training experience.
(2) Respond to the priority needs of senior business managers and
scientists in the NIS, as determined by ITA. Host firms must be solidly
committed to interns' return to their own countries upon completion of
the internships.
(3) Present a realistic work plan describing in detail the training
program to be provided to the SABIT intern(s). Work plans must include
the following: (a) Whether Applicant is applying to host managers or
scientists, or both (and the number of each); (b) the duration of the
internship (at least three but not more than six months.) As noted
above, ITA reserves the right to allow an intern with very senior
management responsibilities to stay for a shorter period (minimum of
one month) if the U.S. company agrees and the intern demonstrates a
compelling need for a shorter internship based on his or her management
responsibilities; (c) the location(s) of the internship; (d) the name,
address, and telephone number of the designated internship coordinator;
(e) name(s) of division(s) in which the intern(s) will be placed; (f)
the individual(s) in the U.S. company under whose supervision the
intern will train; (g) the proposed internship training activities. The
components of the training activities must be described in as much
detail as possible, preferably on a week-by-week basis. The description
of the training activities should include an accounting of what the
intern's(s') duties and responsibilities will be during the training;
(h) the anticipated housing arrangements to be provided for the
intern(s). Note that housing arrangements should be suitable for mid-
and senior-level professionals, and that each intern must be provided
with a private room.
(4) Include a brief objectives section indicating why the Applicant
wishes to provide an internship to a manager(s) or scientist(s) from
the NIS, and how the proposed internship would further the purpose of
the SABIT program as described above. If Applicant is nominating a
specific individual for training, this objectives section must describe
any existing relationship between the Applicant and the
individual. [[Page 20077]]
(5) Provide a general description of the profile of the intern(s)
the Applicant would like to host, including: educational background;
occupational/professional background (including number of years and
areas of experience); size and nature of organization at which the
intern(s) is/are presently employed; preference for the region of the
NIS where the intern(s) is/are employed; and whether Applicant is open
to sponsoring interns from a variety of NIS countries.
(6) Indicate whether Applicant organization operates in one or more
of the following business sectors: (a) Agribusiness (including food
processing and distribution, and agricultural equipment), (b) Defense
conversion, (c) Energy, (d) Environment (including environmental clean-
up), (e) Financial services (including banking and accounting), (f)
Housing, construction and infrastructure, (g) Medical equipment,
supplies, pharmaceuticals, and health care management, (h) Product
standards and quality control, (i) Telecommunications, and (j)
Transportation. Applicant proposal must provide an explanation
including description and extent of involvement in the sector(s). While
Applicants involved in any industry sector may apply to the program,
priority consideration is given to those operating in the above
sectors.
Evaluation criteria 1-6 will be weighted equally. ITA does not
guarantee that it will match Applicant with the profile provided to
SABIT.
Additional Information: Applicants must submit: (1) Evidence of
adequate financial resources of Applicant organization to cover the
costs involved in providing an internship(s). As evidence of such
resources, Applicant should submit financial statements audited by an
outside organization or an annual report including such statements. If
these are not available, a letter should be provided from the
Applicant's bank or outside accountant attesting to the financial
capability of the firm to undertake the scope of work involved in
training an intern under the SABIT program. (2) Evidence of a
satisfactory record of performance in grants, contracts and/or
cooperative agreements with the Federal Government, if applicable.
(Applicants who are or have been deficient in current or recent
performance in their grants, contracts, and/or cooperative agreements
with the Federal Government shall be presumed to be unable to meet this
requirement). (3) A statement that the Applicant will provide medical
insurance coverage for interns during their internships. Recipients
will be required to submit proof of the interns' medical insurance
coverage to the Federal Program Officer, before the interns' arrivals.
The insurance coverage must include an accident and comprehensive
medical insurance program as well as coverage for accidental death,
emergency medical evacuation, and repatriation.
Selection Procedures: Each application will receive an independent,
objective review by one or more three or four-member ITA review panels
qualified to evaluate applications submitted under the program.
Applications will be evaluated on a competitive, ``rolling'' basis as
they are received in accordance with the selection criteria set forth
above. Awards will be made to those applications which successfully
meet the selection criteria. If funds are not available for all those
applications which successfully meet the criteria, awards will be made
to the first applications received which successfully do so. ITA review
panel(s) reserve(s) the right to reject any application; to limit the
number of interns per applicant; to waive informalities and minor
irregularities in applications received; and to consider other than
competitive procedures to distribute assistance under this program and
in accordance with the law. ITA review panel(s) reserve(s) the right to
make awards based on U.S. geographic and organization size diversity
among applicants. Recipients may be eligible, pursuant to approval of
an amendment to the award, to host additional interns under the
program.
Other Requirements: All applicants are advised of the following:
1. No award of Federal funds shall be made to an Applicant who has
an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either the delinquent
account is paid in full, a negotiated repayment schedule is established
and at least one payment is received, or other arrangements
satisfactory to DOC are made.
2. A false statement on the application is grounds for denial or
termination of funds and grounds for possible punishment by a fine or
imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C.1001.
3. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and
Federal and Departmental regulations, policies and procedures
applicable to financial assistance awards.
4. Participating companies will be required to comply with all
relevant U.S. tax and export regulations. Export controls may relate
not only to licensing of products for export, but also to technical
data transfer.
5. Applications under this program are not subject to Executive
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
6. If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they
do solely at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the Government.
Notwithstanding any verbal or written assurance that may have been
received, there is no obligation on the part of DOC to cover pre-award
costs.
7. Past performance: Unsatisfactory performance by an applicant
under prior Federal awards may result in an application not being
considered for funding.
8. No obligation for future funding: If an application is selected
for funding, DOC has no obligation to provide any additional future
funding in connection with that award. Renewal of an award to increase
funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion
of DOC.
9. Primary Applicant Certifications: All primary applicants must
submit a completed Form CD-511, ``Certifications Regarding Debarment,
Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace
Requirements and Lobbying,'' and the following explanations are hereby
provided:
(a) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension: Prospective
participants (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 105) are subject to
15 CFR Part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the
related section of the certification form prescribed above applies.
(b) Drug Free Workplace: Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26,
Section 605) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart F, ``Governmentwide
Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related section
of the certification form prescribed above applies.
(c) Anti-Lobbying: Funds provided under the SABIT program may not
be used for lobbying activities. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28,
Section 105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352,
``Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal
contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of
the certification form prescribed above applies to applications/bids
for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than
$100,000, and loans and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the
single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever
is greater.
(d) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures: Any applicant that has paid or will
pay for lobbying in connection with this award [[Page 20078]] using any
funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' as
required under 15 CFR Part 28, Appendix B.
10. Lower Tier Certifications: Recipients shall require applicants/
bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier
covered transactions at any tier under the award to submit, if
applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding
Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion--Lower
Tier Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and disclosure form, SF-LLL,
``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the
use of recipients and should not be transmitted to DOC. SF-LLL
submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to
DOC in accordance with the instructions contained in the award
document.
11. Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are not allowed under the SABIT
program.
12. Buy-American-made equipment or products: Applicants are hereby
notified that any equipment or products authorized to be purchased with
funding provided under this program must be American-made to the
maximum extent feasible in accordance with Public Law 103-121, Sections
606. (a) and (b).
13. The following statutes apply to this program: Restriction on
Assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan (Section 907 of the FREEDOM
Support Act, Public Law 102-511); Chapter 11 of Part I of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, including section 498A (b),
regarding ineligibility for assistance; provisions in annual Foreign
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
including the following provisions contained in Public Law 103-87: Use
of American Resources (Section 559 of the Foreign Operation, Export
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995, Pub. L. 103-
87); Impact on Jobs in the United States (Section 545 of the Foreign
Operation, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
1995, Pub. L. 103-87); Bumpers Amendment (Section 513(b) of the Foreign
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
1994, Pub. L. 103-87); Lautenberg Amendment (Section 513(b) of the
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103-87); and Section 660(a) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.
Dated: April 18, 1995.
Liesel C. Duhon,
Acting Director, SABIT Program.
[FR Doc. 95-10012 Filed 4-21-95; 8:45 am]
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