[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 207 (Thursday, October 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54912-54914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26519]



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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY


Publication of a Quarterly Reference Journal and Provision of a 
Research Service for Overseas Educational Advisers

action: Notice--Request for proposals.

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summary: The Advising and Student Services Branch of the United States 
Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs 
announces an open competition for an assistance award. Public or 
private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in 
IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) (3)-1 may apply. In collaboration with 
the United States Information Agency (USIA), the organization will 
research, write, edit, and publish a quarterly reference journal to 
bring timely and in-depth information on issues and topics of 
importance to overseas educational advisers. Four issues of the 
publication are to be prepared during the period of the agreement, 
April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997. Significant portions of the journal 
must also be made available on the internet. The organization will also 
answer reference inquiries from USIA-designated educational advising 
offices overseas, and compile a bibliography of recommended 
publications for overseas educational advisers. USIA anticipated 
awarding up to $102,500 to one organization for these activities.

overview: An ideal proposal should illustrate how the organization will 
produce a professional journal for overseas educational advisers who 
are responsible for providing accurate, unbiased information and 
advising foreign nationals about opportunities for studying in the 
United States. Each issue will be centered on an overall theme related 
to trends and developments in international student mobility, the 
practice of educational advising, or U.S. higher education which will 
enhance the guidance given by overseas educational advisers to 
international students and others who inquire about opportunities for 
studying in the United States. In addition, each issue will contain 
current information on one or more of the following: academic news, 
university programs, new resources, short-term training opportunities, 
current testing announcements, academic accreditation, new degree 
programs, news briefs, and financial information considered useful to 
overseas educational advisers in the conduct of their duties.
    To help expand the worldwide availability of information of 
interest to educational advisers and others involved in international 
education, the organization must provide electronic access to the major 
articles in each issue.

guidelines: The organization will produce four issues of the journal: 
Summer 1996, Fall 1996, Winter 1996, and Spring 1997. Each issue will 
be at least 32 pages long. The first of the four issues should be 
published and available for distribution within 90 days of grant 
receipt, with subsequent issues scheduled to be released each ninety 
days. In-house desktop publishing facilities are required so that the 
journal issues will be produced quickly and efficiently in an 
attractive typeset quality format. In addition, funds will be awarded 
to enable the recipient to perform supplemental research to provide in-
depth responses to inquiries from USIA-affiliated educational advisers 
overseas. The organization should track requests for information to 
gauge interest in the field and should use this information to 
determine themes of future journals. In addition, the research service 
must be designed to also respond to advisers who have questions that 
are too narrow or too geographically specific for publication in the 
aforementioned journal.
    The Advising Branch supplies reference materials to overseas 
advising centers; the organization will be charged with monitoring new 
print resources related to educational advising and by December 1, 1996 
should provide 550 copies of an annotated bibliography of recommended 
publications for advisers to the Advising Branch.

PROPOSED BUDGET: A compehensive line item budget should be submitted 
together with the proposal. The budget should not exceed $87,500 for 
publication of four issues of the advising journal and electronic 
access; $10,000 for responding directly to research inquiries for USIA-
affiliated overseas educational advisers; and no more than $5,000 of 
production of the 

[[Page 54913]]
bibliography. The ability of an organization to sell journal 
subscriptions and advertising to offset production costs in excess of 
the grant will be a priority criterion for selection. Grants awarded to 
eligible organizations with less than four years of experience in 
conducting international educational programs will be limited to 
$60,000 for publication of the journal and conduct of the research 
service.
    The applicant is required to 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 break-down of the 
administrative budget. USIA's grant assistance will not exceed 
$102,500. Of this amount, not more than $32,000 may be attributed to 
overhead expenses. The $102,500 is expected to constitute only a 
portion of the total project funding. Cost sharing is required and the 
proposal should list other anticipated sources of support. Grant 
applications should demonstrate financial and in-kind support.
    Allowable costs for the program include the following:

(1) Salaries and fringe benefits
(2) Other direct costs, printing, utilities, etc.
(3) Indirect expenses, auditing costs

    Applicants should refer to the 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 Agency contracts office, as well as the USIA 
Area Offices and the USIS posts 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 USIA's contracting 
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: Proposals should exhibit originality, 
substance, precision, and relevance to produce an attractive quarterly 
journal which will successfully address the need for timely information 
and in-depth and balanced exploration of issues and topics important to 
overseas educational advisers. In addition, the proposal should 
illustrate that the resources and professional contacts necessary to 
respond in a timely manner to inquiries by overseas educational 
advisers are available.
    2. Institution's Track Record/Ability: Proposals should demonstrate 
an institutional record of successful programs, including responsible 
fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting requirements 
for past Agency grants as determined by USIA's Office of Contracts. 
Proposed personnel and institutional resources should be adequate and 
appropriate to achieve the program goals.
    3. Demonstrated Ability: Proposals should clearly demonstrate how 
the institution will meet the program's objectives and plan. The 
proposal should describe editorial and publication capabilities for 
producing four issues of the advising journal and demonstrate the 
ability of the organization's staff to provide accurate and timely 
supplemental research and reference services for responding directly to 
inquiries from USIA-affiliated educational advisers.
    4. Project Evaluation: Proposal should provide a plan for 
evaluation by the grantee institution, including periodic progress 
reports. Proposal should include a plan to evaluate the journal's 
success, both as the issues are printed and at the end of the grant 
cycle. The recipient organization will be expected to submit 
intermediate reports after each project component is concluded or 
quarterly, whichever is less frequent.
    5. Cost-Effectiveness: The overhead and administrative components 
of the proposal, including salaries, should be kept as low as possible. 
All other items should be necessary and appropriate.
    6. Cost-Sharing: Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through 
other private sector support as well as institutional direct funding 
contributions. Proposals should demonstrate the ability to sell 
subscriptions and advertising to offset some of the costs of publishing 
the journal. All income derived from subscription or advertising sales 
of the journal must be applied to the production costs.
    7. Support of diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the 
recipient's commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of 
diversity, and should expose readers to the widest possible range of 
views and approaches to U.S. higher education. Attention should be 
given to printing articles relating to different kinds of schools and 
universities from various regions of the U.S.

AUTHORIZATION: Overall grant making authority for this program is 
contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, 
Pub. L. 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 
cutural 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 NAME AND NUMBER: All communications with USIA concerning 
this announcement should refer to the above title and reference number 
E/ASA-96-08.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSAL: All copies must be received at the U.S. 
Information Agency for 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on December 26, 
1995. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents 
postmarked on December 26, 1995 but received at a later date. It is the 
responsibility of each applicant to ensure that proposals are received 
by the above deadline. Grant should begin April 1, 1996 and run through 
March 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Advising and Student Services, E/ASA, 
Room 349, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20547, Tel: (202) 619-5434, Fax: (202) 401-1433, E-mail: 
althompsusia.gov. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the 
program office to request an Application 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 the USIA Program Officer, Ann Thompson, 
on all inquiries and correspondences. Interested applicants should read 
the complete Federal Register announcement before addressing inquiries 
to E/ASA or submitting their proposals to the United States Information 
Agency. Once the RFP 

[[Page 54914]]
deadline has passed, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may 
not discuss this competition in any way with applicants until after the 
Bureau proposal review process has been completed.

SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the 
Solicitation Package. The original and ten copies of the complete 
application, plus one extra copy of the cover sheet, should be sent to: 
U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/ASA-96-08, Office of Grants 
Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.

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 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 journal content.

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 Agency reserves the right to reduce, 
revise, or increase proposal budget in accordance with the needs of the 
program and availability of funding. 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 22, 1996. Awards will be subject to 
periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.

    Dated: October 20, 1995.
Dell Pendergrast,
Associate Director, Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-26519 Filed 10-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M