[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 202 (Thursday, October 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54263-54266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26640]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

Summer Institute on the History of the United States: Religion in 
America

ACTION: Notice--Request for Proposals (RFP).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Information Agency's Branch for the Study of the 
United States announces an open competition for an assistance award 
program entitled: ``Summer Institute on the History of the United 
States: Religion in America.'' Public and private non-profit 
organizations meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 
1.501(c)(3)-1 may apply to develop and implement a six-week post-
graduate level program designed for a multinational group of 18 
experienced foreign university educators. The program is intended to 
provide participants with a deeper understanding of U.S. history with 
special reference to the role that religion and religious institutions 
have played in the development of American civilization. Tentative 
program dates are June 28 to August 8, 1997.
    USIA is seeking detailed proposals from colleges, universities, 
consortia of colleges and universities, and other not-for-profit 
academic organizations that have an established reputation in U.S. 
history, comparative religion, and/or American studies and related 
subdisciplines, and that can demonstrate expertise in conducting post-
graduate programs for foreign educators. Applicant institutions must 
have a minimum of four years experience in conducting international 
exchange programs. The project director or one of the key program staff 
responsible for the academic program must have an advanced degree in 
history, religion, American studies, or a related discipline. Staff 
escorts traveling under the USIA cooperative agreement support must be 
U.S. citizens with demonstrated qualifications for this service.
    Overall grant making 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. 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/AAS--97-02.

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, 
December 20, 1996. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will 
documents postmarked December 20, 1996 but received at a later date. It 
is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that proposal 
submissions arrive by the deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a Solicitation Package 
containing more detailed award criteria, required application forms, 
and standard guidelines for preparing proposals (including specific 
information on budget preparation), applicants should contact: U.S. 
Information Agency, Office of Academic Programs, Branch of the Study of 
the United States, E/AAS--Room 252, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, 
D.C. 20547, Attention: Richard Taylor, Telephone number: (202) 619-
4557, Fax number: (202) 619-6790, Internet address: [email protected].
    Please specify USIA Program Officer Richard Taylor on all inquiries 
and correspondence. Interested applicants should read the complete 
Federal Register announcement before addressing inquiries to the office 
listed above or submitting their proposals. Once the RFP deadline has 
passed, USIA staff may not discuss this competition in any way with 
applicants until after the Bureau proposal review process has been 
completed.

TO DOWNLOAD A SOLICITATION PACKAGE VIA INTERNET: The entire 
Solicitation Package may be downloaded from USIA's website at http://
www.usia.gov/ or from the Internet Gopher at gopher://gopher.usia.gov. 
Under the heading ``International Exchange/Training,'' select ``Request 
for Proposals (RFPs).''
    Please read ``About the following RFPs'' before downloading.

SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the 
Solicitation Package. The original and 13 copies of the complete 
application should be sent to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/AAS-97-
02, Office of Grants Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20547.
    Applicants should also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and 
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal on a 3.5'' diskette, 
formatted for DOS. This material must be provided in ASCII text (DOS) 
format with a maximum line strength of 65 characters.

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 and broad range of 
responsible views present in American political, social, and cultural 
life. ``Diversity'' should be interpreted in the broadest sense and 
encompass differences including, but not limited to ethnicity, 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 
program content. Please refer to the review criteria under the 
``Support for Diversity'' section for specific suggestions on 
incorporating diversity into the total proposal.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview and Objectives

    ``The Summer Institute on the History of the United States: 
Religion in America'' is intended to provide foreign university 
teachers with an opportunity to increase their understanding of U.S. 
civilization through an in-depth examination of the role that religion 
and religious institutions have played throughout American history. The 
program should focus on the impact of religious thought and practice on 
the development of U.S. society and institutions, and in turn the 
impact that those institutions--political, social, and economic--have 
had on the development and status of religion in the U.S. The program's 
ultimate purpose is to improve the quality of teaching and curricula 
about the United States at universities abroad.
    The Institute should be designed as an intensive, academically 
stimulating program that presents a multi-dimensional view of the 
United States through an integrated series of lectures, readings, 
interactive discussions, research and independent study opportunities, 
faculty mentoring and site visits.
    The program should be six weeks in length, including an academic 
residency segment (at least four weeks in length) at a U.S. college or 
university campus, and an integrated study tour segment (not to exceed 
two weeks in length) which complements the academic program and 
includes visits to one or two additional regions of the U.S.

Program Dates

    Tentative program dates are June 28 to August 8, 1997. Based on 
these dates,

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participants would be booked to arrive in the U.S. on or about June 27, 
and depart on August 9, 1997. USIA is willing to consider adjustment of 
these programs dates, based on the needs of the host institution. 
However, the institute must be 42 program days in length, and should 
take place sometime between June 21 and August 30, 1997.

Participants

    The program should be designed for a total of 18 highly-motivated 
and experienced foreign university faculty who are interested in using 
U.S. history, and an examination of American religion in particular, as 
a means to improve teaching and increase understanding of the United 
States at their home institutions. Participants can be expected to come 
from educational institutions where the study of the U.S. is relatively 
well-developed. Thus, while they will not be expected to have in-depth 
knowledge of the American religious experience, most will have had 
substantial experience in teaching about the United States. Many will 
have had sustained professional contact with American scholars and 
American scholarship; some may have had substantial prior experience 
studying in the U.S. Participants will be drawn from all regions of the 
world and will be fluent in English.
    Participants will be nominated by U.S. Information Service posts 
abroad, and selected by the staff of USIA's Branch of the Study of the 
United States in Washington, D.C. USIA will cover all international 
travel costs directly.

Guidelines

    The conception, structure and content of the institute program is 
entirely the responsibility of the organizers. However, given the 
multiple possibilities for the successful design of such a program, 
organizers are expected to submit proposals that articulate in concrete 
detail how they intend to organize and implement the institute.
    Please refer to the Solicitation Package for further details on 
program design and implementation, as well as additional information on 
all other requirements.

Proposed Budget

    Unless special circumstances warrant, based on a group of 18 
participants, the total USIA-funded budget (program and administrative) 
should not exceed $162,000, and USIA-funded administrative costs as 
defined in the budget details section of the solicitation package 
should not exceed $48,500. Justification for any costs above these 
amounts must be clearly indicated in the proposal submission. Any 
grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years of 
experience in conducting international exchange programs will be 
limited to $60,000. Applicant proposals should try to maximize cost-
sharing in all facets of the program and to stimulate U.S. private 
sector, including foundation and corporate, support. Applicants must 
submit a comprehensive budget for the entire program.
    The Agency reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase 
proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the program, and 
availability of U.S. government funding.
    Please refer to the ``POGI'' in the Solicitation Package for 
complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions for the 
institute program.

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 program office, as well as the USIA Geographic Area 
Offices. Proposals may 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. Overall quality: Proposals should exhibit originality and 
substance, consonant with the highest standards of American teaching 
and scholarship. Program design should reflect the main currents as 
well as the debates within the larger discipline of American history, 
with attention given to the theme of American religious history.
    2. Program planning: Proposals should demonstrate careful planning. 
The organization and structure of the institute should be clearly 
delineated and be fully responsive to all program objectives. The 
travel component should be an integral and substantive part of the 
program, reinforcing and complementing its academic segment.
    3. Institutional capacity: Proposed personnel, including faculty 
and administrative staff as well as outside presenters, should be fully 
qualified to achieve the project's goals. Library and media resources 
should be accessible to participants; housing, transportation and other 
logistical arrangements should be fully adequate to the needs of 
participants and should be conducive to a collegial atmosphere.
    4. 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, summarizing past and/or on-going 
activities and efforts that further the principle of diversity within 
the organization and its activities. Program activities that address 
this issue should be highlighted.
    5. Experience: The proposal should demonstrate an institutional 
record of successful exchange program activity, indicating the 
experience that the organization and its professional staff have had in 
working with foreign educators.
    6. Evaluation and Follow-up: The proposal should include a plan for 
evaluating activities during the Institute and at its conclusion. 
Proposals should comment on provisions made for follow-up with returned 
grantees as a means of establishing longer-term individual and 
institutional linkages.
    7. Administration and Management: The proposals should indicate 
evidence of continuous on-site administrative and managerial capacity 
as well as the means by which program activities will be implemented.
    8. Cost Effectiveness: The proposals should maximize costsharing 
through direct institutional contributions, in-kind support, and other 
private sector support. Overhead and administrative components of the 
proposal, including salaries and honoraria, should be kept as low as 
possible.

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 budgets in accordance with the needs of 
the program and the availability of funds. Awards made will

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be subject to periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.

Notification

    Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by 
Congress, and allocated and committed through internal USIA procedures.

    Dated: October 9, 1996.
Dell Pendergrast,
Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-26640 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M