[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 146-148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33317]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY


Community Connections

ACTION: Notice--request for proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchanges, Russia/Eurasia Division of 
the United States Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and 
Cultural Affairs announces a competition for an assistance award. 
Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions 
described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)-1 may apply to organize 
and implement community-based, professional programs for entrepreneurs, 
legal professionals and government officials from Russia, Ukraine, 
Moldova, Armenia, Belarus, and Georgia. The objective of Community 
Connections, the successor to Business for Russia, is to enhance the 
participants' skills in business and entrepreneurship, law, and local 
governance. USIA is interested in proposals that provide both 
professional experience and exposure to American life and culture 
through internships hosted by U.S. business and local governmental and 
legal institutions, and home stays with local community members. An 
overall objective of Community Connections is to establish long term 
lasting relationships among U.S. and international audiences. This 
program is not academic in nature; rather, it is designed to provide 
practical, hands-on training in American business, legal and public 
sector environments which can be transferred upon an individual's 
return home. The Agency welcomes innovative proposals which combine 
elements of professional enrichment, job shadowing and internships 
appropriate to the language ability and interests of the participants.
    Overall grant-making authority for this program is contained in the 
Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Laws 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.'' The funding authority for the 
program cited above is provided through the Freedom Support Act.
    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 TITLE AND NUMBER: All communications with USIA concerning 
this announcement should refer to the above title and reference number 
E/PN-97-18.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: All copies must be received at the U.S. 
Information Agency by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Friday, February 
28, 1997. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents 
postmarked February 28, 1997 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 Office of Citizen Exchanges, 
Russia/Eurasia Division, E/PN Room 216, U.S. Information Agency, 301 
4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547, Phone: (202) 401-6884, fax: 
(202) 619-4350, internet: [email protected] to request a Solicitation 
Package containing more detailed award criteria, required application 
forms, and standard guidelines for preparing proposals, including 
specific criteria for preparation of the proposal budget.

TO DOWNLOAD A SOLICITATION PACKAGE VIA INTERNET: The Solicitation 
package may be downloaded from USIA's website at http://www.usia.gov/or 
from the Internet Gopher at gopher://gopher.usia.gov. Select 
``Education and Cultural Exchanges'', then select ``Current Request for 
Proposals (RFPs).'' Please read ``About the Following RFPs'' before 
beginning to download.
    Please specify USIA Program Officer Michael Weider on all inquiries 
and correspondence. Interested applicants should read the complete 
Federal Register announcement before sending inquiries or submitting 
proposals. Once the RFP deadline has passed, Agency staff may not 
discuss this competition in any way with applicants until the Bureau 
proposal review process has been completed.

SUBMISSIONS: Applicants must follow all instructions given in the 
Solicitation Package. The original and 12 copies of the application 
should be sent to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/PN-97-18, Office of 
Grants Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, 
D.C. 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 ecompass 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

    Community Connections seeks to establish and strengthen links 
between American communities and communities in Russia, Ukraine and 
Moldova. Contingent upon the availability of funds, we also anticipate 
expanding the program to include audiences from Armenia, Belarus and 
Georgia. Community Connections will focus on business (particularly 
extrepreneurship), the legal profession and its relationship to the 
administration of justice, and issues of concern for local and regional 
government. IN order to expand the reach and impact of Community 
Connections, the program will recruit both English speaking 
participants and participants with little or no English-language 
skills.

[[Page 147]]

    Pending availability of funds, it is anticipated that approximately 
1,200 professionals will participate in this cycle of the FY 1997-
funded Community Connections program. All participants will be 
recruited from the selected regions by experienced U.S. organizations 
with offices in Russia and the other previously mentioned countries. It 
is anticipated that approximately half of all participants will be from 
Russia, one third from Ukraine, and the remainder from Moldova, 
Armenia, Belarus and Georgia.

Guidelines

    In order to make the most effective use of the limited financial 
resources available while, at the same time, maintaining a maximum 
degree of program flexibility, the Office of Citizen Exchanges asks 
that interested organizations submit proposals to host no fewer than 30 
participants in total. Organizations must host at least one group of 
participants each from two of the three subject components of the 
program. In the past, in an effort to minimize administrative expenses, 
organizations have hosted no fewer than ten participants at any given 
time. Programs for business people will be from four to five weeks in 
length; programs for legal professionals will be from three to four 
weeks in length; and programs for government officials will be from two 
to three weeks in length. It is anticipated that programs will be 
conducted between late summer of 1997 and late summer 1998. Care must 
be taken to allow sufficient time between programs to prepare for the 
following group. Organizations proposing to develop programs for 
additional groups of participants beyond the minimum must demonstrate 
that they have either allowed for sufficient preparatory time between 
programs or have the necessary human, physical and financial resources 
to handle any overlap.
    Participants will be assigned to U.S. host communities by the 
Office of Citizen Exchanges based on the following factors: existing 
ties between the regions of origin of the participants, the locations 
of the U.S. grantee organizations, the professional interests of the 
participants, and the areas of strength of U.S. grantee organizations.
    A proposal's cost-effectiveness, including in-kind contributions 
and ability to keep administrative cost low, is a major consideration 
in the review process. Cost-sharing may be in the form of allowable 
direct or indirect costs. The Recipient must maintain written records 
to support all allowable costs which are claimed as being its 
contribution to cost participation, as well as costs to be paid by the 
Federal Government. Such records are subject to audit. The basis for 
determining the value of cash and in-kind contributions must be in 
accordance with OMB Circular A-110 (revised subpart C.23), ``Cost-
Sharing and Matching'' and should be described in the proposal. In the 
event that the Recipient does not provide the minimum amount of cost-
sharing as stipulated in the Recipient's budget, the Agency's 
contribution will be reduced in proportion to the Recipient's 
contribution.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds from one fiscal year to 
the next, USIA intends to establish long-term continuing relationships 
with U.S. organizations which have demonstrated particular expertise in 
the planning and administration of long standing programs of importance 
to United States foreign policy, such as Community Connections. 
Accordingly, USIA reserves the right to extend grant programs found to 
be effective, by annual amendment for up to three additional fiscal 
years (not to exceed 5 years total), to provide continued support for 
this program. At USIA's discretion, organizations may be requested to 
continue activities for specific audiences or to expand target 
audiences within the scope of the program (e.g., an organization may be 
requested to host participants from the same or another discipline--
local government, business, or legal profession--from the same or 
another country included in the program) to meet the changing needs of 
this program initiative.
    The Fulbright-Hays Act, as amended, provides authority to establish 
long-standing relationships with grantees to further U.S. foreign 
policy. In recognition of the need to establish such long-term program 
expertise, an incumbent grantee (which has been found to be effective) 
may make reference to its current program plans/grant agreement, or 
incorporate such program by reference and identify any changes, 
amendments, revisions, improvements, etc. to such current program that 
it would propose to implement under this solicitation.

Proposed Budget

    Organizations must submit a comprehensive line item budget based on 
the specific guidance in the Solicitation Package. For reference 
purposes, past programs have averaged a total of $6,300 for each 
participant hosted. Please use this figure as a guide when preparing 
your budget.
    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 be 
reviewed by the program office, as well as the USIA Office of Eastern 
European and NIS Affairs and USIA posts in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, 
Armenia, Belarus and Georgia. 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:
    1. Program planning and ability to achieve objectives: Detailed 
agenda and relevant work plan should demonstrate careful and thorough 
preparation to carry out substantive programs which have a high 
likelihood of achieving program objectives. Agenda and plan should 
adhere to the program overview and guidelines described above. 
Objectives should be reasonable, feasible, and flexible.
    2. Institutional capability: Organization should demonstrate 
sufficient skills and experience in hosting visitors from other 
countries and ability to utilize local business, legal and governmental 
resources and voluntary support. Thematic expertise in project subject 
matter must be demonstrated.
    3. 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. 
Proposals should also maximize cost-sharing through other private 
sector support as well as institutional direct funding contributions.
    4. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate the 
recipient's commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of 
diversity.

[[Page 148]]

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 be subject 
to periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.

Notification

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

    Dated: December 24, 1996.
Dell Pendergrast,
Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-33317 Filed 12-31-96 ; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M