[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1089-1092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-398]


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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 U.S. 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, Kazakstan, 
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 March 31, 1997. 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 this notice is published. To 
obtain a copy of the Application Kit please E- mail: 
[email protected] (please signify which format, e.g. 
WordPerfect 6.1), telephone (202) 482-0073, facsimile (202) 
482-2443 (these are not toll free numbers), or send a written request 
with two self-addressed mailing labels to: Application Request, The 
SABIT Program, HCHB Room 3319, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The SABIT Program, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, phone--(202) 482-0073, facsimile--(202) 482-2443. These are 
not toll free numbers. Only one copy of the Application Kit will be 
provided to each organization requesting it, but it may be reproduced 
by the requester.

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 traveling 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

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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 million. 
Additional funding may become available at a future date.

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 paid travel invoice, payment receipt, or other 
evidence of payment 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 recipient firms 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. In general, 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. However, the total payment cannot exceed the award amount. 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. However, prior to acceptance as a SABIT 
intern, work plans and candidates must be approved by the SABIT 
Program. Furthermore, program training will be monitored by SABIT staff 
and evaluated upon completion of training.

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. Agencies 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.
    (3). Host firms must be solidly committed to interns' return to 
their own countries upon completion of the internships.
    (4). 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.
    (5). 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.
    (6). 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.
    (7). 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.

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

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competitive, ``rolling'' basis as they are received in accordance with 
the selection evaluation 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 of an 
active award, to host additional interns under the program.

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.

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 the Department of Commerce (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, ``Government 
wide 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 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. 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.
    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,

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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, Public Law 
103-87); Impact on Jobs in the United States (Section 545 of the 
Foreign Operation, Export Financing, and Related Programs 
Appropriations Act, 1995, Public Law 103-87); Bumpers Amendment 
(Section 513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and 
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Public Law 103-87); 
Lautenberg Amendment (Section 513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Public Law 
103-87); and Section 660(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
amended.
    14. Audit Requirements: The Grants Officer has the discretion to 
require by the terms and conditions of SABIT awards that recipients 
have an audit conducted in accordance with Government Auditing 
Standards. In addition, the DoC Office of Inspector General has 
authority under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, to 
conduct an audit of any DoC award at any time.
    15. Payments. As required by the Debt Collections Improvement Act 
of 1996, all Federal payments to award recipients pursuant to this 
announcement will be made by electronic funds transfer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Special American Business Internship 
Training, International Trade Administration, at (202)482-0073. This is 
not a toll free-number.

    Dated: January 2, 1997.
Liesel C. Duhon,
Director, SABIT Program.
[FR Doc. 97-398 Filed 1-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HE-P