[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 215 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60118-60121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29373]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Summer Institute for the Study of the United States for Foreign
Secondary School Teachers and Teacher Trainers
ACTION: Notice--Request for Proposals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Branch for the Study of the U.S. of the Office of Academic
Programs of the United States Information Agency's Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for an
assistance award program entitled ``Summer Institute for the Study of
the United States for Foreign Secondary School Teachers and Teacher
Trainers.'' Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the
provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may apply to
develop a six-week graduate-level program designed for a multinational
group of up to 30 secondary school teachers and teacher trainers. The
program is intended to provide participants with a deeper understanding
of the United States so that textbooks, curricula and teaching about
U.S. society, culture and institutions in foreign secondary schools and
teacher training institutions will be improved. Tentative program dates
are June 20 through July 31, 1998.
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 the
disciplines and sub-disciplines that comprise American Studies, and
that can demonstrate expertise in conducting graduate-level 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 a doctoral degree in 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, 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 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
[[Page 60119]]
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-98-10.
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, January
16, 1998. Faxed documents will not be accepted, nor will documents
postmarked January 16, 1998 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:
U.S. Information Agency, Office of Academic Programs, Branch of the
Study of the United States (E/AAS), 301 4th Street, S.W., Room 256,
Washington, D.C. 20547, Attn: Program Officer Susan Zapotoczny,
Telephone number (202) 619-4557, Fax number (202) 619-6790, Email
address: [email protected].
Please use the above information to request a Solicitation Package,
which contains more detailed award criteria; required application
forms; and standard guidelines for preparing proposals (including
specific information on budget preparation).
Please specify USIA Program Officer Susan Zapotoczny 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 Solicitation
Package may be downloaded from USIA's website at http://www.usia.gov/
education/rfps. Please read all information before downloading.
To receive a solicitation Package Via Fax On Demand: The entire
Solicitation Package may be received via the Bureau's ``Grants
Information Fax on Demand System,'' which is accessed by calling 202/
401-7616. Please request a ``Catalog'' of available documents and order
numbers when first entering system.
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-98-
10, Office of Grants Management, E/XE, Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20547.
Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and
``Proposal Narrative'' section of the proposal on a 3.5 inch diskette
formatted for DOS. This material must be provided in ascii text (DOS)
format with a maximum line length of 65 characters.
Diversity, Freedom and Democracy 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 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. Pub. L. 104-319 provides that ``in carrying out
programs of educational and cultural exchange in countries whose people
do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' USIA ``shall take
appropriate steps to provide opportunities for participation in such
programs to human rights and democracy leaders of such countries.''
Proposals should account for advancement of this goal in their program
contents, to the full extent deemed feasible.
Supplementary Information:
Overview
The Summer Institute for the Study of the U.S. for Foreign
Secondary School Teachers and Teacher Trainers aims to provide a deeper
understanding of U.S. civilization among foreign educators who are
concerned professionally with teaching about the United States. It is
further intended to encourage and support their efforts to improve the
quality of teaching, textbooks, and curricular materials about the
United States at secondary schools and teacher training institutions
abroad.
The program should offer participants a specially-designed series
of lecutures, presentations, discussions, site visits, and curricular
research opportunities. All activities should be related to a central
theme in U.S. civilization, and the program as a whole should examine
various aspects of U.S. society, culture, values and institutions, past
and present, providing a good overview for participants.
The program should be six weeks in length, including a residency
segment at a U.S. college or university campus (a minimum of four weeks
in length), and a study tour segment (a maximum of two weeks in length)
to up to three additional regions of the U.S., including a visit to
Washington, D.C. at the conclusion of the program.
Institute Objectives
--to present an intensive, academically stimulating program that
presents a multi-dimensional view of the United States through an
integrated series of lectures, readings, interactive discussions,
individual research and study opportunities, and site visits.
--to draw from a variety of academic disciplines in order to deepen the
participants' understanding of the unity, diversity, and complexity of
U.S. society, culture, and institutions. Major issues, debates, and
conflicts in U.S. society, past and present, including their origins
and the role they have played in the development of U.S. civilization,
should also be examined.
--to enhance teaching about the U.S. in foreign secondary schools and
teacher training institutions by making appropriate scholarly
resources, pedagogical materials and ideas available to participants.
Participants should return home with an ability to communicate a deeper
and more informed view of the U.S. to students and colleagues.
Program Dates
Tentative program dates are June 20 through July 31, 1998.
Participants would arrive on June 19 and depart August 1. USIA will
make every effort to award the grant by March 1, 1998.
Participants
The program should be designed for a total of 30 highly-motivated
foreign secondary school teacher trainers, textbook writers, curriculum
developers, education ministry officials and classroom teachers, whose
professional assignments require significant knowledge of U.S.
civilization, and who have broad responsibility for curriculum design
and improvement. Participants will be involved in the teaching of
English language, American literature, U.S. government, history,
geography, social studies, or other courses that include U.S. studies
content. Participants will be drawn from all regions of the world, and
will be fluent in the English language.
Participants will be nominated by Fulbright Commissions abroad, and
[[Page 60120]]
selected by the staff of USIA's Branch of the Study of the United
States in Washington, D.C. USIA and the Commissions will cover all
international travel costs directly.
Guidelines
The conception, design, structure, and, ultimately, the content of
the institute program is entirely the responsibility of the organizers.
However, given the many possible approaches to a program on U.S.
civilization, organizers are expected to submit proposals that
articulate in concrete detail how they intend to organize and implement
the institute.
Consistent with the institute's overall thematic organization, the
program should engage the constituent disciplines that make up American
studies (e.g., literature, history, political science, economics,
geography, sociology, etc.) as vehicles for helping foreign educators
understand, teach, and write about the United States.
The selected grant organizations will be responsible for most
arrangements associated with this program. This includes the
organization and implementation of all presentations and program
activities, arrangement of all domestic travel, provision of
appropriate lodging, subsistence, and ground transportation for
participants, orientation and briefing of participants, preparation of
any necessary support materials (including a pre-program mailing to
participants), and working with program presenters to achieve maximum
program coordination and effectiveness.
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 30
participants, the total USIA-funded budget (program and administrative)
should not exceed $236,000, and USIA-funded administrative costs as
defined in the budget details section of the solicitation package
should not exceed $56,000. Justification for any costs above these
amounts must be clearly indicated in the proposal submission. Any
grants awarded to eligible organizations will 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 line item budget for the entire program, based
on the specific guidance provided in the Solicitation Package. 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 also be
reviewed by the program office, as well as the USIA Georgraphic Area
Offices. 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 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 should reflect an overall design whose various
elements are coherently and thoughtfully integrated. Lectures, panels,
field visits and readings, taken as a whole, should offer a balanced
presentation of issues, reflecting both the continuity of the American
experience as well as the diversity and dynamism inherent in it.
2. Program Planning: Proposals should demonstrate careful and
detailed planning. The organization and structure of the Institute
should be clearly delineated and be fully responsive to all program
objectives. The travel component should not simply be a tour, but
should be an integral and substantive part of the program, reinforcing
and complementing the 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 detail the 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 cost-sharing
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 an 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 funding. Final awards cannot be
made until funds have been appropriated by Congress, allocated and
committed through internal USIA procedures.
[[Page 60121]]
Notification
Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by
Congress, and allocated and committed through internal USIA procedures.
Dated: October 31, 1997.
Robert L. Earle,
Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-29373 Filed 11-5-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M