[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 233 (Thursday, December 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64255-64258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31786]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY


FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship Program

ACTION: Request for proposals.

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SUMMARY: Subject to the availability of funds for FY 1998, the Office 
of Academic Programs, Academic Exchanges Division, European Branch of 
the United States Information Agency's Bureau of Education and Cultural 
Affairs announces an open competition for an assistance award. American 
public or private nonprofit organizations with at least four years of 
experience in conducting international academic exchange programs and 
meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may 
apply to develop and administer the FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship 
Program. Preference will be given to organizations that have placement 
experience at the graduate level and a demonstrated ability to conduct 
academic exchange programs in Central and Eastern Europe. Organizations 
are invited to submit a proposal with a budget not to exceed $2,000,000 
to develop and administer the final selection (from a pool of 
applicants), placement, orientation, monitoring, evaluation and follow-
on/alumni activities of at least 42 Fellows from the following 
countries: Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, 
Poland, Romania, Serbia and Solvenia. Participants will be enrolled in 
two-year degree programs, or in one-year non-degree professional 
development programs (except for the one-year degree programs in law) 
at accredited U.S. academic institutions for study at the Masters' 
level in the fields of business administration, economics, education 
administration/civic education, environmental policy/ resource 
management, journalism/mass communication, law, public administration 
and public policy.

    Please Note: This program will not support Ph.D. studies.

    Overall grant making authority for the Ron Brown Fellowship 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.''
    The funding authority for the program cited above is provided 
through the Support for East European Democracies (SEED) Act of 1989, 
targeted to advance the democratic and economic transition of Central 
and Eastern Europe. In order to comply with mandates for this program, 
grantee organization is required to keep track of the spending for each 
of the ten countries under the FY98 Ron Brown Fellowship Program. 
Specific country allocations will be provided at the time of the award. 
Funds allocated for one country should not be used to support Fellows 
from other countries.
    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 Ron Brown Fellowship Program, 
reference number E/AEE-98-05.


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DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: All copies must be received at the U.S. 
Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Monday, 
January 26, 1998. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time. 
Documents postmarked by the due date but received at a later date will 
not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Academic Programs, 
Academic Exchanges Division, European Branch, E/AEE Room 238, U.S. 
Information Agency, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547; 
Telephone: (202) 619-4420; Fax: (202) 619-4927; Internet: 
[email protected] to request a Solicitation Package containing more 
detailed information. Please request 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 entire 
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 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 the system.
    Please specify USIA Program Officer Effie Wingate 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 seven copies of the completed 
application, including required forms, should be sent to: U.S. 
Information Agency, Ref.: E/AEE-98-05, Office of Grants Management, E/
XE, Room 336, 301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547.
    Applicants must 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) 
formatted with a maximum line length of 65 characters. USIA will 
transmit these files electronically to U.S. Information Service (USIS) 
posts and Fulbright Commissions overseas for their review, with the 
goal of reducing the time it takes to get posts' comments for the 
Agency's grant review process.

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, socioeconomic 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. Public Law 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 FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship Program will provide funding for 
at least 42 fellowships to citizens from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, 
Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. 
Fellowships will be distrubted according to specified country-quotas. 
The goal of the Ron Brown program is to provide an opportunity for 
university graduates and young professionals who are selected through 
open, merit-based competition in the aforementioned nine European 
countries to participate in quality graduate study programs in the 
fields of business administration, economics, education administration/
civic education, environmental policy/resource management, journalism/
mass communication, law, public administration and public policy at 
accredited universities throughout the United States. Fellowships will 
be awarded for one-year, non-degree professional development programs, 
except for one-year degree programs in law, or for two-year degree 
granting programs. Program enhancements such as workshops, professional 
enrichment activities, internships, alumni conferences, networking, 
etc. are integral components of the Ron Brown Fellowship Program and 
highly encouraged. Internships of up to six months for Fellows in one-
year programs and up to three months for Fellows in two-year programs 
are recommended. USIA's goal for 1998 is to award the greater number of 
Fellowships for two-year degree programs, and to attain equitable 
representation of the eight eligible fields while achieving wide 
distribution among the U.S. host universities. Clustering of Fellows 
should be avoided with no more than three Fellows at any one 
university.
    The Ron Brown Fellowship Program will not support Ph.D. programs.

Guidelines

    For 1998, program advertisement and participant recruitment will be 
the responsibility of the United States Information Service (USIS) 
posts and/or the Fulbright commissions. USIS posts and/or commissions 
will screen applications for eligibility, arrange for TOEFL, GMAT and 
GRE testing where possible, conduct personal interviews, and compile a 
dossier on each qualified applicant. Each USIS post and/or commission 
will compile a pool of applicants to be forwarded to the administering 
organization for the final selection.
    Applicants are asked to develop a program plan to conduct the final 
selection, placement, monitoring, follow-on and alumni activities. The 
duration of the program should be for two academic years, 1998-99 and 
1999-2000. The program may not begin before May 1, 1998, and must be 
completed by December 31, 2000. Proposals should address and discuss in 
detail the following areas:

1. Final Selection

    Describe in detail the process for the final selection of Fellows 
including method of reviewing a pool of qualified applications 
submitted by USIS posts and/or Fulbright commissions; specific details 
about the final selection committee(s); and notification of selectees 
and non-selectees.

    Please note: As in previous years, advertising, recruitment, 
screening and semi-final selection will be conducted by the USIS 
posts and/or Fulbright commissions in the participating countries.

2. Placement of Fellows

    Describe criteria for selecting host universities and measures to 
ensure participants' academic and cultural needs are met.

[[Page 64257]]

3. Notification

    Describe plans for notifying applicants who have been selected for 
an award, including timely confirmation of placement, scheduling of 
pre-departure orientation, and all logistical arrangements.

4. Special Programs

    Describe provisions for ESL or pre-academic programs, if necessary;

5. Orientation

    Describe plans for pre-departure, post-arrival and/or pre-academic 
orientation programs.

6. Enrichment Activities

    Describe arrangements for cultural and professional development 
activities, internships, and other program enhancements including 
recommendations for workshops and alumni activities.

7. Monitoring/Evaluation/Tracking

    Describe methodologies for on-going monitoring and evaluation and 
adjustment of program accordingly. Mechanisms for alumni networking and 
alumni tracking should also be detailed.

8. Alumni Activities

    Ron Brown Alumni Associations were formed in several participating 
countries in October 1997. Describe plans to assist the development and 
expansion of these fledgling associations.

9. Program Identity

    Describe ways you will ensure that participants and alumni identify 
themselves as Ron Brown Fellows or Ron Brown Alumni.

10. Personnel

    Proposals should include curriculum vitae of personnel assigned to 
administer the Ron Brown program.

Participants

    Fellows will be selected from a pool of applicants with a variety 
of professional and educational backgrounds. Since one of the purposes 
of the fellowships is to promote the development of professional 
expertise among the future leaders of Central and Eastern Europe, grant 
recipients should ideally be in the early stages of their careers, with 
perhaps a few years of work experience, a demonstrated ability for 
leadership, a clearly expressed purpose for studying in the United 
States, and a commitment to return home at the end of their fellowships 
to share their knowledge and skills in the development of their 
countries. Fellows must be under the age of forty, possess the 
equivalent of a bachelor's degree, and demonstrate fluency in spoken 
and written English (or the ability to attain such a level following a 
limited ESL program prior to the beginning of their studies).

Visa/Insurance/Tax Requirements

    All foreign participants must be sponsored under an Exchange 
Visitors Program on a J visa. Programs must comply with J-1 visa 
regulations and should reference this adherence in the proposal 
narrative. Ron Brown Fellows must comply with the two-year home 
residency requirement as stipulated by the J-visa guidelines. It is the 
expressed intent of this program that Fellows return immediately to 
their home country following completion of the academic and 
professional components of their program. Please refer to program 
specific guidelines in the Application Package for further details. 
Administration of the program must be in compliance with reporting and 
withholding regulations for federal, state, and local taxes, as 
applicable. Organizations should demonstrate tax regulation adherence 
in the proposal narrative and budget.
    Participants will be covered by USIA-sponsored Health and Accident 
Insurance. The administering organization will be responsible for 
enrolling the participants in the insurance program.

Proposed Budget

    Funding for the FY 1998 Ron Brown Fellowship Program is anticipated 
at $2,000,000. Applicants must submit a comprehensive line item budget 
for general program costs, participant program cost, alumni costs, and 
administrative costs. There must be a summary budget as well as a 
breakdown reflecting both the administrative budget and the program 
budget. Please refer to the application packet for complete formatting 
instructions. Preference will be given to organizations whose 
administrative costs, including indirect costs, are less than 20% of 
the total request from USIA.
    USIA reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase the proposal 
budget in accordance with the needs of the program.
    Allowable costs for the program include the following:

(1) General Program Costs
(2) Participant Program Costs
(3) U.S. Administrative Costs
(4) Overseas Administrative Costs
(5) Alumni Activities

    Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget 
guidelines and formatting instructions.
    Medical insurance for participants will be paid directly by USIA 
and, therefore, should not be included as a line-item cost in the 
program budget. However, a modest line-item may be included for health 
insurance for universities not accepting the USIA policy.

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 East 
European and NIS Affairs 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 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. Quality of the Program

    Proposals should include academic rigor, thorough conception of 
project, demonstration of meeting participant needs, contributions to 
understanding the partner countries, specific details of selection, 
placement, monitoring, follow-on plan, alumni activities, alumni 
tracking, evaluation plan and relevance to USIA's mission.

2. Program Planning/Institutional Capacity

    A detailed agenda and relevant work plan should demonstrate 
substantive undertakings and the organization's logistical capacity. 
Agenda and plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines 
described above. Proposed personnel and organizational resources should 
be adequate and appropriate to implement the program and achieve 
project goals.

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3. Organization's Track Record/Ability

    Proposals should demonstrate an institutional record of successful 
exchange programs, including responsible fiscal management and full 
compliance with all reporting requirements for past Agency grants as 
determined by USIA's Office of Contracts. The Agency will consider the 
past performance of prior recipients and the demonstrated potential of 
new applicants.

4. Multiplier Effect/Impact

    Proposed programs should strengthen long-term mutual understanding, 
including maximum sharing of information and establishment of long-term 
linkages.

5. Cost-Effectiveness/Cost-Sharing

    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 
maximize cost-sharing through other private sector support as well as 
institutional direct funding contributions.

6. Area Expertise

    Proposals should demonstrate the organization's expertise and 
capacity to conduct graduate level academic exchange programs in 
Central and Eastern Europe.

7. Placement Experience

    Proposals should demonstrate the organization's ability and 
experience with placements at U.S. universities at the graduate level.

8. Professional and Academic Contacts

    Proposals should demonstrate substantive staff knowledge of the 
relevant academic fields and professions to ensure productive 
engagement with professional and academic contacts in every phase of 
program planning and implementation, including the arrangement of 
internships and selection panels.

9. Support of Diversity

    Proposals should demonstrate substantive support of the Bureau's 
policy on diversity through the selection and placement of 
participants, to the extent feasible for organizations.

10. Project Evaluation/Follow-On Activities

    Proposals should include a plan to evaluate the program's success. 
A draft survey questionnaire plus a description of a methodology to be 
used to link outcomes to original project objectives is required. 
Proposals should provide a plan for alumni activities and other follow-
on programs (without USIA support) which ensures that USIA-supported 
programs are not isolated events. Proposals should include a plan for 
alumni tracking that demonstrates the willingness to provide data to 
and coordinate tracking with USIA and USIS posts and/or Fulbright 
commissions.

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 proposed 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. 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 May 1, 1998. Awards made will be subject to 
periodic reporting and evaluation requirements.

    Dated: December 1, 1997.
Robert L. Earle,
Deputy Associate Director, Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-31786 Filed 12-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M