[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 15 (Friday, January 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3540-3543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1618]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[Docket No. 971202287-7287-01]


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 (also referred to as ``interns'') from Russia. 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 New 
Independent States of the former Soviet Union (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 must come from Russia and be citizens 
of the Russian Federation. 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 Russia. All interns will be selected from a pre-
screened group of qualified mid-level managers; nominations from 
outside of this group will not be accepted.

DATES: The closing date for applications is March 31, 1998. 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. Competitive Application kits will be available from 
ITA starting on January 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the Application Kit please E-mail: 
[email protected] (please state 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: Liesel Duhon, Director, 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 Russian business managers and 
scientific managers 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 Russia 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 Russia, and creates a unique opportunity 
for U.S. firms to familiarize key executives from Russia with their 
products and services.

Scientist Managers

    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 community also benefit 
from exchanging information and ideas, and different approaches to new 
technologies.

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 and other 
applicable grant rules. The estimated amount of financial assistance 
available for the program is $175,000. Additional funding is 
anticipated at a future date in 1998. Funding Instrument and Project 
Duration: Federal assistance will be awarded pursuant to a cooperative 
agreement between ITA and the recipient firm. All internships are three 
months; however, ITA reserves the right to allow an intern to stay for 
a shorter period of time (no less than one month) if the U.S. company 
agrees and the intern demonstrates a need for a shorter internship 
based on his or her management responsibilities. ITA will reimburse 
companies for the round trip international travel of each intern from 
the intern's home city in Russia to the U.S. internship site, upon 
submission to ITA of the paid travel invoice, payment receipt, or other 
evidence of payment

[[Page 3541]]

and the form SF-270, ``Request for Advance or Reimbursement.'' Travel 
under the program is subject to the Fly America Act. ITA will reimburse 
companies for up to $500 per month housing subsidy. 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 three months 
as well as the actual price of the monthly housing, up to $500 per 
month, upon submission by company of an end-of-internship report and 
form SF-270. If the Russian Government pays for the international 
airline travel, recipients will not be eligible for reimbursement for 
airtravel. In general, each award will have a cap of $5,000 per intern 
for total cost of airline travel, housing subsidy 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 Russia. 
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, additional housing costs beyond the $500 housing 
subsidy per month, 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 include 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 scientific managers, a 
practical, commercially-oriented scientific training experience.
    (2). Respond to the priority needs of senior business managers and 
scientists in Russia, as determined by ITA.
    (3). Host firms must be solidly committed to interns' return to 
Russia 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 scientific 
managers, or both (and the number of each); (b). the duration of the 
internship. 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 Russia, and how the proposed internship would further 
the purpose of the SABIT program as described above.
    (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 
Russia where the intern(s) is/are employed; and whether Applicant is 
open to sponsoring interns from a variety of Russian regions.
    (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 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 diversity of U.S. geographic and organization 
size. Recipients may be eligible, pursuant to approval of an amendment 
of an active award, to host additional interns under the program. ITA 
reserves the right to evaluate applicants based on past performance. 
The Director of the SABIT Program is the final selecting official for 
each award.

Additional Information

    Applicants must submit: (1) Evidence of adequate financial 
resources of Applicant organization to cover the costs involved in 
providing an

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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: 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, 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, Pub. L. 103-87); Impact on Jobs in the United 
States (Section 545 of the Foreign Operation, Export Financing, and 
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995, Pub. L. 103-87); Bumpers 
Amendment (Section 513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, 
and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103-87); 
Lautenberg Amendment (Section 513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103-
87); and Section 660(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
amended.
    14. Audit Requirements: 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.
    16. The collection of information is approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget, OMB Control Number 0625-0225. Public reporting 
for this collection of information is estimated to

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be three hours per response, including the time for reviewing 
instructions, and completing and reviewing the collection of 
information. All responses to this collection of information are 
voluntary, and will be provided confidentially to the extent allowed 
under the Freedom of Information Act. Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, no person is required to respond to nor shall a 
person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection 
of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act unless that collection of information displays a current valid OMB 
Control Number. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any 
other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions 
for reducing this burden, to the Reports Clearance Officer, 
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, Room 4001, 
14th and Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

    Dated: January 20, 1998.
Liesel C. Duhon,
Director, SABIT Program.
[FR Doc. 98-1618 Filed 1-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HE-P