[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4682-4684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2310]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 2657


Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; 
Anti-Crime Training and Technical Assistance Program (ACTTA)

AGENCY: Office of Europe, NIS, and Training; Bureau for International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, State.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement Affairs (INL) developed the Anti-Crime Training and 
Technical Assistance Program (ACTTA) in 1994 to bring U.S. Federal law 
enforcement agencies together to provide training and technical 
assistance in consultation with their counterparts in Russia, the NIS, 
and Eastern/Central Europe. Training continues to focus on combating 
international organized crime, financial crimes, and narcotics 
trafficking. The goal of the program is to increase professionalism and 
develop the technical capabilities of law enforcement institutions to 
combat organized crime and to assure that through international law 
enforcement cooperation, U.S. agencies and their foreign counterparts 
succeed in intercepting the movement of transnational organized 
criminal elements into the U.S.
    The ACTTA program is being expanded to include the participation of 
non-Federal agencies (e.g., universities, state/local government 
agencies, private non-profit organizations, etc.) in the delivery of 
law enforcement training and technical assistance to Russia, and the 
Newly Independent States (NIS). This non-Federal component of the ACTTA 
program has a timeframe of 1998-1999.

DATES: Strict deadlines for submission to the FY 1998 process are: 
Letters of Intent must be received no later than Friday, February 27, 
1998. Letters of Intent (LOI) are mandatory; full proposals will not be 
reviewed unless they are requested following the LOI review process. 
Projects deemed unsuitable during LOI review will not be encouraged to 
submit full proposals. Full proposals must be received at INL no later 
than Friday, April 10, 1998. Applicants who have not received a 
response to their letter of intent by Friday, March 13, 1998 should 
contact Linda Gower at 202-776-8774. We anticipate that review of full 
proposals will occur during late April 1998 and funding should begin 
during the spring of 1998 for most approved projects. July 1, 1998 
should be used as the proposed start date on proposals, unless 
otherwise directed by a program manager. Applicants should be notified 
of their status within 6 months. All proposals must be submitted in 
accordance with the guidelines below. Failure to heed these guidelines 
may result in proposals being returned without review.

ADDRESSES: Propsals may be submitted to: U.S. Department of State, 
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, SA-44 
South, Room 105, Washington, DC 20520, Attn: Linda Gower.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Gower at above address, TEL: 
202-776-8774, FAX: 202-776-8775.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Funding Availability

    This Program Announcement is for projects to be conducted by 
agencies/programs outside the Federal government, over a period of up 
to two years. Actual funding levels will depend upon the final FY 1998 
budget appropriations, current plans are for up to a total of $5.0 
million to be available for new (or renewing) ACTTA awards. The funding 
instrument for extramural awards will be a grant. Funding for non-U.S. 
institutions and contractual arrangements for services and products for 
delivery to INL are not available under this announcement. Matching 
share, though encouraged, is not required by this program.

Program Authority

    Authority: Section 635(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act, as 
amended.

Program Objectives

    The goal of the ACTTA program is to increase the technical 
capabilities of foreign country law enforcement institutions to control 
organized crime, combat corruption, institute democratic practices, and 
to assure that through international law enforcement cooperation, U.S. 
agencies succeed in intercepting the movement of transnational 
organized criminal elements into the U.S. and Eastern/Central Europe.
    The ACTTA program has been designed to generate assistance to 
foreign governments which will complement that training and assistance 
provided by Federal agencies. All training and assistance of the ACTTA 
program should be focused on city or local police forces.
    The program objectives of the ACTTA program are: (1) Combat the 
growing threat to U.S. national security posed by the broad range of 
organized crime activities, (2) help emerging democracies strengthen 
their national and law enforcement institutions to counter illegal 
criminal activities, (3) help emerging democracies develop laws and 
prosecutorial frameworks to counter organized crime activities, and (4) 
provide foreign law enforcement institutions with the skills to detect, 
arrest, and prosecute major transnational criminal offenders.

Program Priorities

    The primary focus of this program is concentrated in Russia and the 
Newly Independent States.
    All training conducted under this program must utilize a 
``training-of-trainers'' format.
    The FY 1998 ACTTA Program Announcement invites training and 
technical assistance program proposals in the following areas:
    (1) Community policing methods,
    (2) Curriculum development for national police training academies,
    (3) Domestic violence/violence against women and children,
    (4) Program evaluations (process and impact) of USG-funded 
international law enforcement training academies,
    (5) Combating organized crime, and
    (6) Anti-corruption measures.

Eligibility

    Extramural eligibility is limited to non-Federal agencies and 
organizations, and is encouraged with the objective of developing a 
strong partnership with the state/local law enforcement community. Non-
law enforcement proposers are urged to seek collaboration with state/
local law enforcement institutions. State and local governments, 
universities, and non-profit organizations are included among entities 
for funding under this announcement. Funding for non-U.S.

[[Page 4683]]

institutions is not available under this announcement.

Letters of Intent

    Letters of Intent (LOI): (1) Letters should be no more than two 
pages in length and include the name and institution of project 
director, a statement of the problem, brief summary of work to be 
completed, and approximate cost of project. (2) Facsimile is acceptable 
for letters of intent only. (3) Letters of Intent are mandatory; full 
proposals will not be reviewed unless they are requested following the 
LOI review process. (4) Projects deemed unsuitable during LOI review 
will not be encouraged to submit full proposals.

Evaluation Criteria

    Consideration for financial assistance will be given to those 
proposals which address one or more of the Program Priorities 
identified above and meet the following evaluation criteria:
    (1) Relevance (20%): Importance and relevance to the goal and 
objectives of the ACTTA program identified above.
    (2) Methodology (25%): Adequacy of the proposed approach and 
activities, including development of relevant training curricular, 
training methods proposed, evaluation methodology (for training academy 
evaluation proposals only), project milestones, and final products.
    (3) Readiness (25%): Relevant history and experience in conducting 
program evaluations (for training academy evaluation proposals only) or 
training/technical assistance in the program priority areas identified 
above, strength of proposed training/technical assistance or evaluation 
teams, past performance record of proposers.
    (4) Linkages (15%): Connections to existing law enforcement 
agencies in Russia and the NIS, in addition to previous training or 
related assistance experience in these countries.
    (5) Costs (15%): Adequacy/efficiency of the proposed resources; 
appropriate share of total available resources; prospects for joint 
funding.

Selection Procedures

    All proposals will be evaluated and ranked in accordance with the 
assigned weights of the above evaluation criteria by independent peer 
panel review composed of INL and other Federal USG agency law 
enforcement experts. Their recommendations and evaluations will be 
considered by the program managers in final selections. Those ranked by 
the panel and program as not recommended for funding will not be given 
further consideration and will be notified of non-selection. For the 
proposals rated for possible funding, the program managers; will: (a) 
Ascertain which proposals meet the objectives, fit the criteria posted, 
and do not duplicate other projects that are currently funded by INL, 
other USG agencies or foreign governments, or international 
organizations (note: proposals or elements that duplicate existing 
activities of USG agencies will not receive awards); (b) select the 
proposals to be funded; (c) determine the total duration of funding for 
each proposal; and (d) determine the amount of funds available for each 
proposal.
    Unsatisfactory performance by a recipient under prior Federal 
awards may result in an application not being considered for funding.

Proposal Submission

    The guidelines for proposal preparation provided below are 
mandatory. Failure to heed these guidelines may result in proposals 
being returned without review.
(a) Full Proposals
    (1) Proposals submitted to INL must include the original and two 
unbound copies of the proposal. (2) Applicants are not required to 
submit more than 3 copies of the proposal, however, the normal review 
process requires 5 copies. Applicants are encouraged to submit 
sufficient proposal copies for the full review process if they wish all 
reviewers to receive color, unusually sized (not 8.5''  x  11''), or 
otherwise unusual materials submitted as part of the proposal. Only 
three copies of the Federally required forms are needed. (3) Proposals 
must be limited to 30 pages (numbered), including budget, personnel 
vitae, and all appendices, and should be limited to funding requests 
for one to two year duration. Appended information may not be used to 
circumvent the page length limit. Federally mandated forms are not 
included within the page count. (4) Proposals should be sent to INL at 
the above address. (5) Facsimile transmissions of full proposals will 
not be accepted.
(b) Required Elements
    (1) Signed title page: The title page should be signed by the 
Project Director (PD) and the institutional representative and should 
clearly indicate which project area is being addressed. The PD and 
insitutional representative should be identified by full name, title, 
organization, telephone number and address. The total amount of Federal 
funds being requested should be listed for each budget period.
    (2) Abstract: An abstract must be included and should contain an 
introduction of the problem, rationale and a brief summary of work to 
be completed. The abstract should appear as a separate page, headed 
with the proposal title, insitution(s) name, investigator(s), total 
proposed cost and budget period.
    (3) Prior training experience: A summary of prior law enforcement 
raining experience should be described, including training related to 
program priorities identified above and/or conducted in Russia and the 
NIS. Reference to each prior training award should include the title, 
agency, award number, period of award and total award. The section 
should be a brief summary and should not exceed two pages total.
    (4) Statement of work: The proposed project must be completely 
described, including identification of the problem, project objectives, 
proposed training methodology, relevance to the goal and objectives of 
the ACTTA program, and the program priorities listed above. Benefits of 
the proposed project to U.S. law enforcement efforts should be 
discussed. A year-by-year summary of proposed work must be included 
clearly indicating that each year's proposed work is severable and can 
easily be separated into annual increments of meaningful work. The 
statement of work, including and excluding figures and other visual 
materials, must not exceed 15 pages of length.
    (5) Budget: Applicants must submit a Standard form 424 (4-92) 
``Application for Federal Assistance,'' including a detailed budget 
using the Standard Form 424a (4-92), ``Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs.'' The form is included in the standard INL 
application kit. The proposal must include total and annual budgets 
corresponding with the descriptions provided in the statement of work. 
Additional text to justify expenses should be included as necessary.
    (6) Vitas: Abbreviated curriculum vitae are sought with each 
proposal. Vitae for each project staff person should not exceed three 
pages in length.
(c) Other Requirements
    (1) Applicants may obtain a standard INL application kit from the 
Program Office.
    Primary Applicant Certification--All primary applicants must submit 
a completed Form CD-511, ``Certification Regarding Debarment, 
Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace 
Requirements and

[[Page 4684]]

Lobbying.'' Applicants are also hereby notified of the following:
    1. Non procurement 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;
    2. 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;
    3. Anti-Lobbying--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 aplications/bids for 
grants of more than $100,000; and
    4. Anti-Lobbying Disclosures--Any applicant that has paid or will 
pay for lobbying using any funds must submit SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of 
Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR part 28, appendix B.
Lower Tier Certifications
    (1) Recipients must require applicants/bidders for subgrants or 
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 Department of State 
(DOS). SF-LLL submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be 
submitted to DOS in accordance with the instructions contained in the 
award document.
    (2) Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all applicable 
Federal laws and Federal and Department of State policies, regulations, 
and procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance awards.
    (3) Preaward Activities--If applicants incur any costs prior to an 
award being made, they do so solely at their own risk of not being 
reimbursed by the Government. Notwithstanding any verbal assurance that 
may have been received, there is no obligation to the applicant on the 
part of Department of State to cover preaward costs.
    (4) This program is subject to the requirements of OMB Circular No. 
A-110, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other 
Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other 
Non-Profit Organizations,'' OMB Circular No. A-133, ``Audits of 
Institutions of Higher Education and Other Non-Profit Institutions,'' 
and 15 CFR part 24, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants 
and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments,'' as 
applicable. Applications under this program are not subject to 
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''
    (5) All non-profit applicants are subject to a name check review 
process. Name checks are intended to reveal if any key individuals 
associate with the applicant have been convicted of, or are presently 
facing criminal charges such as fraud, theft, perjury, or other matters 
with significantly reflect on the applicant's management, honesty, or 
financial integrity.
    (6) A false statement on an 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.
    (7) No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant who has 
an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either:
    (i) The delinquent account is paid in full,
    (ii) A negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least 
one payment is received, or
    (iii) Other arrangements satisfactory to the Department of State 
are made.
    (8) Buy American-Made Equipment or Products--Applicants are 
encouraged that any equipment or products authorized to be purchased 
with funding provided under this program must be American-made to the 
maximum extent feasible.
    (9) The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in an 
application under this program must not exceed the indirect cost rate 
negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency prior to the 
proposed effective date of the award or 100 percent of the total 
proposed direct cost dollar amount in the application, whichever is 
less.
    (d) If an application is selected for funding, the Department of 
State has no obligation to provide any additional future funding in 
connection with the award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or 
extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the 
Department of State.
    (e) In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations, no person 
on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin or disability 
shall be excluded from participation in, denied benefits of or be 
subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving 
assistance from the INL ACTTA program.
    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. The standard forms have 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act under OMB approval number 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 
and 0348-0046.
    Classification: This notice has been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.

    Dated: January 20, 1998.
Thomas M. Browne Jr.,
Deputy Director, Office of Europe, NIS, and Training, Bureau for 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 98-2310 Filed 1-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-17-M