[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 211 (Monday, November 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58804-58807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29224]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 2916]


Discretionary Grant Programs Application Notice Establishing 
Closing Date for Transmittal of Certain Fiscal Year 1999 Applications

AGENCY: The Department of State invites applications from national 
organizations with interest and expertise in conducting research and 
training to serve as intermediaries administering national competitive 
programs concerning the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent 
states of the former Soviet Union. The grants will be awarded through 
an open, national competition among applicant organizations.
    Authority for this Program for Research and Training on Eastern 
Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union is 
contained in the Soviet Eastern European Research and Training Act of 
1983 (22 U.S.C. 4501-4508, as amended).

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this application notice is to inform potential 
applicant organizations of fiscal and programmatic information and 
closing dates for transmittal of applications for awards in Fiscal Year 
1999 under a program administered by the Department of State. The 
program seeks to build and sustain expertise among Americans willing to 
make a career commitment to the study of Eastern Europe and countries 
of the former Soviet Union.
    Organization of Notice: This notice contains three parts. Part I 
lists the closing date covered by this notice. Part II consists of a 
statement of purpose and priorities of the program. Part III provides 
the fiscal data for the program.

Part I

Closing Date for Transmittal of Applications

    An application for an award must be mailed or hand-delivered by 
February 12, 1999.

Applications Delivered by Mail

    An application sent by mail must be addressed to Kenneth E. 
Roberts, Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern 
Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, INR/RES, 
Room 6841, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20520-6510.
    An applicant must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the 
following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
center.
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Department of 
State.
    If any application is sent through the U.S. Postal Service, the 
Department of State does not accept either of the following as proof of 
mailing: (1) a private metered postmark, or (2) a mail receipt that is 
not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    An applicant should note that the U.S. Postal Service does not 
uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, an 
applicant should check with the local post office.
    An applicant is encouraged to use registered or at least first 
class mail. Late applications will not be considered and will be 
returned to the applicant.

Applications Delivered by Hand

    An application that is hand delivered must be taken to Kenneth E. 
Roberts, Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern 
Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, INR/RES, 
Room 6841, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC. Please phone first at 
(202) 736-4572 to ensure access to the building.

[[Page 58805]]

    The Advisory Committee staff will accept hand-delivered 
applications between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST daily, except 
Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.
    An application that is hand delivered will not be accepted after 
4:00 p.m. on the closing date.

Part II

Program Information

    In the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983 
the Congress declared that independently verified factual knowledge 
about the countries of that area is ``of utmost importance for the 
national security of the United States, for the furtherance of our 
national interests in the conduct of foreign relations, and for the 
prudent management of our domestic affairs.'' Congress also declared 
that the development and maintenance of such knowledge and expertise 
``depends upon the national capability for advanced research by highly 
trained and experienced specialists, available for service in and out 
of Government.'' The program provides financial support for advanced 
research, training and other related functions on the countries of the 
region. By strengthening and sustaining in the United States a cadre of 
experts on Eastern Europe and the independent states of the former 
Soviet Union, the program contributes to the overall objectives of the 
FREEDOM Support and SEED programs.
    The full purpose of the Act and the eligibility requirements are 
set forth in Pub. L. 98164, 97 Stat. 1047-50, as amended. The countries 
include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech 
Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, 
Croatia, Serbia (including Kosovo and Montenegro), and the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
    The Act establishes an Advisory Committee to recommend grant 
policies and recipients. The Secretary of State, after consultation 
with the Advisory Committee, approves policies and makes the final 
determination on awards.
    Applications for funding under the Act are invited from U.S. 
organizations prepared to conduct competitive programs on the 
independent states of the former Soviet Union and the countries of 
Eastern Europe and related fields. Applying organizations or 
institutions should have the capability to conduct competitive award 
programs that are national in scope. Programs of this nature are those 
that make awards which are based upon an open, nationwide competition, 
incorporating peer group review mechanisms. Individual end-users of 
these funds--those to whom the applicant organizations or institutions 
propose to make awards--must be at the graduate or post-doctoral level, 
and must have demonstrated a likely career commitment to the study of 
Eastern Europe and/or the independent states of the former Soviet 
Union.
    Applications sought in this competition among organizations or 
institutions are those that would contribute to the development of a 
stable, long-term, national program of unclassified, advanced research 
and training on the countries of Eastern Europe and/or the independent 
states of the former Soviet Union by proposing:
    (1) National programs which award contracts or grants to American 
institutions of higher education or not-for-profit corporations in 
support of post-doctoral or equivalent level research projects, such 
contracts or grants to contain shared-cost provisions;
    (2) National programs which offer graduate, post-doctoral and 
teaching fellowships for advanced training on the countries of Eastern 
Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union, and in 
related studies, including training in the languages of the region, 
with such training to be conducted on a shared-cost basis, at American 
institutions of higher education;
    (3) National programs which provide fellowships and other support 
for American specialists enabling them to conduct advanced research on 
the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the 
former Soviet Union, and in related studies; and those which facilitate 
research collaboration between Government and private specialists in 
these areas;
    (4) National programs which provide advanced training and research 
on a reciprocal basis in the countries of Eastern Europe and the 
independent states of the former Soviet Union by facilitating access 
for American specialists to research facilities and resources in those 
countries;
    (5) National programs which facilitate the public dissemination of 
research methods, data and findings; and those which propose to 
strengthen the national capability for advanced research or training on 
the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the 
former Soviet Union in ways not specified above.

    Note: The Advisory Committee will not consider applications from 
individuals to further their own training or research, or from 
institutions or organizations whose proposals are not for 
competitive award programs that are national in scope as defined 
above. Support for specific activities will be guided by the 
following policies and priorities:
     Support for Transitions. The Advisory Committee 
strongly encourages support for activities which, while building 
expertise among U.S. specialists on the region, also 1) promote 
fundamental goals of U.S. assistance programs such as helping 
establish market economies and promoting democratic governance and 
civil societies, and 2) provide knowledge and context related to 
current US policy interests in the region, broadly defined. This 
includes, but is not limited to, such topics as ethnic conflict, 
post-Soviet economics, and political participation. Research is 
encouraged on Russia's regions, and on other specific geographic 
areas-- including areas outside capital cities, on Central Asia, and 
on the Balkans, where gaps exist in knowledge. Historical or 
cultural research that promotes understanding of current events in 
the region also is encouraged if an explicit connection can be made 
to contemporary political and/or economic transitions.
     Publications. Funds awarded in this competition should 
not be used to subsidize journals, newsletters and other periodical 
publications except in special circumstances, in which cases the 
funds should be supplied through peer-review organizations with 
national competitive programs.
     Conferences. Proposals for conferences, like those for 
research projects and training programs, should be assessed 
according to their relative contribution to the advancement of 
knowledge and to the professional development of cadres in the 
fields. Therefore, requests for conference funding should be 
directed to one or more of the national peer-review organizations 
receiving program funds, with proposed conferences being evaluated 
competitively against research, fellowship or other proposals for 
achieving the purposes of the grant.
     Library Activities. Funds may be used for certain 
library activities that clearly strengthen research and training on 
the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the 
former Soviet Union and benefit the fields as a whole. Such programs 
must make awards based upon open, nationwide competition, 
incorporating peer group review mechanisms. Funds may not be used 
for activities such as modernization, acquisition, or preservation. 
Modest, cost-effective proposals to facilitate research, by 
eliminating serious cataloging backlogs or otherwise improving 
access to research materials, will be considered.
     Language Support. The Advisory Committee encourages 
attention to the non-Russian languages of the independent states of 
the former Soviet Union and the less commonly taught languages of 
the East European countries. Support provided for Russian language 
instruction/study normally will be only for advanced level. 
Applicants

[[Page 58806]]

proposing to offer language instruction are encouraged to apply to a 
national program as described above that has appropriate peer group 
review mechanisms.
     Support for Non-Americans. The purpose of the program 
is to build and sustain U.S. expertise on the countries of Eastern 
Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. 
Therefore, the Advisory Committee has determined that highest 
priority for support always should go to American specialists (i.e., 
U.S. citizens or permanent residents). Support for such activities 
as long-term research fellowships, i.e., nine months or longer, 
should be restricted solely to American scholars. Support for short-
term activities also should be restricted to Americans, except in 
special instances where the participation of a non-American scholar 
has clear and demonstrable benefits to the American scholarly 
community. In such special instances, the applicant must justify the 
expenditure. Despite this restriction on support for non-Americans, 
collaborative projects are encouraged--where the non-American 
component is funded from other sources--and priority is given to 
institutions whose programs contain such an international component.

    In making its recommendations, the Committee will seek to encourage 
a coherent, long-term, and stable effort directed toward developing and 
maintaining a national capability on the countries of Eastern Europe 
and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Program 
proposals can be for the conduct of any of the functions enumerated, 
but in making its recommendations, the Committee will be concerned to 
develop a balanced national effort that will ensure attention to all 
the countries of the area. Legislation requires and this announcement 
indicates under Program Information of this section that in certain 
cases grantee organizations must include shared-cost provisions in 
their arrangements with end-users. Cost-sharing is encouraged, whenever 
feasible, in all programs.

Part III

Available Funds

    Awards are contingent upon the availability of funds. Funding may 
be available at a level up to $4.8 million. The precise level of 
funding will not be known until legislative action is complete. In 
Fiscal Year 1998, the Congress appropriated to the program $4.8 million 
from the FREEDOM Support and Support for East European Democracies 
(SEED) Acts, which funded grants to 9 national organizations. The 
number of awards varies each year, depending on the level of funding 
and the quality of the applications submitted.
    The Department legally cannot commit funds that may be appropriated 
in subsequent fiscal years. Thus multi-year projects cannot receive 
assured funding unless such funding is supplied out of a single year's 
appropriation. Grant agreements may permit the expenditure from a 
particular year's grant to be made up to three years after the grant's 
effective date.

Applications

    Applications must be prepared and submitted in 20 copies in the 
form of a statement, the narrative part of which should not exceed 20 
double-spaced pages. This must be accompanied by a one-page executive 
summary, a budget, and vitae of key professional staff. Proposers may 
append other information they consider essential, although bulky 
submissions are discouraged and run the risk of not being reviewed 
fully. The one-page summary and budget should precede the narrative in 
the proposal.
    Proposed programs should be described fully, including benefits for 
the fields. All applicants should provide detailed information about 
their plans for advertising their programs, peer evaluation and review 
procedures, and estimates of the types and amount of anticipated 
awards.
    Applicants who have received a grant from this program in the 
previous competition should provide detailed information on the peer 
evaluation and review procedures followed, and awards made, including, 
where applicable, names/affiliations of recipients, and amounts and 
types of awards. If an applicant received support prior to the last 
competition, a summary of those awards also should be included.
    Descriptions of all competitive award programs should specify both 
past and anticipated applicant-to-award ratios.
    Proposals from national organizations involving language 
instruction programs should provide, for those programs supported in 
the past year, information on the criteria for evaluation, including 
levels of instruction, degrees of intensiveness, facilities, methods 
for measuring language proficiency (including pre- and post-testing), 
instructors' qualifications, and budget information showing estimated 
costs per student.
    A description of affirmative action policies and practices must be 
included in the application.
    Applications should include certifications of compliance with the 
provisions of: (1) the Drug-Free Workplace Act (Pub. L. 100-690), in 
accordance with Appendix C of 22 CFR 137, Subpart F; and (2) Section 
319 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 101-121), in accordance with Appendix A of 
22 CFR 138, New Restrictions on Lobbying Activities.

Budget

    Since funds will be appropriated separately for East Europe 
(including the Baltic states) and New Independent States programs, 
proposals must indicate how the requested funds will be distributed by 
region, country (to the extent possible), and activity. Subsequently, 
grant recipients must report expenditures by region, country, and 
activity.
    Applicants should familiarize themselves with Department of State 
grant regulations contained in 22 CFR 145, ``Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other 
Non-Profit Organizations,'' OMB Circular A-110, ``Grants and Agreements 
with Institutions of Higher Education . . . Uniform Administrative 
Requirements,'' and OMB Circular A-133, ``Audits of Institutions of 
Higher Learning and Other Non-Profit Institutions'' and indicate or 
provide the following information:
    (1) Whether the organization falls under OMB Circular No. A-21, 
``Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,'' or OMB Circular No. 
A-122, ``Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations;''
    (2) A detailed program budget indicating direct expenses by program 
element, by region (the independent states of the former Soviet Union 
or Eastern Europe), indirect costs, and the total amount requested. NB: 
Indirect costs are limited to 10 percent of total direct program costs. 
Applicants requesting funds to supplement a program having other 
sources of support should submit a current budget for the total program 
and an estimated future budget for it showing how specific lines in the 
budget would be affected by the allocation of requested grant funds. 
Other funding sources and amounts, when known, should be identified.
    (3) The applicant's cost-sharing proposal, if applicable, 
containing appropriate details and cross references to the requested 
budget;
    (4) The organization's most recent audit report (the most recent 
U.S. Government audit report if available) and the name, address, and 
point of contact of the audit agency. N.B.: The threshold for grants 
that trigger an audit requirement has been raised from $25,000 to 
$300,000.
    (5) An indication of the proposer's priorities if funding is being 
requested for more than one program or activity.

[[Page 58807]]

    All payments will be made to grant recipients through the 
Department of State.

Technical Review

    The Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe and the 
Independent States of the Former Soviet Union will evaluate 
applications on the basis of the following criteria:
    (1) Responsiveness to the substantive provisions set forth above in 
Program Part II, Information (45 points);
    (2) The professional qualifications of the applicant's key 
personnel and selection committees, and their experience conducting 
national competitive award programs of the type the applicant proposes 
on the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the 
former Soviet Union (35 points); and
    (3) Budget presentation and cost effectiveness (20 points).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact 
Kenneth E. Roberts, Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies 
of Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet 
Union, INR/RES, Room 6841, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20520-6510. Telephone: (202) 736-4572 or 736-4386, fax: 
(202) 736-4851 or (202) 736-4807.

    Dated: October 19, 1998.
Kenneth E. Roberts,
Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe 
and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union.
[FR Doc. 98-29224 Filed 10-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-32-P