[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68335-68337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32829]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY


NIS Secondary School Partnership Program; Notice: Request for 
Proposals

SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchange, Youth Programs Division, of 
the United States Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and 
Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the NIS Secondary 
School Partnership Program. Public and private non-profit organizations 
meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 
1.501 may submit proposals to either enhance or 
expand existing partnerships or develop new school partnership programs 
with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, or 
Ukraine. All submissions must have a thematic focus and feature on-
going joint project activity between the schools, a student exchange 
component, and an educator (teacher/administrator) exchange component. 
The maximum grant award will be $200,000.

Program Information

    The U.S. recipient of the grant is responsible for recruiting, 
selecting, and organizing a minimum of two U.S. secondary schools to 
form the U.S. network; strengthening an existing working relationship 
with an organization or agency of government in the NIS responsible for 
a network of at least two schools there; and linking the two networks 
through a thematic project and substantive exchange activities.
    Overview: The short-term goal of the school partnership program is 
to provide partial funding for linkages between U.S. and NIS schools 
featuring collaborative substantive projects and student and educator 
exchanges. Grant-funded exchanges must have a thematic focus and have 
tangible outcomes, such as the development of educational materials.
    The long-term goals are to: (1) advance mutual understanding 
between the U.S. and the NIS; (2) develop lasting institutional ties 
between U.S. and NIS schools and communities; and (3) promote 
partnerships developed through governmental, educational, and not-for-
profit sector cooperation that hold promise for a sustainable program 
beyond the grant term and serve the needs and interests of the schools.
    The linked network of secondary schools in the United States and 
network of schools in the NIS must establish or expand ties between the 
schools in the network through joint project activity and two sets of 
exchange programs: 1) the exchange of secondary school students, from 
14 to 18 years of age, between the U.S. and participating NIS 
countries, and 2) the exchange of secondary school educators (teachers 
and/or administrators) between the U.S. and NIS countries.
    Guidelines: A competitive proposal will present a project that 
builds upon previous contacts and interaction between the proposed 
schools to help ensure a solid foundation for the partnership. 
Partnerships should have an existence beyond the scope of this 
intitative; that is, there should be an inherent reason for their 
linkage apart from the availability of grant funds.
    In general, USIA seeks school partnerships that target under-served 
countries or regions. For programs with Russia, priority will be given 
to partnerships with schools located outside of the Moscow and St. 
Petersburg regions. Proposals that feature networks in the cities and 
regions noted below will be given priority consideration. These cities 
are former nuclear and/or chemical weapon manufacturing locations in 
Russia: Gorny, Kambarka, Kizner, Leonidovka, Lesnoy, Maradykovsky, 
Novouralisk, Ozersk, Pochep, Sarov, Seversk, Shchuchye, Snezhninsk, 
Trekhgnornyy, Zarechnyy, Zelenogorsk, Zheleznogorsk.
    Russian Regional Investment Initiative sites: Novgorod, Samara, and 
the Russian Far East (Khabarovsk and Sakhalin).
    Organizers and school networks in the U.S. and NIS should 
collaborate in planning and preparation. Applicants must have an NIS 
organizational partner that has its base of operation in the partner 
country and not in another country. Proposals should support a working 
relationship that will produce something tangible and lasting in 
addressing the interests of both sides, beyond the confines of the 
funded project. The proposal should specify up front what the 
measurable goals and objectives of the program will be. Each school 
partnership must also provide a statement of goals and objectives for 
their exchange.
    USIA funding may not be used to supplant existing private sector 
funding. Applicants must indicate how activities have been funded in 
the past and how the activities will be expanded with assistance from 
USIA. Competitive proposals must demonstrate a solid and comprehensive 
follow-on plan to continue after the grant has expired.
    Proposals must clearly describe and define substantive 
thematically-based projects for each school partnership that are the 
focus of the exchange for both students and educators and on-going 
joint project activity between the two schools. Applicants should 
present a program that succeeds in linking the greater school 
community. All participating schools must be identified. Proposals 
should describe the selected theme, its importance to the schools and 
communities, the specific academic activities, and the expected outcome 
or product of the project. Possible themes include but are not limited 
to the following: civic education, health education, environmental 
issues, youth leadership training, volunteerism/community service, 
conflict resolution, computer technology, multicultural education, 
agriculture, and business management.
    Proposals must clearly present independent educator programs for 
teachers/administrators. These programs could include curriculum 
development seminars, ``shadowing'' of host peers in the classroom, 
university-level courses, or other substantive activities, with an 
emphasis on such themes as parent-teacher cooperation, model schools, 
teacher training, and collaboration with local businesses. A program 
that relies on the educator to act as just an escort will not be 
competitive. Although educators can certainly travel with student 
groups, a group of educators could travel separately if an organization 
developed such a program.
    The U.S. recipient of the grant will (1) design the overall plan 
that integrates the joint project activity and the exchange components 
of the partnership; (2) ensure quality control for all program 
elements; (3) keep USIA/USIS informed of its progress; (4) manage all 
travel arrangements, logistics, passports, visas, etc.; (5) provide 
competent and informed escorts for student groups; and (6) disburse and 
account for grant funds. Recipients of the assistance award are 
responsible for ensuring the selection of exchange participants who are 
most suited for the program and for providing them with a meaningful 
pre-departure orientation. Selection of individual participants from 
the U.S. and the NIS in the exchange components of the program must be 
merit-based; the proposal should describe the mechanisms used for 
participant selection. Participants (both Educators and Students) from 
the U.S. and the NIS countries should represent a diversity of 
backgrounds

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(racial, geographic, economic status, religious, etc.) to give greater 
understanding to the culture and society as a whole.
    Because the ultimate goal of this program is self-sufficiency, 
school partnerships that have received USIA funding under the NIS 
Secondary School Initiative for a total of three years are only 
eligible to receive up to $20,000 for NIS participant travel costs, per 
diem, and allowances.
    Significant cost-sharing is mandatory in all proposals and those 
that show more generous and creative cost-sharing will be more 
favorably viewed. Proposals that contain non-USIA funded items such as 
additional students and/or educators on the exchange, U.S. participants 
paying for some of their own costs, computer software purchases, 
cultural excursions, state/national capital civics programs, and other 
significant items will be more competitive proposals than those that do 
not. However, NIS participants may not be charged to participate in the 
program, aside from paying for in-country costs (such as transportation 
to the point of departure), the costs of hosting the U.S. students and 
educators, and miscellaneous expenses such as pocket money.
    Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. The Agency will 
process the IAP-66 forms for travel to the United States. Applicant 
organizations are required to use the USIA Accident and Sickness 
Program for Exchanges (ASPE) for participants in USIA-funded exchanges. 
Applicants who choose not to use the USIA plan must demonstrate that an 
alternative plan (1) provides comparable or better coverage, and (2) 
costs less. Please refer to the Program Objectives, Goals, and 
Implementation (POGI) section of the Solicitation Package for greater 
detail regarding the design of the component parts as well as other 
program information.

Budget Guidelines

    Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the entire 
program. Awards may not exceed $200,000. The Agency has set country 
allocations for this competition and all proposals must adhere to these 
maximum amounts per country.
    Only partnerships between secondary schools in the United States 
and these countries are eligible for this competition.
    These amounts are approximate: Armenia $100,000; Azerbaijan 
$150,000; Belarus $200,000; Georgia $100,000; Moldova $100,000; Russia 
$350,000; Ukraine $250,000.
    Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years 
of experience in conducting international exchange programs will be 
limited to $60,000.
    There must be a summary budget as well as breakdowns reflecting 
both administrative and program budgets. Applicants may provide 
separate sub-budgets for each program component, phase, location, or 
activity to provide clarification. All program costs should clearly 
indicate whether they cover U.S. or NIS participants. The cost per NIS 
student, NIS educator, U.S. student, and U.S. educator should be listed 
separately. Be sure to note the statement on cost-sharing in the 
Guidelines section. Please refer to the Solicitation Package for 
complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions.
    Announcement title and number: All correspondence with USIA 
concerning this RFP should reference the above title and number E/PY-
99-26.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Youth Programs Division, E/PY, 
Room 568, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20547, telephone: (202) 619-6299; fax: (202) 619-5311; E-mail: 
[email protected] to request a Solicitation Package. The Solicitation 
Package contains detailed award criteria, required application forms, 
specific budget instructions, and standard guidelines for proposal 
preparation. Please specify USIA Program Officer Carolyn Lantz on all 
other inquiries and correspondence.
    Please 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 with applicants 
until the proposal review process has been completed.
    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 
Solicitation Package may be requested from the Bureau's Grants 
Information Fax on Demand System, which is accessed by calling (202) 
401-7616. The Table of Contents listing available documents and order 
numbers should be the first order when entering the system.
    Deadline for proposals: All proposal copies must be received at the 
U.S. Information Agency by 5:00 p.m. Washington, DC time on Friday, 
February 12, 1999. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time. 
Documents postmarked the due date but received on a later date will not 
be accepted. Each applicant must ensure that the proposals are received 
by the above deadline.
    Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation 
Package. The original and 10 copies of the application should be sent 
to: U.S. Information Agency, Ref.: E/PY-99-26, Office of Grants 
Management, Room 568, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
    Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and 
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal on a 3.5'' diskette, 
formatted for DOS. These documents must be provided in ASCII text (DOS) 
format with a maximum line length of 65 characters. USIA will transmit 
these files electronically to USIS posts overseas for their review, 
with the goal of reducing the time it takes to get posts' comments for 
the Agency's grants 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, 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. 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 reflect 
advancement of this goal in their program contents, to the full extent 
deemed feasible.

Year 2000 Compliance Requirement (Y2K Requirement)

    The Year 2000 (Y2K) issue is a broad operational and accounting 
problem that could potentially prohibit organizations from processing 
information in accordance with Federal management and program specific 
requirements including data exchange with USIA. The inability to 
process

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information in accordance with Federal requirements could result in 
grantees' being required to return funds that have not been accounted 
for properly.
    USIA therefore requires all organizations use Y2K compliant systems 
including hardware, software, and firmware. Systems must accurately 
process data and dates (calculating, comparing and sequencing) both 
before and after the beginning of the year 2000 and correctly adjust 
for leap years.
    Additional information addressing the Y2K issue may be found at the 
General Services Administration's Office of Information Technology 
website at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov.

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. All eligible proposals will be reviewed by the 
program office, as well as the USIA Office of East European and NIS 
Affairs and the USIA posts overseas. Eligible proposals will be 
forwarded to panels of USIA officers for advisory review. Proposals may 
also be reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel or by other 
Agency elements. Final funding decisions are at the discretion of 
USIA's 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. Programmatic planning, objectives, and quality: The program 
should demonstrate originality, substance, precision and relevance to 
the Agency's mission. Applicant organizations should demonstrate sound 
judgment in all aspects of the program design and a thorough 
understanding of the NIS. A detailed agenda and relevant work plan 
should adhere to the program overview and guidelines described. 
Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the institution will meet the 
program's objectives and plan.
    2. Multiplier effect/impact: Proposed programs should strengthen 
long-term mutual understanding, including maximum sharing of 
information and establishment of long-term institutional and individual 
linkages. Proposals should also include creative ways to involve 
project participants in their host schools and communities.
    3. Institutional Capacity and Record: Proposed personnel and 
institutional resources should be adequate and appropriate to achieve 
the program or project's goals. 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. An 
organization's track record will be evaluated based on the achievement 
of stated goals and impact on schools in the U.S. and NIS.
    4. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate substantive 
support of the Bureau's policy on diversity. Achievable and relevant 
features should be cited in both program administration (selection of 
participants and host families, program venue, and program evaluation) 
and program content (orientation and wrap-up sessions, program 
meetings, resource materials and follow-up activities).
    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. Overall per-participant costs will be a factor in the 
review of the proposal. Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through 
U.S. participant contributions and other private sector support as well 
as institutional direct funding contributions. Applicants should 
indicate sources of funds for cost-sharing.
    6. Follow-on Activities: Proposals should provide a plan for 
continued follow-on activity (without USIA support) ensuring that USIA 
supported programs are not isolated events.
    7. Project Evaluation: Proposals must include a plan to evaluate 
the project, both as the activities unfold and at the end of the 
program. USIA recommends that the proposal include a draft survey 
questionnaire or other technique plus a description of a methodology to 
use in linking outcomes to original project objectives for each school 
partnership. Successful applicants will be expected to submit reports 
on each partnership.

Authority

    Overall grant making authority for this 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 above is provided through the FREEDOM Support Act of 1992.

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 proposal 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.

Notification

    Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by 
Congress, allocated and committed through internal USIA procedures.

    Dated: December 5, 1998.
William B. Bader,
Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-32829 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M