[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 92 (Thursday, May 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25958-25961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11975]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Teaching Excellence Awards Program
NOTICE: Request for proposals.
SUMMARY: The Division for the NIS Secondary School Initiative, Office
of Citizen Exchanges, of the United States Information Agency's Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for
the Teaching Excellence Awards (TEA) program. Public and private non-
profit organizations meeting the provisions
[[Page 25959]]
described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may submit proposals for
the fourth year of a program of recognition for excellence in the
fields of English and American studies at the primary and secondary
levels of education in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Uzbekistan. The total amount of funding available for this program is
$2,250,000.
Program Information
Overview: The objective of the program is to select exemplary
teachers in the five target countries through a merit-based competition
and provide modest awards to them and their schools. The top national
winners participate in a summer enrichment program in the U.S. The
goals are to: give recognition to excellence in the teaching of English
and American studies; promote innovation in teaching methodology in the
New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union; and promote
mutual understanding about the societies and educational systems of the
U.S. and the five target NIS countries.
Background: The program was established in 1996 and has been
administered for the past three years by the American Councils for
International Education (ACIE). For the 1996-1997 program year, the
teacher competition was conducted in Russia and Ukraine, and 900
educators were nominated, for which their schools received plaques. The
competition culminated in the selection of 225 Russian and 75 Ukrainian
regional winners of awards--$200 worth of education materials for the
teachers and $2,000 worth of education equipment for the schools.
Thirty Russian and 15 Ukrainian educators were selected as national
winners and participated in a seven-week enrichment program in the U.S.
Twenty American teachers were also selected from national excellence
competitions who interacted with the NIS teachers and traveled to their
countries for two-week programs. The program was repeated in 1997-1998
and expanded in 1998-1999 to include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Uzbekistan.
Guidelines: The organization that is awarded the grant to
administer this program must have an infrastructure of offices in the
five countries with staff in place year-round under the direct
supervision of an American national. The organization must have the
ability to work closely with ministries of education and local
educational and governmental authorities. The competition must be
conducted as a high-profile, merit-based process that encompasses all
oblasts (regions) where it is feasible to elicit nominations. The
competition should be broadly advertised to ensure that the maximum
number possible of teachers and schools are made aware of it. In Russia
nominations will be made primarily by committees of oblast ministry of
education officials operating under detailed instructions from the
grantee organization in conjunction with USIS Moscow. In the other four
countries, applications will be submitted directly to the grantee,
which will assemble screening committees of specialists. The awards for
regional winners should include a range of educational materials and
equipment such as copiers, fax machines and computers, which will be
for use by the winner's school. The grantee should arrange for a six-
to-seven week enrichment program in the U.S. for the national winners
designed to enhance teaching methodologies in English as a foreign
language and American studies. The grantee must recruit American
educators from state and national teaching excellence competitions to
participate in aspects of the summer enrichment program and travel to
the NIS for two-to-three week programs based in the schools of the NIS
national winners. Close collaboration with USIS and American Embassy
officers and American English teaching specialists is required. The
competition should be conducted in the fall of 1999; awards should be
made in the spring of 2000; the enrichment program should take place in
the summer of 2000; the American participants should travel to the NIS
in the fall of 2000. Grant activities may begin on August 1, 1999. The
grantee is responsible for conducting all activities directly or under
sub-contracts. Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Please
refer to Solicitation Package for further information.
Budget Guidelines
One grant will be awarded for the whole program. Organizations with
less than four years of experience in conducting international exchange
and/or training programs with the NIS are not eligible for this
competition.
Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the entire
program. There must be a summary budget as well as breakdowns
reflecting both administrative and program budgets. The itemized budget
should clearly show costs for each program component, phase, location,
or activity.
Proposals should obey these specific maximum limits for each
country: Kazakhstan, $300,000; Kyrgyzstan, $150,000; Russia,
$1,000,000; Ukraine, $500,000; Uzbekistan, $300,000.
Allowable costs for the program include the following: the
competition itself, awards of material or equipment (valued at $200 per
regional winner, $2,000 per school), the summer enrichment program, the
US teachers to the NIS, and reasonable administrative costs. 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-
99-48.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Persiko, the NIS Secondary
School Initiative (E/PY), Room 568, U.S. Information Agency, 301 4th
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547, telephone 202-619-6299, fax 202-619-
[email protected] request a Solicitation Package. The
Solicitation Package contains detailed award criteria, required
application forms, specific budget instructions, and standard
guidelines for proposal preparation.
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://e.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 p.m. Washington, DC time on June 14, 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 ten copies of the application should be sent
to: U.S.
[[Page 25960]]
Information Agency, Ref.: E/PY-99-48, Office of Grants Management, E/
XE, 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 mut
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. Pub. L.
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 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 complaint 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 USIS posts in the five countries. 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. Quality of the program idea: Proposals should exhibit
originality, substance, precision, and relevance to the Agency's goals
as outlined above.
2. Program planning: Detailed agenda and relevant work plan should
demonstrate substantive undertakings and logistical capacity. Agenda
and plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines described
above.
3. Ability to achieve program objectives: Objectives should be
expressed in terms that are quantifiable, measurable, and achievable.
Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the institution will meet the
program's stated objectives.
4. Multiplier effect/impact: The proposed program should strengthen
long-term mutual understanding, including maximum sharing of
information and establishment of long-term institutional and individual
linkages.
5. 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, program venue and program evaluation) and program content
(orientation and wrap-up sessions, program activities, resources
materials and follow-up activities).
6. Institutional Capacity: Proposed personnel and institutional
resources should be adequate and appropriate to implement the program
efficiently and effectively.
7. Institution's Record/Ability: Proposal should demonstrate an
institutional record of relevant successful exchange activities with
the NIS, as well as 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.
8. Follow-on Activities: Proposal should provide a plan for
maintaining contact with program alumni, as well as facilitating their
ongoing interaction with each other.
9. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate
the activity's success in terms of achieving the stated objectives,
both as the activities unfold and at the end of the program. A draft
survey questionnaire or other technique plus description of a
methodology to use to link outcomes to original project objectives is
recommended. Successful applicants will be expected to submit quarterly
program and financial reports.
10. Cost-effectiveness: 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.
11. Cost-sharing: Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through
other private sector support, as well as institutional direct funding
contributions.
12. Value to U.S.-Partner Country Relations: Proposals will be
assessed by USIA's geographic area office and officers and USIS
missions in the five countries in terms of the adequacy of program plan
and the organization's NIS infrastructure to achieve TEA's objectives.
Authority
Overall grant making authority for this program is contained in the
Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Pub. L. 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
[[Page 25961]]
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 legislation. Funds for this program are made available under
the Foreign Operations appropriation for fiscal year 1999.
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: May 3, 1999.
Judith S. Siegel,
Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-11975 Filed 5-12-99; 8:45 am]
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