[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71535-71538]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33062]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3182]


Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs NIS Secondary School 
Partnership Program

NOTICE: Request for proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchanges, Youth Programs Division, in 
the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States 
Department of State 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(c) 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 proposals 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 
$125,000 for single-country applications and $200,000 for multiple 
country applications.

Program Information

    The Secondary School Partnership Program is funded under the 
Freedom Support Act to assist young people in building an open society 
and developing democratic processes and institutions in the New 
Independent States (NIS). This program provides grants to link schools 
in the seven countries noted above with schools in the United States.
    The U.S. recipient of the grant is responsible for recruiting, 
selecting, and organizing a U.S. network of a minimum of two secondary 
schools; 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 in 
one-to-one school partnerships 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 reciprocal student and educator 
exchanges with strong academic content. The long-term goals are to: (1) 
develop lasting, sustainable institutional ties between U.S. and NIS 
schools and communities; (2) support democracy in the NIS; (3) advance 
mutual understanding between the youth and teachers of the U.S. and the 
NIS; and (4) promote partnerships developed through governmental, 
educational, and not-for-profit sector cooperation that serve the needs 
and interests of the schools.
    The program has several defining features to help the participating 
schools develop their partnership:
    --Each partnership has a project theme and the students and 
teachers in the two schools work on a joint project throughout the 
school year related to this theme;
    --The two schools develop a relationship over the course of an 
academic year, through the planning process and the work on their joint 
project, which is highlighted by exchanges from three weeks to ten 
months in duration. Exchanges take place while the host school is in 
session.
    --The student and teacher exchanges must be reciprocal.
    --The program includes educators (teachers and/or administrators) 
in order to involve them in all aspects of the partnership and to 
provide them access to resources for curriculum development and 
educational training.
    --During the exchange, participants attend class, are involved in 
school-based activities, work on their joint project, perform community 
service, visit educational and cultural sites, and reside with host 
families.
    An applicant may, but is not required to, propose one of several 
optional features in its proposal. Please see these three optional 
features described later in this solicitation.

Dates

    Grants may begin on or about July 15, 2000, and cover the 2000-2001 
academic year. The exact starting date of the grant will be dependent 
on availability of funds.

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 initiative; that is, there should 
be an inherent reason for the linkage apart from the availability of 
grant funds. 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, such as the development of educational materials. The 
proposal should specify measurable goals and objectives of the program.
    In general, the Bureau seeks school partnerships that target under-
served countries or regions. For programs with Russia and Ukraine, 
priority will be given to partnerships with schools located outside of 
the Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev regions. Bureau funding may not be 
used to supplant existing private sector funding. 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. Specific activities, 
products, curriculum materials, and pre-planning are areas that can be 
addressed.
    For example, what will the participants be doing and how is it 
relevant to the thematic focus of the program? 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: democracy education, volunteerism or community 
service, conflict resolution, business management, health education, 
environmental issues, youth leadership training, computer technology, 
multicultural education, and agriculture.
    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,

[[Page 71536]]

teacher training, and collaboration with local businesses. A program 
that relies on the educator to act as just an escort will not be 
competitive.

Optional Features

    An applicant may choose to present its proposed program in 
accordance to the guidelines above or may choose to implement one of 
the following features. Clearly indicate if you are including one of 
these features and, if so, which one, on your application cover sheet. 
All guidelines outlined in this solicitation still apply unless noted 
below.
    Feature One: Educators travel separately. In lieu of having 
students and educators travel to their partner school together, the 
applicant may arrange for an escort to accompany the student group 
while up to two educators travel to the partner school at another time. 
This arrangement would apply to both U.S. to NIS travel and NIS to U.S. 
travel. Travel during the school year is preferred, but educators' 
travel may take place during the summer if a significant component of 
their exchange contributes to the development of the partnership 
between the schools. This design will allow for sustained personal 
contact throughout the school year and will allow educators to focus on 
their own professional development during their exchange.
    Feature Two: Grant period spans two school years. In lieu of having 
one reciprocal exchange during the 2000-2001 academic year, the 
applicant may arrange for each school to send and receive two smaller 
delegations, once in 2000-2001 and again in 2001-2002 for a total of 
four exchange trips. The grant period would start on or about July 15, 
2000, and end on or about July 15, 2002. This design allows for longer, 
sustained interaction between the schools. Grant requests, however, may 
not exceed the limits noted in this solicitation.
    Feature Three: Only one school partnership is formed. In lieu of a 
network of schools in the U.S. and in the NIS, an applicant that is a 
secondary school or school district may propose to link only one school 
in the U.S. with one school in the NIS. The NIS organizational 
coordinator may be an individual at the partner school as long as he or 
she can fulfill the responsibilities outlined in this solicitation. The 
grant request that accompanies applications with this feature may not 
exceed $50,000.
    Applicants that choose one of these features should provide a brief 
explanation of why they have chosen to do so and how they believe it 
will enhance their program.

Responsibilities

    The U.S. organization receiving 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 The Bureau 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 a grant 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 
open, competitive, and merit-based; the proposal should describe the 
mechanisms used for participant selection. All participants from the 
U.S. and the NIS should represent the full diversity of their 
communities (racial, ethnic, economic status, religious, etc.) to give 
greater understanding to the culture and society as a whole.
    Preference will be given to proposals that include schools that 
have not received funding under the NIS Secondary School Initiative for 
a total of three years.
    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-Bureau 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, capital city 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 home 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.
    Please be sure to refer to the Project 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. Also consult the Proposal Submission Instructions 
(PSI) for information on budget presentation and required forms.

Budget Guidelines

    Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the entire 
project. For single-country applications, awards may not exceed 
$125,000 or the country allocation noted below, whichever is less. 
Awards for one school partnership (optional feature three) may not 
exceed $50,000. The maximum award for multiple country applications is 
$200,000. The Bureau 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.
    Country allocations (subject to change): Armenia $97,000; 
Azerbaijan $97,000; Belarus $97,000; Georgia $97,000; Moldova $68,000; 
Russia $500,000; Ukraine $330,000.
    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. 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 the Bureau concerning this RFP should 
reference the above title and number ECA/PE/C-00-26.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: The Youth Programs Division, Office 
of Citizen Exchanges, ECA/PE/C/PY, Room 568, U.S. Department of State, 
301 4th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 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 Bureau 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, 
Bureau staff may not discuss this competition

[[Page 71537]]

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 the Bureau's 
website at http://e.usia.gov/education/rfps. Please read all 
information before downloading.

Deadline for Proposals

    All proposal copies must be received at the Bureau of Educational 
and Cultural Affairs by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Friday, 
February 11, 2000. 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 proposal, one fully-tabbed copy, and seven copies 
including tabs A-E and appendices should be sent to: U.S. Department of 
State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ref.: ECA/PE/C-00-
26, Program Management, ECA/EX/PM, Room 336, 301 4th Street, S.W., 
Washington, D.C. 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. The Bureau will 
transmit these files electronically to the Public Affairs section at 
the US Embassy for its review, with the goal of reducing the time it 
takes to get embassy comments for the Bureau'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,'' the Bureau ``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 the Bureau. 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.
    The Bureau 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

    The Bureau 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 Public Diplomacy section 
overseas, where appropriate. Eligible proposals will be forwarded to 
panels of Bureau officers for advisory review. Proposals may also be 
reviewed by the Office of the Legal Adviser or by other Bureau 
elements. Final funding decisions are at the discretion of the 
Department of State's Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural 
Affairs. Final technical authority for assistance awards (grants or 
cooperative agreements) resides with the Bureau's 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 Bureau's 
mission.
    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 
reasonable, feasible, and flexible. Proposals should clearly 
demonstrate how the institution will meet the program's objectives and 
plan.
    4. 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.
    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 meetings, resource materials 
and follow-up activities).
    6. 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 Bureau grants as determined by Bureau Grant 
Staff. The Bureau will consider the past performance of prior 
recipients and the demonstrated potential of new applicants.
    7. Follow-on Activities: Proposals should provide a plan for 
continued follow-on activity (without Bureau support) ensuring that 
Bureau supported programs are not isolated events.
    8. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate 
the activity's success, 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 are recommended. Successful applicants will be 
expected to submit intermediate reports after each project component is 
concluded or quarterly, whichever is less frequent.

[[Page 71538]]

    9. 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. Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through other 
private sector support as well as institutional direct funding 
contributions.
    10. Value to U.S.-Partner Country Relations: Proposed projects 
should receive positive assessments by the U.S. Department of State's 
geographic area desk and overseas officers of program need, potential 
impact, and significance in the partner country(ies).

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 Bureau representative. Explanatory information 
provided by the Bureau 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 Bureau 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 Bureau procedures.

    Dated: December 14, 1999.
Evelyn S. Lieberman,
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 99-33062 Filed 12-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-11-P