[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35474-35478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-16703]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3713]


Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs: Request for Grant 
Proposals: Educational Partnerships Program (Formerly College and 
University Affiliations Program)

SUMMARY: The Office of Global Educational Programs of the Bureau of 
Educational and Cultural Affairs in the Department of State announces 
an open competition for the Educational Partnerships Program, 
previously known as the College and University Affiliations Program. 
Accredited, post-secondary educational institutions meeting the 
provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may apply to 
pursue institutional or departmental objectives in partnership with 
foreign counterpart institutions with support from the Educational 
Partnerships Program. These objectives should support the overall goal 
of the Program: To strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation 
between U.S. and foreign educational institutions on subjects of 
enduring common interest to the United States, to other countries, and 
to the institutions participating in the Program.

Program Overview

    The Educational Partnerships Program has developed from its 
predecessor, the College and University Affiliations Program, which 
since 1982 has provided grants to U.S. colleges and universities for 
international cooperation. The Program's new name underscores the 
expectation that the successful pursuit of project objectives will 
require all institutional partners to be actively engaged with one 
another. Current and former participants in the Fulbright Senior 
Scholar Program and other university teachers and administrators with 
knowledge of educational institutions in other countries are encouraged 
to build on this knowledge through institutional cooperation with 
support from the Educational Partnerships Program. The review criteria 
outlined in this document emphasize the importance of mutual commitment 
and shared benefits. Potential applicants are discouraged from 
proposing projects that have been developed previously for other 
programs unless the projects are reconceived with the overall goals and 
review criteria for the Educational Partnerships Program clearly in 
mind.
    The Educational Partnerships Program supports institutional 
linkages in higher education with every world region except the New 
Independent States of the former Soviet Union. It is anticipated that 
separate Requests for Grant Proposals for institutional partnerships in 
higher education with the New Independent States (NIS College and 
University Partnerships Program and the NIS Community College 
Partnerships Program) will be published in the summer of 2001. For 
additional information about these NIS programs please refer to the 
``Foreign Country and Location Eligibility'' section of this RFGP. 
Other RFGPs for educational partnerships may also be published this 
fiscal year.
    This RFGP for the Educational Partnerships Program does not 
prescribe specific project objectives, but establishes the parameters 
within which applicants are invited to propose projects. Institutional 
objectives should be consistent with the Program's goal of equipping 
the participating institutions with a stronger ability to address, 
through teaching, research, or outreach, critical issues in the fields 
eligible in FY 2002: The social, political, and economic sciences; 
business; journalism and media studies; law; public administration; 
public health policy and administration; the humanities (excluding the 
fine arts); the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language; and 
educational development or administration (excluding educational 
projects in the physical, technical, and medical sciences). Additional 
information on themes of special interest in specific world regions may 
be found under the heading ``Foreign Country and Location 
Eligibility.''

Institutional Objectives for Applicants

    While the benefits of the project to each of the participating 
institutions may differ significantly in nature and scope based on 
their respective needs and resource bases, proposals should outline 
well-reasoned strategies that are designed to meet specific objectives 
for each participating U.S. and foreign department or institution as a 
whole.
    For example, proposals may outline the parameters and possible 
content of new courses, new research or teaching specializations or 
methodologies, new or revised curricula, new programs for educational 
outreach, or other changes specifically anticipated as a result of the 
project. Proposals to pursue a limited number of related thematic 
objectives at each institution are preferred to proposals addressing a 
large number of unrelated objectives.Proposals that do not benefit all 
institutional partners are not eligible for funding from this Program.
    In addition to demonstrating how each participating institution can 
assist its partner(s) to meet institutional goals, proposals should 
also explain how this cooperation will enable each institution to 
address its own needs. Accordingly, applicants are encouraged to 
describe the needs and deficiencies as well as the capabilities and 
strengths of each participating department and institution, and how 
each institution will contribute to and benefit from the achievement of 
project objectives. Proposals that realistically assess institutional 
capacities will be better able to outline compelling objectives that 
address institutional needs and justify a request for support. To be 
competitive, proposals should demonstrate that the participating 
institutions understand one another and are committed to mutual support 
and cooperation in project implementation.
    If the proposed partnership would occur within the context of a 
previous or ongoing project, the proposal should explain how the 
request for Bureau funding would build upon the pre-existing 
relationship or complement previous and concurrent projects. Previous 
projects should be described, with details about the amounts and 
sources of support and the results of previous cooperative efforts.
    Institutions receiving partnership grant awards will be expected to 
submit periodic reports on the results of program activities. Proposals 
should outline and budget for a methodology for project evaluation. The 
evaluation plan should include an assessment of the current status of 
each participating department's and institution's needs at the time of 
program inception with specific reference to project objectives; 
formative evaluation to allow for mid-course revisions in the 
implementation strategy; and, at the conclusion of the project, 
summative evaluation of the degree to which the project's objectives 
have been achieved together with observations about the project's 
continuing potential to influence the participating institutions and 
their surrounding communities or societies. The final evaluation should 
also include recommendations about how to build upon project 
achievements. Evaluative observations by external consultants with 
appropriate subject and regional expertise are especially encouraged.

[[Page 35475]]

Costs

    The commitment of all partner institutions to the proposed project 
should be reflected in the cost-sharing which they offer in the context 
of their respective institutional capacities. Although the 
contributions offered by U.S. and foreign institutions with relatively 
few resources may be less than those offered by applicants with greater 
resources, all participating institutions should identify appropriate 
cost-sharing. These costs may include estimated in-kind contributions. 
Consistent with the review criteria listed elsewhere in this RFGP and 
with specific reference to cost-sharing and institutional commitment to 
cooperation, proposed cost-sharing will be considered an important 
indicator of each participating institution's interest in the project 
and potential to benefit from it.
    A U.S. college or university must submit the proposal and must be 
prepared to serve as grant recipient with responsibility for project 
coordination. Proposals must include letters of commitment from all 
institutional partners. Each letter must be signed by an official who 
is authorized to commit institutional resources to the project.
    The Bureau's support may be used to assist with the costs of the 
exchange visits as well as the costs (up to a maximum of 20 percent of 
the total grant) of the administration of the project at any partner 
institution. However, governmental institutions except universities may 
not charge administrative costs to the grant. Administrative costs 
include administrative salaries and direct administrative costs but not 
indirect costs. Although each grant will be awarded to a single U.S. 
institutional partner, adequate provision in the proposal for the 
administrative costs of the project at all non-governmental partner 
institutions, including the foreign partner(s), is encouraged. More 
information on partner institution eligibility in this competition is 
found in this RFGP under the headings ``U.S. Partner and Participant 
Eligibility'' and ``Foreign Partner and Participant Eligibility.''
    Salary support for administrative activity may be included within 
the 20 percent maximum. The Bureau will not fund salaries, stipends, 
consultant fees or honoraria for participants from the project's 
program budget. However, fees for translation services and for outside 
consultants reporting on the status of project objectives are allowable 
as program expenses.
    The proposal may include a request for funding to reinforce the 
activities of exchange participants through the establishment and 
maintenance of Internet and/or electronic mail facilities as well as 
through interactive technology or non-technology-based distance-
learning programs. However, the establishment and maintenance of these 
facilities at governmental organizations in the U.S. or at foreign 
governmental organizations other than universities is not eligible for 
funding. Projects focusing primarily on technology or physical 
infrastructure development are not encouraged, and the amount that may 
be requested for educational and technical materials should not exceed 
20 percent of the Bureau's funding for the project. Proposals that 
include Internet, electronic mail, and other interactive technologies 
in countries where these technologies are not easily maintained or 
financed should discuss how the foreign partner institution will cover 
their costs after the project ends. Applicants may propose other 
project activities not specifically mentioned in this solicitation if 
the activities reinforce the impact of the project.
    The maximum award in the FY 2002 competition will be$120,000, with 
the exceptions noted under the heading ``Foreign Country and Location 
Eligibility.'' The minimum period of award is two years, and the 
maximum period of award is three years. Awards may be extended on a no-
cost basis beyond the initial grant period by mutual agreement if 
progress toward project goals is satisfactory. Requests for amounts 
smaller than the maximum are eligible. Budgets and budget notes should 
carefully justify the amounts requested. Grants awarded to 
organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting 
international exchange programs will be limited to $60,000.
    Grants are subject to the availability of funds for FY 2002. In FY 
2000, the last year for which complete data are available, 112 eligible 
proposals were submitted to the College and University Affiliations 
Program, and 17 awards were made. The response to Requests for Grant 
Proposals for the support of partnerships in higher education has been 
unusually strong in recent years while, except for the New Independent 
States of the former Soviet Union, the funds available have fallen 
significantly short of the demand for them. Special FY 2002 funding 
with higher grant maximums and more favorable grant-to-application 
ratios is expected for projects in Albania, Algeria, Kosovo, 
Montenegro, the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union, 
Serbia outside Kosovo, and Tunisia. Additional details are provided 
under the heading ``Foreign Country and LocationEligibility.''

U.S. Institution and Participant Eligibility

    The lead institution and grant recipient in the project must be an 
accredited U.S. college or university. Applications from community 
colleges, minority-serving institutions, undergraduate liberal arts 
colleges, comprehensive universities, research universities, and 
combinations of these types of institutions are eligible. The lead U.S. 
organization in a consortium or other combination of cooperating 
institutions is responsible for submitting the application. Each 
application must document the lead organization's authority to 
represent all U.S. cooperating partners. Secondary U.S. partners may 
include governmental or non-governmental organizations as well as non-
profit service and professional organizations.
    Applicants that have not previously received grants under an 
educational partnership or affiliations program administered by the 
Bureau are especially encouraged to apply. The Bureau intends to 
provide at least 20 percent of the awards under the FY 2002 Educational 
PartnershipsProgram to U.S. colleges and universities that have not 
received funding from the Bureau under an educational partnership or 
affiliations program during the previous seven fiscal years (since FY 
1995). A list of previously issued educational partnership and 
affiliations grants can be found on the following website: http://exchanges.state.gov/education/cuap/history.
    With the exception of translators and outside consultants reporting 
on the status of project objectives, participation is limited to 
teachers, advanced graduate students, and administrators from the 
participating U.S. institution(s). All participants who are funded by 
the Bureau under the program budget and represent the U.S. institution 
must be U.S. citizens. Advanced graduate students at the U.S. 
institution(s) are eligible for support from the project only as 
visiting instructors or researchers at a foreign partner institution.

Foreign Institution and Participant Eligibility

    In other countries, participation is open to recognized 
institutions of post-secondary education, which may include independent 
research institutes,

[[Page 35476]]

relevant governmental organizations, and private non-profit 
organizations with project-related educational objectives. Except for 
translators and outside consultants reporting on the status of project 
objectives, participation is limited to teachers, administrators, 
researchers, or advanced students from the participating foreign 
institution(s). Any advanced student participant must either have 
teaching responsibilities or be preparing for such 
responsibilities.Foreign participants must be citizens, nationals, or 
permanent residents of the country of the foreign partner, and must be 
both qualified to receive U.S. J-1 visas and willing to travel to the 
U.S. under the provisions of a J-1 visa during the exchange visits 
funded by this Program.

Foreign Country and Location Eligibility

    To increase the percentage of competitive proposals that can be 
funded, the number of eligible countries and locations is limited each 
year. However, country eligibility is expected to rotate within most of 
the following seven world regions according to the cycles outlined 
below. Proposals may not include more than one country or location 
except as noted below under the headings ``Western Hemisphere'' and 
``South Asia.'' Countries or locations may be added to those listed in 
the Request for Grant Proposals for FY 2003 and FY 2004. Separate 
Requests for Grant Proposals will be issued in the spring of 2002 for 
FY 2003 and in the spring of 2003 for FY 2004. Although these sections 
indicate priority concerns and emphases within the world regions 
listed, applicants are reminded that their proposals should outline 
anticipated benefits to the U.S. partner(s) as well.
    (1) New Independent States (former Soviet Union): Institutions 
interested in partnerships with institutions of higher education in the 
New Independent States should consult separate Requests for Grant 
Proposals for the NIS College and University Partnerships Program and 
for the NIS Community College Partnerships Program. For information 
about these programs, contact the Humphrey Fellowships and 
Institutional LinkagesBranch, Office of Global Educational Programs 
(ECA/A/S/U),Room 349, U.S. Department of State, State Annex 44, 3014th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547, phone: (202)619-5289, fax: (202) 
401-1433.
    (2) Sub-Saharan Africa: We encourage projects that will strengthen 
the role of African institutions of higher education in an eligible 
country's development and that will encourage increased involvement of 
African universities with other local and international institutions 
that contribute to African social, political or economic development.
    Eligible for FY 2002: Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, 
Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
    Anticipated eligibility for FY2003: Nigeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and 
Zambia. Subjects to be determined.
    Anticipated eligibility for FY 2004: Countries and subjects to be 
determined.
    (3) Western Hemisphere: We encourage projects that will strengthen 
civic, economic, or educational reform, or that address current issues 
in journalism and media studies, public administration, or the social 
sciences. Beyond the countries listed below as eligible in FY 2002, we 
encourage proposals for trilateral cooperation among institutions in 
the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In addition, any country in the Western 
Hemisphere may be proposed in a trilateral configuration with a country 
listed as eligible for this region in FY 2002. Applicants proposing to 
involve partners in more than one country should ensure that there are 
significant benefits to each partner in the project.
    Eligible for FY 2002: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, 
Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay. Up to two of these listed 
countries may be included with the U.S. in a project, and any country 
in the Western Hemisphere may be included with the U.S. and any one of 
the countries listed.
    Anticipated Eligibility for FY2003: Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican 
Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, and Venezuela. Subjects to be 
determined.
    Anticipated eligibility for FY2004: Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, 
Chile, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. Subjects to be 
determined.
    (4) East Asia and the Pacific: We encourage projects that will 
promote democratic values and practices, that will encourage good 
governance and responsible administrative practices in either the 
public sector or the private sector, that will strengthen civil society 
or the freedom and independence of the media, or that will help to 
create more transparent, market-oriented economies.
    Eligible for FY 2002: People's Republic of China, Republic of 
Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Thailand.
    Anticipated Eligibility for FY 2003: Cambodia, People'sRepublic of 
China, Indonesia, and Laos. Subjects to be determined.
    Eligible for FY 2004: People's Republic of China, Malaysia, 
Philippines, and Vietnam. Subjects to be determined.
    (5) Europe: We encourage proposals that will equip universities to 
assist with the transitions to more market-oriented economies, to 
democratic political life, to a strengthened civil society, or to 
responsible administrative practices in the public sector.
    Eligible for FY 2002: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, 
Lithuania, and Slovakia.
    Also eligible for special funding in FY 2002 in designated fields 
or locations and with higher maximum awards:
    Albania (political science only, maximum request $225,000), Kosovo 
(civic education encouraged, public administration and business 
administration not encouraged, maximum request$240,000), Montenegro 
(public administration or business administration only, maximum request 
$180,000), Serbia outside Kosovo (maximum request $180,000, projects 
encouraged with institutions outside Belgrade).
    Anticipated Eligibility for FY 2003: Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, Poland, and Romania. Subjects to be determined.
    Anticipated Eligibility for FY 2004: Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Turkey. Subjects to be determined.
    (6) North Africa and the Middle East: We encourage projects that 
will strengthen civil society, support the development of university-
based programs in American Studies or the Teaching of English, support 
economic development, or encourage responsible, transparent 
administration in the public sector.
    Eligible for FY 2002: Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and United Arab 
Emirates.
    Also eligible for special funding in FY 2002 in designated 
countries and with higher maximum awards: Algeria (maximum request 
$215,000), Tunisia (maximum request $180,000). Projects with Algeria 
and Tunisia should contribute to economic modernization in the 
respective countries.
    Anticipated Eligibility for FY 2003: Algeria, Gaza, Qatar, Saudi 
Arabia, and West Bank. Subjects to be determined.
    Anticipated Eligibility for FY 2004: Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, 
Morocco, and Oman. Subjects to be determined.
    (7) South Asia: We encourage projects that will promote the 
development of good governance and responsible administrative practices 
in either the public sector or the private sector, that will strengthen 
educational or economic institutions, or that will address issues of 
social or religious diversity. Due to

[[Page 35477]]

the relatively small number of proposals submitted for South Asia in 
recent years, proposals in FY 2002 may include more than one of the 
South Asian countries listed in this section. Proposals involving 
partners in more than one country should ensure that the anticipated 
benefits of the project to each partner are significant.
    Eligible for FY 2002: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri 
Lanka.
    Anticipated eligibility for FY 2003 and FY 2004: Countries and 
subjects to be determined.

Ineligibility

    A proposal may be deemed technically ineligible if:
    (1) It does not fully adhere to the guidelines established in this 
document and in the Solicitation Package;
    (2) It is not received by the deadline;
    (3) It is not submitted by the U.S. partner;
    (4) One of the partner institutions is ineligible;
    (5) The foreign country or geographic location is ineligible.

Grant-Making 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 UnitedStates 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 cited above is provided through the Fulbright-Hays Act. 
Additional funding may be provided through separate appropriations that 
may be made available to the Bureau to support international 
educational partnerships.
    Projects must conform with the Bureau's requirements and guidelines 
outlined in the solicitation package for this RFGP. The Project 
Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (hereafter, POGI) and the Project 
Specific Instructions (hereafter, PSI), which contain additional 
guidelines, are included in the Solicitation Package. Proposals that do 
not follow RFGP requirements and the guidelines appearing in the POGI 
and PSI may be excluded from consideration due to technical 
ineligibility.

Announcement Title and Number

    All communications with the Bureau concerning this announcement 
should refer to the Educational Partnerships Program and reference 
number ECA/A/S/U-02-01.

Deadline for Proposals

    All copies must be received at the Bureau of Educational and 
Cultural Affairs by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Friday, January 11, 
2002. Faxed documents will not be accepted (although faxed letters of 
commitment from non-U.S. institutional partners may be submitted as 
part of the original proposal), nor will documents postmarked on 
Friday, January 11, 2002 but received on a later date.

Approximate Grant Duration

    Grant activities should begin on or about September 16, 2002.

For Further Information

    To request a solicitation package, contact the HumphreyFellowships 
and Institutional Linkages Branch (EducationalPartnerships Program); 
Office of Global EducationalPrograms; Bureau of Educational and 
Cultural Affairs; ECA/A/S/U, Room 349; U.S. Department of State; SA-44, 
301 Fourth Street, SW.; Washington, DC 20547; phone: (202) 619-5289, 
fax: (202) 401-1433. The Solicitation Package includes more detailed 
award criteria, all application forms, and guidelines for preparing 
proposals, including specific criteria for preparation of the proposal 
budget. Applicants desiring more information may send a message to one 
of the following Educational Partnerships regional program officers: 
For Africa and the Middle East: Mary LouJohnson-Pizarro, e-mail: 
[email protected]; for the Western Hemisphere and Europe outside 
the NIS: Maria Urbina, e-mail: [email protected]; and for East Asia 
and South Asia: Joan Zaffarano, e-mail: [email protected].

To Download a Solicitation Package Via Internet

    The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from the Bureau's 
website at: http://exchanges.state.gov/education/rfgps. Please read all 
information before downloading.
    Prospective applicants should read the complete Request for Grant 
Proposals as published in the Federal Register and available on the 
Bureau's website before addressing inquiries to the Educational 
Partnerships Program staff or submitting their proposals. Once the RFGP 
deadline has passed, Department staff may not discuss this competition 
in any way with applicants until the Bureau proposal review process has 
been completed.

Submissions

    Applicants must follow all instructions given in the Solicitation 
Package. The original and 10 copies of the complete application should 
be sent by the project's lead U.S. college or university to:U.S. 
Department of State,SA-44, Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs,Ref: ECA/A/S/U-02-01,Program Management, ECA/EX/PM, Room 
534,301 4th Street, SW.,Washington, DC 20547.
    Applicants must also submit the ``Proposal Title 
Sheet,''``Executive Summary,'' and ``Proposal Narrative'' sections of 
the proposal as e-mail attachments in Microsoft Word (preferred), 
WordPerfect, or as ASCII text files to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected]. In the e-mail message subject line, include 
the following: ECA/A/S/U-02-01 and the country or countries of the 
foreign partner(s) together with the names of the U.S. and foreign 
partner institutions. To reduce the time needed to obtain advisory 
comments from the Public Affairs Sections of U.S. Embassies overseas 
and from binational Fulbright Commissions, the Bureau will transmit 
these files electronically to these offices.

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

[[Page 35478]]

democracy leaders of such countries.'' Public Law 106-113 requires that 
the governments of the countries described above do not have 
inappropriate influence in the selection process. Proposals should 
reflect advancement of these goals in their program contents, to the 
full extent deemed feasible.

Review Process

    The Bureau will acknowledge receipt of all proposals and will 
review them for technical eligibility. Proposals may be deemed 
ineligible if they do not fully adhere to the guidelines stated herein 
and in the SolicitationPackage. All eligible proposals will be 
evaluated by independent external reviewers. These reviewers, who will 
be professional, scholarly, or educational experts with appropriate 
regional and thematic knowledge, will provide recommendations and 
assessments for consideration by the Bureau. The Bureau will consider 
for funding only those proposals which are recommended for funding by 
the independent external reviewers.
    Proposals may also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Advisor 
or by other offices of the U.S. Department of State. In addition, U.S. 
Embassy or binational Fulbright Commission officers may provide 
advisory comment. Funding decisions will be made at the discretion of 
the Department of State's Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational 
and Cultural Affairs. Final technical authority for assistance awards 
(grants or cooperative agreements) will reside with the Bureau's grants 
officer.

Review Criteria

    All reviewers will use the criteria below to reach funding 
recommendations and decisions. Technically eligible applications will 
be reviewed competitively according to these criteria, which are not 
rank-ordered or weighted.
    (1) Broad and Enduring Significance of InstitutionalObjectives: 
Project objectives should have significant and ongoing results for the 
participating institutions and for their surrounding societies or 
communities by providing a deepened understanding of critical issues in 
one or more of the eligible fields. Project objectives should relate 
clearly to institutional and societal needs.
    (2) Creativity and Feasibility of Strategy to Achieve Project 
Objectives: Strategies to achieve project objectives should be feasible 
and realistic within the projected budget and timeframe. These 
strategies should utilize and reinforce exchange activities creatively 
to ensure an efficient use of program resources.
    (3) Institutional Commitment to Cooperation: Proposals should 
demonstrate significant understanding by each institution of its own 
needs and capacities and of the needs and capacities of its proposed 
partner(s), together with a strong commitment by the partner 
institutions, during and after the period of grant activity, to 
cooperate with one another in the mutual pursuit of institutional 
objectives.
    (4) Project Evaluation: Proposals should outline a methodology for 
determining the degree to which a project meets its objectives, both 
while the project is underway and at its conclusion. The final project 
evaluation should include an external component and should provide 
observations about the project's influence within the participating 
institutions as well as their surrounding communities or societies.
    (5) Cost-effectiveness: Administrative and program costs should be 
reasonable and appropriate with cost-sharing provided by all 
participating institutions within the context of their respective 
capacities. We view cost-sharing as a reflection of institutional 
commitment to the project. Although indirect costs are eligible for 
inclusion as cost-sharing by the applicant, contributions should not be 
limited to indirect costs.
    (6) Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate substantive 
support of the Bureau's policy on diversity by explaining how issues of 
diversity are included in project objectives for all institutional 
partners. Issues resulting from differences of race, ethnicity, gender, 
religion, geography, socio-economic status, or physical challenge 
should be addressed during project implementation. In addition, project 
participants and administrators should reflect the diversity within the 
societies which they represent (see the section of this document on 
``Diversity, Freedom, and DemocracyGuidelines''). Proposals should also 
discuss how the various institutional partners approach diversity 
issues in their respective communities or societies.

Notice

    The terms and conditions published in this RFGP are binding and may 
not be modified by any StateDepartment representative. Explanatory 
information provided by the Department of State that contradicts 
published language will not be binding. Issuance of the RFGP 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: June 22, 2001.
Helena Kane Finn,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational and CulturalAffairs, 
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 01-16703 Filed 7-3-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-05-P