[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45889-45891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21799]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3759]


Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Request for Grant 
Proposals: School Connectivity Project for Southeast Europe

SUMMARY: The Youth Programs Division, Office of Citizen Exchanges, of 
the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open 
competition for the School Connectivity Project for Southeast Europe. 
Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions 
described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may submit proposals to 
expand the educational opportunities available to secondary school 
students in Southeast Europe by providing access to the Internet and 
training them in its use for the purpose of generating a cross-border 
dialogue among youth in Southeast Europe and the United States. The 
Southeast European countries involved will be Albania, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Romania. Serbia, 
Montenegro, and Kosovo may be added at a later date, pending available 
funding. The initial amount of the award will be $915,000.

Program Information

Overview

    The School Connectivity Project for Southeast Europe will promote 
e-education in this region under the framework of the electronic 
Southeast Europe (e-SEE) Stability Pact initiative. This initiative 
aims to develop the digital economy in SEE and focus on creating an 
enabling Information Technology (IT) environment, promoting greater 
transparency among governments and fostering the use of IT in 
education. The project has also been designed to respond to the 
important need to introduce the youth of this region to a broad range 
of ideas about civil society while enhancing the use of IT. Secondary 
school students and teachers need to focus on areas that promote 
reconciliation and mutual understanding. The Internet can provide a 
wealth of information about democratic societies and a vital forum for 
the exchange of views within the region and with students and teachers 
in the United States. Through this program, secondary schools will be 
able to incorporate cross-border discussions on several key themes into 
their curricular offerings and to improve general education with 
Internet resources and access to information under the guidance of 
specially trained teachers.
    The goals of this program are:
    (1) To enhance the use of the Internet in secondary schools while 
promoting inter-ethnic dialogue among schools in different countries of 
Southeast Europe through projects exploring a common theme;
    (2) To engage American and Southeast European schools in multi-
partite linkages to expand the dialogue, promote mutual understanding, 
and benefit from the expertise of others;
    (3) To support youth in their communications with each other and to 
facilitate their joint project work; and
    (4) To generate personal and institutional ties among students, 
educators, and their schools across borders.
    The main components of this program are as follows:
     Recruiting and selecting secondary schools across 
Southeast Europe (SEE) and in the United States in a competitive, 
transparent process. Schools without Internet connections and those 
that are outside the capital cities shall be given priority.
     Selecting U.S. schools for participation in international 
dialogue.
     Providing access to the Internet to the SEE schools, 
including making sites suitable for a computer center, installing 
hardware and cabling, and ensuring connectivity.
     Providing training for faculty in the selected schools on 
the use of the Internet for research and discussion and on the 
development of projects on common themes. These faculty members will in 
turn provide training to teachers and students in their schools.
     Matching students and teachers at SEE with their 
counterparts within the region, with U.S. schools, and possibly schools 
from other Western countries.
     Facilitating joint telecurriculum projects among the 
students on the themes of shared history and culture. Project staff 
would help teachers and youth select topics, facilitate action planning 
and evaluative processes for their projects, provide guidance, help 
them hone research skills, and assist with the development of a final 
product for widespread dissemination.
     Setting up and maintaining an on-line vehicle for 
disseminating information and encouraging interaction with the 
administrator.
     Providing regional seminars for participating youth. 
Seminars will allow for face-to-face discussion of the project content, 
will enable them to take a more active role in designing on-line 
projects for their schools, will further their training in the use of 
the Internet, and will train teens on peer teaching techniques.

Guidelines

    This grant should begin on or about December 1, 2001, subject to 
availability of funds. The grant period should be 24 months. A general 
timetable is outlined in the Project Objectives, Goals, and 
Implementation (POGI) document of this solicitation.
    The number of schools that can be included in this project will be 
depend on the technological capacity of the schools selected through 
the open competition. Some schools may have quite a few computers 
available for student use, many with Internet access. Other schools may 
have few, if any, computers and what they have may need upgrading. 
Other international donor programs in Southeast Europe have equipped 
some schools with computers and Internet access; those schools are 
welcome to participate in the training and telecurriculum projects of 
this program. This variation in technological capability will affect 
not only the connectivity phase of the project, but also the on-line 
discussion and project phase, as faculty and students will vary widely 
in their technological expertise. Applicants should propose carefully 
considered

[[Page 45890]]

plans for accommodating these differences, in both their proposal 
narratives and their budgets. Upon request, the Bureau will provide 
prospective applicants with a May 2001 assessment of telecommunications 
in each of the participating Southeast European countries.
    The grant recipient organization will need to have the capacity to 
work in countries throughout Southeast Europe through its own network 
of offices, through partnering organizations or institutions, or 
through a subgrant to another organization. The Bureau welcomes 
proposals that present a plan for partnering or for subgrants, though 
the party responsible for coordination, oversight, and accountability 
must be clear.
    The award will be subject to the availability of FY-2001 SEED 
funding. The Bureau reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase 
proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the program and 
availability of funds. Please refer to Solicitation Package for further 
information.

Budget Guidelines

    The Bureau expects to provide an initial assistance award of 
$915,000 to one organization to support the program and administrative 
costs required to implement this program. Organizations with less than 
four years of experience in conducting international exchange programs 
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.
    Applicants should provide separate sub-budgets for each program 
component, phase, location, or activity to provide clarification. 
Administrative costs, including indirect rates, should be kept to a 
minimum and cost-shared as possible. The Bureau encourages applicants 
to provide maximum levels of cost-sharing and funding from private 
sources in support of its programs.
    Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget 
guidelines and formatting instructions.
    Announcement Title and Number: All correspondence with the Bureau 
concerning this RFGP should reference the above title and number ECA/
PE/C/PY-02-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Youth Programs Division, ECA/PE/C/
PY, Room 568, U.S. Department of State, 301 4th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20547, telephone (202) 619-6299; fax (202) 619-5311; e-
mail address: [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 RFGP deadline has 
passed, Bureau 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 the Bureau's website at 
http://exchanges.state.gov/education/RFGPs. 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, DC time, on Wednesday, 
October 31, 2001. 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 seven copies of the application should be 
sent to:
    U.S. Department of State SA-44 Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs, Ref.: ECA/PE/C/PY-02-19, Program Management, ECA-IIP/EX/PM, 
Room 534, 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. Applicants may also 
include a version in Microsoft Word. The Bureau will transmit these 
files electronically to the Public Affairs section at the U.S. 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.'' 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 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 subject to 
compliance with Federal and Bureau regulations and guidelines and 
forwarded to Bureau grant panels for advisory review. Proposals may 
also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Adviser or by other 
Department elements. Final funding decisions are at the discretion of 
the Department of State's Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational 
and Cultural Affairs. Final technical authority for assistance awards 
resides with the Bureau's Grants Officer.

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,

[[Page 45891]]

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. The funding authority for the 
program is provided through Support for East European Democracy (SEED) 
legislation.

Notice

    The terms and conditions published in this RFGP 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 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: August 22, 2001.
Helena Kane Finn,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, 
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 01-21799 Filed 8-29-01; 8:45 am]
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