[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52958-52961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26122]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3817]


Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Request for Grant 
Proposals: Fulbright American Studies Institutes for Foreign University 
Faculty

NOTICE: Request for Grant Proposals (RFGPs).

SUMMARY: The Study of the U.S. Branch, Office of Academic Exchange 
Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, announces an open 
competition for five (5) assistance awards. Public and private non-
profit organizations meeting the provisions described in IRS 
regulations 26 CFR 1.501(c)(2)-1 through 1.501(c)(21)-2 may apply to 
develop and implement one of the following five post-graduate level 
American Studies programs designed for multinational groups of 18 to 30 
experienced foreign university faculty and educators:

A. Religion in the United States
B. U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation
C. Contemporary American Literature
D. Immigration and Ethnicity: The American Experience
E. American Studies for Foreign Secondary School Educators

    These programs are intended to provide participants with a deeper 
understanding of American life and institutions, past and present, in 
order to strengthen curricula and to improve the quality of teaching 
about the United States at universities abroad. Programs should 
therefore be designed to elucidate the topic or theme of the Institute 
as well as American civilization as a whole.
    Programs are six weeks in length and will be conducted during the 
Summer of 2002.
    The Bureau is seeking detailed proposals from colleges, 
universities, consortia of colleges and universities, and other not-
for-profit academic organizations that have an established reputation 
in one or more of the following fields: Political science, 
international relations, law, history, sociology, literature, American 
studies, and/or other disciplines or sub-disciplines related to the 
program theme.
    It is the Bureau's intention to fund one institute in each of the 
above five thematic areas, subject to the number and quality of 
proposals received and the availability of funding.
    Applicant institutions must demonstrate expertise in conducting 
post-graduate programs for foreign educators, and must have a minimum 
of four years experience in conducting international exchange programs. 
Bureau guidelines stipulate that grants to organizations with less than 
four years experience in conducting international exchanges are limited 
to $60,000. As it is expected that the budget for these programs will 
exceed $60,000, organizations that can not demonstrate at least four 
years experience will not be eligible to apply under this competition.
    The project director or one of the key program staff responsible 
for the academic program must have an advanced degree in one of the 
fields listed above. Staff escorts traveling under the cooperative 
agreement must have demonstrated qualifications for this service. 
Programs must conform with Bureau requirements and guidelines outlined 
in the Solicitation Package. Bureau programs are subject to the 
availability of funds.

Program Information

Overview and Objectives

    Fulbright American Studies Institutes are intended to offer foreign 
scholars and teachers whose professional work focuses on the United 
States the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American 
institutions

[[Page 52959]]

and culture. Their ultimate goal is to strengthen curricula and to 
improve the quality of teaching about the U.S. in universities abroad.
    Programs should be six weeks in length and must include an academic 
residency segment of at least four weeks duration at a U.S. college or 
university campus (or other appropriate location). A study tour segment 
of not more than two weeks should also be planned and should directly 
complement the academic residency segment; the study tour should 
include visits to one or two additional regions of the United States.
    All institutes should be designed as intensive, academically 
rigorous seminars intended for an experienced group of fellow scholars 
from outside the United States. The institutes should be organized 
through an integrated series of lectures, readings, seminar 
discussions, regional travel, site visits, and they should also include 
some opportunity for limited but well-directed independent research.
    Applicants are encouraged to design thematically coherent programs 
in ways that draw upon the particular strengths, faculty and resources 
of their institutions as well as upon the nationally recognized 
expertise of scholars and other experts throughout the United States. 
Within the limits of their thematic focus and organizing framework, 
Institute programs should also be designed to:
    1. Provide participants with a survey of contemporary scholarship 
within the institute's governing academic discipline, delineating the 
current scholarly debate within the field. In this regard, the seminar 
should indicate how prevailing academic practice in the discipline 
represents both a continuation of and a departure from past scholarly 
trends and practices. A variety of scholarly viewpoints should be 
included;
    2. Bring an interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary focus to bear 
on the program content if appropriate;
    3. Give participants a multi-dimensional view of U.S. society and 
institutions that includes a broad and balanced range of perspectives. 
Where possible, programs should therefore include the views not only of 
scholars, cultural critics and public intellectuals, but also those of 
other professionals outside the university such as government 
officials, journalists and others who can substantively contribute to 
the topics at issue; and,
    4. Insure access to library and material resources that will enable 
grantees to continue their research, study and curriculum development 
upon returning to their home institutions.

Program Descriptions

A. Religion in the United States
    This Institute is intended to provide foreign university faculty 
with an opportunity to increase their understanding of American 
civilization through an examination of the American religious 
experience. Employing a multi-disciplinary approach, the program should 
explore both the historical and contemporary relationship between 
church and state in the United States; examine the ways in which 
religious thought and practice has influenced and been influenced by 
the development of American democracy; examine the intersections of 
religion and politics in the UnitedStates in such areas as elections, 
public policy, and foreign policy; and explore the sociology and 
demography of religion in the United States today, including a survey 
of the varieties of contemporary religious belief.
B. U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation
    This program should examine the domestic institutional 
foundations--political, social, economic and cultural--of U.S. foreign 
policy with particular attention to the Post-Cold War era. Principal 
themes, critical policy debates, and contemporary issues in U.S. 
foreign policy should be examined in light of the history of U.S. 
international relations since World War II and within the larger 
framework of U.S. diplomatic history as a whole. An overarching goal of 
the program is to illuminate the relationships between U.S. policies 
and the political, social and economic forces in the United States that 
constitute the domestic institutional context in which such policies 
are debated, formulated and executed. The program should be structured 
to give attention to U.S. policy both globally and in particular 
geographic areas.
C. Contemporary American Literature
    This program should focus on recent American literature and 
criticism. Its purpose is twofold: first, to explore contemporary 
American writers and writing in a variety of genres; second, to suggest 
how the themes explored in those works reflect larger currents within 
contemporary American society and culture. The program should explore 
the diversity of the American literary landscape, examining how major 
contemporary writers, schools and movements reflect the traditions of 
the American literary canon and, at the same time, represent a 
departure from that tradition, establishing new directions for American 
literature.
D. Immigration and Ethnicity: The American Experience
    This program should examine the role that immigration and ethnicity 
have played in defining the nature of the American experience. The 
program should examine the history of immigration to the United States 
and explore the impact that various periods of immigration have had on 
the development of America's political, social, and cultural values and 
institutions. Throughout the program, the focus on immigrant groups and 
America's ethnic diversity should serve to illustrate the dynamism of 
the American experience, viewed both as a whole and as the sum of its 
diverse ethnic, religious and cultural parts.
E. American Studies for Foreign Secondary School Educators
    This Fulbright American Studies Institute should provide a 
multinational group of up to 30 experienced foreign secondary school 
educators with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past 
and present. The institute should be organized around a central theme 
or themes in U.S. civilization and should have a strong contemporary 
component. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary and 
interdisciplinary approaches, program content should be imaginatively 
integrated in order to elucidate the history and evolution of U.S. 
institutions and values, broadly defined. The program should also serve 
to illuminate the contemporary political, social, and economic debates 
in American society. The program's ultimate goal is to promote the 
development and improvement of courses and teaching about the U.S. at 
secondary schools and teacher training institutions abroad.

Program Dates

    Ideally, the programs should be 44 days in length (including 
participant arrival and departure days) and should begin in mid to late 
June, 2002. However, the Bureau is willing to consider other program 
dates, based on the needs of the host institution.

Participants

    As specified in the guidelines in the solicitation package, 
programs should be designed for groups of either 18 or 30 highly-
motivated and experienced foreign university faculty and teacher 
trainers who are interested in

[[Page 52960]]

participating in an intensive seminar on aspects of U.S. civilization 
as a means to develop or improve courses and teaching about the United 
States at their home institutions.
    Most participants can be expected to come from educational 
institutions where the study of the U.S. is relatively well developed. 
Thus, while they may not have in-depth knowledge of the particular 
institute program theme, most will have had some experience in teaching 
about the United States. Many will have had sustained professional 
contact with American scholars and American scholarship, and some may 
have had substantial prior experience studying in the United States. 
Participants will be drawn from all regions of the world and will be 
fluent in the English language.
    Participants will be nominated by Fulbright Commissions and by U.S. 
Embassies abroad. Nominations will be reviewed by the Study of the U.S. 
Branch. Final selection of grantees will be made by the Fulbright 
Foreign Scholarship Board.

Program Guidelines

    While the conception and structure of the institute program is the 
responsibility of the organizers, it is critically important that 
proposals provide a full, detailed and comprehensive narrative 
describing the objectives of the institute; the title, scope and 
content of each session; and, how each session relates to the overall 
institute theme. The syllabus must therefore indicate the subject 
matter for each lecture or panel discussion, confirm or provisionally 
identify proposed lecturers and discussants, and clearly show how 
assigned readings will support each session. A calendar of all 
activities for the program must also be included. Overall, proposals 
will be reviewed on the basis of their fullness, coherence, clarity, 
and attention to detail.
    Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Please refer to the 
Solicitation Package for further details on program design and 
implementation, as well as additional information on all other 
requirements.

Budget Guidelines

    Based on groups of 18 participants, the total Bureau-funded budget 
(program and administrative) for programs one, two, three and four 
above should be approximately $182,000, and Bureau-funded 
administrative costs as defined in the budget details section of the 
solicitation package should not exceed $54,000. Based on a group of 30 
participants, the total Bureau-funded budget (program and 
administrative) for program five above should be approximately 
$255,000, and Bureau-funded administrative costs as defined in the 
budget details section of the solicitation package should not exceed 
$57,000.
    Justifications for any costs above these amounts must be clearly 
indicated in the proposal submission. Proposals should try to maximize 
cost-sharing in all facets of the program and to stimulate U.S. private 
sector, including foundation and corporate, support. Applicants must 
submit a comprehensive budget for the entire program. The Bureau 
reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase proposal budgets in 
accordance with the needs of the program, and availability of U.S. 
government funding.
    Please refer to the ``POGI'' in the Solicitation Package for 
complete institute budget guidelines and formatting instructions.
    Announcement Name and Number: All communications with the Bureau 
concerning this announcement should refer to the following titles and 
reference numbers:

Religion in the United States
    (ECA/A/E/USS-02-01A-Bate)
U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation (ECA/A/E/USS-02-01B-
Bate)
Contemporary American Literature
    ECA/A/E/USS-02-01C-Taylor)
Immigration and Ethnicity: The American Experience
    (ECA/A/E/USS-02-01D-Taylor)
American Studies for Foreign Secondary School Educator
    (ECA/A/E/USS-02-01E-Emerson)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a Solicitation Package 
containing more detailed program information, award criteria, required 
application forms, specific budget instructions, and standard 
guidelines for proposal preparation, applicants should contact:
    U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, Study of the U.S. 
Branch, State Annex 44, ECA/A/E/USS--Room 252/301 4th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20547, Attention: Richard Taylor.
    Telephone number: (202) 619-4557.
    Fax number: (202) 619-6790.
    Internet address: [email protected].

    Please specify Senior Program Officer Richard Taylor on all 
inquiries and correspondence. Interested applicants should read the 
complete Federal Register announcement before addressing inquiries to 
the office listed above or submitting their proposals. Once the RFGP 
deadline has passed, Bureau staff may not discuss this competition in 
any way with applicants until after 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 Web site 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 Friday, January 11, 2002. Faxed documents will NOT be accepted, nor 
will documents postmarked January 11, 2002 but received at a later 
date. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that 
proposal submissions arrive by the deadline.
    Submissions: Applicants must follow all instructions in the 
Solicitation Package. The original and 13 copies of the complete 
application should be sent to:
    U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs, Reference: (insert appropriate reference number from above, 
e.g. ECA/A/E/USS-02-01x-xxxxxx) Program Management Staff, ECA/EX/PM, 
Room 534, State Annex 44, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
    Applicants should also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and 
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal on a 3.5'' diskette, 
formatted for DOS. This material must be provided in ASCII text (DOS) 
format with a maximum line length of 65 characters.

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

[[Page 52961]]

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 this goal 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. Eligible proposals will then be 
forwarded to panels of senior Bureau officers for advisory review. 
Proposals may also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Advisor 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. More weight will be given to 
items one and two, and all remaining criteria will be evaluated 
equally.

1. Overall Quality

    Proposals should exhibit originality and substance, consonant with 
the highest standards of American teaching and scholarship. Program 
design should reflect the main currents as well as the debates within 
the subject discipline of each institute. Program elements should be 
coherently and thoughtfully integrated. Lectures, panels, field visits 
and readings, taken as a whole, should offer a balanced presentation of 
issues, reflecting both the continuity of the American experience as 
well as the diversity and dynamism inherent in it.

2. Program Planning and Administration

    Proposals should demonstrate careful planning. The organization and 
structure of the institute should be clearly delineated and be fully 
responsive to all program objectives. A program syllabus (noting 
specific sessions and topical readings supporting each academic unit) 
should be included, as should a calendar of activities. The travel 
component should not simply be a tour, but should be an integral and 
substantive part of the program, reinforcing and complementing the 
academic segment. Proposals should provide evidence of continuous 
administrative and managerial capacity as well as the means by which 
program activities and logistical matters will be implemented.

3. Institutional Capacity

    Proposed personnel, including faculty and administrative staff as 
well as outside presenters, should be fully qualified to achieve the 
project's goals. Library and meeting facilities, housing, meals, 
transportation and other logistical arrangements should fully meet the 
needs of the participants.

4. Support for Diversity

    Substantive support of the bureau's policy on diversity should be 
demonstrated. This can be accomplished through documentation, such as a 
written statement, summarizing past and/or on-going activities and 
efforts that further the principle of diversity within the organization 
and its activities. Program activities that address this issue should 
be highlighted.

5. Experience

    Proposals should demonstrate an institutional record of successful 
exchange program activity, indicating the experience that the 
organization and its professional staff have had in working with 
foreign educators.

6. Evaluation and Follow-Up

    A plan for evaluating activities during the Institute and at its 
conclusion should be included. Proposals should discuss provisions made 
for follow-up with returned grantees as a means of establishing longer-
term individual and institutional linkages.

7. Cost Effectiveness

    Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through direct institutional 
contributions, in-kind support, and other private sector support.
    Overhead and administrative components, including salaries and 
honoraria, should be kept as low as possible.

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.''

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 this 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, and allocated and committed through internal Bureau 
procedures.

    Dated: October 11, 2001.
Patricia S. Harrison,
Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 01-26122 Filed 10-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-11-P