[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79056-79059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32689]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket No. 021220324-2324-01]


Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT) 
Grants Funding Availability

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces availability of funds for the Special 
American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT), for training 
business executives and scientists (also referred to as ``interns'') 
from Eurasia (see program description for eligible countries).

DATES: The closing date for applications is March 1, 2003. If available 
funds are depleted prior to the closing date, a notice to that effect 
will be published in the Federal Register. Processing of complete 
applications takes approximately three to four months. All awards are 
expected to be made by July 1, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Request for Applications: Competitive Application kits will 
be available from ITA starting on the day this notice is published. To 
obtain a copy of the Application Kit please contact SABIT by: (1) E-
mail at [email protected], providing your name, company name and 
address; (2) Telephone (202) 482-0073; (3) The world wide web at 
http.www.mac.doc.gov/sabit/sabit.html;

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(4) Facsimile (202) 482-2443; (5) Mail: Send a written request with two 
self-addressed mailing labels to Application Request, The SABIT 
Program, U.S. Department of Commerce, [FCB]--Fourth Floor--4100W, 1401 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. The telephone numbers 
are not toll free numbers. Only one copy of the Application Kit will be 
provided to each organization requesting it, but it may be reproduced 
by the requesters.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liesel C. Duhon, Director, SABIT 
Program, U.S. Department of Commerce, phone--(202) 482-0073, 
facsimile--(202) 482-2443. These are not toll free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2395 (b).
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): 11.114--Special 
American Business Internship Training Program.
    Program Description: The Department of Commerce, International 
Trade Administration (ITA) established the SABIT program in September 
1990 to assist Eurasia's transition to a market economy. Since that 
time, SABIT has been supporting U.S. companies that wish to provide 
business executives and scientists from Eurasia three to six month 
programs of hands-on training in a U.S. market economy.
    Under the SABIT program, qualified U.S. firms will receive funds 
through a cooperative agreement with ITA to help defray the cost of 
hosting interns. The training must take place in the United States. ITA 
will interview Eurasian managers or scientists nominated by 
participating U.S. companies, or assist in identifying eligible 
candidates. Interns may be from any of the following countries in 
Eurasia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 
Please note: Programs with Azerbaijan are subject to the restrictions 
of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act of 1992 and waivers: 
Employees of the Government of Azerbaijan or any of its 
instrumentalities are excluded from participation and no U.S. 
participant overseas may work for the Government of Azerbaijan or any 
of its instrumentalities. However, additional specific restrictions may 
apply. The U.S. firms will be expected to provide the interns with a 
hands-on, non-academic, executive training program designed to maximize 
their exposure to management or commercially-oriented scientific 
operations. At the end of the training program, interns must return to 
his/her home country. If there is any evidence of a conflict of 
interest between the nominated intern and the company, the intern is 
disqualified.
    SABIT exposes Eurasian business managers and scientists to a 
completely new way of thinking in which demand, consumer satisfaction, 
and profits drive production. Mid-to-senior-level interns visiting the 
U.S. for internship programs with public or private sector companies 
will train in an environment that will provide them with practical 
knowledge for transforming their countries' enterprises and economies 
to a free market. The program provides first-hand, eye-opening 
experience to managers and scientists that cannot be duplicated by 
American managers traveling to their territories.
    Managers: SABIT assists economic restructuring in Eurasia by 
providing mid-to-senior level business managers with practical training 
in American methods of innovation and management in such areas as 
strategic planning, financing, production, distribution, marketing, 
accounting, wholesaling, and/or labor relations. This first-hand 
experience in the U.S. economy enables interns to become leaders in 
establishing and operating a market economy in Eurasia, and creates a 
unique opportunity for U.S. firms to familiarize key executives from 
Eurasia with their products and services. Sponsoring U.S. firms will 
benefit by establishing relationships with key managers in similar 
industries who are uniquely positioned to assist their U.S. sponsors in 
doing business in Eurasia.
    Scientists: SABIT provides opportunities for gifted scientists to 
apply their skills to peaceful research and development in the civilian 
sector, in areas such as defense conversion, medical research, and the 
environment, and exposes them to the role of scientific research in a 
market economy where applicability of research relates to business 
success. Sponsoring firms in the U.S. scientific community also benefit 
from exchanging information and ideas, and different approaches to new 
technologies.
    All internships are three to six months; however, ITA reserves the 
right to allow an intern to stay for a shorter period of time (no less 
than one month) if the U.S. company agrees and the intern demonstrates 
a need for a shorter internship based on his or her management 
responsibilities. ITA will reimburse companies for the round trip 
international travel (coach class tickets) of each intern from the 
intern's home city in Eurasia to the U.S. internship site, upon 
submission of the paid travel invoice, payment receipt, or other 
evidence of payment and the form SF-270, ``Request for Advance or 
Reimbursement.'' Travel under the program is subject to the Fly America 
Act. Recipient firms must provide a stipend of $34 per day directly to 
the interns. Recipient firms will be reimbursed for this stipend, up to 
a maximum payment for six months, upon the submission of an end-of-
internship report and Standard Form SF-270, Request for Advance and/or 
Reimbursement. Interns must return to their home countries immediately 
upon completion of their U.S. internships. Recipient firms must provide 
appropriate housing with a private room for each intern. A market 
assessment for housing must be provided with the SABIT application, to 
verify housing costs in the recipient firms' training location(s). This 
assessment will be used to determine the final award amount granted. 
Recipient firms will be reimbursed up to $500.00 per month (excluding 
utilities or telephone services). For cities with higher costs of 
living, up to $750.00 a month may be reimbursed. Reimbursement will be 
made upon submission of the end-of-internship report, standard form SF-
270, and receipts or other proof of payment of actual housing cost.
    In general, each award will have a cap of $13,700 per intern for 
total cost of airline travel, stipend and housing costs. ITA reserves 
the right to allow an award to exceed this cap in cases of unusually 
high costs, specifically airfare from remote regions of Eurasia such as 
Central Asia and the Caucasus. However, the total reimbursement cannot 
exceed the award amount. There are no specific matching requirements 
for the awards. Recipient firms, however, are expected to bear the 
costs beyond those covered by the award, including: Visa fees, medical 
insurance, any food and incidentals costs beyond the $34 per day 
stipend, additional lodging costs beyond the reimbursed amount, any 
training-related travel within the U.S., training manuals and provision 
of the hands-on training for the interns. Recipients will be required 
to submit proof of the interns' medical insurance coverage to the 
Federal Program Officer before the interns' arrivals. The insurance 
coverage must include an accident and comprehensive medical insurance 
program as well as coverage for accidental death, emergency medical 
evacuation, and repatriation.
    U.S. firms wishing to utilize SABIT in order to be matched with an 
intern without applying for financial assistance may do so. Such firms 
will be responsible for all costs, including

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travel expenses, related to sponsoring the intern. However, prior to 
acceptance as a SABIT intern, work plans and candidates must be 
approved by the SABIT Program. Furthermore, program training will be 
monitored by SABIT staff and evaluated upon completion of training. ITA 
does not guarantee that it will match Applicants with the profile 
provided to SABIT.
    Funding Availability: Pursuant to section 632(a) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the ``Act'') funding to the U.S. 
Department of Commerce (DOC) for the program will be provided by the 
United States Agency for International Development (A.I.D.). ITA will 
award financial assistance and administer the program pursuant to the 
authority contained in section 635(b) of the Act and other applicable 
grant rules. The estimated amount of financial assistance available for 
the program is $1,500,000. Additional funding may become available at a 
future date.
    Matching Requirements: The budget will not include matching 
requirements, however, recipients are expected to bear the costs beyond 
$34 per day stipend, additional lodging costs beyond the reimbursed 
amount, any training-related travel within the U.S., training manuals 
and provisions of the hands-on training for the interns.
    Funding Instrument: Federal assistance will be awarded pursuant to 
a cooperative agreement between DOC and the recipient firm.
    Eligibility Criteria: Eligible applicants for the SABIT program 
will include all for profit or non-profit U.S. corporations, 
associations, organizations or other public or private entities located 
in the United States. Agencies or divisions of the federal government 
are not eligible. However, state and local governments are eligible.
    Award Period: Funds for awards under this program will be available 
effective with the publication of this notice. The funds will remain 
available until they are obligated or until the deadline date. 
Recipient firms will have one year from the date listed on the 
Financial Assistance Award, CD-450, in order to use the funds. However, 
DOC reserves the right to allow an extension if the recipient can 
justify the need for extra time. If applicants incur any costs prior to 
an award being made, they do solely at their own risk of not being 
reimbursed by the Government. Notwithstanding any verbal or written 
assurance that may have been received, there is no obligation on the 
part of DOC to cover pre-award costs.
    Evaluation Criteria: Consideration for financial assistance will be 
given to those SABIT proposals which provide the following:
    (1) Work Plan. Provide a detailed work plan for the intended 
training. If the company is providing different training plans for 
different interns, they MUST attach a separate work plan for each. If 
interns will be trained on the same plan, only one plan needs to be 
attached. Please note, if you are coordinating an internship which will 
take place at several companies, you must provide a work plan for each 
company. The work plan must include: (a) A detailed week-by-week 
description of internship activities; (b) a description of the intern's 
duties and responsibilities; (c) complete contact information for the 
everyday internship coordinator. (This person will be in daily contact 
with the intern); (d) locations of training within the company, if the 
internship(s) will be in different divisions; (e) locations of training 
outside the company. If the intern will spend substantial amounts of 
time at one or more external companies (over one week) the organization 
MUST provide a letter from each of those companies, indicating their 
willingness and ability to provide the planned training. Evaluation 
Scale: 0-40 points.
    (2) Training Objectives Statement. Provide an objective statement, 
clearly titled ``Training Objectives'' with the company name noted 
indicating why the organization wishes to provide a professional 
training experience to a Eurasian manager or scientist. The company 
must note how the proposed training would further the intent and goals 
of the SABIT program to provide practical, on-the-job, non-academic, 
non-classroom training for a professional-level intern. Evaluation 
Scale: 0-30 points.
    (3) Intern Description(s) and Resume(s): Provide descriptions for 
all the interns requested. This description should note the experience, 
education, and skills desired in a qualified candidate for the training 
they intend to provide. If the company wants interns from a specific 
region or country of Eurasia, it should be indicated in the 
application. If the company has already nominated candidates for 
training, they must also attach their resumes. Additionally, they must 
describe for SABIT the relationship they already maintain with the 
nominated candidates. Evaluation Scale: 0-15 points.
    (4) Financial Resources Documentation: Evidence of adequate 
financial resources of Applicant organization to cover the costs 
involved in providing an internship(s). Evidence may include a 
published annual report, or a letter from the company's outside, 
independent accountant attesting to the organization's financial 
ability to support the training program planned and the funds requested 
or a letter from the organization's bank. All letters must be on the 
accountant's or bank's letterhead and addressed to the United States 
Department of Commerce. Evaluation Scale: 0-15 points.
    (5) Federal Government Performance Record Statement: Evidence of a 
satisfactory record of performance in grants, contracts and/or 
cooperative agreements with the Federal Government, if applicable. 
(Applicants who are or have been deficient in current or recent 
performance in their grants, contracts, and/or cooperative agreements 
with the Federal Government shall be presumed to be unable to meet this 
requirement). If there is no record to date, the company should 
indicate this. Evaluation Scale: No points. If applicant has a Federal 
Government Performance Record Statement, this must be noted as 
specified in the Application Kit. If not this must be noted as well. 
Evaluation criteria are listed in decreasing importance. That is, 
evaluation criterion 1 is most important, followed by criterion 2, etc.
    Project Funding Priorities: Applicant must indicate involvement in 
priority business sector(s). While Applicants involved in any industry 
sector may apply to the program, priority consideration is given to 
those operating in the following sectors: (a) Agribusiness (including 
food processing and distribution, and agricultural equipment), (b) 
Defense conversion, (c) Energy, (d) Environment (including 
environmental clean-up), (e) Financial services (including banking and 
accounting), (f) Housing, construction and infrastructure, (g) Medical 
equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals, and health care management, (h) 
Product standards and quality control, (i) Telecommunications, (j) 
Transportation and (k) Biotechnology.
    Priority funding will also be given to applicants applying to host 
interns from the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
    Selection Procedures: Each application will receive an independent, 
objective review by one or more three or four-member independent review 
panels qualified to evaluate applications submitted under the program. 
Applications will be evaluated on a competitive, ``rolling'' basis as 
they are received in accordance with the selection evaluation criteria 
set forth above. Only after the deadline date

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(March 1, 2003) applicants that have received a passing score of 70 or 
above based on the evaluation criteria weighting will be ranked and 
awards will be made until funds are depleted. Applicants receiving 
scores below 70 will not be considered. ITA reserves the right to limit 
the award amount as well as the number of interns per applicant. The 
final selecting official reserves the right to choose or recommend 
recipients based on U.S. geographic location, organization size as well 
as priority business sectors and country priorities (listed in Project 
Funding Priorities, above) and past performance, when making awards. 
Recipients may be eligible, pursuant to approval of an amendment of an 
active award, to host additional interns under the program. The 
Director of the SABIT Program is the final selecting official for each 
award.
    Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are not 
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''
    Application Forms and Kit: To obtain an application kit, please 
refer to the section above marked ADDRESSES. All applicants must submit 
a completed Standard Form 424, ``Application for Federal Assistance'' 
and a Standard Form 424B, ``Assurances--Non-Construction Programs.'' 
All applicants must also submit a completed Form CD-511, 
``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other 
Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and 
Lobbying''. Form CD-511 and Standard Forms 424 and 424B are included in 
the Application Kit supplied by the SABIT office. Applicants will also 
need to provide the information to fulfill the ``Evaluation Criteria'' 
listed above. Please note: Applications must be submitted according to 
the detailed instructions in the SABIT Application Kit. Incomplete 
applications may be immediately returned unreviewed via regular U.S. 
mail.
    An original and two copies of the application (including Standard 
Form 424 (Rev. 4-92) and supplemental material) are to be sent to the 
address designated in the Application Kit and postmarked no later than 
the closing date. Please sign the original application (including 
forms) with blue ink.
    Additional Information: Applicants must also submit: (1) Basic 
Applicant Information Form, (2) Eurasian Intern Request Form, (3) 
Guarantees and Acknowledgments Form, (4) Bureau of Industry and 
Security (BIS) Statement (BIS is formerly the Bureau of Export 
Administration (BXA), (5) Market Survey for Housing.
    Disposition of Unsuccessful Applications: Unsuccessful applications 
may be retained by the SABIT Program.
    Other Requirements: Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification 
Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements, which are contained 
in Federal Register Notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), as amended 
by the Notice published on October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66109), are 
applicable.
    All applicants are advised of the following:
    1. Participating companies will be required to comply with all 
relevant U.S. tax and export regulations. Export controls may relate 
not only to licensing of products for export, but also to technical 
data transfer. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and 
Security (BIS formerly BXA, the Bureau of Export Administration) 
reviews applications in question to determine whether export licenses 
are required. SABIT will not award a grant until the export license 
issue has been satisfied.
    2. The following statutes apply to this program: Section 907 of the 
FREEDOM Support Act, Pub. L. 102-511, 22 U.S.C. 5812 note (Restriction 
on Assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan); Pub. L. 107-115 (Waiver 
of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act); 7 U.S.C. ``5201 et seq. 
(Agricultural Competitiveness and Trade--the Bumpers Amendment); The 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, including Chapter 11 of 
Part I, section 498A(b), Pub. L. 102-511, 22 U.S.C. 2295a(b) (regarding 
ineligibility for assistance); 22 U.S.C. 2420(a), Section 660(a) of The 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (Police Training 
Prohibition); and provisions in the annual Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Acts, concerning impact 
on jobs in the United States (see, e.g., 536 of Pub. L. 106-113).
    3. The collection of information is approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget, OMB Control Number 0625-0225. Public reporting 
for this collection of information is estimated to be three hours per 
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, and completing 
and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this 
collection of information are voluntary, and will be protected from 
disclosure to the extent allowed under the Freedom of Information Act. 
The use of Standard Forms 424 and 424B is approved under OMB Control 
Numbers 0348-0043 and 0348-0040, respectively.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to nor shall a person be subject to the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. Send comments regarding the 
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, 
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Reports 
Clearance Officer, International Trade Administration, Department of 
Commerce, Room 4001, 14th and Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20230.
    4. Executive Order 12866: It has been determined that this notice 
is not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    5. Executive Order 13132: It has been determined that this notice 
does not contain policies with Federalism implications as that term is 
defined in E.O. 13132.
    6. Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Because 
notice and comment are not required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other 
law, for notices relating to public property, loans, grants, benefits 
or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is 
not required and has not been prepared for this notice, 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.

    Dated: December 20, 2002.
Liesel C. Duhon,
Director, SABIT Program.
[FR Doc. 02-32689 Filed 12-26-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HE-P