Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Docket No. 940529-4129]

Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT)

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, 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 the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union

(Independent States). The Department of Commerce, International Trade

Administration (ITA) established the SABIT program in September 1990 to

assist the former Soviet Union's transition to a market economy. Since

that time, SABIT has been matching business executives and scientists

from the Independent States with U.S. firms which sponsor them for

short-term management training programs.

Under this program, qualified U.S. firms will receive funds through

a cooperative agreement with ITA to help defray the cost of hosting

interns. ITA will interview and recommend eligible interns to

participate in SABIT. Interns may be from any of the following

Independent States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and

Uzbekistan. 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 research operations. At the end of the training program,

interns must return to the NIS.

DATES: The closing date for applications is September 15, 1994. An

original and two copies of the application (Standard Form 424 (Rev. 4-

92) and supplemental material) are to be received at the address

designated in the Application Kit no later than 3 p.m., September 15,

1994. Applications will be considered on a ``rolling'' basis as they

are received, subject to the availability of funds. All awards are

expected to be made prior to October 1, 1995.

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 telephone (202) 482-0073,

or facsimile (202) 482-2443 (these are not toll free numbers) or send a

written request with two self-addressed mailing labels to Cynthia M.

Anthony, Director, Special American Business Internship Training

Program, room 3413 HCHB, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20230. Only one copy of the

Application Kit will be provided to each organization requesting it,

but it may be reproduced by the requester.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Anthony, Director, Special

American Business Internship Training Program, International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, phone - (202) 482-0073,

facsimile - (202) 482-2443. These are not toll free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SABIT exposes business managers and

scientists from the Independent States to a completely new way of

thinking in which demand, consumer satisfaction, and profits drive

production. Senior-level interns visiting the U.S. for internship

programs with public or private sector companies will be exposed to an

environment which will provide them with practical knowledge for

transforming their countries' enterprises and economies to the free

market. The program provides first-hand, eye-opening experience to

managers and scientists which cannot be duplicated by American managers

travelling to their territories.

Managers: The expanded SABIT program assists economic restructuring

of the Independent States by providing business managers with exposure

to American ways of innovation and management through three to six

month management internships in U.S. firms. ITA reserves the right to

allow an intern to stay for a shorter period if the U.S. company agrees

and the intern demonstrates a need for a shorter internship based on

his or her management responsibilities. 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 do

business in the Independent States.

Scientists: The goals of the SABIT program for scientists are to

provide opportunities for gifted scientists to apply their skills to

peaceful, commercially-oriented research and development in areas such

as defense conversion, pharmaceutical and other medical research,

energy, and environment, and expose them to the role of scientific

research in a market economy where applicability of the research

relates to the success of the firm. Sponsoring firms in the U.S.

scientific community also will benefit from the exchange of information

and ideas, and different approaches to new technologies. As with the

managers, internships are for three to six months; however, ITA

reserves the right to allow an intern to stay for a shorter period if

the U.S. company agrees and the intern demonstrates a need for a

shorter internship based on his or her management responsibilities.

Funding Availability: Pursuant to section 632(a) of the Foreign

Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the ``Act'') funding for the

program will be provided by the 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. The

maximum amount of financial assistance available for the program is

$2,400,000.

Funding Instrument and Project Duration: Federal assistance will be

awarded pursuant to a cooperative agreement between ITA and the

recipient firm. ITA will reimburse companies for the roundtrip air

travel of each intern from Moscow (or other cities in the NIS as

approved in advance by ITA) to the U.S. internship site, upon

submission to ITA of the travel invoice. Travel under the program is

subject to the Fly America Act. Recipient firms provide $30 per day

directly to interns; ITA will reimburse companies for this stipend of

$30 per day per intern for up to six months. Reimbursement of funds for

reimbursement of the stipend will be made upon certification by the

companies that the internship program has been completed, and

submission of a report on the training program. Each award will have a

cap of $7,500 per intern for total cost of airline travel and stipend.

There are no specific matching requirements for the awards. Host firms,

however, are expected to bear the costs beyond those covered by the

award, including housing, insurance, any food and incidentals costs

beyond $30 per day, and any training-related travel within the U.S.

Host firms provide training for the interns.

Federal funding will be provided for this program for not more than

eighteen months from the date of this Notice. 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 travel expenses, related to sponsoring the intern.

Eligibility: Eligible applicants for SABIT will be any for profit

or non-profit U.S. corporation, association, organization or other

public or private entity.

Evaluation Criteria: Consideration for financial assistance will be

given to those SABIT proposals which:

1. Demonstrate a commitment to the intent and goals of the program

to provide practical, on-the-job, non-academic, non-classroom,

training: In the case of manager interns, an appropriate management

training experience, or, in the case of scientist interns, a practical,

commercially-oriented scientific research training experience.

2. Respond to the priority needs of senior business managers and

scientists respectively in the Independent States, as determined by

ITA. Note that host firms must be solidly committed to interns' return

to their own countries upon completion of the internships.

3. Present a realistic work plan describing in detail the training

program to be provided to the SABIT intern(s). Workplans must include

the following:

(a) Names of division(s) in which the intern(s) will be placed;

(b) The individual(s) in the U.S. company under whose supervision

the intern will train, and the name of the internship coordinator;

(c) The proposed internship training activities. The components of

the training activities must be described in as much detail as

possible, preferably on a week-by-week basis. The description of the

training activities should include an accounting of what the

intern's(s') duties and responsibilities will be during the training;

(d) The location(s) of the internship;

(e) The anticipated housing arrangements to be provided for the

intern(s). Note that housing arrangements should be suitable for mid-

and senior- level professionals, and that each intern must be provided

with a private room;

(f) A brief objectives section indicating why the Applicant wishes

to provide an internship to a manager(s) or scientist(s) from the

former Soviet Union, and how the proposed internship would further the

purpose of the SABIT program as described above; and

(g) A general description of the profile of the manager(s) or

scientist(s) the Applicant would like to host, including: educational

background; occupational/ professional background (including number of

years and areas of experience and expertise); size and nature of the

organization at which the intern(s) is/are presently employed); and

preference for the region of the Independent States where the intern(s)

is/are employed.

4. Are proposed by Applicants that operate in one or more of the

following business sectors: a. Agribusiness (including food processing

and distribution, and agricultural equipment and machinery); b. Defense

conversion; c. Energy; d. Environment, including environmental clean-

up; e. Financial services (including banking and accounting); f.

Housing; g. Medical equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals, and health

care management; h. Product standards and quality control; i.

Telecommunications; and j. Transportation.

5. Are proposed by Applicants open to sponsoring interns from a

variety of eligible NIS countries. Evaluation criteria 1-5 will be

weighted equally. ITA does not guarantee it will match the Applicant

with the profile provided to SABIT.

D. Additional Information

1. The Applicant Must Provide Evidence of the Following

(a) Adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain such

resources as required during the internship period. As evidence of such

resources, Applicants should submit financial statements audited by an

outside organization. If these are not available, a letter should be

provided from the Applicant's bank attesting to the financial

capability of the firm to undertake the scope of work involved in

training an intern under the SABIT program.

(b) 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).

(c) Applicants must provide a statement that they will provide

medical insurance coverage for interns during their internships.

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.

Selection Procedures

Each application will receive an independent, objective review by

one or more three or four-member ITA 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 criteria set forth above. Awards will be

made to those applications which successfully meet the selection

criteria, with decisions made by the ITA evaluation panels in the order

the applications are received. If funds are not available for all those

applications which successfully meet the criteria, awards will be made

to the first applications received which successfully do so. ITA review

panel(s) reserve(s) the right to reject any application; to limit the

number of interns per applicant; to waive informalities and minor

irregularities in applications received; and to consider other than

competitive procedures to distribute assistance under this program and

in accordance with the law. ITA review panel(s) reserve(s) the right to

make awards based on U.S. geographic and organization size diversity

among applicants. Recipients may be eligible, pursuant to an amendment

to the award, to host additional interns under the program.

Other Requirements: All applicants are advised of the following:

1. No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant who has

an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either the delinquent

account is paid in full, a negotiated repayment schedule is established

and at least one payment is received, or other arrangements

satisfactory to DOC are made.

2. A false statement on the application is grounds for denial or

termination of funds and grounds for possible punishment by a fine or

imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

3. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and

Federal and Departmental regulations, policies and procedures

applicable to financial assistance awards.

4. 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.

5. Applications under this program are not subject to Executive

Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''

6. 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 preaward

costs.

7. Past Performance: Unsatisfactory performance by an applicant

under prior Federal awards may result in an application not being

considered for funding.

8. No Obligation for Future Funding: If an application is selected

for funding, DOC has no obligation to provide any additional future

funding in connection with that award. Renewal of an award to increase

funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion

of DOC.

9. Primary Applicant Certifications: All primary applicants must

submit a completed Form CD-511, ``Certifications Regarding Debarment,

Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements and Lobbying,'' and the following explanations are hereby

provided:

(a) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension: Prospective

participants (as defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 105) are subject to

15 CFR part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the

related section of the certification form prescribed above applies.

(b) Drug Free Workplace: Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26,

section 605) are subject to 15 CFR part 26, subpart F, ``Governmentwide

Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related section

of the certification form prescribed above applies.

(c) Anti-Lobbying: Funds provided under the SABIT program may not

be used for lobbying activities. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR part 28,

section 105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352,

``Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal

contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of

the certification form prescribed above applies to applications/bids

for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than

$100,000, and loans and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the

single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever

is greater.

(d) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures: Any applicant that has paid or will

pay for lobbying in connection with this award using any funds must

submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' as required

under 15 CFR part 28, appendix B.

10. Lower Tier Certifications: Recipients shall require applicants/

bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier

covered transactions at any tier under the award to submit, if

applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier

Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and disclosure form, SF-LLL,

``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the

use of recipients and should not be transmitted to DOC. SF-LLL

submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to

DOC in accordance with the instructions contained in the award

document.

11. Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are not allowed under the SABIT

program.

12. Buy-American-Made Equipment or Products: Applicants are hereby

notified that any equipment or products authorized to be purchased with

funding provided under this program must be American-made to the

maximum extent feasible in accordance with Public Law 103-121, sections

606. (a) and (b).

13. The following statutes apply to this program: Restriction on

Assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan (section 907 of the Freedom

Support Act, Pub. L. 102-511); Chapter 11 of part I of the Foreign

Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, including notably section 498A (b),

regarding ineligibility for assistance; Provisions in annual Foreign

Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,

including the following provisions contained in Public Law 103-87: Use

of American Resources (section 559 of the Foreign Operation, Export

Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103-

87); Impact on Jobs in the United States (section 547 of the Foreign

Operation, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,

1994, Pub. L. 103-87); Bumpers Amendment (section 513(b) of the Foreign

Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,

1994, Pub. L. 103-87); Lautenberg Amendment (section 513(b) of the

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103-87); and section 660(a) of the

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.

Cynthia M. Anthony,

Director, Special American Business Internship Training Program.

[FR Doc. 94-12090 Filed 5-17-94; 8:45 am]

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