Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket No. 950329080-5080-01]

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 New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. 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 NIS with

U.S. firms which provide them with three to six months 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. ITA will interview and recommend eligible interns to

participating companies. Interns may be from any of the following

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

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 operations. At the end of the training program, interns must

return to the NIS.

DATES: The closing date for applications is March 31, 1997. An original

and two copies of the application (Standard Form 424 (Rev. 4-92) and

supplemental material) are to be sent to the address designated in the

Application Kit and postmarked by the closing date. Applications will

be considered on a ``rolling'' basis as they are received, subject to

the availability of funds. 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 two

to three months.

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 E- mail:

[email protected] (please signify which format, e.g.

WordPerfect 6.1), telephone (202) 482-0073, facsimile (202)

482-2443 (these are not toll free numbers), or send a written request

with two self-addressed mailing labels to: Application Request, The

SABIT Program, HCHB Room 3319, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street

and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The SABIT Program, U.S. Department of

Commerce, phone--(202) 482-0073, facsimile--(202) 482-2443. These 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 requester.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SABIT exposes NIS business managers and

scientists 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 traveling to their

territories.

Business Executives

SABIT assists economic restructuring in the NIS by providing top-

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 labor relations. This first-hand experience in the

U.S. economy enables interns to become leaders in establishing and

operating a market economy in the NIS, and creates a unique opportunity

for U.S. firms to familiarize key executives from the NIS with their

products and services.

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

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community also benefit from exchanging information and ideas, and

different approaches to new technologies.

All 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 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. The estimated

amount of financial assistance available for the program is $1 million.

Additional funding may become available at a future date.

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 round trip international travel of each intern from

the intern's home city in the NIS to the U.S. internship site, upon

submission to ITA 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 provide $30 per day directly to interns; ITA will

reimburse recipient firms for this stipend of $30 per day per intern

for up to six months, upon submission by company of an end-of-

internship report and form SF-270. In general, each award will have a

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

ITA reserves the right to allow an award to exceed this amount in cases

of unusually high costs, such as airfare from remote regions of the

NIS. However, the total payment cannot exceed the award amount. 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: visa fees, housing, insurance, any food and

incidentals costs beyond $30 per day, any training-related travel

within the U.S., and provision of the hands-on training for the

interns.

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. 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.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants for the SABIT program will be any for profit or

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

or private entity. Agencies or divisions of the federal government are

not eligible.

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 training experience.

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

scientists in the NIS, as determined by ITA.

(3). Host firms must be solidly committed to interns' return to

their own countries upon completion of the internships.

(4). Present a realistic work plan describing in detail the

training program to be provided to the SABIT intern(s). Work plans must

include the following:

(a). whether Applicant is applying to host managers or scientists,

or both (and the number of each); (b). the duration of the internship

(at least three but not more than six months.) As noted above, ITA

reserves the right to allow an intern with very senior management

responsibilities to stay for a shorter period (minimum of one month) if

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

for a shorter internship based on his or her management

responsibilities; (c). the location(s) of the internship; (d). the

name, address, and telephone number of the designated internship

coordinator; (e). name(s) of division(s) in which the intern(s) will be

placed; (f). the individual(s) in the U.S. company under whose

supervision the intern will train; (g). 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; (h). 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.

(5). Include a brief objectives section indicating why the

Applicant wishes to provide an internship to a manager(s) or

scientist(s) from the NIS, and how the proposed internship would

further the purpose of the SABIT program as described above. If

Applicant is nominating a specific individual for training, this

objectives section must describe any existing relationship between the

Applicant and the individual.

(6). Provide a general description of the profile of the intern(s)

the Applicant would like to host, including: educational background;

occupational/professional background (including number of years and

areas of experience); size and nature of organization at which the

intern(s) is/are presently employed; preference for the region of the

NIS where the intern(s) is/are employed; and whether Applicant is open

to sponsoring interns from a variety of NIS countries.

(7). Indicate whether Applicant organization operates in one or

more of the following business 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, and (j). Transportation. Applicant proposal must

provide an explanation including description and extent of involvement

in the sector(s). While Applicants involved in any industry sector may

apply to the program, priority consideration is given to those

operating in the above sectors.

Evaluation criteria 1-6 will be weighted equally. ITA does not

guarantee that it will match Applicant with the profile provided to

SABIT.

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

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competitive, ``rolling'' basis as they are received in accordance with

the selection evaluation set forth above. Awards will be made to those

applications which successfully meet the selection criteria. 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 approval of an amendment of an

active award, to host additional interns under the program.

Additional Information

Applicants must submit: (1). Evidence of adequate financial

resources of Applicant organization to cover the costs involved in

providing an internship(s). As evidence of such resources, Applicant

should submit financial statements audited by an outside organization

or an annual report including such statements. If these are not

available, a letter should be provided from the Applicant's bank or

outside accountant attesting to the financial capability of the firm to

undertake the scope of work involved in training an intern under the

SABIT program. (2). 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). (3). A statement that the

Applicant 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.

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 the Department of Commerce (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 pre-award

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, ``Government

wide 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. 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.

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

Assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan (Section 907 of the FREEDOM

Support Act, Public Law 102-511); Chapter 11 of Part I of the Foreign

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

regarding ineligibility for assistance; provisions in annual Foreign

Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,

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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, 1995, Public Law

103-87); Impact on Jobs in the United States (Section 545 of the

Foreign Operation, Export Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Act, 1995, Public Law 103-87); Bumpers Amendment

(Section 513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and

Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Public Law 103-87);

Lautenberg Amendment (Section 513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export

Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994, Public Law

103-87); and Section 660(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as

amended.

14. Audit Requirements: The Grants Officer has the discretion to

require by the terms and conditions of SABIT awards that recipients

have an audit conducted in accordance with Government Auditing

Standards. In addition, the DoC Office of Inspector General has

authority under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, to

conduct an audit of any DoC award at any time.

15. Payments. As required by the Debt Collections Improvement Act

of 1996, all Federal payments to award recipients pursuant to this

announcement will be made by electronic funds transfer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Special American Business Internship

Training, International Trade Administration, at (202)482-0073. This is

not a toll free-number.

Dated: January 2, 1997.

Liesel C. Duhon,

Director, SABIT Program.

[FR Doc. 97-398 Filed 1-7-97; 8:45 am]

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