Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; Public Policy Partnership for the Institute of Public Administration at Moscow State University Project (PPP): Request for Proposals

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3159]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; Public Policy

Partnership for the Institute of Public Administration at Moscow State

University Project (PPP): Request for Proposals

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Global Educational Programs of the United States

Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

announces an open competition for an assistance award. Public and

private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in

IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may submit proposals to assist the

Institute of Public Administration of Moscow State University in

developing graduate programs in the field of public policy.

Program Information

Overview

This project is designed to assist the Institute of Public

Administration (IPA) at Moscow State University in developing its

capacity to deliver a graduate program in Public Policy that meets high

international standards for instruction and research in this field. The

primary goal of this project is to promote development of a curriculum

of policy-relevant, theoretically sophisticated, empirical approaches

designed to promote an open, accountable, efficient and responsive

public sector. The grantee organization will be expected to assist the

Institute of Public Administration through a comprehensive program of

exchange and support activities which will foster lasting institutional

and individual ties. The project will award up to $500,000 for up to a

two year period to defray the costs of two-way faculty exchange and of

limited student exchange, with an allowance for educational materials

(including support for distance learning projects) and with provision

for some aspects of project administration. There is also the

possibility of a renewal grant of up to $500,000 for up to a two year

period pending positive program review and the availability of funding.

Objectives

The overall objective of this project is to enable the Institute of

Public Administration at Moscow State University to equip its graduate

program in Public Policy to support emergent democratic institutions in

Russia by preparing future leaders to analyze and resolve public policy

issues within a democratic framework in the context of

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a market-based open economy. This overall objective should be supported

through the following program components: assistance with curriculum

and materials development for the graduate curriculum in Public Policy;

assistance with the development of continuing education and distance

learning programs; assistance with the development of a sustainable

graduate student exchange program; development of outreach programs;

and support for research.

Background

IPA holds independent status within Moscow State University. IPA

has approximately 200 junior and senior faculty, approximately half of

whom speak English. There are currently 11 departments at IPA: Legal

Bases of Management; Managerial Technologies; Management Sociology;

Economic Theory and Policy; Political History; Russian State History;

Philosophy and Methodology of Science; Philosophy for Humanities

Faculties; Political Economy; Political Sociology; and Personnel

Management. In addition IPA has two research laboratories for Science

Organization and Management and for Social-Economic Processes

Management. Applicants should contact IPA to learn more about their

program and to consult with them about program priorities necessary for

developing a graduate program in Public Policy.

Participants

The project is designed for the following Russian participants:

faculty, administrators, staff and students at the Institute of Public

Administration at Moscow State University. In addition, participants

include U.S. faculty, administrators and staff, and other qualified

professionals with appropriate Public Policy expertise. Although

applicant organizations do not need to obtain a letter of commitment

from the Institute of Public Administration, they are encouraged to

consult with IPA about options for defining their potential

collaboration.

Logistics

The grantee organization will be responsible for most arrangements

associated with this program. These include providing international and

domestic travel arrangements for all participants, making lodging and

local transportation arrangements for visitors, orienting and

debriefing participants, and preparing any necessary support material.

Visa/Insurance/Tax Requirements

Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations including those

pertaining to insurance. Please refer to Solicitation Package for

further information. Administration of the program must be in

compliance with reporting and withholding regulations for federal,

state and local taxes as applicable. Recipient organizations should

demonstrate tax regulation adherence in the proposal narrative and

budget.

Budget Guidelines

Organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting

international exchange programs are ineligible for this grant

competition.

Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the entire

program. Awards may not exceed $500,000. There must be a summary budget

as well as a break-down reflecting the program and administrative

budgets, and detailed budgets for each of the two years of the grant.

The total administrative costs funded by the Bureau may not exceed 20%

of the total request. Applicants may provide separate sub-budgets for

each program component, phase, location, or activity to provide

clarification.

Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget

guidelines and formatting instructions.

Announcement Title and Number

All correspondence with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs concerning this RFP should reference the above title and number

ECA/A/S/U-00-07.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: The Office of Global Educational

Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department

of State, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 20547, telephone: (202)

619-4126, fax: (202) 401-1433, internet [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 Program

Officer Jonathan Cebra on all inquiries and correspondence.

Please read the complete Federal Register announcement before

sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFP deadline has

passed, Bureau staff may not discuss this competition with applicants

until the proposal review process has been completed.

Contact Information for the Institute of Public Administration at

Moscow State University

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with the Institute of

Public Administration and Social Science at Moscow State University.

More detailed information about IPA can be obtained from their web site

at the Institute web site at: http://www.ipa-ss.msu.ru. The designated

contact person for IPA is Deputy Director Aleksey Barabashov, who may

be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

To Download a Solicitation Package Via Internet

The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from the Bureau's

website at http://e.usia.gov/education/rfps. 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, March

15, 2000. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time. Documents

postmarked by 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.

Approximate program dates: Grants should begin on or about June 15,

2000.

Duration: June 15, 2000-June 14, 2002.

Submissions

Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation

Package. The original and 10 copies of the application should be sent

to: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs, Ref.: ECA/A/S/U-00-07, Grants Management Staff, ECA/EX/PM,

Room 336, 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. The Bureau will

transmit these files electronically to the public affairs section of

the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for its review, with the goal of reducing

the time it takes to get posts' 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

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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.'' Proposals should reflect

advancement of this goal in their program contents, to the full extent

deemed feasible.

Year 2000 Compliance Requirement (Y2K Requirement)

The Year 2000 (Y2K) issue is a broad operational and accounting

problem that could potentially prohibit organizations from processing

information in accordance with Federal management and program specific

requirements including data exchange with the Bureau. The inability to

process information in accordance with Federal requirements could

result in grantees' being required to return funds that have not been

accounted for properly.

The Bureau therefore requires all organizations use Y2K compliant

systems including hardware, software, and firmware. Systems must

accurately process data and dates (calculating, comparing and

sequencing) both before and after the beginning of the year 2000 and

correctly adjust for leap years.

Additional information addressing the Y2K issue may be found at the

General Services Administration's Office of Information Technology

website at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov.

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

forwarded to independent reviewers and to Bureau and U.S. Embassy

officers for advisory review.

An independent review panel of professional, scholarly, or

educational experts with appropriate regional and thematic knowledge

will provide recommendations and assessments for consideration by The

Bureau. The Bureau will consider for funding only those proposals which

are recommended for further consideration by the independent review

panel.

Proposals will also be reviewed by Bureau officers as well as by

other State Department officers in Washington, D.C. and overseas.

Proposals may also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Advisor or by

other offices of the U.S. Department of State. Funding decisions will

be made at the discretion of the Assistant Secretary for Educational

and Cultural Affairs. Final technical authority for assistance awards

(grants or cooperative agreements) will reside with a contracts officer

with competency for Bureau programs.

Review Criteria

Independent reviewers and State Department officers in Washington,

DC, and overseas will use the criteria below to reach funding

recommendations and decisions. Technically eligible applications will

be competitively reviewed according to the criteria stated below. These

criteria are not rank-ordered or weighted.

1. Quality of the Program Idea

Proposals should exhibit originality, substance, precision and

resourcefulness. Proposals should have reasonable and feasible project

objectives which are clearly relevant to the Public Policy Partnership

for the Institute of Public Administration at Moscow State University

Project objectives and to the overall Bureau mission. Proposals should

describe the projected benefits for all participating institutions as

well as for wider communities of educators and professionals in Russia

and the U.S.

2. Program Planning

Proposals should include appropriate and feasible project plans and

a detailed schedule which should include a well-reasoned combination of

useful and appropriate mentoring, teaching, faculty and/or staff

development, curriculum development (including distance learning),

graduate student exchange and outreach. The various activities should

be clearly related to project objectives, but need not be equally

emphasized within the proposal. Proposals should clearly demonstrate

how the partnership will meet the project's objectives and plan.

3. Support of Diversity

Proposals should demonstrate substantive support of the Bureau's

policy on diversity. The Bureau seeks institutional and geographic

diversity of U.S. and overseas institutions (applications are

encouraged from institutions with diverse student enrollments and

institutions from under-represented areas). The Bureau also encourages

proposals which address diversity concerns in program content.

4. Institutional Capacity and Commitment

Proposals should demonstrate institutional resources adequate and

appropriate to achieve program goals. Relevant factors include: The

match between partner departments and schools; and availability of

sufficient numbers of faculty and/or administrators willing and able to

participate. Proposals should meet or exceed suggested Bureau minimum

faculty exchange levels. Proposals should provide evidence of strong

institutional commitment by all participating institutions and an

indication of collaborative program planning. Proposals should

demonstrate promise of sustainability and long-term impact which will

be reflected in a plan for continued, non-U.S. government support and

follow-on activities.

5. Institutions' Record/Ability

Proposals should demonstrate an institutional record of successful

exchange programs, including responsible fiscal management and full

compliance with all reporting requirements for past Bureau grants as

determined by the Office of Contracts. The Bureau will consider the

past performance of prior recipients and all reviewers will consider

the demonstrated potential of new applicants. Reviewers will also

consider the quality of exchange participants' academic credentials,

skills, and experience relative to the goals and activities of the

project plan.

6. Project Evaluation

Proposals should include an effective evaluation plan which defines

and articulates a list of anticipated outcomes related to the project

goals and activities and procedures for final evaluation as well as for

on-going monitoring and mid-term corrective action. Proposals should

describe specific intermediate objectives to be achieved.

7. Cost-Effectiveness

The overhead and administrative components of the proposal,

including

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salaries, should be kept as low as possible. All other items should be

necessary and appropriate. Proposals should maximize cost-sharing

through other private sector support as well as institutional direct-

funding contributions.

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.'' The funding authority for the

program cited above is provided through the Freedom for Russia and

Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992

(Freedom Support Act).

Notice

The terms and conditions published in this RFP are binding and may

not be modified by any State Department representative. Explanatory

information provided by the Bureau that contradicts published language

will not be binding. Issuance of the 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, allocated and committed through internal State Department

procedures.

Dated: November 5, 1999.

Evelyn S. Lieberman,

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

[FR Doc. 99-30047 Filed 11-16-99; 8:45 am]

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