Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; NIS Community College Partnerships Program: Request for Proposals

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3160]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; NIS Community College

Partnerships Program: 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 program.

Accredited community colleges offering the two-year Associate's degree

and meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501 may

apply to pursue institutional or departmental objectives in

international partnerships with counterpart institutions from Russia or

Ukraine for the purpose of supporting, through teaching, scholarship,

and professional outreach from the partner institutions, the transition

of the New Independent States to democratic systems based on market

economies, as well as the purpose of strengthening mutual understanding

and cooperation between the United States and the New Independent

States. Eligible fields are education, continuing education or

educational administration; the social, political or economic sciences;

business/accounting/trade; or journalism/communications. Within these

fields, themes of special interest may be described in additional

detail in the section on ``Country Eligibility.'' Community colleges

interested in working with partner institutions in the NIS outside of

Russia and Ukraine are eligible to apply through the NIS College and

University Partnerships Program, described separately in this

announcement.

The NIS Community College Partnerships Program is designed to

encourage community colleges to share with their educational partners

in the NIS their practical experience in designing and implementing

programs which provide targeted training in professional fields;

provide outreach and services to surrounding communities; and provide

education to underserved populations.

In general, underlying the specific objectives of projects funded

by this program should be the goal of fostering freedom and democracy

through a deepened mutual understanding of fundamental issues and

practical applications in the encouragement of civil society, economic

growth and prosperity, or the free flow of information. Creative,

innovative strategies to address these underlying concerns in the

pursuit of clearly defined institutional goals are encouraged. The

extension of understanding about these issues through outreach from

academic institutions to larger communities of citizens and

practitioners is encouraged, particularly by linking educational

programs in the NIS to the communities which they serve.

In addition to the NIS Community College Partnerships Program, the

Bureau also supports institutional linkages in higher education with

partners from the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union

through the NIS College and University Partnerships Program, which was

described in a previous announcement dated September 16, 1999 with a

deadline of January 19, 2000. The Bureau supports institutional

linkages in higher education with partners worldwide through the

College and University Affiliations Program; the College and University

Affiliations Program was described in a previous announcement dated May

18, 1999 with a deadline of November 15, 1999. Applicants interested in

either of these two programs should contact the Bureau's Humphrey

Fellowships and Institutional Linkages Branch at (202) 619-5289. In

addition, the United States Agency for International Development

(USAID) supports the Sustaining Partnerships into the Next Century

(SPAN) program, which supports organizational and institutional

partnerships, including university partnerships, in the Russian

Federation. Applicants interested in USAID's SPAN program should

contact the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) at (202)

628-8188 (E-mail: [email protected]).

In the NIS Community College Partnerships Program, partner

institutions may pursue specific institutional goals with support from

the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through exchanges of

teachers and administrators for any appropriate combination of

teaching, consultation, research, and outreach, for periods ranging

from one week (for planning visits) to an academic year. The Bureau's

support may be used to defray the costs of the exchange visits as well

as the costs of their administration at any partner institution up to a

maximum of 20 percent of the total grant, including administrative

salaries but excluding indirect costs. Although grants under this

program will be issued to eligible U.S. community colleges, adequate

provision for the administrative costs of the project at all partner

institutions is encouraged. Administrative salary support may be

included for project directors and administrative assistants within the

20 percent maximum that may be allocated to administrative costs. (See

the section of the POGI on ``Allowable costs''.) Students may

participate in the project, but not with the Bureau's support for the

costs of their visits. With the Bureau's support, institutions may

reinforce the activities of exchange participants through the

establishment and maintenance of Internet and/or electronic mail

communication facilities as well as through interactive technology or

non-technology-based distance-learning programs. Applicants may propose

other project activities not specifically anticipated in this

solicitation if the activities reinforce exchange activities and their

impact.

Proposals must be submitted by the U.S. institutional partner and

must include a letter of commitment from the foreign partner(s). While

the benefits of the project to each of the participating institutions

may differ significantly in nature and scope, proposals should outline

well-reasoned strategies leading to specific, demonstrable changes (for

example, new courses, new research or teaching capacities or

methodologies, new programs or revised curricula) that are anticipated

for each participating department or for the institution as a whole as

a result of the project. The strategy for achieving project goals may

include exchange visits in either or both directions, but no single

formula is anticipated for the duration, sequence, or number of these

visits. However, visits of one semester or more for participants from

each of the institutional partners are encouraged. Although strong

budgetary and programmatic emphasis may be given to visits in one

direction over another, the benefits of these visits to the sending as

well as the receiving sides should be clearly explained in terms of

their contributions to the departmental or institutional objectives

which the project is designed to achieve.

In addition to demonstrating the capacity of each participating

institution to contribute to its partner(s), proposals should also

explain how this cooperation will enable each of the institutions to

address its own needs. Accordingly, applicants are encouraged to

describe the needs as well as the capabilities of each participating

department as well as the broader social and educational needs which

the partner institutions attempt to serve. Effective proposals will

explain the anticipated cooperation in ways that demonstrate that the

institutions

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proposed for participation in the partnership clearly understand one

another and are committed to support one another in project

implementation. If the proposed partnership would occur within the

context of a previous or on-going project, the proposal should explain

how the request for Bureau funding would build upon the pre-existing

relationship or complement concurrent projects and cooperation.

The commitment of all partner institutions to the proposed project

should be reflected in the cost-sharing which they offer in the context

of their respective institutional capacities.

To provide adequate time to meet institutional goals, the program

awards grants for periods of approximately three years. The maximum

award in the FY2000 competition will be $200,000. Requests for amounts

smaller than the maximum are eligible. Grants awarded to organizations

with less than four years of experience in conducting international

exchange programs will be limited to $60,000. Grants are subject to the

availability of funds for Fiscal Year 2000.

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).

Projects must conform with the Bureau's requirements and guidelines

outlined in the solicitation package for this RFP, which can be

obtained by following the instructions given in the section below

entitled ``For Further Information.'' The ``Project Objectives, Goals,

and Implementation'' (hereafter, POGI) and the ``Proposal Submission

Instructions'' (hereafter, PSI), which contain additional guidelines,

are included in the Solicitation Package. Proposals that do not follow

RFP requirements and the guidelines appearing in the POGI and PSI may

be excluded from consideration due to technical ineligibility.

Announcement Title and Number

All communications with the Bureau concerning this RFP should refer

to the NIS Community College Partnerships Program and reference number

ECA/A/S/U-00-08.

Deadline for Proposals

All 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, nor will

documents postmarked on Wednesday, March 15, 2000 but received on a

later date. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure

compliance with the deadline.

Approximate program dates: Grants should begin on or about August

15, 2000.

Duration: Approximately August 15, 2000-August 14, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: United States Department of State,

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Global

Educational Programs, Humphrey Fellowships and Institutional Linkages

Branch, State Annex 44 (ECA/A/S/U) room 349, 301 4th Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20547, fax: (202) 401-1433 to request a Solicitation

Package containing more detailed award criteria; all application forms;

and guidelines for preparing proposals, including specific criteria for

preparation of the proposal budget. Please specify Bureau Program

Officer Jonathan Cebra (telephone: 202-619-4126, e-mail:

[email protected]) on all inquiries and correspondence.

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.

Interested applicants should 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

in any way with applicants until the Bureau proposal review process has

been completed.

Submissions

Applicants must follow all instructions given in the Solicitation

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

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

Affairs, Ref.: ECA/A/S/U-00-08, Program 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. This material must be provided in ASCII text (DOS)

format with a maximum line length of 65 characters. The Bureau will

transmit these files electronically to public affairs sections at U.S.

embassies overseas for their 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 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 account for

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.

[[Page 62728]]

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Guidelines

The NIS Community College Partnerships Program is limited to the

following academic fields:

(1) Business/accounting/trade;

(2) Education/continuing education/educational administration;

(3) Journalism/communications; and

(4) Social, political, or economic sciences.

Proposals must focus on curriculum, faculty, and staff development

at the NIS partner institution(s) in one or more of these eligible

disciplines. Administrative reform at the foreign partner should also

be a project component. Projects should involve the development of new

academic programs or the building and/or restructuring of an existing

program or programs, and should promote higher education's role in the

transition to market economies and open democratic systems. Feasibility

studies to plan partnerships will not be considered.

Whenever feasible, participants should make their training and

personnel resources, as well as results of their collaborative

research, available to government, NGOs, and business.

Participating institutions should exchange faculty and/or staff

members for teaching/lecturing and consulting. At least once during the

grant period, one U.S. participant should be in residence at the

foreign partner institution for one semester to serve in a coordinating

role.

U.S. institutions are responsible for the submission of proposals

and should collaborate with their foreign partners in planning and

preparing proposals. U.S. and foreign partner institutions are

encouraged to consult about the proposed project with program office

staff in Washington, DC.

U.S. Partner and Participant Eligibility

In the United States, participation in the program is open to

accredited community colleges offering the two-year Associate's degree.

Applications from consortia of community colleges are eligible.

Secondary U.S. partners may include relevant non-governmental

organizations, non-profit service or professional organizations, or

other institutions of higher education. If a lead U.S. institution in a

consortium is responsible for submitting an application on behalf of a

consortium, the application must document the lead school's stated

authority to represent the consortium. With the exception of outside

evaluators on contract with the U.S. institution, participants

representing the U.S. institution(s) who are traveling under Bureau

grant funds must be faculty or staff from the participating

institution(s) and must be U.S. citizens.

Foreign Partner and Participant Eligibility

In other countries, participation is open to recognized

institutions of post-secondary education, including pedagogical

institutes and universities, technical institutes and universities, and

vocational training schools. Secondary foreign partners may include

relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations, non-profit

service or professional organizations. Participants representing the

foreign institutions must be faculty or staff of the primary or

secondary partner institution, and be citizens, nationals, or permanent

residents of the country of the foreign partner, and be qualified to

hold a valid passport and U.S. J-1 visa.

Foreign partners from the following countries are eligible:

Russia--Proposals for partnerships with institutions located in

Moscow or St. Petersburg should clearly indicate how those partnerships

will have impact on other regions. Proposals which designate a partner

institution in the Sakhalin Region are encouraged.

Ukraine--proposals for partnerships with institutions located in

the Kharkiv region are encouraged;

Partnerships including a secondary foreign partner from a non-NIS

country are eligible to participate in a project funded by this

program; however, with the exception of Central European partners as

noted below, the Bureau will not cover overseas non-NIS partner

institution costs.

Central European Partners

The Bureau encourages proposals which build upon established

collaboration between U.S. institutions and partners in Central and

Eastern Europe in order to support faculty and curriculum development

in the NIS and to promote regional cooperation. Within the context of

this partnership agreement and under the guidance of the U.S. partner

institution, funds may be budgeted for the exchange of faculty between

NIS institutions and institutions of higher learning in Central and

Eastern Europe (applicants planning to submit proposals for trilateral

partnerships with a partner from Central or Eastern Europe are

encouraged to contact the program office).

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 Bureau officers as well as by other State Department

officers in Washington, DC and overseas. All eligible proposals will be

forwarded to the appropriate U.S. Embassy officers for advisory review.

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

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 and Clarity of Program Objectives

Proposed programs should outline clearly formulated objectives for

each participating institution that will also contribute to the

transition of the New Independent States to market economies and

democracies and to a deepened mutual understanding of fundamental

issues and practical applications in the themes eligible for

consideration in this competition.

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 teaching, faculty development, curriculum

development, and outreach. The various activities should be clearly

related to project objectives, but need not be equally emphasized

within the proposal.

[[Page 62729]]

Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the partnership will meet the

program's objectives and plan.

3. Impact of Program Objectives

Proposal objectives should have sustainable consequences for the

participating institutions and the societies and communities which

these institutions serve.

4. Support of Diversity

Proposals should demonstrate substantive support of the Bureau's

policy on diversity by outlining relevant aspects of the institutional

profile of each participating institution together with the relevancy

of issues of diversity to program objectives and implementation.

5. Institutional Capacity and Commitment

Proposals should demonstrate commitment of institutional resources

adequate and appropriate to achieve program goals. Proposals should

demonstrate significant understanding at each institution of its own

needs and capacities and of the needs and capacities of its proposed

partner(s), together with a strong commitment, during and after the

period of grant activity, to cooperate with one another in the mutual

pursuit of institutional objectives. Relevant factors include: the

financial and political stability of partner institutions and the

availability of a critical mass of faculty willing and able to

participate. Preference will be given to proposals which include

multiple quarter- or semester-length stays. Proposals should provide

evidence of relevant and successful prior interactions between

institutions and an indication of collaborative program planning. The

Bureau will consider the past performance of prior grant 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 (e.g. language skills).

6. Project Evaluation

Proposals should include a plan and methodology for evaluating the

project's degree of success in meeting program objectives. The plan

should include an updated assessment of the current status of each

department at the time of program inception; on-going formative

evaluation to allow for prompt corrective action; and summative

evaluation of the degree of achievement of project objectives together

with recommendations for further activities and projects to build upon

project achievements.

7. Cost-Effectiveness

Administrative costs should be reasonable and appropriate with

cost-sharing provided by all participating institutions within the

context of their respective capacities and as a reflection of their

commitment to cooperation with one another in pursuing project

objectives.

Ineligibility

A proposal will be deemed technically ineligible if:

(1) It does not fully adhere to the guidelines established herein

and in the Solicitation Package;

(2) It is not received by the deadline;

(3) It is not submitted by the U.S. partner;

(4) One of the partner institutions is ineligible;

(5) The academic discipline(s) is/are not listed as eligible in the

RFP, herein;

(6) The amount requested of the Bureau request exceeds $200,000 for

the three-year project.

Please refer to program-specific guidelines (POGI) in the

Solicitation Package for further details.

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 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 Bureau procedures.

Dated: November 5, 1999.

Evelyn S. Lieberman,

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

[FR Doc. 99-30048 Filed 11-16-99; 8:45 am]

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