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SUBSCRIBE The leading Copyright |
[Federal Register: October 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 66441-66448]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc02-81]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 4182]
The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs Request for Grant Proposals (RFGPs): Eurasia
Professional Exchanges and Training Program for Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs (the Bureau) invites applicants to submit
proposals that encourage the growth of democratic institutions in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
U.S.-based public and private non-profit organizations meeting the
provisions described in Internal Revenue code section 26 U.S.C.
501(c)(3) may submit proposals that support international projects in
the United States and overseas involving current or potential leaders.
Interested applicants should read the complete Federal Register
announcement before addressing inquiries to the Office of Citizen
Exchanges or submitting proposals. Once the RFGP deadline has passed,
Office of Citizen Exchanges staff may not discuss this competition with
applicants until after the Bureau program and project review process
has been completed.
Announcement Name and Number: All correspondence with the Bureau
concerning this RFGP should reference the ``Eurasia Professional
Exchanges and Training Program'' and reference number: ECA/PE/C/EUR-03-
22. Please refer to title and number in all correspondence or telephone
calls to the Office of Citizen Exchanges.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested organizations/institutions
may contact the Office of Citizen Exchanges, Room 220, SA-44, U.S.
Department of State, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547,
Attention: Eurasia Professional Exchanges and Training Program,
telephone number 202/205-3003, fax number 202/619-4350, or
KTurner@pd.state.gov to request a Solicitation Package. The
Solicitation Package contains detailed award criteria, required
application
[[Page 66442]]
forms, specific budget instructions, and standard guidelines for
proposal preparation.
For specific inquiries, please contact Bureau program officers by
phone: Henry Scott (202) 619-5327 (hscott@pd.state.gov); Michael George
(202) 619-5330 (mdgeorge@pd.state.gov); Brent Beemer (202) 401-6887
(bbeemer@pd.state.gov). Please specify Henry Scott, Michael George or
Brent Beemer on all other inquiries and correspondence.
To Download a Solicitation Package Via Internet
The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from the Bureau's
website at http://exchanges.state.gov/education/RFGPs. Please read all
information before downloading the package.
General Program Guidelines
Applicants should identify the local organizations and individuals
in the counterpart country with whom they are proposing to collaborate
and describe in detail previous cooperative programming and/or
contacts. Specific information about the counterpart organizations'
activities and accomplishments should be included in the section on
Institutional Capacity. Proposals should contain letters of support
tailored to the project being proposed from foreign-country partner
organizations.
Exchanges and training programs supported by institutional grants
from the Bureau should operate at two levels: They should enhance
institutional partnerships, and they should offer practical information
and experience to individuals and groups to assist them with their
professional responsibilities. Strong proposals usually have the
following characteristics:
[sbull] A proven track record of working in the proposed issue area
and country;
[sbull] Experienced staff with language facility and a commitment
by the staff to monitor projects locally to ensure implementation;
[sbull] A clear, convincing plan showing how permanent results will
be accomplished as a result of the activity funded by the grant; and
[sbull] A follow-on plan that includes activities beyond the
conclusion and scope of the Bureau grant.
Proposal narratives should clearly demonstrate an organization's
commitment to consult closely with the Public Affairs Section and when
required other officers at the U.S. Embassy. Proposal narratives must
confirm that all materials developed for the project will acknowledge
Bureau funding for the program as well as a commitment to invite
representatives of the Embassy and/or Consulate to participate in
various program sessions/site visits. Please note that this will be a
formal requirement in all final grant awards.
Suggested Program Designs
Bureau-supported exchanges may include internships; study tours;
short-term, non-technical experiential learning, extended and intensive
workshops and seminars taking place in the United States or overseas.
Examples of program activities include:
1. A U.S.-based program that includes: orientation to program
purposes and to U.S. society; study tour/site visits; professional
internships/placements; interaction and dialogue; hands-on training;
professional development; and action plan development. Proposals that
include U.S.-based training will receive the highest priority.
2. Capacity-building/training-of-trainer (TOT) workshops to help
participants to identify priorities, create work plans, strengthen
professional and volunteer skills, share their experience with
committed people within each country, and become active in a practical
and valuable way.
3. Site visits by U.S. facilitators/experts to monitor projects in
the region and to provide additional training and consultations as
needed.
Activities ineligible for support: The Office does not support
proposals limited to conferences or seminars (i.e.), one to fourteen-
day programs with plenary sessions, main speakers, panels, and a
passive audience). It will support conferences only when they are a
small part of a larger project in duration that is receiving Bureau
funding from this competition. The Office will only support workshops,
seminars and training sessions that are an integral part of a larger
project. No funding is available exclusively to send U.S. citizens to
conferences or conference-type seminars overseas; nor is funding
available for bringing foreign nationals to conferences or to routine
professional association meetings in the United States.
Selection of Participants
All grant proposals should clearly describe the type of persons who
will participate in the program as well as the participant selection
process. For programs that include U.S. internships, applicants should
submit letters of support from host institutions. In the selection of
foreign participants, the Bureau and U.S. Embassies retain the right to
review all participant nominations and to accept or refuse participants
recommended by grantee institutions. When American participants are
selected, grantee institutions must provide their names and brief
biographical data to the Office of Citizen Exchanges. Priority in two-
way exchange proposals will be given to foreign participants who have
not previously traveled to the United States. (See section below on
requirements for maintenance of and provision to the Bureau of data on
participants and program activities.)
Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Please refer to
Solicitation Package for further information.
Evaluation
In general, evaluation should occur throughout the project. The
evaluation should incorporate an assessment of the program from a
variety of perspectives. Specifically, project assessment efforts will
focus on: (a) Determining if objectives are being met or have been met,
(b) identifying any unmet needs, and (c) assessing if the project has
effectively identified resources, advocates, and financial support for
the sustainability of future projects. Informal evaluation through
discussions and other sources of feedback will be carried out
throughout the duration of the project. Formal evaluation must be
conducted at the end of each component, should measure the impact of
the activities and should obtain participants' feedback on the program
content and administration. A detailed evaluation will be conducted at
the conclusion of the project and a report will be submitted to the
Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. When
possible, the evaluation should be conducted by an independent
evaluator.
Program Data Requirements
Organizations awarded grants will be required to maintain specific
data on program participants and activities in an electronically
accessible database format that can be shared with the Bureau as
required. As a minimum, the data must include the following:
(1) Name, address, contact information and biographic sketch of all
persons who travel internationally on funds provided by the grant or
who benefit from the grant funding but do not travel.
(2) Itineraries of international and domestic travel, providing
dates of travel and cities in which any exchange experiences take
place.
[[Page 66443]]
Adherence to All Regulations Governing the J Visa
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is placing renewed
emphasis on the secure and proper administration of Exchange Visitor (J
visa) Programs and adherence by grantees and sponsors to all
regulations governing the J visa. Therefore, proposals should
demonstrate the applicant's capacity to meet all requirements governing
the administration of Exchange Visitor Programs as set forth in 22 CFR
6Z, including the oversight of Responsible Officers and Alternate
Responsible Officers, screening and selection of program participants,
provision of pre-arrival information and orientation to participants,
monitoring of participants, proper maintenance and security of forms,
record-keeping, reporting and other requirements. ECA will be
responsible for issuing DS-2019 forms to participants in this program.
A copy of the complete regulations governing the administration of
Exchange Visitor (J) programs is available at http://
exchanges.state.gov or from:
United States Department of State, Office of Exchange Coordination
and Designation, ECA/EC/ECD--SA-44, Room 734, 301 4th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20547, Telephone: (202) 401-9810, FAX: (202) 401-9809.
Program Information
Overview
The Bureau welcomes proposals that respond directly to the themes
and countries listed below. Given budgetary considerations, projects in
countries and for themes other than those listed will not be eligible
for consideration and will be ruled technically ineligible. The themes
listed below are important to the Office of Citizen Exchanges, but no
guarantee is made or implied that grants will be awarded in all
categories.
For this competition, single country projects only are eligible for
support. In order to prevent duplication of effort, proposals should
reflect an understanding of the work of international agencies so that
projects complement--not duplicate--other assistance programs.
Two-way exchanges will be given the highest priority. Applicants
should carefully review the following recommendations for proposals in
Eurasian countries.
To be eligible for a grant award under this competition, the
proposed professional training and exchange projects must address one
of the following specific themes for single country projects. Multi-
country projects are not eligible for this competition.
Media Training (Armenia or Kazakhstan or Russia or Uzbekistan)
Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (Armenia or Azerbaijan or Belarus
or Georgia or Kyrgyz Republic or Tajikistan)
Tolerance (Georgia or Russia)
Intellectual Property Rights (Russia)
Professional Association Building for Political Scientists and
Economists (Ukraine)
Tourism and Economic Development (Moldova)
Religion in a Democracy (Kazakhstan)
Business Development (Turkmenistan)
Community and Local Government Relations (Armenia)
Public Health Awareness (Armenia)
Training in NGO Law Making (Turkmenistan)
Library Exchange (Kyrgyz Republic)
Professional Training for Media Professionals
Single Country Projects for Armenia or Kazakhstan or Russia or
Uzbekistan
The Bureau is interested in proposals from applicants who possess a
thorough understanding of the current state and needs of the media in
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia or Uzbekistan. Proposals should include in-
country and U.S.-based training activities for journalists and/or media
outlet managers. When proposing U.S.-based training, the program should
include relevant meetings with media experts and a hands-on internship
training component at an appropriate media outlet. For internships,
letters of support from media outlets willing to host participants
should be provided, and the applicant should describe why these media
establishments have been chosen. Internships may be developed for
individuals or small groups consisting of not more than three persons.
If the small group format is used, the internships must have a
practical program component with hands-on experience. If participants
who do not speak English are nominated for the U.S.-based program, the
applicant must explain how the interpreting needs of those participants
would be met. In-country activities may include workshops and seminars.
These may be led by the participants themselves, or by U.S. trainers,
or a combination of both. In addition to group events, training
activities should take place throughout the grant period. Applicants
should describe in detail these activities and how they will create and
sustain long-term relationships between international participants and
their home media outlets and their U.S. hosts. Such activities may
include virtual mentoring and e-mail consultations between U.S.-based
trainers/hosts and participants. Training should not duplicate the work
done under recent or existing USG-sponsored programs, but should
complement those efforts. Applicants should expect to work closely with
the Public Affairs Sections of the U.S. embassies to coordinate all
activities, including participant selection.
Preference will be given to projects that do not exceed $150,000.
For Armenia
Media training for Armenia should include a two-way exchange and
offer hands-on internships in the U.S. that emphasize a commitment to
objective reporting. Applicants should propose to include the
Association of Investigative Journalists of Armenia (AIJA) (http://
www.hetq.am/en/index.html), in program activities.
AIJA is a non-governmental organization whose goal is to provide
assistance in the development of investigative journalism and freedom
of speech in Armenia. Applicants should explain in detail activities
and components that will create and sustain long-term relationships
between Armenian participants and their home media outlets and their
U.S. hosts.
For Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan
Note: Requirements for proposals for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
are the same, but applicants must submit single-country proposals
only.
Media training projects for Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan should include
a two-way exchange and should offer hands-on internships in the U.S.
that emphasize methods of income generation, better fiscal management
practices, and a commitment to objective reporting. Programs designed
for Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan should also emphasize the role of media in
reporting on minority and conflict issues. Applicants should explain in
detail activities and components that will create and sustain long-term
relationships between Kazakh or Uzbek participants and their home media
outlets and their U.S. hosts.
For Russia
The program should address one or more of the four issues
identified by the Russian-American Media Entrepreneurship Dialogue.
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