Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Afghanistan School Administrator Project, 25134-25140 [05-9493]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 91 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25134-25140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9493]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 5076]


Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for 
Grant Proposals: Afghanistan School Administrator Project

    Announcement Type: New Grant.
    Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/A/S/X-05-02.

[[Page 25135]]

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 00.000.
    Key Dates:
    Application Deadline: June 6, 2005.
    Executive Summary: The Office of Global Educational Programs of the 
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open 
competition for the Afghanistan School Administrator Project (ASAP). 
The goal of the project is to enhance the educational and professional 
skills of the participants, including their leadership potential. While 
in the U.S. the participants will gain knowledge about the United 
States through daily interactions with Americans as well as improve 
their skills in school administration. The project will bring three 
different groups of 10-12 participants to the U.S. for a six-to-eight 
week program between late winter 2006 and spring 2007. The participants 
will be women who serve as school principals or assistant principals in 
Afghan schools. The administrators will receive an overview of U.S. 
education and education philosophy, have a series of workshops on 
school administration, visit U.S. schools, receive basic English 
instruction, and receive a computer laptop with training as needed. The 
grantee organization will assist the participants in conducting follow-
on workshops in Afghanistan in cooperation with the Ministry of 
Education. Upon return to Afghanistan the alumnae will be eligible to 
compete in a small grants competition. The project will be conducted in 
three phases outlined below. Bureau funding of up to $700,000 is 
available to support one grant.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    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 above is provided 
through legislation.
    Purpose: The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs seeks to 
assist in the on-going efforts of the government of Afghanistan to 
deliver education to its children by providing a project that targets 
women educators who are school principals or assistant principals. 
Concentrating on women school administrators will enhance the schooling 
of Afghan girls, who still lag behind Afghan boys in educational 
opportunities, since most women school administrators are at schools 
that are predominately serving Afghan girls. The goal of this project 
is to enhance the educational and professional skills of the 
participants, including their leadership potential. This project will 
build on the success of the Bureau's Afghanistan Teacher Education 
Project (ATEP) by continuing to target women educators in Afghanistan, 
but focus instead on school administrators. By the Afghanistan Teacher 
Education Project's conclusion a total of 61 basic education and 
English language teachers, and 24 school principals will have 
participated in U.S.-based training.
    Overview: All programming and logistics including design and 
implementation of the academic, cultural, and administrative components 
will be the responsibility of the grantee institution. These 
responsibilities include designing and implementing a three-phased 
academic component, which will take place in Afghanistan and the U.S. 
The first component is Afghan-based and should include the grantee's 
assessment of the relevant needs of the school principals within the 
Afghan education system, the recruitment of 10-12 school administrators 
per group, and a pre-departure orientation to prepare the participants 
for their program in the U.S. The second component consists of the 
design of a six-to-eight week U.S.-based program that provides 
participants with exposure to U.S. education curricula, train the 
trainer skills, educational materials and technology, leadership 
skills, and education policy topics that would benefit school 
administrators in Afghanistan, a cultural component that complements 
and reinforces material covered in the academic component, homestays, 
and a visit of no less than four days in Washington, DC. The third 
component, which will take place after the participants return home, 
consists of follow-on training in Afghanistan for the participants and 
other administrators or teachers in cooperation with the Ministry of 
Education and Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy in 
Kabul. The grantee organization will also design and implement a small 
grants program so that alumnae of the ASAP Project and the ATEP Project 
will be able to purchase essential materials for their schools.
    The grantee organization will be expected to arrange and budget for 
housing, meals, international and U.S. transportation, allowances for 
incidental expenses, books, laptop computer and printer, alumni grants, 
and excess baggage during all three components.
    Responsibilities for this project include:

1. Afghan-Based Activities

    A. Needs Assessment: Proposals should describe how, upon receipt of 
the grant the grantee institution will carry out a needs assessment in 
Afghanistan to determine which topics school administrators, 
appropriate Afghan education officials, and PAS-Kabul identify as most 
relevant to Afghan education, and then develop the project around those 
priorities. As part of the assessment, the grantee should consult with 
the Bureau and Embassy Kabul about the feasibility of and timeline for 
conducting the project as outlined in the applicant's proposal.
    B. Recruitment and Selection: The grant recipient will be 
responsible for identifying 30-36 Afghan women participants for the 
U.S. phase of the project. The participants should be school principals 
or assistant principals with a strong commitment to the rebuilding of 
the education system of Afghanistan. The selected participants should 
have demonstrated their commitment in recent years by serving 
Afghanistan's children within the formal education system. The 
recruitment methodology and specific criteria for participant selection 
should be outlined in the proposal. However, please note that 
participants should not be required to speak English. The grantee 
organization will be responsible for the selection process, with the 
understanding that the Bureau and PAS-Kabul must be consulted during 
the recruitment and selection process.
    A Kabul-based office or partner organization will be essential in 
carrying out this project. Applicants should identify in-country 
(Afghanistan-based) partner organizations and individuals with whom 
they propose to collaborate, and describe in detail previous 
cooperative projects undertaken by the organization(s)/individual(s). 
Specific information about the in-country partner's activities and 
accomplishments must be included in the section on ``Institutional and 
Language Capacity.'' Please include letters of project commitment from 
any in-country partners. A sub-grant agreement and accompanying budget 
for

[[Page 25136]]

activities to be conducted is required if an applicant partners with 
another organization. Please include this documentation with your 
proposal submission.
    C. Pre-departure Orientation: The grantee organization will conduct 
a three-day pre-departure orientation in Afghanistan for the 
participants to prepare them for the project and U.S.-based training 
and ensure that the expectations of participants are achievable within 
the objectives of the project.

2. U.S.-Based Academic Workshops

    Participants will travel to the U.S. for a six-week training 
program to enhance their expertise and professional skills as well as 
their leadership potential. Although the program will reference 
American examples of education reform, the wide disparity between the 
American and Afghanistan contexts requires that the focus be on the 
Afghan education system. Any American examples that are used must have 
relevance and applicability to the realities of Afghanistan. This 
project should not be perceived to be an American studies program or a 
program on concepts of American education, but rather a school 
administrators project specifically designed for Afghan educators. The 
approach should be one that provides in-depth content on a few selected 
themes rather than cursory information on a wide variety of topics. The 
workshop in the U.S. will upgrade participants' knowledge about 
educational technology, curriculum and materials development and train-
the-trainer skills, while also affording them opportunities to observe 
student-centered learning. Specific topics might include: establishing 
coordination among the various components of the education system, 
turning policy into practice, testing, certification, staff 
development, community outreach, education technology, parental 
involvement and student government, etc. In addition, observation of 
U.S. classrooms and applied practices should be included to inform the 
Afghan participants about the variety found within the U.S. education 
system. This will allow the Afghans to interact with the local 
community and provide Americans the opportunity to experience and learn 
about the culture of Afghanistan. Orientation sessions must be included 
for all Afghan and American participants (host families and/or those 
implementing the academic portion of the program).

3. Afghan-Based Activities Upon Return

    A. Follow-On Workshop: The project should also include a follow-on 
workshop for the participants following their U.S. training, which 
would be held in Afghanistan, and involve U.S. trainers identified by 
the grantee organization. The planning and conducting of the workshops 
should use an Afghan-driven approach. A modest stipend, perhaps $50 per 
month, could be budgeted for the Afghan principals while the workshop 
is planned and implemented. In addition, travel, food, and educational 
materials for all workshop participants should be budgeted for in the 
proposal. The school principals would be expected to play a central 
role in developing the Afghan workshop phase, so its design and content 
should be determined while the participants are in the U.S. phase of 
the project. The grantee should also consult with the Afghan Ministry 
of Education on potential participants in the follow-on workshop. Each 
follow-on workshop should reach out to at least 60 more educators in 
Afghanistan and provide relevant education materials in Dari (and 
Pashto if possible) to the participants. At least 180 principals from 
all three groups should participate in the follow-on phase. The project 
should be designed so that the sharing of information and training that 
occurs during the grant period will continue long after the grant 
concludes.
    B. Alumnae Small Grant Program: Approximately $100,000 of the 
$700,000 budget should be allocated for a potential small grants 
program that the grantee institution would design and implement. Should 
funds be available, alumnae of ATEP and ASAP would be eligible to apply 
for grants of up to $2,000 to purchase materials for their schools or 
to develop school linkages with the U.S. The grantee institution should 
establish criteria for the competition and after consultation with ECA, 
notify eligible participants that such a program is available. A 
workshop on writing grant requests should be held in Afghanistan or 
during the U.S. program to help alumnae develop grant-writing skills. 
Given that the alumnae will write grant proposals in the local 
languages, the grantee institution will need to provide PAS-Kabul and 
the Bureau Program Officer with a summary of each proposal in English 
for final approval.
    Timing: The project would preferably be implemented during a time 
frame that will cause the least disruption to the Afghan education 
system and the on-going responsibilities of the participants. 
Concurrence must be obtained from the Bureau and PAS-Kabul on the 
timing of the project.
    Further Information and Guidance: Please review the Project 
Objectives, Goals and Implementation (POGI) document, which provides 
specific information, award criteria and budget instructions tailored 
to this competition.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Grant Agreement.
    Fiscal Year Funds: FY-2005.
    Approximate Total Funding: $700,000.
    Approximate Number of Awards: 1.
    Approximate Average Award: $700,000.
    Anticipated Award Date: Pending availability of funds, September 1, 
2005.
    Anticipated Project Completion Date: June 30, 2007.
    Additional Information: Pending successful implementation of this 
program and the availability of funds in subsequent fiscal years, it is 
ECA's intent to renew this grant for two additional fiscal years, 
before openly competing it again.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

    Proposals may be submitted by public and private non-profit 
organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code 
section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3).

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching Funds

    There is no minimum or maximum percentage required for this 
competition. However, the Bureau encourages applicants to provide 
maximum levels of cost sharing and funding in support of its programs.
    When cost sharing is offered, it is understood and agreed that the 
applicant must provide the amount of cost sharing as stipulated in its 
proposal and later included in an approved grant agreement. Cost 
sharing may be in the form of allowable direct or indirect costs. For 
accountability, you must maintain written records to support all costs 
which are claimed as your contribution, as well as costs to be paid by 
the Federal Government. Such records are subject to audit. The basis 
for determining the value of cash and in-kind contributions must be in 
accordance with OMB Circular A-110, (Revised), Subpart C.23--Cost 
Sharing and Matching. In the event you do not provide the minimum 
amount of cost sharing as stipulated in the approved budget, ECA's 
contribution will be reduced in like proportion.

[[Page 25137]]

III.3. Other Eligibility Requirements

    a. Bureau grant guidelines require that organizations with less 
than four years experience in conducting international exchanges be 
limited to $60,000 in Bureau funding. ECA anticipates awarding one 
grant, in an amount up to $700,000 to support program and 
administrative costs required to implement this exchange program. 
Therefore, organizations with less than four years experience in 
conducting international exchanges are ineligible to apply under this 
competition. The Bureau encourages applicants to provide maximum levels 
of cost sharing and funding in support of its programs.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    Note: Please read the complete Federal Register announcement 
before sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFGP 
deadline has passed, Bureau staff may not discuss this competition 
with applicants until the proposal review process has been 
completed.

IV.1. Contact Information To Request an Application Package

    Please contact the Office of Global Educational Programs, ECA/A/S/
X, Room 349, U.S. Department of State, SA-44, 301 4th Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20547, 202 619-4555, mosleypj@state.gov to request 
a Solicitation Package. Please refer to the Funding Opportunity Number 
ECA/A/S/X-05-02 located at the top of this announcement when making 
your request.
    The Solicitation Package contains the Proposal Submission 
Instruction (PSI) document which consists of required application 
forms, and standard guidelines for proposal preparation.
    It also contains the Project Objectives, Goals and Implementation 
(POGI) document, which provides specific information, award criteria 
and budget instructions tailored to this competition. Please specify 
Bureau Senior Program Officer Mary Lou Johnson-Pizarro and refer to the 
Funding Opportunity Number ECA/A/S/X-05-02 located at the top of this 
announcement on all other inquiries and correspondence.

IV.2. To Download a Solicitation Package Via Internet

    The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from the Bureau's 
Web site at https://exchanges.state.gov/education/rfgps/menu.htm. Please 
read all information before downloading.

IV.3. Content and Form of Submission

    Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation 
Package. The original and eight copies of the application should be 
sent per the instructions under IV.3e. ``Submission Dates and Times 
section'' below.
    IV.3a. You Are Required To Have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal 
Numbering System (DUNS) number to apply for a grant or cooperative 
agreement from the U.S. Government. This number is a nine-digit 
identification number, which uniquely identifies business entities. 
Obtaining a DUNS number is easy and there is no charge. To obtain a 
DUNS number, access https://www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1-866-705-
5711. Please ensure that your DUNS number is included in the 
appropriate box of the SF-424 which is part of the formal application 
package.
    IV.3b. All proposals must contain an executive summary, proposal 
narrative and budget.
    Please Refer to the Solicitation Package. It contains the mandatory 
Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document and the Project 
Objectives, Goals and Implementation (POGI) document for additional 
formatting and technical requirements.
    IV.3c. You must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of 
application. If your organization is a private nonprofit which has not 
received a grant or cooperative agreement from ECA in the past three 
years, or if your organization received nonprofit status from the IRS 
within the past four years, you must submit the necessary documentation 
to verify nonprofit status as directed in the PSI document. Failure to 
do so will cause your proposal to be declared technically ineligible.
    IV.3d. Please take into consideration the following information 
when preparing your proposal narrative:
    IV.3d.1 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 the Exchange Visitor Programs as set forth in 22 CFR 
62, 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. The Grantee 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 https://
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.
    Please refer to Solicitation Package for further information.
    IV.3d.2 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 disabilities. 
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 your 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.'' 
Public Law 106-113 requires that the governments of the countries 
described above do not have inappropriate influence in the selection 
process. Proposals should reflect advancement of these goals in their 
program contents, to the full extent deemed feasible.
    IV.3d.3. Program Monitoring and Evaluation. Proposals must include 
a plan to monitor and evaluate the project's success, both as the 
activities unfold and at the end of the program. The Bureau recommends 
that your proposal include a draft survey questionnaire or other 
technique plus a description of a methodology to use to link outcomes 
to original project objectives. The Bureau expects that the grantee 
will track participants or partners and be able to respond to key 
evaluation questions, including satisfaction with the program, learning 
as a result of the program, changes in behavior as a result of the 
program, and effects of the program on institutions (institutions in 
which participants work

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or partner institutions). The evaluation plan should include indicators 
that measure gains in mutual understanding as well as substantive 
knowledge.
    Successful monitoring and evaluation depend heavily on setting 
clear goals and outcomes at the outset of a program. Your evaluation 
plan should include a description of your project's objectives, your 
anticipated project outcomes, and how and when you intend to measure 
these outcomes (performance indicators). The more that outcomes are 
``smart'' (specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and 
placed in a reasonable time frame), the easier it will be to conduct 
the evaluation. You should also show how your project objectives link 
to the goals of the program described in this RFGP.
    Your monitoring and evaluation plan should clearly distinguish 
between program outputs and outcomes. Outputs are products and services 
delivered, often stated as an amount. Output information is important 
to show the scope or size of project activities, but it cannot 
substitute for information about progress towards outcomes or the 
results achieved. Examples of outputs include the number of people 
trained or the number of seminars conducted. Outcomes, in contrast, 
represent specific results a project is intended to achieve and is 
usually measured as an extent of change. Findings on outputs and 
outcomes should both be reported, but the focus should be on outcomes.
    We encourage you to assess the following four levels of outcomes, 
as they relate to the program goals set out in the RFGP (listed here in 
increasing order of importance):
    1. Participant satisfaction with the program and exchange 
experience.
    2. Participant learning, such as increased knowledge, aptitude, 
skills, and changed understanding and attitude. Learning includes both 
substantive (subject-specific) learning and mutual understanding.
    3. Participant behavior, concrete actions to apply knowledge in 
work or community; greater participation and responsibility in civic 
organizations; interpretation and explanation of experiences and new 
knowledge gained; continued contacts between participants, community 
members, and others.
    4. Institutional changes, such as increased collaboration and 
partnerships, policy reforms, new programming, and organizational 
improvements.
    Please note: Consideration should be given to the appropriate 
timing of data collection for each level of outcome. For example, 
satisfaction is usually captured as a short-term outcome, whereas 
behavior and institutional changes are normally considered longer-term 
outcomes.
    Overall, the quality of your monitoring and evaluation plan will be 
judged on how well it (1) specifies intended outcomes; (2) gives clear 
descriptions of how each outcome will be measured; (3) identifies when 
particular outcomes will be measured; and (4) provides a clear 
description of the data collection strategies for each outcome (i.e., 
surveys, interviews, or focus groups). (Please note that evaluation 
plans that deal only with the first level of outcomes [satisfaction] 
will be deemed less competitive under the present evaluation criteria.)
    Grantees will be required to provide reports analyzing their 
evaluation findings to the Bureau in their regular program reports. All 
data collected, including survey responses and contact information, 
must be maintained for a minimum of three years and provided to the 
Bureau upon request.
    IV.3d.4. Describe your plans for: i.e. sustainability, overall 
program management, staffing, coordination with the Bureau and PAS-
Kabul or any other requirements etc.
    IV.3e. Please take the following information into consideration 
when preparing your budget:
    IV.3e.1. Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the 
entire program. One award will be made and it may not exceed $700,000. 
There must be a summary budget as well as breakdowns reflecting both 
administrative and program budgets. Applicants may provide separate 
sub-budgets for each program component, phase, location, or activity to 
provide clarification.
    IV.3e.2. Allowable costs for the program include the following:
    (1) International and Domestic Travel
    (2) U.S. Ground Transportation
    (3) Host Families
    (4) Professional Development Seminars/Conference and Debriefing 
(instruction, materials, logistics)
    (5) Participant Maintenance (6-8 weeks)
    (6) Cultural Activities
    (7) Book Allowance/Shipping
    (8) Laptop Computer and Printer
    (9) Grantee administrative costs
    (10) Interpretation and Translation Costs
    (11) Small alumni grants
    The Bureau will consider funding project activities in addition to 
those specifically listed in the RFGP as long as they are not 
designated unallowable.
    Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget 
guidelines and formatting instructions.
IV.3f. Submission Dates and Times:
    Application Deadline Date: June 6, 2005.
    Explanation of Deadlines: Due to heightened security measures, 
proposal submissions must be sent via a nationally recognized overnight 
delivery service (i.e., DHL, Federal Express, UPS, Airborne Express, or 
U.S. Postal Service Express Overnight Mail, etc.) and be shipped no 
later than the above deadline. The delivery services used by applicants 
must have in-place, centralized shipping identification and tracking 
systems that may be accessed via the Internet and delivery people who 
are identifiable by commonly recognized uniforms and delivery vehicles. 
Proposals shipped on or before the above deadline but received at ECA 
more than seven days after the deadline will be ineligible for further 
consideration under this competition. Proposals shipped after the 
established deadlines are ineligible for consideration under this 
competition. It is each applicant's responsibility to ensure that each 
package is marked with a legible tracking number and to monitor/confirm 
delivery to ECA via the Internet. ECA will not notify you upon receipt 
of application. Delivery of proposal packages may not be made via local 
courier service or in person for this competition. Faxed documents will 
not be accepted at any time. Only proposals submitted as stated above 
will be considered. Applications may not be submitted electronically at 
this time.
    Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation 
Package.

    Important note: When preparing your submission please make sure 
to include one extra copy of the completed SF-424 form and place it 
in an envelope addressed to ``ECA/EX/PM''.

    The original and eight copies of the application should be sent to: 
U.S. Department of State, SA-44, Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs, Ref.: ECA/A/S/X-05-02, Program Management, ECA/EX/PM, Room 
534, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
    Along with the Project Title, all applicants must enter the above 
Reference Number in Box 11 on the SF-424 contained in the mandatory 
Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) of the solicitation document.
    IV.3g. Intergovernmental Review of Applications: Executive Order 
12372 does not apply to this program.
    IV.3h. Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and 
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal in text (.txt) format 
on a PC-formatted disk. The Bureau will provide

[[Page 25139]]

these files electronically to the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Section 
in Kabul for their review.

V. Application Review Information

V.1. Review Process

    The Bureau will review all proposals 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 the program office, as well as the Public 
Diplomacy section overseas, where appropriate. Eligible proposals will 
be subject to compliance with Federal and Bureau regulations and 
guidelines and forwarded to Bureau grant panels for advisory review. 
Proposals may also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Adviser or by 
other Department elements. Final funding decisions are at the 
discretion of the Department of State's Assistant Secretary for 
Educational and Cultural Affairs. Final technical authority for 
assistance awards grants resides with the Bureau's Grants Officer.
Review Criteria
    Technically eligible applications will be competitively reviewed 
according to the criteria stated below. These criteria are not rank 
ordered and all carry equal weight in the proposal evaluation:
    1. Program planning: A detailed agenda and relevant work plan 
should demonstrate substantive undertakings and logistical capacity. 
Agenda and plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines 
described above.
    2. Ability to achieve program objectives: Objectives should be 
reasonable, feasible, and flexible. Proposals should clearly 
demonstrate how the institution will meet the program's objectives and 
plan.
    3. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate substantive 
support of the Bureau's policy on diversity. Achievable and relevant 
features should be cited in both program administration (selection of 
participants, program venue and program evaluation) and program content 
(orientation and wrap-up sessions, program meetings, resource materials 
and follow-on activities).
    4. Institutional and Language Capacity: 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 Bureau 
Grants Staff. The Bureau will consider the past performance of prior 
recipients and the demonstrated potential of new applicants. Also, the 
applicant should indicate the capacity to conduct the program in Dari.
    5. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate 
the activity's success, both as the activities unfold and at the end of 
the program. The Bureau recommends that the proposal include a draft 
survey questionnaire or other technique plus description of a 
methodology to use to link outcomes to original project objectives. An 
illustrative sample can be found in the POGI and should be modified to 
fit the needs of this project.
    6. Cost-effectiveness: The overhead and administrative components 
of the proposal, including salaries and honoraria, should be kept as 
low as possible. All other items should be necessary and appropriate.

VI. Award Administration Information

    VI.1a. Award Notices: Final awards cannot be made until funds have 
been appropriated by Congress, allocated and committed through internal 
Bureau procedures. Successful applicants will receive an Assistance 
Award Document (AAD) from the Bureau's Grants Office. The AAD and the 
original grant proposal with subsequent modifications (if applicable) 
shall be the only binding authorizing document between the recipient 
and the U.S. Government. The AAD will be signed by an authorized Grants 
Officer, and mailed to the recipient's responsible officer identified 
in the application.
    Unsuccessful applicants will receive notification of the results of 
the application review from the ECA program office coordinating this 
competition.

VI.2 Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    Terms and Conditions for the Administration of ECA agreements 
include the following:

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-122, ``Cost Principles for 
Nonprofit Organizations.''
Office of Management and Budget Circular A-21, ``Cost Principles for 
Educational Institutions.''
OMB Circular A-87, ``Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian 
Governments''.
OMB Circular No. A-110 (Revised), Uniform Administrative Requirements 
for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, 
Hospitals, and other Nonprofit Organizations.
OMB Circular No. A-102, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants-
in-Aid to State and Local Governments.
OMB Circular No. A-133, Audits of States, Local Government, and Non-
profit Organizations.

    Please reference the following Web sites for additional 
information:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants.
https://exchanges.state.gov/education/grantsdiv/terms.htm#articleI.

VI.3. Reporting Requirements

    You must provide ECA with a hard copy original plus two copies of a 
final program and financial report no more than 90 days after the 
expiration of the award.
    Grantees will be required to provide reports analyzing their 
evaluation findings to the Bureau in their regular program reports. 
(Please refer to IV. Application and Submission Instructions (IV.3.d.3) 
above for Program Monitoring and Evaluation information.
    All data collected, including survey responses and contact 
information, must be maintained for a minimum of three years and 
provided to the Bureau upon request.
    All reports must be sent to the ECA Grants Officer and ECA Program 
Officer listed in the final assistance award document.

VI.4. 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. Final schedules for in-country and U.S. activities must be 
received by the ECA Program Officer at least one week prior to the 
official opening of the activity.

VII. Agency Contacts

    For questions about this announcement, contact: Mary Lou Johnson-
Pizarro, Office of Global Educational Programs, ECA/A/S/X, Room 
349, ECA/A/S/X-05-02, U.S. Department of State, SA-44, 301 4th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547, phone (202) 401-5969, fax (202) 401-
1433, Johnson-PizarroML@state.gov.
    All correspondence with the Bureau concerning this RFGP should 
reference the above title and number ECA/A/S/X-05-02.

[[Page 25140]]

    Please read the complete Federal Register announcement before 
sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFGP deadline has 
passed, Bureau staff may not discuss this competition with applicants 
until the proposal review process has been completed.

VIII. Other Information

    Notice: The terms and conditions published in this RFGP 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 RFGP 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 per section 
VI.3 above.

    Dated: May 5, 2005.
C. Miller Crouch,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Educational and 
Cultural Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 05-9493 Filed 5-11-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-05-P