Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP): Congressionally Mandated-One-Time Grants Program-Competition B-Professional, Cultural, and Youth One-Time Grants Program, 17716-17726 [E9-8650]
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significantly, will enhance the ability of
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Interested persons are invited to
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For the Commission, by the Division of
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[FR Doc. E9–8656 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 6581]
Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant
Proposals (RFGP): Congressionally
Mandated—One-Time Grants
Program—Competition B—
Professional, Cultural, and Youth OneTime Grants Program
Announcement Type: New Grant.
Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/
PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance Number: 00.000.
Key Dates:
Application Deadline: May 14, 2009.
Executive Summary: This competition
is one of two competitions that the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs is conducting as directed in the
FY–2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub.
L. 111–8) under Division H of the
Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, under ‘‘Educational
and Cultural Exchange Programs’’ in
support of a $6 million ‘‘competitive
one-time grants program.’’ All
applications must be submitted by
public or private non-profit
organizations, meeting the provisions
described in Internal Revenue code
section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). Total
funding for this ‘‘one-time grants
program’’ is $6 million dollars. $3.9
million will be dedicated to this
competition, (Competition B—
Professional, Cultural and Youth Onetime Grants Program—reference number
ECA/PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B), and
$2.1 million will be dedicated to and
announced simultaneously in a separate
RFGP, (Competition A—Academic
Programs One-time Grants Program—
reference number ECA/A–09–One-timeComp. A). Please note: The Bureau
reserves the right to reallocate funds it
has initially allocated to each of these
two competitions, based upon factors
such as the number of applications
received and responsiveness to the
review criteria outlined in each of the
solicitations.
Applicants may submit only one
proposal (TOTAL) to one of the two
competitions referenced above. In
addition, applicants under this
competition (either ECA/PE/C–09–Onetime-Comp.B or ECA/A–09–One-timeComp. A) may only apply to administer
one of the listed activities (total). If
multiple proposals are received from the
same applicant, all submissions will be
declared technically ineligible and will
be given no further consideration in the
review process. Eligible applicants are
strongly encouraged to read both RFGPs
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thoroughly, prior to developing and
submitting proposals, to ensure that
proposed activities are appropriate and
responsive to the goals, objectives and
criteria outlined in each of the
solicitations.
As further directed by the Congress,
‘‘The program shall be only for the
actual exchange of people and should
benefit a population that is not being
addressed through existing authorized
exchanges.’’
The Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs announces a
competition for grants that support
international exchanges in order to
increase mutual understanding and
build relationships, through individuals
and organizations, between the people
of the United States and their
counterparts in other countries. The
Bureau welcomes proposals from
organizations that have not had a
previous grant from the Bureau as well
as from those which have; see eligibility
information below and in section III.
Organizations that received grant
funding under the FY–2008 Competitive
One-time Grants Program (Reference
numbers: ECA/A–08–One-time-Comp. A
or ECA/PE/C/–08–One-time-Comp. B)
are not eligible to apply for this FY–
2009 One-time Program.
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 FulbrightHays 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.
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Background
The FY–2009 Omnibus Appropriation
(Pub. L. 111–8) under Division H of the
Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, under ‘‘Educational
and Cultural Exchange Programs’’
provides $6 million for a ‘‘competitive
one-time grants program. Grants shall
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address issues of mutual interest to the
United States and other countries,
consistent with the program criteria
established in Public Law 110–161.
Programs shall support the actual
exchange of people and should benefit
a population that is not being addressed
through existing authorized exchanges.’’
Purpose: ECA anticipates awarding
approximately 12–15 grants under this
FY2009 Competition B Professional,
Cultural, and Youth One-time Grants
Program. Each grant must sponsor an
exchange of approximately equal
numbers of American participants
traveling to the partner country(ies) and
participants from the partner
country(ies) traveling to the U.S. In
addition, the projects should set clear
learning objectives for both foreign and
American participants, thereby
supporting the Fulbright-Hays Act
purpose of increasing mutual
understanding. Also, the applicant must
have the necessary capacity in the
partner country through their own
overseas offices or a partner institution
to carry out the proposed project.
Proposals must respond to one
specific theme under one of the
following programs:
Emerging Youth Leaders: for high
school students (ages 15–17) and
educators
1. Democracy and Governance in Civil
Society
2. Science and Environmental issues
Emerging Young Professionals: for
young adults (ages 22–35)
1. Environmental issues
2. Entrepreneurial and business
management skills
3. Post-conflict governing
4. Development of Grassroots
Organizations for Women
Emerging Cultural Leaders: ‘‘Rooted
in the Arts’’ program for U.S.
performing artists (ages 25–35) and
teachers
Please note each of the
aforementioned programs is limited to
specific countries. More detailed
descriptions of these programs, themes
and eligible countries are included
below.
In order to emphasize ECA’s interest
in clarity of project purpose and, later,
to track projects and to evaluate their
results, all proposals must be presented
in the following format:
Tab A—Application for Federal
Assistance Cover Sheet
Tab B—Executive Summary
In one double-spaced page, provide
the following information:
1. Names of the applicant
organization and other participating
institutions, both American and foreign.
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2. Beginning and ending dates of the
project
3. Grant theme being addressed
4. Numbers of American and foreign
participants
5. Types and approximate dates of
project activities and their venues
6. Total number of exchange days,
including only those days when
international travelers are in program
status in the partnering country.
Tab C—Narrative
In no more than 20 double-spaced,
single-sided pages, use the following
format to describe the proposed project
in detail:
A. Purpose:
1. Definition of the overall goal to be
pursued through a two-way exchange
project. Name the theme from those
listed under Emerging Youth Leaders,
Emerging Young Professionals, or
Emerging Cultural Leaders into which
this goal should fit.
2. Country or countries to take part,
and why chosen.
3. Category of persons to participate,
with explanation of why that category is
chosen and how it fits the requirement
that it is a population that is not being
addressed through existing authorized
exchanges.
4. Description of program activities to
take place (e.g., workshops, internships,
community service, job shadowing,
model site visits, cultural activities, etc).
B. Objectives: Based on the purpose
described above, delineate your
project’s main objectives (no more than
five) and outcomes you expect as a
result of your project’s activities. For
each outcome, please state the time
frame for achievement. Your objectives
and outcomes should be realistic in
scope. They should be guided by one or
more of the following questions. (Please
see section IV.3d.3. Project Monitoring
and Evaluation for assistance in
identifying and defining outcomes.)
1. What specifically will participants,
U.S. and foreign, learn as a result of this
project?
2. What new attitudes will
participants, U.S. and foreign, develop,
or what new ideas will they encounter
as a result of this project?
3. How will the participants’ behavior
change as a result of this project? What
new actions will they take?
4. Will participants be a catalyst for
change in their schools, work-places,
communities, or institutions? How so?
C. Baseline: Describe plans for
baseline measurements of these
outcomes at the project outset. Based on
the time-frame for achievement you
stipulate, what types of data will be
gathered, when, by what methodology,
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and what plan will be used to analyze
data and draw conclusions?
D. Shorter-term Outcomes: Explain
plans for measurement of shorter-term
outcomes at the end of project activities.
Please note any changes in
measurement or data collection, since
baseline data were originally collected.
E. Longer-term Outcomes: Provide
plans for measurement of outcomes six
months or more after the end of project
activities. Explain the linkages between
project activities and learning, and
longer-term outcomes and
achievements, in the intervening
months. These outcome measurements
should be the basis for evaluating the
overall project and should provide the
core of the final report to ECA.
Tab D—Budget
Both a summary budget for
administrative and programmatic
expenses and a detailed, line-item
budget must be presented in the threecolumn format illustrated in the PSI.
Eligible expenses are described in IV.3e
of this RFGP and in the PSI. Enough
information should be provided so that
reviewers can determine how line-item
totals were calculated.
Tab E—Letters of Endorsement and
Resumes
Resumes should not exceed two pages
each.
Tab F—Copy of IRS Notification of
Current Tax-Exempt Status, SF–424B,
and Other Attachments if Applicable
Please refer to the Proposal
Submission Instructions (PSI) document
for detailed information on proposal
structuring and formatting.
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Emerging Youth Leaders
Program Contact: Jon Crocitto, tel:
202–203–7501, e-mail
CrocittoJA@state.gov.
The Emerging Youth Leaders program
provides opportunities for high school
students (ages 15–17) and educators in
the United States and in multiple
countries around the world to
participate in two-way exchanges, each
three to four weeks in duration. Each
project explores a specific theme
designed to develop critical leadership
skills for aspiring young leaders and
encourages respect for diversity, foster
mutual understanding, and promote
critical thinking. An essential element
of all projects is to build mutual
understanding and respect among the
people of the United States and the
people of the exchange partner
countries.
The overarching goals are:
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1. To develop a sense of civic
responsibility and commitment to the
global community;
2. To promote mutual understanding
between the United States and the
people of other countries around topics
of common interest; and
3. To foster personal and institutional
ties between participants and partner
countries.
The applicant should present a
program plan that allows the
participants to thoroughly explore the
project themes in a creative, memorable,
and practical way. Activities should be
designed to be replicable and provide
practical knowledge and skills that the
participants can apply to school and
civic activities at home.
Applicants will manage the design
and planning of activities that provide
a substantive, educational program on
leadership, critical thinking, and
conflict management, as well as on one
of the specified themes, through both
academic and extracurricular
components. Activities should take
place in schools and in the community.
Community service must also be
included. It is crucial that programming
involve the participants’ peers in the
host countries whenever possible. The
program will also include opportunities
for the educators to work with their
American peers and other professionals
and volunteers to help them foster
youth leadership, civic education, and
community service programs at home.
A successful project will be one that
nurtures a cadre of students and
educators to be actively engaged in
addressing issues of concern in their
schools and communities upon their
return home. Project activities will
equip youth with the knowledge, skills,
and confidence to become citizen
activists and ethical leaders.
Participants will be engaged in a variety
of activities such as workshops,
community and/or school-based
programs, seminars, and other activities
that are designed to achieve the
program’s stated goals. Multiple
opportunities for participants to interact
with youth and educators in the host
country must be included. Participants
will have homestays with local families
for the majority of the exchange period,
although participants may spend a
modest portion of their time as a group
in a hotel or dormitory setting.
Applicants must outline their plan for
recruiting, screening and orienting host
families (who will provide both food
and lodging), as well as a plan for
appropriate supervision of participants
in other living arrangements.
Grant recipients will recruit and
select the participants in the United
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States, as well as in the partner
country(ies) through close consultation
with the relevant U.S. Embassies;
organize all exchange activities in the
participating countries; and implement
follow-on activities in which
participants may apply at home what
they have learned during the exchange.
Applicants must select only one of the
two themes listed below. The projects
will provide participants with a
theoretical framework that will be
underpinned by site visits that illustrate
methods and strategies of practical
implementation. Projects will also help
the participants develop leadership
skills, such as influential public
speaking, team-building, and goalsetting, so that they are prepared to take
action with what they have learned.
They will also learn the tools of
persuasion, negotiation, and mediation
to effectively manage relationships and
messages in a positive manner. The
exchange activities will also examine
diversity issues and how young people
can develop skills in critical thinking
and conflict management techniques.
Themes and Eligible Partner Countries
ECA will accept proposals in the
specific themes and corresponding
countries as indicated below. A singlecountry project is a two-way exchange
between the United States and a single
partner country. With a two-country
project, participants from the partner
countries should travel to the United
States together; the American
participants’ exchange travel may be to
just one or to both of the partner
countries, depending on the applicant
organization’s program design and
objectives. Applicants should present a
rationale for their approach. Proposals
that target countries or themes not listed
in this solicitation will be deemed
technically ineligible. No guarantee is
made or implied that grants will be
awarded in all themes and for all
countries listed. Organizations should
consider current U.S. Department of
State travel advisories when selecting
the countries with which they would
like to work.
(1) Democracy and Governance in
Civil Society: ECA welcomes proposals
that will explore the issues of citizen
involvement and effective management
in government. Projects will
demonstrate how this can benefit
individual citizens, non-governmental
entities, and the public sector. Proposed
programs will promote a respect for
transparent governance that is
responsive to citizens’ concerns and
increase participant understanding of
ways that citizens can improve
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governance, fight corruption, and ensure
accountability.
Projects should demonstrate the
principles of fair and transparent
governance and should promote
dialogue among youth on this theme.
Projects must be culturally sensitive and
address specific needs of the partner
country or countries, or regions.
Individual projects might have the
youth participants explore ways that a
country’s government, media, and NGOs
can encourage and support the
involvement of its citizenry, increase
citizen trust, and expand the democratic
process.
Geographic Regions and Eligible
Countries:
• Africa
Æ Senegal (single-country project)
• Europe and Eurasia
Æ Armenia and Azerbaijan
(mandatory two-country project)
• Middle East and North Africa
Æ Egypt (single-country project)
(2) Science and Environmental issues:
Projects will focus on the shared
scientific and environmental interests of
the participating countries in either
agriculture or natural resource and land
management. Participants will complete
projects that illustrate the issue through
hands-on activities and community
service. These projects will also include
a review of the impact of public interest
and government policies on the issue, as
well as a comprehensive discussion of
proposed solutions. Projects will
demonstrate how this can benefit
individual citizens, non-governmental
entities, and the public sector. Proposed
programs will promote scientificallybased and socially responsible decisionmaking regarding natural resources and
land management that will increase
participant understanding of the core
issues that inform policy creation.
Projects should demonstrate
objectivity and should promote dialogue
among youth on the core issues. Projects
must be culturally sensitive and address
specific needs of the partner country or
countries, or regions. Individual projects
might have the youth participants
explore ways that a country’s
government, academic institutions, and
NGOs can encourage and support the
involvement of its citizenry in
developing scientifically-based and
socially responsible environmental
policies.
Geographic Regions and Eligible
Countries:
• Asia
Æ China (Beijing Municipality only)
• South America and Caribbean
Æ Chile or Dominican Republic
(single-country project)
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Proposal narratives must demonstrate
the applicant’s capacity in the partner
country through their own offices or a
partner institution to successfully
conduct the proposed exchange
activities. The requisite capacity
overseas includes the ability to organize
substantive exchange activities for the
American participants, provide followon activities, and handle the logistical
and financial arrangements.
Applicants should propose the time
periods of the two exchanges, but the
exact timing of the project may be
altered through the mutual agreement of
the Department of State and the grant
recipient. The program should be no
less than three weeks and up to four
weeks in duration.
These two-way exchanges should
involve the same communities in each
country, as the second reciprocal
exchange will help reinforce the
relationships and program content
developed during the first exchange.
Project staff should help facilitate
regular program-oriented
communication among the exchange
participants between the two exchanges.
The exchange participants will be
high school students between the ages
of 15 and 17 who have demonstrated
leadership abilities in their schools and/
or communities, and have at least one
year of high school remaining after the
completion of the exchange. The adult
participants will be high school teachers
or community leaders who work with
youth. They will have a demonstrated
interest in youth leadership and will be
expected to remain in positions where
they can continue to work with youth.
The ratio of youth to adults should be
between 5:1 and 10:1. Participants will
be proficient in the English language.
Emerging Young Professionals
Program Contact: Curt Huff, tel: 202–
453–8159, e-mail: HuffCE@state.gov.
The Emerging Young Professionals
program offers opportunities for young
adults (approximately 22–35 years old)
to participate in two-way exchanges of
approximately three to four weeks or
more in duration to develop their
leadership skills and to increase mutual
understanding between their countries
and the United States. ECA is especially
interested in engaging marginalized
populations and women from both the
U.S. and partner countries in the
exchanges. Exchange projects should
build participants’ leadership skills,
including how to conceptualize and
develop projects to reach diverse
citizenry, using clear objectives, solid
management structures and evaluation
feedback mechanisms for projects at the
local level. Participants should be
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community leaders, political leaders,
educators, and/or advocates for youth,
or persons who show the capacity to
become effective in those roles.
Projects should be two-way in
purpose and implementation, with
approximately equal numbers of
participants traveling to and from the
United States for approximately equal
periods of time. Consistent with this
approach, project plans should promote
learning and teaching by participants
from all countries in the project to
promote mutual understanding and
build individual and institutional
partnerships that are likely to continue
beyond the grant project. Proposals that
clearly delineate salient objectives in
measurable terms and plan activities in
a sequence that will progressively lead
to achieving those objectives, will be
considered more competitive on the
review criterion of ability to achieve
program objectives.
Projects should be planned around
one of the following themes:
(1) Environmental issues: These
projects should focus on a shared
environmental issue of the participating
countries (e.g., use of natural resources,
pollution, sustainable energy, recycling,
land management). Participants should
jointly examine a problem or group of
issues, through study of public interest
and government policy statements, and
then participate in experiential learning
exercises to build mutual approaches to
the issue, and develop their own
recommendations for addressing it.
(2) Entrepreneurial and business
management skills: These projects
should introduce participants to the
identification of business opportunities,
the writing of business plans, the
calculation of risks, and the
management of new businesses in order
to maximize the probability of success.
(3) Post-conflict governance: These
projects are for countries that are
emerging from regional or civil war in
recent years. Projects should allow
participants to experience creative
approaches to governing in a postconflict country. Developing working
relationships with colleagues from
opposite sides of a past conflict;
breaking down barriers to implement
governmental administration; and how a
new post-conflict government promotes
tolerance and diversity should be
addressed in these projects. Participants
should practice different methods and
receive hands-on experiential learning.
(4) Development of Grassroots
Organizations for Women: These
projects should work to expand the
capacity of grassroots organizations
(NGOs) that advocate empowering
women. Projects should work to build
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NGO capacity in practice, giving NGO
leaders opportunities to adopt best
practices by doing. When possible, joint
projects should be developed,
implemented, monitored and evaluated
by both the U.S. and international sides.
Eligible Partner Countries and Regions
ECA will consider proposals for either
single-country or multi-country projects.
A single-country project is a two-way
exchange between the United States and
a single partner country. A multicountry project involves participants
from more than one country coming to
the United States together, and
American participants traveling to those
countries. The Bureau prefers projects
that will engage both Americans and
international participants deeply
enough that relationships will continue
beyond the grant-funded activities.
Competitive proposals will be those that
demonstrate why any country or group
of countries has been identified for a
specific project and outline why the
specific group of participants to be
selected from that country/countries is
an effective group to achieve project
objectives. Proposals that target
countries or themes not listed in this
solicitation will be deemed technically
ineligible. No guarantee is made or
implied that grants will be awarded in
all themes and for all countries listed.
Organizations should consider current
U.S. Department of State travel
advisories when selecting the countries
with which they would like to work.
Eligible Countries
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Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana
East Asia/Pacific: China, Korea
Europe: Armenia, Kosovo
South and Central Asia: Afghanistan,
Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan
Proposal narratives must demonstrate
the applicant’s capacity in the partner
country through their own offices or a
partner institution to successfully
conduct the proposed exchange
activities. The requisite capacity
overseas includes the ability to organize
substantive exchange activities for the
American participants, provide followon activities, and handle the logistical
and financial arrangements.
Please note: Because of the changing
nature of the security situation, U.S.
participants may not be able to travel to
Afghanistan as part of a two-way exchange
program. Therefore, proposals should
include a contingency plan to bring U.S. and
participants from Afghanistan together in a
third country for those relevant program
components.
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Emerging Cultural Leaders
Program Contact: Jill Staggs, tel: 202–
203–7500, e-mail: StaggsJJ@state.gov.
The ‘Rooted in the Arts’ program
provides opportunities for U.S.
performing artists (ages 25–35), teachers
and students to build long-term
sustainable linkages with their
counterparts in selected countries. The
project should connect economically
and socially diverse populations of high
school social studies, music and/or art
students and their teachers in the U.S.
with comparable populations in the
selected countries. The project must
include two-way physical exchanges of
artists and teachers (but not students),
each two to four weeks in duration. It
must also include virtual or distance
projects that will provide the high
school students an opportunity to
communicate with their counterparts
abroad. Projects must present an
opportunity for participants to explore
and learn about their own and another
country’s history and culture through
the performing arts. Activities should
include artistic performances,
workshops, lecture demonstrations,
contextual learning, and on-going
virtual (internet) dialogues and other
virtual exchanges.
The overarching goals are:
1. To articulate identity through
artistic expression, gain respect for the
identity and artistic expression of
another culture;
2. To learn about their own and
another country’s history through the
performing arts;
3. To incorporate cultural awareness
and build mutual understanding and
respect for other countries;
4. To foster continuing personal and
institutional ties between participants
and partner countries.
A successful project will equip
participating artists, teachers, and high
school students with an understanding
of how the performing arts opens a
window into a country’s history. For the
teachers, it will also provide insight on
how the performing arts can be used as
a tool to educate students about their
country and their culture. During their
exchange experience, participants
should engage in a variety of activities
such as performances, workshops,
community- and/or learning-based
programs, seminars, and other activities
designed to achieve the program’s stated
goals. We encourage exchange projects
that require collaborative work across
cultures, that include a public
presentation, and that involve public
schools in the U.S. and abroad.
Proposal narratives must demonstrate
the applicant’s capacity in the partner
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country through their own offices or a
partner institution to successfully
conduct the proposed exchange
activities. The requisite capacity
includes the ability to recruit and select
participants in both the United States
and the partner countries in close
consultation with the relevant U.S.
Embassies; organize substantive
exchange activities in the participating
countries; handle the logistical and
financial arrangements; and implement
follow-on alumni activities in which
participants may locally apply what
they learned during the exchange. While
Bureau funds may be used to support
public programming, long-standing ECA
practice is that Bureau funds are not to
be used for the public presentation of art
works in the United States. Cost sharing
provided by the grantee organization
may be used for presentation costs in
the United States and should be noted
in the budget.
Proposals must describe a selection
process for American and international
participants and demonstrate how the
participant group represents an underserved community. For example, an
under-served community could be
economically disadvantaged,
geographically isolated or experience
low literacy rates. Selected participants
should demonstrate a commitment to
leadership in their communities. If
participants are not fluent in English,
proposals should include provision for
interpretation as necessary.
Applicants should identify which
performing arts fields will be included
in the exchange and demonstrate how
each part of the two-way exchange will
accomplish the over-arching goals of
this competition. Proposals might focus
exclusively on an exchange in one field,
such as music. Alternatively, a more
community-based project could include
artists from various performing arts
fields, as well as a representative of a
community arts organization. All
projects must include an examination of
cultural diversity, history and the arts as
a means of educational outreach and
civic engagement.
Proposed Partner Countries
ECA will accept proposals for either
single-country or multi-country projects.
We can only accept proposals for
projects with the countries listed below.
A single-country project is a two-way
exchange between the United States and
a single partner country. With a multicountry project, participants from the
partner countries should travel to the
United States together; the American
participants’ exchange travel may be to
just one or to all of the partner
countries, depending on the applicant
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organization’s program design and
objectives. Applicants should present a
rationale for their approach. No
guarantee is made or implied that grants
will be awarded in all themes and for all
countries listed. Organizations should
consider current U.S. Department of
State travel advisories when selecting
the countries with which they would
like to work.
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Eligible Countries
East Asia: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
Western Hemisphere: Mexico,
Venezuela
Applicants should propose the period
of the two exchange components and
explain how together the exchange in
each direction will accomplish project
objectives. The exact timing of the
project may be altered through the
mutual agreement of the Department of
State and the grant recipient. Each
exchange component should be no less
than two weeks and up to four weeks in
duration. Program development should
begin in late summer/early fall 2009.
Applicants must include letters of
support in their proposals.
For All Themes, Grantee
Responsibilities will include:
1. Recruitment and Selection of
project participants.
(a) Conduct an open, merit-based
competition for exchange participants.
The grantee organization and its
overseas partner(s) will recruit, screen,
and select participants in consultation
with ECA and with the Public Affairs
Section (PAS) of U.S. Embassies or
consulates, using clearly identified
criteria and a formal process for the
selection. The grantee will also develop
plans for outreach and recruitment that
will generate a strong pool of qualified
candidates representing diverse ethnic
and socio-economic groups and
geographic areas;
(b) Administer an effective English
language screening process, if
applicable, or provide for any
interpretation services, as necessary;
(c) Recommend participants and
alternates for selection (Invitations to
participate may not be issued without
ECA and Embassy Public Affairs
clearance).
2. Preparation of participants.
(a) Contact participants before the
project to provide them with project
information, pre-departure materials,
and any training necessary for them
successfully to participate;
(b) Facilitate the visa process, working
with ECA and PAS for the U.S. visas
and directly with the embassy of the
partner country for its visas; as
indicated in IV.3.d.1 below, ECA will
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issue the DS–2019 forms required for J
visas;
(c) Conduct a pre-departure
orientation for participants, including
general and project-specific information;
(d) Make all round-trip international
travel arrangements, complying with the
Fly America Act, and domestic travel
arrangements for the participants.
3. Exchange activities.
(a) Design, plan, and implement one
or more intensive and substantive
projects in the U.S. on one of the stated
themes, and one or more corollary
projects in the partner overseas
country(ies). The link of project
activities to project objectives should be
explained.
(b) Arrange appropriate community,
cultural, social, and civic activities, and
make provisions for religious
observance.
(c) Engage both foreign and U.S.
participants in at least one community
service activity (e.g., visit to a food
bank, a park clean-up) during the U.S.based project. The project should
provide context for the participants,
identifying community needs,
volunteerism, charitable giving, etc., as
well as a debriefing so that the service
activity is not an isolated event and
helps participants understand how they
can apply their experience at home.
(d) Provide day-to-day monitoring of
the project, preventing and dealing with
any misunderstandings or adjustment
issues that may arise.
(e) Provide a closing session to
summarize the project activities,
prepare participants for their return
home, and to plan for the future.
4. Follow-on activities.
Conduct follow-on activities with
project alumni, such as seminars and
physical or virtual gatherings, to
reinforce values and skills developed
during the exchange program and to
help alumni apply what they learned to
serve their communities. Encourage
participants to register in
Alumni.state.gov.
5. Work in consultation with ECA and
the Embassy PAS in the implementation
of the project, provide timely reporting
of progress to ECA, and comply with
financial and project reporting
requirements.
6. Manage all financial aspects of the
project, including participant costs and
transparent arrangements of sub-grant
relationships with partner
organizations, if applicable.
7. Design and implement an
evaluation plan that assesses the impact
of the project.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Grant Agreement.
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Fiscal Year Funds: FY–2009.
Approximate Total Funding: $3.9
million.
Approximate Number of Awards: 12–
15.
Approximate Average Award:
$300,000.
Floor of Award Range: Depending
upon an organization’s length of
experience in conducting international
exchanges, grants could be awarded for
less than $60,000. See section III.3.a.,
below.
Ceiling of Award Range: $350,000.
Anticipated Award Date: August
2009.
Anticipated Project Completion Date:
No later than, approximately 20 months
after the start date of the grant.
Additional Information: As stipulated
in the legislation, this is a competitive
one-time grants program.
III. Eligibility Information
III.1. Eligible Applicants
Applications must be submitted by
public and private non-profit
organizations meeting the provisions
described in Internal Revenue Code
section 26 USC 501(c)(3).
Organizations listed in the FY–2009
Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. L. 111–8)
under Division H of the Department of
State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act, under
‘‘Educational and Cultural Exchange
Programs’’ in support of a $6 million
‘‘competitive one-time grants program’’
are encouraged to apply.
In addition, organizations listed in the
Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriation Act, 2008 (Division J,
Pub. L. 110–161) under ‘‘Educational
and Cultural Exchange Programs—a
competitive one-time grants program’’
that did not receive funding under the
FY–2008 Competitive One-time Grants
Program are encouraged and eligible to
apply.
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 the
highest possible levels of cost sharing
and funding in support of its projects,
noting that cost sharing is one of the
criteria for reviewing proposals.
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, written
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records must be maintained to support
all costs which are claimed as
contributions, 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 that the
minimum amount of cost sharing is not
provided as stipulated in the approved
budget, ECA’s contribution will be
reduced in like proportion.
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III.3. Other Eligibility Requirements
(a) Grants awarded to eligible
organizations with less than four years
of experience in conducting
international exchange programs will be
limited to $60,000. Therefore,
applicants should explain, with
examples, their experience in
conducting international exchanges,
and, if that experience is less than four
years, should limit their proposed grant
budgets to $60,000.
(b) Technical Eligibility: All proposals
must comply with the following:
—Eligible applicants may submit only
ONE proposal (TOTAL) for one of the
two competitions referenced in the
Executive Summary Section of this
document. If multiple proposals are
received from the same applicant, all
submissions from that applicant will
be declared technically ineligible and
will be given no further consideration
in the review process. In addition,
applicants under this competition
(ECA/PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B)
may only apply to administer one of
the listed activities (total).
—Proposals requesting funding for
infrastructure development activities,
sometimes referred to as ‘‘bricks and
mortar support,’’ are not eligible for
consideration under this competition
and will be declared technically
ineligible and will receive no further
consideration in the review process.
—The Bureau 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.
—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.
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—Organizations that received funding
for a grant under the FY–2008
Competitive One-time Grants Program
(Reference numbers: ECA/A–08–Onetime-Comp. A or ECA/PE/C/–08–Onetime-Comp. B) are not eligible to
apply for this FY–2009 One-Time
Program. In the event a proposal is
received from a FY–2008, One-Time
grant recipient, the proposal will be
declared technically ineligible and
will receive no further consideration
in the review process. Please note: A
FY–2008, One-time grant recipient,
per above, is defined by the DUNS
number of the organization and by the
signature of the authorized
representative contained on
‘‘Application for Federal Assistance
Form’’ (SF–424) that was submitted
under the FY–2008 Competitive Onetime Grants Program.
Please refer to the Proposal
Submission Instructions (PSI) document
for additional requirements.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
Note: Please read the complete
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 Citizen
Exchanges, ECA/PE/C, Room 220, U.S.
Department of State, SA–44, 301 Fourth
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547, tel
202–453–8176, fax 202–453–8169,
RossAR@state.gov, to request a
Solicitation Package. Please refer to the
Funding Opportunity Number ECA/PE/
C–09–One-time-Comp. B also located at
the top of this announcement when
making your request.
The Solicitation Package contains the
Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI)
document which consists of required
application forms, and standard
guidelines for proposal preparation.
Please specify Program Coordinator
Alice Ross, and refer to the Funding
Opportunity Number ECA/PE/C–09–
One-time-Comp. B 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.
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IV.3. Content and Form of Submission
Applicants must follow all
instructions in the Solicitation Package.
The original and seven 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. The summary and narrative
must be presented in double-spaced
typing.
IV.3c. You must have nonprofit status
with the IRS at the time of application.
Please note: Effective January 7, 2009,
all applicants for ECA federal assistance
awards must include in their
application the names of directors and/
or senior executives (current officers,
trustees, and key employees, regardless
of amount of compensation). In
fulfilling this requirement, applicants
must submit information in one of the
following ways:
(1) Those who file Internal Revenue
Service Form 990, ‘‘Return of
Organization Exempt From Income
Tax,’’ must include a copy of relevant
portions of this form.
(2) Those who do not file IRS Form
990 must submit information above in
the format of their choice.
In addition to final project reporting
requirements, award recipients will also
be required to submit a one-page
document, derived from their project
reports, listing and describing their
grant activities. For award recipients,
the names of directors and/or senior
executives (current officers, trustees,
and key employees), as well as the onepage description of grant activities, will
be transmitted by the State Department
to OMB, along with other information
required by the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act
(FFATA), and will be made available to
the public by the Office of Management
and Budget on its USASpending.gov
Web site as part of ECA’s FFATA
reporting requirements.
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Please Note: 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:
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IV.3d.1 Adherence to All Regulations
Governing the J Visa
The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs is the official program sponsor of
the exchange program covered by this
RFGP, and an employee of the Bureau
will be the ‘‘Responsible Officer’’ for the
program under the terms of 22 CFR part
62, which covers the administration of
the Exchange Visitor Program (J visa
program). Under the terms of 22 CFR
part 62, organizations receiving grants
under this RFGP will be third parties
‘‘cooperating with or assisting the
sponsor in the conduct of the sponsor’s
program.’’ The actions of grantee
program organizations shall be
‘‘imputed to the sponsor in evaluating
the sponsor’s compliance with’’ 22 CFR
part 62. Therefore, the Bureau expects
that any organization receiving a grant
under this competition will render all
assistance necessary to enable the
Bureau to fully comply with 22 CFR
part 62 et seq.
The Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs places critically
important emphases on the secure and
proper administration of Exchange
Visitor (J visa) Programs and adherence
by grantee project organizations and
project participants to all regulations
governing the J visa program status.
Therefore, proposals should explicitly
state in writing that the applicant is
prepared to assist the Bureau in meeting
all requirements governing the
administration of Exchange Visitor
Programs as set forth in 22 CFR part 62.
If the applicant organization has
experience as a designated Exchange
Visitor Program Sponsor, the applicant
should describe their record of
compliance with 22 CFR part 62 et seq.,
including the oversight of their
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.
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The Office of Citizen Exchanges of
ECA will be responsible for issuing DS–
2019 forms to foreign 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
Fourth Street, SW., Washington, DC
20547; Telephone: (202) 203–5029;
FAX: (202) 453–8640.
IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and
Democracy Guidelines
Pursuant to the Bureau’s authorizing
legislation, projects 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, socioeconomic status, and disabilities.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to
adhere to the advancement of this
principle both in project administration
and in project 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 project contents, to
the full extent deemed feasible.
IV.3d.3 Project Monitoring and
Evaluation
This section of the RFGP amplifies the
direction given in section I above on
proposal format, which calls for the
delineation of objectives and planning
for baseline, early results, and longerterm measurements. Proposals must
include a plan to monitor and evaluate
the project’s success, both as the
activities unfold and at the end of the
project. The Bureau recommends that
each proposal include a draft survey
questionnaire or other instruments plus
a description of a methodology to use to
link outcomes to original project
objectives. The Bureau expects that the
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grantee will track participants or
partners and be able to respond to key
evaluation questions, including
satisfaction with the project, learning as
a result of the project, changes in
behavior as a result of the project, and
effects of the project on institutions
(institutions in which participants work
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 intended outcomes at the outset of
a project. 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). (Note the call
for measurements at the baseline and for
early results and longer-term results.)
The more that outcomes are ‘‘smart’’
(specific, measurable, attainable, resultsoriented, 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
project 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 emphasis 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 impact):
1. Participant satisfaction with the
project 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;
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continued contacts between
participants, community members, and
others.
4. Institutional changes, such as
increased collaboration and
partnerships, policy reforms, new
programming, and organizational
improvements.
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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 shortterm outcome, whereas behavior and
institutional changes are normally
considered longer-term outcomes.
Overall, the quality of each
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 (e.g., surveys, interviews, tests,
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
project 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.3e. Please take the following
information into consideration when
preparing the proposal budget:
IV.3e.1. Applicants must submit SF–
424A—‘‘Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs’’ along with a
comprehensive budget for the entire
project. There must be a summary
budget as well as breakdowns reflecting
both administrative and program
budgets. Applicants may provide
separate sub-budgets for each project
component, phase, location, or activity
to provide clarification.
IV.3e.2. Allowable costs for the
project include the following:
(1) Travel. International and domestic
airfare; visas; transit costs; ground
transportation costs. Please note that all
air travel must be in compliance with
the Fly America Act. There is no charge
for J–1 visas for participants in Bureausponsored programs.
(2) Per Diem. For U.S.-based
programming, organizations should use
the published Federal per diem rates for
individual U.S. cities. Domestic per
diem rates may be accessed at: https://
www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/
contentView.do?contentId=
17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC.
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Living costs during foreign-based
activities must not exceed USGapproved per diem rates, which can be
found at https://aoprals.state.gov/
content.asp?content_id=
184&menu_id=81.
(3) Please refer to the Solicitation
Package for complete budget guidelines
and formatting instructions.
IV.3f. Submission Dates and Times
Application Deadline Date: May 14,
2009.
Methods of Submission: Applications
may be submitted in one of two ways:
(1) In hard-copy, via a nationally
recognized overnight delivery service
(i.e., Federal Express, UPS, or U.S.
Postal Service Express Overnight Mail,
etc.), or
(2) electronically through https://
www.grants.gov.
Please Note: ECA strongly encourages
organizations interested in applying for this
competition to submit printed, hard copy
applications as outlined in section IV.3f.1
below rather than submitting electronically
through Grants.gov. This recommendation is
being made as a result of the anticipated high
volume of grant proposals that will be
submitted via the Grants.gov Web portal as
part of the Recovery Act stimulus package.
As stated in this RFGP, ECA bears no
responsibility for data errors resulting from
transmission or conversion processes for
proposals submitted via Grants.gov
Along with the Project Title, all
applicants must enter the competition
Reference Number (ECA/PE/C–09–Onetime-Comp. B) in Box 11 on the SF–424
contained in the mandatory Proposal
Submission Instructions (PSI) of the
solicitation document.
IV.3f.1 Submitting Printed
Applications
Applications must be shipped no later
than the above deadline. 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.
ECA will not notify you upon receipt of
application. 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.
Delivery of proposal packages may not
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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.
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’’.
Applicants must also submit the
‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal
Narrative’’ and budget sections of the
proposal as well as any essential
attachments, in Microsoft Word and/or
Excel on a PC-formatted disk. The
Bureau will provide these files
electronically to the appropriate Public
Affairs Sections at the U.S. Embassies
for their review.
The original and seven copies of the
application should be sent to: U.S.
Department of State, SA–44, Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ref.:
ECA/PE/C–09–One-time-Comp. B,
Program Management, ECA/EX/PM,
Room 534, 301 4th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20547.
Applicants submitting hard-copy
applications must also submit the
‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal
Narrative’’ and ‘‘Budget’’ sections of the
proposal in text (.txt) or Microsoft Word
format on a PC-formatted disk. The
Bureau will provide these files
electronically to the appropriate Public
Affairs Section(s) at the U.S.
embassy(ies) for its(their) review.
IV.3f.2 Submitting Electronic
Applications
Applicants have the option of
submitting proposals electronically
through Grants.gov (https://
www.grants.gov). Complete solicitation
packages are available at Grants.gov in
the ‘‘Find’’ portion of the system.
Please Note: ECA strongly encourages
organizations interested in applying for this
competition to submit printed, hard copy
applications as outlined in section IV.3f.1.
above, rather than submitting electronically
through Grants.gov. This recommendation is
being made as a result of the anticipated high
volume of grant proposals that will be
submitted via the Grants.gov webportal as
part of the Recovery Act stimulus package.
As stated in this RFGP, ECA bears no
responsibility for data errors resulting from
transmission or conversion processes for
proposals submitted via Grants.gov.
Please follow the instructions
available in the ‘Get Started’ portion of
the site (https://www.grants.gov/
GetStarted).
Several of the steps in the Grants.gov
registration process could take several
weeks. Therefore, applicants should
check with appropriate staff within their
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organizations immediately after
reviewing this RFGP to confirm or
determine their registration status with
Grants.gov.
Once registered, the amount of time it
can take to upload an application will
vary depending on a variety of factors
including the size of the application and
the speed of your internet connection.
In addition, validation of an electronic
submission via Grants.gov can take up
to two business days.
Therefore, we strongly recommend
that you not wait until the application
deadline to begin the submission
process through Grants.gov.
The Grants.gov Web site includes
extensive information on all phases/
aspects of the Grants.gov process,
including an lengthy section on
frequently asked questions, located
under the ‘‘For Applicants’’ section of
the Web site. ECA strongly recommends
that all potential applicants review
thoroughly the Grants.gov Web site,
well in advance of submitting a
proposal through the Grants.gov system.
ECA bears no responsibility for data
errors resulting from transmission or
conversion processes.
Direct all questions regarding
Grants.gov registration and submission
to: Grants.gov Customer Support,
Contact Center Phone: 800–518–4726,
Business Hours: Monday–Friday, 7
a.m.–9 p.m. Eastern Time. E-mail:
support@grants.gov.
Applicants have until midnight (12
a.m.), Washington, DC time of the
closing date to ensure that their entire
application has been uploaded to the
Grants.gov site. There are no exceptions
to the above deadline. Applications
uploaded to the site after midnight of
the application deadline date will be
automatically rejected by the grants.gov
system, and will be technically
ineligible.
Please refer to the Grants.gov Web
site, for definitions of various
‘‘application statuses’’ and the
difference between a submission receipt
and a submission validation. Applicants
will receive a validation e-mail from
grants.gov upon the successful
submission of an application. Again,
validation of an electronic submission
via Grants.gov can take up to two
business days. Therefore, we strongly
recommend that you not wait until the
application deadline to begin the
submission process through Grants.gov.
ECA will not notify you upon receipt of
electronic applications.
It is the responsibility of all
applicants submitting proposals via the
Grants.gov web portal to ensure that
proposals have been received by
Grants.gov in their entirety, and ECA
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bears no responsibility for data errors
resulting from transmission or
conversion processes.
IV.3f.3 Once again, please note that
an applicant may submit only one
proposal in this competition.
IV.3g. Intergovernmental Review of
Applications: Executive Order 12372
does not apply to this program.
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 of the relevant U.S.
Embassy 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.
1. Quality of the project idea and
project planning: The project’s purpose
should clearly fit one of the eligible
themes described above, and the
proposal should clearly demonstrate
how the institution plans to pursue the
project’s objectives. The proposed
project should be creative and well
developed, respond to the design
outlined in the solicitation, and
demonstrate originality. It should be
clearly and accurately written,
substantive, and with sufficient detail to
ensure practical success. The project
plan should adhere to the program
overview and guidelines described
above.
2. Ability to achieve project
objectives: Objectives should be
reasonable, feasible, and relevant to the
proposed theme. Proposals should
clearly plan activities in a sequence that
will progressively lead to achieving
those objectives.
3. Support of diversity: The proposal
should acknowledge ECA’s policy on
diversity and should demonstrate the
recipient’s commitment to promoting
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17725
the awareness and understanding of
diversity in participant selection and
exchange project design and content.
4. Institutional capacity and track
record: Proposed personnel and
institutional resources should be
adequate and appropriate to achieve the
project goals. The proposal should
demonstrate an institutional record,
including solid programming and
responsible fiscal management. The
Bureau will consider past performance,
including compliance with all reporting
requirements for past Bureau grants.
5. Project evaluation: The proposal
should include a plan to evaluate the
project’s success, both as the activities
unfold and at the end of the program.
The proposal should include a draft
survey questionnaire or other datacollection technique plus description of
a methodology to link outcomes to
original project objectives. Please see
Section IV.3d.3. of this announcement
for more information.
6. Cost-effectiveness and cost sharing:
The applicant should demonstrate
efficient use of Bureau funds. 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.
The proposal should maximize costsharing through other private sector
support as well as institutional direct
funding contributions.
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 a
Federal Assistance Award (FAA) from
the Bureau’s Grants Office. The FAA
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 FAA will be
signed by an authorized Grants Officer,
and mailed to the recipient’s
responsible officer identified in the
application.
VI.1b. Special Provision for Performance
in a Designated Combat Area (Currently
Iraq and Afghanistan)
All Recipient personnel deploying to
areas of combat operations, as
designated by the Secretary of Defense
(currently Iraq and Afghanistan), under
assistance awards over $100,000 or
performance over 14 days must register
in the Department of Defense
maintained Synchronized Pre-
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deployment and Operational Tracker
(SPOT) system. Recipients of federal
assistance awards shall register in SPOT
before deployment, or if already in the
designated operational area, register
upon becoming an employee under the
assistance award, and maintain current
data in SPOT. Information on how to
register in SPOT will be available from
your Grants Officer or Grants Officer
Representative during the final
negotiation and approval stages in the
federal assistance awards process.
Recipients of federal assistance awards
are advised that adherence to this policy
and procedure will be a requirement of
all final federal assistance awards issued
by ECA.
Recipient performance may require
the use of armed private security
personnel. To the extent that such
private security contractors (PSCs) are
required, grantees are required to ensure
they adhere to Chief of Mission (COM)
policies and procedures regarding the
operation, oversight, and accountability
of PSCs.
VI.1c. 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 Nonprofit Organizations.
Please refer to the following Web sites
for additional information: https://
www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants.
https://fa.statebuy.state.gov.
VI.3. Reporting Requirements
You must provide ECA with a hard
copy original plus one copy of the
following reports:
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1. A final project and financial report
no more than 90 days after the
expiration of the award;
2. A concise, one-page final project
report summarizing project outcomes no
more than 90 days after the expiration
of the award. This one-page report will
be transmitted to OMB, and be made
available to the public via OMB’s
USAspending.gov Web site—as part of
ECA’s Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act (FFATA)
reporting requirements.
3. A SF–PPR, ‘‘Performance Progress
Report’’ Cover Sheet with all project
reports.
4. Interim project and financial
reports after each project phase, as
required in the Bureau grant agreement.
Award Recipients will be required to
provide reports analyzing their
evaluation findings to the Bureau in
their regular project 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. Project Data Requirements
Organizations awarded grants will be
required to maintain specific data on
project 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 three work days prior to the
official opening of the activity.
VII. Agency Contacts
For questions about this
announcement, please contact: Curt
Huff, Professional Programs, Tel: (202)
453–8159; E-mail: HuffCE@state.gov.
All correspondence with the Bureau
concerning this RFGP should reference
the above title and number ECA/PE/C–
09–One-time-Comp.B.
Please read the complete Federal
Register announcement before sending
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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: April 8, 2009.
C. Miller Crouch,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department
of State.
[FR Doc. E9–8650 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 6578]
Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant
Proposals (RFGP): Congressionally
Mandated—One-Time Grants Program
for Academic Programs—
Competition A
Announcement Type: New Grant.
Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/
A–09–One-time-Comp. A
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance Number: 00.000
Key Dates:
Application Deadline: May 14, 2009.
Executive Summary: This competition
is one of two competitions that the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs is conducting as directed in the
FY–2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub.
L. 111–8) under Division H of the
Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, under ‘‘Educational
and Cultural Exchange Programs’’ in
support of a $6 million ‘‘competitive
one-time grants program.’’ All
applications must be submitted by,
public or private non-profit
organizations, meeting the provisions
described in Internal Revenue code
section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). Total
funding for this ‘‘one-time grants
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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 72 (Thursday, April 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17716-17726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8650]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 6581]
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for
Grant Proposals (RFGP): Congressionally Mandated--One-Time Grants
Program--Competition B--Professional, Cultural, and Youth One-Time
Grants Program
Announcement Type: New Grant.
Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp. B
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 00.000.
Key Dates:
Application Deadline: May 14, 2009.
Executive Summary: This competition is one of two competitions that
the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is conducting as
directed in the FY-2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. L. 111-8) under
Division H of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act, under ``Educational and Cultural Exchange
Programs'' in support of a $6 million ``competitive one-time grants
program.'' All applications must be submitted by public or private non-
profit organizations, meeting the provisions described in Internal
Revenue code section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). Total funding for this ``one-
time grants program'' is $6 million dollars. $3.9 million will be
dedicated to this competition, (Competition B--Professional, Cultural
and Youth One-time Grants Program--reference number ECA/PE/C-09-One-
time-Comp. B), and $2.1 million will be dedicated to and announced
simultaneously in a separate RFGP, (Competition A--Academic Programs
One-time Grants Program--reference number ECA/A-09-One-time-Comp. A).
Please note: The Bureau reserves the right to reallocate funds it has
initially allocated to each of these two competitions, based upon
factors such as the number of applications received and responsiveness
to the review criteria outlined in each of the solicitations.
Applicants may submit only one proposal (TOTAL) to one of the two
competitions referenced above. In addition, applicants under this
competition (either ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp.B or ECA/A-09-One-time-
Comp. A) may only apply to administer one of the listed activities
(total). If multiple proposals are received from the same applicant,
all submissions will be declared technically ineligible and will be
given no further consideration in the review process. Eligible
applicants are strongly encouraged to read both RFGPs
[[Page 17717]]
thoroughly, prior to developing and submitting proposals, to ensure
that proposed activities are appropriate and responsive to the goals,
objectives and criteria outlined in each of the solicitations.
As further directed by the Congress, ``The program shall be only
for the actual exchange of people and should benefit a population that
is not being addressed through existing authorized exchanges.''
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces a
competition for grants that support international exchanges in order to
increase mutual understanding and build relationships, through
individuals and organizations, between the people of the United States
and their counterparts in other countries. The Bureau welcomes
proposals from organizations that have not had a previous grant from
the Bureau as well as from those which have; see eligibility
information below and in section III.
Organizations that received grant funding under the FY-2008
Competitive One-time Grants Program (Reference numbers: ECA/A-08-One-
time-Comp. A or ECA/PE/C/-08-One-time-Comp. B) are not eligible to
apply for this FY-2009 One-time Program.
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.
Background
The FY-2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. L. 111-8) under Division H
of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, under ``Educational and Cultural Exchange
Programs'' provides $6 million for a ``competitive one-time grants
program. Grants shall address issues of mutual interest to the United
States and other countries, consistent with the program criteria
established in Public Law 110-161. Programs shall support the actual
exchange of people and should benefit a population that is not being
addressed through existing authorized exchanges.''
Purpose: ECA anticipates awarding approximately 12-15 grants under
this FY2009 Competition B Professional, Cultural, and Youth One-time
Grants Program. Each grant must sponsor an exchange of approximately
equal numbers of American participants traveling to the partner
country(ies) and participants from the partner country(ies) traveling
to the U.S. In addition, the projects should set clear learning
objectives for both foreign and American participants, thereby
supporting the Fulbright-Hays Act purpose of increasing mutual
understanding. Also, the applicant must have the necessary capacity in
the partner country through their own overseas offices or a partner
institution to carry out the proposed project.
Proposals must respond to one specific theme under one of the
following programs:
Emerging Youth Leaders: for high school students (ages 15-17) and
educators
1. Democracy and Governance in Civil Society
2. Science and Environmental issues
Emerging Young Professionals: for young adults (ages 22-35)
1. Environmental issues
2. Entrepreneurial and business management skills
3. Post-conflict governing
4. Development of Grassroots Organizations for Women
Emerging Cultural Leaders: ``Rooted in the Arts'' program for U.S.
performing artists (ages 25-35) and teachers
Please note each of the aforementioned programs is limited to
specific countries. More detailed descriptions of these programs,
themes and eligible countries are included below.
In order to emphasize ECA's interest in clarity of project purpose
and, later, to track projects and to evaluate their results, all
proposals must be presented in the following format:
Tab A--Application for Federal Assistance Cover Sheet
Tab B--Executive Summary
In one double-spaced page, provide the following information:
1. Names of the applicant organization and other participating
institutions, both American and foreign.
2. Beginning and ending dates of the project
3. Grant theme being addressed
4. Numbers of American and foreign participants
5. Types and approximate dates of project activities and their
venues
6. Total number of exchange days, including only those days when
international travelers are in program status in the partnering
country.
Tab C--Narrative
In no more than 20 double-spaced, single-sided pages, use the
following format to describe the proposed project in detail:
A. Purpose:
1. Definition of the overall goal to be pursued through a two-way
exchange project. Name the theme from those listed under Emerging Youth
Leaders, Emerging Young Professionals, or Emerging Cultural Leaders
into which this goal should fit.
2. Country or countries to take part, and why chosen.
3. Category of persons to participate, with explanation of why that
category is chosen and how it fits the requirement that it is a
population that is not being addressed through existing authorized
exchanges.
4. Description of program activities to take place (e.g.,
workshops, internships, community service, job shadowing, model site
visits, cultural activities, etc).
B. Objectives: Based on the purpose described above, delineate your
project's main objectives (no more than five) and outcomes you expect
as a result of your project's activities. For each outcome, please
state the time frame for achievement. Your objectives and outcomes
should be realistic in scope. They should be guided by one or more of
the following questions. (Please see section IV.3d.3. Project
Monitoring and Evaluation for assistance in identifying and defining
outcomes.)
1. What specifically will participants, U.S. and foreign, learn as
a result of this project?
2. What new attitudes will participants, U.S. and foreign, develop,
or what new ideas will they encounter as a result of this project?
3. How will the participants' behavior change as a result of this
project? What new actions will they take?
4. Will participants be a catalyst for change in their schools,
work-places, communities, or institutions? How so?
C. Baseline: Describe plans for baseline measurements of these
outcomes at the project outset. Based on the time-frame for achievement
you stipulate, what types of data will be gathered, when, by what
methodology,
[[Page 17718]]
and what plan will be used to analyze data and draw conclusions?
D. Shorter-term Outcomes: Explain plans for measurement of shorter-
term outcomes at the end of project activities. Please note any changes
in measurement or data collection, since baseline data were originally
collected.
E. Longer-term Outcomes: Provide plans for measurement of outcomes
six months or more after the end of project activities. Explain the
linkages between project activities and learning, and longer-term
outcomes and achievements, in the intervening months. These outcome
measurements should be the basis for evaluating the overall project and
should provide the core of the final report to ECA.
Tab D--Budget
Both a summary budget for administrative and programmatic expenses
and a detailed, line-item budget must be presented in the three-column
format illustrated in the PSI. Eligible expenses are described in IV.3e
of this RFGP and in the PSI. Enough information should be provided so
that reviewers can determine how line-item totals were calculated.
Tab E--Letters of Endorsement and Resumes
Resumes should not exceed two pages each.
Tab F--Copy of IRS Notification of Current Tax-Exempt Status, SF-424B,
and Other Attachments if Applicable
Please refer to the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document
for detailed information on proposal structuring and formatting.
Emerging Youth Leaders
Program Contact: Jon Crocitto, tel: 202-203-7501, e-mail
CrocittoJA@state.gov.
The Emerging Youth Leaders program provides opportunities for high
school students (ages 15-17) and educators in the United States and in
multiple countries around the world to participate in two-way
exchanges, each three to four weeks in duration. Each project explores
a specific theme designed to develop critical leadership skills for
aspiring young leaders and encourages respect for diversity, foster
mutual understanding, and promote critical thinking. An essential
element of all projects is to build mutual understanding and respect
among the people of the United States and the people of the exchange
partner countries.
The overarching goals are:
1. To develop a sense of civic responsibility and commitment to the
global community;
2. To promote mutual understanding between the United States and
the people of other countries around topics of common interest; and
3. To foster personal and institutional ties between participants
and partner countries.
The applicant should present a program plan that allows the
participants to thoroughly explore the project themes in a creative,
memorable, and practical way. Activities should be designed to be
replicable and provide practical knowledge and skills that the
participants can apply to school and civic activities at home.
Applicants will manage the design and planning of activities that
provide a substantive, educational program on leadership, critical
thinking, and conflict management, as well as on one of the specified
themes, through both academic and extracurricular components.
Activities should take place in schools and in the community. Community
service must also be included. It is crucial that programming involve
the participants' peers in the host countries whenever possible. The
program will also include opportunities for the educators to work with
their American peers and other professionals and volunteers to help
them foster youth leadership, civic education, and community service
programs at home.
A successful project will be one that nurtures a cadre of students
and educators to be actively engaged in addressing issues of concern in
their schools and communities upon their return home. Project
activities will equip youth with the knowledge, skills, and confidence
to become citizen activists and ethical leaders. Participants will be
engaged in a variety of activities such as workshops, community and/or
school-based programs, seminars, and other activities that are designed
to achieve the program's stated goals. Multiple opportunities for
participants to interact with youth and educators in the host country
must be included. Participants will have homestays with local families
for the majority of the exchange period, although participants may
spend a modest portion of their time as a group in a hotel or dormitory
setting. Applicants must outline their plan for recruiting, screening
and orienting host families (who will provide both food and lodging),
as well as a plan for appropriate supervision of participants in other
living arrangements.
Grant recipients will recruit and select the participants in the
United States, as well as in the partner country(ies) through close
consultation with the relevant U.S. Embassies; organize all exchange
activities in the participating countries; and implement follow-on
activities in which participants may apply at home what they have
learned during the exchange.
Applicants must select only one of the two themes listed below. The
projects will provide participants with a theoretical framework that
will be underpinned by site visits that illustrate methods and
strategies of practical implementation. Projects will also help the
participants develop leadership skills, such as influential public
speaking, team-building, and goal-setting, so that they are prepared to
take action with what they have learned. They will also learn the tools
of persuasion, negotiation, and mediation to effectively manage
relationships and messages in a positive manner. The exchange
activities will also examine diversity issues and how young people can
develop skills in critical thinking and conflict management techniques.
Themes and Eligible Partner Countries
ECA will accept proposals in the specific themes and corresponding
countries as indicated below. A single-country project is a two-way
exchange between the United States and a single partner country. With a
two-country project, participants from the partner countries should
travel to the United States together; the American participants'
exchange travel may be to just one or to both of the partner countries,
depending on the applicant organization's program design and
objectives. Applicants should present a rationale for their approach.
Proposals that target countries or themes not listed in this
solicitation will be deemed technically ineligible. No guarantee is
made or implied that grants will be awarded in all themes and for all
countries listed. Organizations should consider current U.S. Department
of State travel advisories when selecting the countries with which they
would like to work.
(1) Democracy and Governance in Civil Society: ECA welcomes
proposals that will explore the issues of citizen involvement and
effective management in government. Projects will demonstrate how this
can benefit individual citizens, non-governmental entities, and the
public sector. Proposed programs will promote a respect for transparent
governance that is responsive to citizens' concerns and increase
participant understanding of ways that citizens can improve
[[Page 17719]]
governance, fight corruption, and ensure accountability.
Projects should demonstrate the principles of fair and transparent
governance and should promote dialogue among youth on this theme.
Projects must be culturally sensitive and address specific needs of the
partner country or countries, or regions. Individual projects might
have the youth participants explore ways that a country's government,
media, and NGOs can encourage and support the involvement of its
citizenry, increase citizen trust, and expand the democratic process.
Geographic Regions and Eligible Countries:
Africa
[cir] Senegal (single-country project)
Europe and Eurasia
[cir] Armenia and Azerbaijan (mandatory two-country project)
Middle East and North Africa
[cir] Egypt (single-country project)
(2) Science and Environmental issues:
Projects will focus on the shared scientific and environmental
interests of the participating countries in either agriculture or
natural resource and land management. Participants will complete
projects that illustrate the issue through hands-on activities and
community service. These projects will also include a review of the
impact of public interest and government policies on the issue, as well
as a comprehensive discussion of proposed solutions. Projects will
demonstrate how this can benefit individual citizens, non-governmental
entities, and the public sector. Proposed programs will promote
scientifically-based and socially responsible decision-making regarding
natural resources and land management that will increase participant
understanding of the core issues that inform policy creation.
Projects should demonstrate objectivity and should promote dialogue
among youth on the core issues. Projects must be culturally sensitive
and address specific needs of the partner country or countries, or
regions. Individual projects might have the youth participants explore
ways that a country's government, academic institutions, and NGOs can
encourage and support the involvement of its citizenry in developing
scientifically-based and socially responsible environmental policies.
Geographic Regions and Eligible Countries:
Asia
[cir] China (Beijing Municipality only)
South America and Caribbean
[cir] Chile or Dominican Republic (single-country project)
Proposal narratives must demonstrate the applicant's capacity in
the partner country through their own offices or a partner institution
to successfully conduct the proposed exchange activities. The requisite
capacity overseas includes the ability to organize substantive exchange
activities for the American participants, provide follow-on activities,
and handle the logistical and financial arrangements.
Applicants should propose the time periods of the two exchanges,
but the exact timing of the project may be altered through the mutual
agreement of the Department of State and the grant recipient. The
program should be no less than three weeks and up to four weeks in
duration.
These two-way exchanges should involve the same communities in each
country, as the second reciprocal exchange will help reinforce the
relationships and program content developed during the first exchange.
Project staff should help facilitate regular program-oriented
communication among the exchange participants between the two
exchanges.
The exchange participants will be high school students between the
ages of 15 and 17 who have demonstrated leadership abilities in their
schools and/or communities, and have at least one year of high school
remaining after the completion of the exchange. The adult participants
will be high school teachers or community leaders who work with youth.
They will have a demonstrated interest in youth leadership and will be
expected to remain in positions where they can continue to work with
youth. The ratio of youth to adults should be between 5:1 and 10:1.
Participants will be proficient in the English language.
Emerging Young Professionals
Program Contact: Curt Huff, tel: 202-453-8159, e-mail:
HuffCE@state.gov.
The Emerging Young Professionals program offers opportunities for
young adults (approximately 22-35 years old) to participate in two-way
exchanges of approximately three to four weeks or more in duration to
develop their leadership skills and to increase mutual understanding
between their countries and the United States. ECA is especially
interested in engaging marginalized populations and women from both the
U.S. and partner countries in the exchanges. Exchange projects should
build participants' leadership skills, including how to conceptualize
and develop projects to reach diverse citizenry, using clear
objectives, solid management structures and evaluation feedback
mechanisms for projects at the local level. Participants should be
community leaders, political leaders, educators, and/or advocates for
youth, or persons who show the capacity to become effective in those
roles.
Projects should be two-way in purpose and implementation, with
approximately equal numbers of participants traveling to and from the
United States for approximately equal periods of time. Consistent with
this approach, project plans should promote learning and teaching by
participants from all countries in the project to promote mutual
understanding and build individual and institutional partnerships that
are likely to continue beyond the grant project. Proposals that clearly
delineate salient objectives in measurable terms and plan activities in
a sequence that will progressively lead to achieving those objectives,
will be considered more competitive on the review criterion of ability
to achieve program objectives.
Projects should be planned around one of the following themes:
(1) Environmental issues: These projects should focus on a shared
environmental issue of the participating countries (e.g., use of
natural resources, pollution, sustainable energy, recycling, land
management). Participants should jointly examine a problem or group of
issues, through study of public interest and government policy
statements, and then participate in experiential learning exercises to
build mutual approaches to the issue, and develop their own
recommendations for addressing it.
(2) Entrepreneurial and business management skills: These projects
should introduce participants to the identification of business
opportunities, the writing of business plans, the calculation of risks,
and the management of new businesses in order to maximize the
probability of success.
(3) Post-conflict governance: These projects are for countries that
are emerging from regional or civil war in recent years. Projects
should allow participants to experience creative approaches to
governing in a post-conflict country. Developing working relationships
with colleagues from opposite sides of a past conflict; breaking down
barriers to implement governmental administration; and how a new post-
conflict government promotes tolerance and diversity should be
addressed in these projects. Participants should practice different
methods and receive hands-on experiential learning.
(4) Development of Grassroots Organizations for Women: These
projects should work to expand the capacity of grassroots organizations
(NGOs) that advocate empowering women. Projects should work to build
[[Page 17720]]
NGO capacity in practice, giving NGO leaders opportunities to adopt
best practices by doing. When possible, joint projects should be
developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated by both the U.S. and
international sides.
Eligible Partner Countries and Regions
ECA will consider proposals for either single-country or multi-
country projects. A single-country project is a two-way exchange
between the United States and a single partner country. A multi-country
project involves participants from more than one country coming to the
United States together, and American participants traveling to those
countries. The Bureau prefers projects that will engage both Americans
and international participants deeply enough that relationships will
continue beyond the grant-funded activities. Competitive proposals will
be those that demonstrate why any country or group of countries has
been identified for a specific project and outline why the specific
group of participants to be selected from that country/countries is an
effective group to achieve project objectives. Proposals that target
countries or themes not listed in this solicitation will be deemed
technically ineligible. No guarantee is made or implied that grants
will be awarded in all themes and for all countries listed.
Organizations should consider current U.S. Department of State travel
advisories when selecting the countries with which they would like to
work.
Eligible Countries
Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana
East Asia/Pacific: China, Korea
Europe: Armenia, Kosovo
South and Central Asia: Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan
Proposal narratives must demonstrate the applicant's capacity in
the partner country through their own offices or a partner institution
to successfully conduct the proposed exchange activities. The requisite
capacity overseas includes the ability to organize substantive exchange
activities for the American participants, provide follow-on activities,
and handle the logistical and financial arrangements.
Please note: Because of the changing nature of the security
situation, U.S. participants may not be able to travel to
Afghanistan as part of a two-way exchange program. Therefore,
proposals should include a contingency plan to bring U.S. and
participants from Afghanistan together in a third country for those
relevant program components.
Emerging Cultural Leaders
Program Contact: Jill Staggs, tel: 202-203-7500, e-mail:
StaggsJJ@state.gov.
The `Rooted in the Arts' program provides opportunities for U.S.
performing artists (ages 25-35), teachers and students to build long-
term sustainable linkages with their counterparts in selected
countries. The project should connect economically and socially diverse
populations of high school social studies, music and/or art students
and their teachers in the U.S. with comparable populations in the
selected countries. The project must include two-way physical exchanges
of artists and teachers (but not students), each two to four weeks in
duration. It must also include virtual or distance projects that will
provide the high school students an opportunity to communicate with
their counterparts abroad. Projects must present an opportunity for
participants to explore and learn about their own and another country's
history and culture through the performing arts. Activities should
include artistic performances, workshops, lecture demonstrations,
contextual learning, and on-going virtual (internet) dialogues and
other virtual exchanges.
The overarching goals are:
1. To articulate identity through artistic expression, gain respect
for the identity and artistic expression of another culture;
2. To learn about their own and another country's history through
the performing arts;
3. To incorporate cultural awareness and build mutual understanding
and respect for other countries;
4. To foster continuing personal and institutional ties between
participants and partner countries.
A successful project will equip participating artists, teachers,
and high school students with an understanding of how the performing
arts opens a window into a country's history. For the teachers, it will
also provide insight on how the performing arts can be used as a tool
to educate students about their country and their culture. During their
exchange experience, participants should engage in a variety of
activities such as performances, workshops, community- and/or learning-
based programs, seminars, and other activities designed to achieve the
program's stated goals. We encourage exchange projects that require
collaborative work across cultures, that include a public presentation,
and that involve public schools in the U.S. and abroad.
Proposal narratives must demonstrate the applicant's capacity in
the partner country through their own offices or a partner institution
to successfully conduct the proposed exchange activities. The requisite
capacity includes the ability to recruit and select participants in
both the United States and the partner countries in close consultation
with the relevant U.S. Embassies; organize substantive exchange
activities in the participating countries; handle the logistical and
financial arrangements; and implement follow-on alumni activities in
which participants may locally apply what they learned during the
exchange. While Bureau funds may be used to support public programming,
long-standing ECA practice is that Bureau funds are not to be used for
the public presentation of art works in the United States. Cost sharing
provided by the grantee organization may be used for presentation costs
in the United States and should be noted in the budget.
Proposals must describe a selection process for American and
international participants and demonstrate how the participant group
represents an under-served community. For example, an under-served
community could be economically disadvantaged, geographically isolated
or experience low literacy rates. Selected participants should
demonstrate a commitment to leadership in their communities. If
participants are not fluent in English, proposals should include
provision for interpretation as necessary.
Applicants should identify which performing arts fields will be
included in the exchange and demonstrate how each part of the two-way
exchange will accomplish the over-arching goals of this competition.
Proposals might focus exclusively on an exchange in one field, such as
music. Alternatively, a more community-based project could include
artists from various performing arts fields, as well as a
representative of a community arts organization. All projects must
include an examination of cultural diversity, history and the arts as a
means of educational outreach and civic engagement.
Proposed Partner Countries
ECA will accept proposals for either single-country or multi-
country projects. We can only accept proposals for projects with the
countries listed below. A single-country project is a two-way exchange
between the United States and a single partner country. With a multi-
country project, participants from the partner countries should travel
to the United States together; the American participants' exchange
travel may be to just one or to all of the partner countries, depending
on the applicant
[[Page 17721]]
organization's program design and objectives. Applicants should present
a rationale for their approach. No guarantee is made or implied that
grants will be awarded in all themes and for all countries listed.
Organizations should consider current U.S. Department of State travel
advisories when selecting the countries with which they would like to
work.
Eligible Countries
East Asia: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
Western Hemisphere: Mexico, Venezuela
Applicants should propose the period of the two exchange components
and explain how together the exchange in each direction will accomplish
project objectives. The exact timing of the project may be altered
through the mutual agreement of the Department of State and the grant
recipient. Each exchange component should be no less than two weeks and
up to four weeks in duration. Program development should begin in late
summer/early fall 2009. Applicants must include letters of support in
their proposals.
For All Themes, Grantee Responsibilities will include:
1. Recruitment and Selection of project participants.
(a) Conduct an open, merit-based competition for exchange
participants. The grantee organization and its overseas partner(s) will
recruit, screen, and select participants in consultation with ECA and
with the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of U.S. Embassies or consulates,
using clearly identified criteria and a formal process for the
selection. The grantee will also develop plans for outreach and
recruitment that will generate a strong pool of qualified candidates
representing diverse ethnic and socio-economic groups and geographic
areas;
(b) Administer an effective English language screening process, if
applicable, or provide for any interpretation services, as necessary;
(c) Recommend participants and alternates for selection
(Invitations to participate may not be issued without ECA and Embassy
Public Affairs clearance).
2. Preparation of participants.
(a) Contact participants before the project to provide them with
project information, pre-departure materials, and any training
necessary for them successfully to participate;
(b) Facilitate the visa process, working with ECA and PAS for the
U.S. visas and directly with the embassy of the partner country for its
visas; as indicated in IV.3.d.1 below, ECA will issue the DS-2019 forms
required for J visas;
(c) Conduct a pre-departure orientation for participants, including
general and project-specific information;
(d) Make all round-trip international travel arrangements,
complying with the Fly America Act, and domestic travel arrangements
for the participants.
3. Exchange activities.
(a) Design, plan, and implement one or more intensive and
substantive projects in the U.S. on one of the stated themes, and one
or more corollary projects in the partner overseas country(ies). The
link of project activities to project objectives should be explained.
(b) Arrange appropriate community, cultural, social, and civic
activities, and make provisions for religious observance.
(c) Engage both foreign and U.S. participants in at least one
community service activity (e.g., visit to a food bank, a park clean-
up) during the U.S.-based project. The project should provide context
for the participants, identifying community needs, volunteerism,
charitable giving, etc., as well as a debriefing so that the service
activity is not an isolated event and helps participants understand how
they can apply their experience at home.
(d) Provide day-to-day monitoring of the project, preventing and
dealing with any misunderstandings or adjustment issues that may arise.
(e) Provide a closing session to summarize the project activities,
prepare participants for their return home, and to plan for the future.
4. Follow-on activities.
Conduct follow-on activities with project alumni, such as seminars
and physical or virtual gatherings, to reinforce values and skills
developed during the exchange program and to help alumni apply what
they learned to serve their communities. Encourage participants to
register in Alumni.state.gov.
5. Work in consultation with ECA and the Embassy PAS in the
implementation of the project, provide timely reporting of progress to
ECA, and comply with financial and project reporting requirements.
6. Manage all financial aspects of the project, including
participant costs and transparent arrangements of sub-grant
relationships with partner organizations, if applicable.
7. Design and implement an evaluation plan that assesses the impact
of the project.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Grant Agreement.
Fiscal Year Funds: FY-2009.
Approximate Total Funding: $3.9 million.
Approximate Number of Awards: 12-15.
Approximate Average Award: $300,000.
Floor of Award Range: Depending upon an organization's length of
experience in conducting international exchanges, grants could be
awarded for less than $60,000. See section III.3.a., below.
Ceiling of Award Range: $350,000.
Anticipated Award Date: August 2009.
Anticipated Project Completion Date: No later than, approximately
20 months after the start date of the grant.
Additional Information: As stipulated in the legislation, this is a
competitive one-time grants program.
III. Eligibility Information
III.1. Eligible Applicants
Applications must be submitted by public and private non-profit
organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code
section 26 USC 501(c)(3).
Organizations listed in the FY-2009 Omnibus Appropriation (Pub. L.
111-8) under Division H of the Department of State, Foreign Operations,
and Related Programs Appropriations Act, under ``Educational and
Cultural Exchange Programs'' in support of a $6 million ``competitive
one-time grants program'' are encouraged to apply.
In addition, organizations listed in the Department of State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriation Act, 2008
(Division J, Pub. L. 110-161) under ``Educational and Cultural Exchange
Programs--a competitive one-time grants program'' that did not receive
funding under the FY-2008 Competitive One-time Grants Program are
encouraged and eligible to apply.
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 the
highest possible levels of cost sharing and funding in support of its
projects, noting that cost sharing is one of the criteria for reviewing
proposals.
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, written
[[Page 17722]]
records must be maintained to support all costs which are claimed as
contributions, 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 that the minimum amount of cost sharing is not provided as
stipulated in the approved budget, ECA's contribution will be reduced
in like proportion.
III.3. Other Eligibility Requirements
(a) Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four
years of experience in conducting international exchange programs will
be limited to $60,000. Therefore, applicants should explain, with
examples, their experience in conducting international exchanges, and,
if that experience is less than four years, should limit their proposed
grant budgets to $60,000.
(b) Technical Eligibility: All proposals must comply with the
following:
--Eligible applicants may submit only ONE proposal (TOTAL) for one of
the two competitions referenced in the Executive Summary Section of
this document. If multiple proposals are received from the same
applicant, all submissions from that applicant will be declared
technically ineligible and will be given no further consideration in
the review process. In addition, applicants under this competition
(ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp. B) may only apply to administer one of the
listed activities (total).
--Proposals requesting funding for infrastructure development
activities, sometimes referred to as ``bricks and mortar support,'' are
not eligible for consideration under this competition and will be
declared technically ineligible and will receive no further
consideration in the review process.
--The Bureau 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.
--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.
--Organizations that received funding for a grant under the FY-2008
Competitive One-time Grants Program (Reference numbers: ECA/A-08-One-
time-Comp. A or ECA/PE/C/-08-One-time-Comp. B) are not eligible to
apply for this FY-2009 One-Time Program. In the event a proposal is
received from a FY-2008, One-Time grant recipient, the proposal will be
declared technically ineligible and will receive no further
consideration in the review process. Please note: A FY-2008, One-time
grant recipient, per above, is defined by the DUNS number of the
organization and by the signature of the authorized representative
contained on ``Application for Federal Assistance Form'' (SF-424) that
was submitted under the FY-2008 Competitive One-time Grants Program.
Please refer to the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document
for additional requirements.
IV. Application and Submission Information
Note: Please read the complete 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 Citizen Exchanges, ECA/PE/C, Room 220,
U.S. Department of State, SA-44, 301 Fourth Street, SW., Washington, DC
20547, tel 202-453-8176, fax 202-453-8169, RossAR@state.gov, to request
a Solicitation Package. Please refer to the Funding Opportunity Number
ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp. B also located at the top of this
announcement when making your request.
The Solicitation Package contains the Proposal Submission
Instructions (PSI) document which consists of required application
forms, and standard guidelines for proposal preparation.
Please specify Program Coordinator Alice Ross, and refer to the
Funding Opportunity Number ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp. B 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 seven 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. The summary and narrative must be presented in
double-spaced typing.
IV.3c. You must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of
application. Please note: Effective January 7, 2009, all applicants for
ECA federal assistance awards must include in their application the
names of directors and/or senior executives (current officers,
trustees, and key employees, regardless of amount of compensation). In
fulfilling this requirement, applicants must submit information in one
of the following ways:
(1) Those who file Internal Revenue Service Form 990, ``Return of
Organization Exempt From Income Tax,'' must include a copy of relevant
portions of this form.
(2) Those who do not file IRS Form 990 must submit information
above in the format of their choice.
In addition to final project reporting requirements, award
recipients will also be required to submit a one-page document, derived
from their project reports, listing and describing their grant
activities. For award recipients, the names of directors and/or senior
executives (current officers, trustees, and key employees), as well as
the one-page description of grant activities, will be transmitted by
the State Department to OMB, along with other information required by
the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), and
will be made available to the public by the Office of Management and
Budget on its USASpending.gov Web site as part of ECA's FFATA reporting
requirements.
[[Page 17723]]
Please Note: 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 Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs is the official program sponsor of the exchange
program covered by this RFGP, and an employee of the Bureau will be the
``Responsible Officer'' for the program under the terms of 22 CFR part
62, which covers the administration of the Exchange Visitor Program (J
visa program). Under the terms of 22 CFR part 62, organizations
receiving grants under this RFGP will be third parties ``cooperating
with or assisting the sponsor in the conduct of the sponsor's
program.'' The actions of grantee program organizations shall be
``imputed to the sponsor in evaluating the sponsor's compliance with''
22 CFR part 62. Therefore, the Bureau expects that any organization
receiving a grant under this competition will render all assistance
necessary to enable the Bureau to fully comply with 22 CFR part 62 et
seq.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs places critically
important emphases on the secure and proper administration of Exchange
Visitor (J visa) Programs and adherence by grantee project
organizations and project participants to all regulations governing the
J visa program status. Therefore, proposals should explicitly state in
writing that the applicant is prepared to assist the Bureau in meeting
all requirements governing the administration of Exchange Visitor
Programs as set forth in 22 CFR part 62. If the applicant organization
has experience as a designated Exchange Visitor Program Sponsor, the
applicant should describe their record of compliance with 22 CFR part
62 et seq., including the oversight of their 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 Office of Citizen Exchanges of ECA will be responsible for
issuing DS-2019 forms to foreign 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 Fourth
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547; Telephone: (202) 203-5029; FAX:
(202) 453-8640.
IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines
Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation, projects 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 project administration and
in project 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 project contents, to the full extent deemed feasible.
IV.3d.3 Project Monitoring and Evaluation
This section of the RFGP amplifies the direction given in section I
above on proposal format, which calls for the delineation of objectives
and planning for baseline, early results, and longer-term measurements.
Proposals must include a plan to monitor and evaluate the project's
success, both as the activities unfold and at the end of the project.
The Bureau recommends that each proposal include a draft survey
questionnaire or other instruments 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 project, learning as a result of the project, changes in
behavior as a result of the project, and effects of the project on
institutions (institutions in which participants work 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 intended outcomes at the outset of a project. 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). (Note the
call for measurements at the baseline and for early results and longer-
term results.) 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 project 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 emphasis 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 impact):
1. Participant satisfaction with the project 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;
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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 each 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 (e.g.,
surveys, interviews, tests, 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 project 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.3e. Please take the following information into consideration
when preparing the proposal budget:
IV.3e.1. Applicants must submit SF-424A--``Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs'' along with a comprehensive budget for the
entire project. There must be a summary budget as well as breakdowns
reflecting both administrative and program budgets. Applicants may
provide separate sub-budgets for each project component, phase,
location, or activity to provide clarification.
IV.3e.2. Allowable costs for the project include the following:
(1) Travel. International and domestic airfare; visas; transit
costs; ground transportation costs. Please note that all air travel
must be in compliance with the Fly America Act. There is no charge for
J-1 visas for participants in Bureau-sponsored programs.
(2) Per Diem. For U.S.-based programming, organizations should use
the published Federal per diem rates for individual U.S. cities.
Domestic per diem rates may be accessed at: https://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA--BASIC. Living
costs during foreign-based activities must not exceed USG-approved per
diem rates, which can be found at https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=184&menu_id=81.
(3) Please refer to the Solicitation Package for complete budget
guidelines and formatting instructions.
IV.3f. Submission Dates and Times
Application Deadline Date: May 14, 2009.
Methods of Submission: Applications may be submitted in one of two
ways:
(1) In hard-copy, via a nationally recognized overnight delivery
service (i.e., Federal Express, UPS, or U.S. Postal Service Express
Overnight Mail, etc.), or
(2) electronically through https://www.grants.gov.
Please Note: ECA strongly encourages organizations interested in
applying for this competition to submit printed, hard copy
applications as outlined in section IV.3f.1 below rather than
submitting electronically through Grants.gov. This recommendation is
being made as a result of the anticipated high volume of grant
proposals that will be submitted via the Grants.gov Web portal as
part of the Recovery Act stimulus package. As stated in this RFGP,
ECA bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from
transmission or conversion processes for proposals submitted via
Grants.gov
Along with the Project Title, all applicants must enter the
competition Reference Number (ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp. B) in Box 11
on the SF-424 contained in the mandatory Proposal Submission
Instructions (PSI) of the solicitation document.
IV.3f.1 Submitting Printed Applications
Applications must be shipped no later than the above deadline.
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. ECA will not
notify you upon receipt of application. 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. 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.
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''.
Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and
``Proposal Narrative'' and budget sections of the proposal as well as
any essential attachments, in Microsoft Word and/or Excel on a PC-
formatted disk. The Bureau will provide these files electronically to
the appropriate Public Affairs Sections at the U.S. Embassies for their
review.
The original and seven copies of the application should be sent to:
U.S. Department of State, SA-44, Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs, Ref.: ECA/PE/C-09-One-time-Comp. B, Program Management, ECA/
EX/PM, Room 534, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
Applicants submitting hard-copy applications must also submit the
``Executive Summary'' and ``Proposal Narrative'' and ``Budget''
sections of the proposal in text (.txt) or Microsoft Word format on a
PC-formatted disk. The Bureau will provide these files electronically
to the appropriate Public Affairs Section(s) at the U.S. embassy(ies)
for its(their) review.
IV.3f.2 Submitting Electronic Applications
Applicants have the option of submitting proposals electronically
through Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov). Complete solicitation
packages are available at Grants.gov in the ``Find'' portion of the
system.
Please Note: ECA strongly encourages organizations interested in
applying for this competition to submit printed, hard copy
applications as outlined in section IV.3f.1. above, rather than
submitting electronically through Grants.gov. This recommendation is
being made as a result of the anticipated high volume of grant
proposals that will be submitted via the Grants.gov webportal as
part of the Recovery Act stimulus package. As stated in this RFGP,
ECA bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from
transmission or conversion processes for proposals submitted via
Grants.gov.
Please follow the instructions available in the `Get Started'
portion of the site (https://www.grants.gov/GetStarted).
Several of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process could
take several weeks. Therefore, applicants should check with appropriate
staff within their
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organizations immediately after reviewing this RFGP to confirm or
determine their registration status with Grants.gov.
Once registered, the amount of time it can take to upload an
application will vary depending on a variety of factors including the
size of the application and the speed of your internet connection. In
addition, validation of an electronic submission via Grants.gov can
take up to two business days.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that you not wait until the
application deadline to begin the submission process through
Grants.gov.
The Grants.gov Web site includes extensive information on all
phases/aspects of the Grants.gov process, including an lengthy section
on frequently asked questions, located under the ``For Applicants''
section of the Web site. ECA strongly recommends that all potential
applicants review thoroughly the Grants.gov Web site, well in advance
of submitting a proposal through the Grants.gov system. ECA bears no
responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or
conversion processes.
Direct all questions regarding Grants.gov registration and
submission to: Grants.gov Customer Support, Contact Center Phone: 800-
518-4726, Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Eastern Time. E-
mail: support@grants.gov.
Applicants have until midnight (12 a.m.), Washington, DC time of
the closing date to ensure that their entire application has been
uploaded to the Grants.gov site. There are no exceptions to the above
deadline. Applications uploaded to the site after midnight of the
application deadline date will be automatically rejected by the
grants.gov system, and will be technically ineligible.
Please refer to the Grants.gov Web site, for definitions of various
``application statuses'' and the difference between a submission
receipt and a submission validation. Applicants will receive a
validation e-mail from grants.gov upon the successful submission of an
application. Again, validation of an electronic submission via
Grants.gov can take up to two business days. Therefore, we strongly
recommend that you not wait until the application deadline to begin the
submission process through Grants.gov. ECA will not notify you upon
receipt of electronic applications.
It is the responsibility of all applicants submitting proposals via
the Grants.gov web portal to ensure that proposals have been received
by Grants.gov in their entirety, and ECA bears no responsibility for
data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.
IV.3f.3 Once again, please note that an applicant may submit only
one proposal in this competition.
IV.3g. Intergovernmental Review of Applications: Executive Order
12372 does not apply to this program.
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 of t
