[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58119-58122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28208]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 3144]
Discretionary Grant Programs Application Notice Establishing
Closing Date for Transmittal of Certain Fiscal Year 2000 Applications
AGENCY: The Department of State invites applications from national
organizations with interest and expertise in conducting research and
training to serve as intermediaries administering national competitive
programs concerning the countries of Central and East Europe, Russia,
and Eurasia. The grants will be awarded through an open, national
competition among applicant organizations.
Authority for this Program for Research and Training on Eastern
Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union is
contained in the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of
1983 (22 U.S.C. 4501-4508, as amended).
[[Page 58120]]
SUMMARY: The purpose of this application notice is to inform potential
applicant organizations of fiscal and programmatic information and
closing dates for transmittal of applications for awards in Fiscal Year
2000 under a program administered by the Department of State. The
program seeks to build and sustain expertise among Americans willing to
make a career commitment to the study of Central and East Europe,
Russia, and Eurasia.
Organization of notice: This notice contains three parts. Part I lists
the closing date covered by this notice. Part II consists of a
statement of purpose and priorities of the program. Part III provides
the fiscal data for the program.
Part I
Closing Date for Transmittal of Applications
An application for an award must be mailed or hand-delivered by
January 28, 2000.
Applications Delivered by Mail
An application sent by mail must be addressed to W. Kendall Myers,
Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe
and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, INR/RES, Room
6841, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC
20520-6510.
An applicant must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the
following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service.
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
center.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Department of
State.
If any application is sent through the U.S. Postal Service, the
Department of State does not accept either of the following as proof of
mailing: (1) A private metered postmark, or (2) a mail receipt that is
not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
An applicant should note that the U.S. Postal Service does not
uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, an
applicant should check with the local post office.
An applicant is encouraged to use registered or at least first
class mail. Late applications will not be considered and will be
returned to the applicant.
Applications Delivered by Hand
An application that is hand delivered must be taken to W. Kendall
Myers, Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern
Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, INR/RES,
Room 6841, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC. Please phone first at
(202) 736-4572 to gain access to the building.
The Advisory Committee staff will accept hand-delivered
applications between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST daily, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
An application that is hand delivered will not be accepted after 4
p.m. on the closing date.
Part II
Program Information
In the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983,
the Congress declared that independently verified factual knowledge
about the countries of that area is ``of utmost importance for the
national security of the United States, for the furtherance of our
national interests in the conduct of foreign relations, and for the
prudent management of our domestic affairs.'' Congress also declared
that the development and maintenance of such knowledge and expertise
``depends upon the national capability for advanced research by highly
trained and experienced specialists, available for service in and out
of Government.'' The program provides financial support for advanced
research, training and other related functions on the countries of the
region. By strengthening and sustaining in the United States a cadre of
experts on Central and East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia, the program
contributes to the overall objectives of the FREEDOM Support and SEED
Acts.
The full purpose of the Act and the eligibility requirements are
set forth in Public Law 98-164, 97 Stat. 1047-50, as amended. The
countries include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia
(including Kosovo and Montenegro), Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
The Act establishes an Advisory Committee to recommend grant
policies and recipients. The Secretary of State, after consultation
with the Advisory Committee, approves policies and makes the final
determination on awards.
Applications for funding under the Act are invited from U.S.
organizations prepared to conduct competitive programs on Central and
East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia and related fields. Applying
organizations or institutions should have the capability to conduct
competitive award programs that are national in scope. Programs of this
nature are those that make awards based upon an open, nationwide
competition, incorporating peer group review mechanisms. Individual
end-users of these funds--those to whom the applicant organizations or
institutions propose to make awards--must be at the graduate or post-
doctoral level, and must have demonstrated a likely career commitment
to the study of Central and East Europe, Russia, and/or Eurasia.
Applications sought in this competition among organizations or
institutions are those that would contribute to the development of a
stable, long-term, national program of unclassified, advanced research
and training on the countries of Central and East Europe, Russia, and/
or Eurasia by proposing:
(1) National programs which award contracts or grants to American
institutions of higher education or not-for-profit corporations in
support of post-doctoral or equivalent level research projects, such
contracts or grants to contain shared-cost provisions;
(2) National programs which offer graduate, post-doctoral and
teaching fellowships for advanced training on the countries of Central
and East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia, and in related studies, including
training in the languages of the region, with such training to be
conducted on a shared-cost basis, at American institutions of higher
education;
(3) National programs which provide fellowships and other support
for American specialists enabling them to conduct advanced research on
the countries of Central and East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia, and in
related studies; and those which facilitate research collaboration
between Government and private specialists in these areas;
(4) National programs which provide advanced training and research
on a reciprocal basis in the countries of Central and East Europe,
Russia, and Eurasia by facilitating access for American specialists to
research facilities and resources in those countries;
(5) National programs which facilitate the public dissemination of
research methods, data and findings; and those which propose to
strengthen the national capability for advanced research or training on
the countries of Central and East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia in ways
not specified above.
[[Page 58121]]
Note: The Advisory Committee will not consider applications from
individuals to further their own training or research, or from
institutions or organizations whose proposals are not for
competitive award programs that are national in scope as defined
above. Support for specific activities will be guided by the
following policies and priorities:
Support for Transitions. The Advisory Committee strongly
encourages support for activities which, while building expertise among
US specialists on the region, also (1) promote fundamental goals of US
assistance programs such as helping establish market economies and
promoting democratic governance and civil societies, and (2) provide
knowledge related to current US policy interests in the region, broadly
defined. This includes, but is not limited to, such topics as ethnic
conflict, post-Soviet economics, and political participation. The
Advisory Committee gives priority to programs on Central Asia, the
Caucasus, and the Balkans, where gaps in knowledge exist, and
encourages research on Russia's regions and other areas outside capital
cities. Historical or cultural research that promotes understanding of
current events in the region also is encouraged if an explicit
connection can be made to contemporary political and/or economic
transitions.
Publications. Funds awarded in this competition should not
be used to subsidize journals, newsletters and other periodical
publications except in special circumstances, in which cases the funds
should be supplied through peer-review organizations with national
competitive programs.
Conferences. Proposals for conferences, like those for
research projects and training programs, should be assessed according
to their relative contribution to the advancement of knowledge and to
the professional development of cadres in the fields. Therefore,
requests for conference funding should be directed to one or more of
the national peer-review organizations receiving program funds, with
proposed conferences being evaluated competitively against research,
fellowship or other proposals for achieving the purposes of the grant.
Library Activities. Funds may be used for certain library
activities that clearly strengthen research and training on the
countries of Central and East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia and benefit
the fields as a whole. Such programs must make awards based upon open,
nationwide competition, incorporating peer group review mechanisms.
Funds may not be used for activities such as modernization,
acquisition, or preservation. Modest, cost-effective proposals to
facilitate research, by eliminating serious cataloging backlogs or
otherwise improving access to research materials, will be considered.
Language Support. The Advisory Committee encourages
attention to the non-Russian languages of Eurasia and the less commonly
taught languages of the Central and East Europe. Support provided for
Russian language instruction/study normally will be only for advanced
level. Applicants proposing to offer language instruction are
encouraged to apply to a national program as described above that has
appropriate peer group review mechanisms.
Support for Non-Americans. The purpose of the program is
to build and sustain U.S. expertise on the countries of Central and
East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia. Therefore, the Advisory Committee has
determined that highest priority for support always should go to
American specialists (i.e., U.S. citizens or permanent residents).
Support for such activities as long-term research fellowships, i.e.,
nine months or longer, should be restricted solely to American
scholars. Support for short-term activities also should be restricted
to Americans, except in special instances where the participation of a
non-American scholar has clear and demonstrable benefits to the
American scholarly community. In such special instances, the applicant
must justify the expenditure. Despite this restriction on support for
non-Americans, collaborative projects are encouraged--where the non-
American component is funded from other sources--and priority is given
to institutions whose programs contain such an international component.
In making its recommendations, the Committee will seek to encourage
a coherent, long-term, and stable effort directed toward developing and
maintaining a national capability on the countries of Central and East
Europe, Russia, and Eurasia. Program proposals can be for the conduct
of any of the functions enumerated, but in making its recommendations,
the Committee will be concerned to develop a balanced national effort
that will ensure attention to all the countries of the area.
Legislation requires and this announcement indicates under Program
Information of this section that in certain cases grantee organizations
must include shared-cost provisions in their arrangements with end-
users. Cost-sharing is encouraged, whenever feasible, in all programs.
Part III
Available Funds
Awards are contingent upon the availability of funds. Funding may
be available at a level up to $4.8 million. The precise level of
funding will not be known until legislative action is complete. In
Fiscal Year 1999, the Congress appropriated to the program $4.8 million
from the FREEDOM Support and Support for East European Democracies
(SEED) Acts, which funded grants to 9 national organizations, with $3.3
million for activities on Russia and Eurasia and $1.5 million for those
on Central and East Europe, including the Baltic states. The number of
awards varies each year, depending on the level of funding and the
quality of the applications submitted.
The Department legally cannot commit funds that may be appropriated
in subsequent fiscal years. Thus multi-year projects cannot receive
assured funding unless such funding is supplied out of a single year's
appropriation. Grant agreements may permit the expenditure from a
particular year's grant to be made up to three years after the grant's
effective date.
Applications
Applications must be prepared and submitted in 20 copies in 12
pitch in the following format: one-page, single-spaced Executive
Summary; Budget presentation; narrative description of proposed
programs not to exceed 20 double-spaced pages; one-page, single-spaced
vitae of key professional staff; and required certifications.
Applicants may append other information they consider essential,
although bulky submissions are discouraged and run the risk of not
being reviewed fully.
Budget
Because funds will be appropriated separately for Central and East
Europe (including the Baltic states) and New Independent States
programs, proposals must indicate how the requested funds will be
distributed by region, country (to the extent possible), and activity.
Subsequently, grant recipients must report expenditures by region,
country, and activity.
Applicants should familiarize themselves with Department of State
grant regulations contained in 22 CFR part 145, ``Grants and
Cooperative Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education,
Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations,'' OMB Circular
A-110, ``Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education *
* * Uniform Administrative Requirements,'' and OMB Circular A-133,
``Audits of
[[Page 58122]]
Institutions of Higher Learning and Other Non-Profit Institutions'' and
indicate or provide the following information:
(1) Whether the organization falls under OMB Circular No. A-21,
``Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,'' or OMB Circular No.
A-122, ``Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations;''
(2) A detailed program budget indicating direct expenses with
clearly identified administrative costs by program element and by
region (NIS or Central and East Europe), indirect costs, and the total
amount requested. The budget also should reflect administrative costs
as a percentage of the total requested funding. NB: Indirect costs are
limited to 10 percent of total direct program costs. Applicants
requesting funds to supplement a program having other sources of
support should submit a current budget for the total program and an
estimated future budget for it showing how specific lines in the budget
would be affected by the allocation of requested grant funds. Other
funding sources and amounts, when known, should be identified.
(3) The applicant's cost-sharing proposal, if applicable,
containing appropriate details and cross references to the requested
budget;
(4) The organization's most recent audit report (the most recent
U.S. Government audit report, if available) and the name, address, and
point of contact of the audit agency. N.B.: The threshold for grants
that trigger an audit requirement has been raised from $25,000 to
$300,000.
(5) An indication of the applicant's priorities if funding is being
requested for more than one program or activity.
All payments will be made to grant recipients through the
Department of State.
Narrative Statement
The Applicant must describe fully the proposed programs, including
detailed information about plans for advertising programs, peer review
and selection procedures and identification of anticipated selection
committee participants, estimates of the types and amounts of
anticipated awards, and benefits of these programs for the Central and
East European, Russian, and Eurasian fields.
Applicants who have received previous grants from this State
Department program should provide detailed information on the awards
made, including, where applicable, names/affiliations of recipients,
and amounts and types of awards. Applicant's should specify both past
and anticipated applicant to award ratios. A summary of an
organization's past grants under this State Department program also
should be included.
Proposals from national organizations involving language
instruction programs should provide, for those programs supported in
the past year, information on the criteria for evaluation, including
levels of instruction, degrees of intensiveness, facilities, methods
for measuring language proficiency (including pre- and post-testing),
instructors' qualifications, and budget information showing estimated
costs per student.
Certifications
Applicants must include a description of affirmative action
policies and practices and certifications of compliance with the
provisions of: (1) The Drug-Free Workplace Act (Public Law 100-690), in
accordance with Appendix C of 22 CFR part 137, Subpart F; and (2)
Section 319 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act (Public Law 101-121), in accordance with Appendix A
of 22 CFR part 138, New Restrictions on Lobbying Activities.
Technical Review
The Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe and the
Independent States of the Former Soviet Union will evaluate
applications on the basis of the following criteria:
(1) Responsiveness to the substantive provisions set forth above in
Program Part II, Information (45 points);
(2) The professional qualifications of the applicant's key
personnel and selection committees, and their experience conducting
national competitive award programs of the type the applicant proposes
on the countries of Central and East Europe, Russia, and Eurasia (35
points); and
(3) Budget presentation and cost effectiveness (20 points).
Further Information
For further information, contact W. Kendall Myers, Executive
Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe and the
Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, INR/RES, Room 6841, U.S.
Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20520-6510.
Telephone: (202) 736-4572 or 736-4386, fax: (202) 736-4851 or (202)
736-4807.
Dated: October 21, 1999.
W. Kendall Myers,
Executive Director, Advisory Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe
and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union.
[FR Doc. 99-28208 Filed 10-27-99; 8:45 am]
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