Civic Education Curriculum Development and Teacher Training Program for Secondary Schools in Georgia; Notice: Request for Proposals

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 179 (Thursday, September 16, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50324-50326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24076]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY


Civic Education Curriculum Development and Teacher Training 
Program for Secondary Schools in Georgia; Notice: Request for Proposals

SUMMARY: The Advising, Teaching and Specialized Programs Division, of 
the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the United States 
Information Agency announces an open competition for a Civic Education 
Curriculum Development and Teacher Training Program for Secondary 
Schools in the Republic of Georgia. For applicants' information, on 
October 1, 1999 the Bureau will become part of the U.S. Department of 
State without affecting the content of this announcement or the nature 
of the program described. At that time, the Advising, Teaching and 
Specialized Programs Division will be renamed the Office of Global 
Educational Programs. Public and private non-profit organizations 
meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501c may 
submit proposals to cooperate with the Bureau in the administration of 
a three-year project to support the development and implementation of 
new curriculum units for fifth through ninth grade civic education 
courses in the Republic of Georgia. The grant awards up to $500,000 to 
facilitate the project. The grantee will work with Gaia, a Georgian 
non-profit organization involved in in-service teacher training 
programs in human rights and civic education in Georgia. The Georgian 
and U.S. partner organizations will coordinate with the Ministry of 
Education and his appointees in Georgia and the public diplomacy 
section at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. The program will comprise four 
phases of activity: (1) Selection of a small curriculum development 
team of Georgian educators and preliminary consultations in Tbilisi; 
(2) a three-month U.S.-based curriculum development workshop in which 
the team will produce draft curriculum units; (3) follow-up 
consultations in Georgia to assist in the review and field-testing of 
the draft curricular materials and in the training of a larger group of 
Georgian practitioners; (4) cooperation with Gaia in the further review 
and dissemination of the draft materials as needed, and to provide 
broader training of Georgian teachers and administrators for 
utilization of the revised curriculum units in Georgian classrooms.

    The Bureau solicits detailed proposals from U.S. educational 
institutions and public and private non-profit organizations to develop 
and administer this project. Grantee organizations will consult 
regularly with the Bureau and with the public diplomacy section at the 
U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi with regard to participant selection, program 
implementation, direction, and assessment. Proposals should demonstrate 
an understanding of the issues confronting education in Georgia as well 
as expertise in civic education and curriculum development.
    The funding authority for the program cited above is provided 
through the Freedom Support Act. Programs and projects must conform 
with Bureau requirements and guidelines outlined in the Solicitation 
Package. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' programs and 
projects are subject to availability of funds.

Program Information

    Overview: The goals of the project are to assist Gaia in Tbilisi, 
Georgia, to develop up-to-date curriculum units to be taught at the 
fifth through ninth grade levels, and to assist in training teachers 
for the implementation of these units. The rationale for this project 
is that improving citizenship education at the secondary school level 
will better prepare Georgian students to participate actively in 
building a pluralistic, democratic society and will promote democratic 
relations among members of the school community, including students, 
teachers, school administrators, and parents. Applicants may suggest 
topics to be developed by the curriculum team in their proposals; 
however, final determination of appropriate topics will be made by the 
curriculum development team and Gaia in cooperation with the grantee 
organization during the first phase of the project

Guidelines

Program Planning and Implementation

    Grants should begin on or around February 1, 2000, with Phase I of 
the project, in which a curriculum development team of six 
practitioners (e.g., classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and 
the project director of Gaia, who will serve as the Georgian project 
director for this grant) will be chosen by a selection committee in 
Georgia comprised of Gaia staff, local civic education specialists, 
members of the U.S. grantee organization and the public diplomacy 
section of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. A Ministry of Education 
official may be invited to serve as a liaison between the project 
directorate and the Georgian government. In Phase I, the team will 
undertake preliminary work in Tbilisi over a period of 3-6 months. 
Members of the curriculum development team, in consultation with a 
specialist from the grantee organization and the Georgian Project 
Director, will familiarize themselves with civics curricula and 
teaching materials used in the U.S., and will select the topics to be 
explored in the draft curriculum units.
    In Phase II, members of the curriculum development team will spend 
approximately three months in a highly structured U.S.-based workshop 
to be sponsored and organized by the U.S. grantee organization, and 
will attend focused curriculum seminars, observe relevant aspects of 
the U.S. educational system, and draft teacher and student materials 
for the curriculum units in consultation with U.S. specialists. The 
grantee organization will be responsible for introducing the Georgian 
team to leading U.S. civic educators with expertise that is pertinent 
to the topics to be explored,

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and to a broad range of relevant resources. The workshop schedule 
should incorporate significant time for both individual and group work 
on drafting materials as well as intensive training on specific 
approaches to the teaching of civic education topics. In addition, the 
workshop should include field experiences which are relevant to the 
materials being produced (such as visits to schools, matching the 
Georgian educators with U.S. mentor teachers, and attendance at 
professional association meetings).
    In Phase III, the curriculum development team will work in Georgia 
with Georgian teacher trainers, Gaia staff members, U.S. specialists 
from the grantee organization, and other Georgian organizations to 
provide introductory training for a larger group of practitioners in 
methods for testing and utilizing the draft curriculum units in the 
civics classrooms. The grantee organization will cooperate with the 
curriculum development team and Georgian educators to design and 
implement a pilot-test program for select secondary schools in Georgia. 
Revision of the draft curricular materials based on the results of 
field test will be completed by the grantee organization and the 
Georgian curriculum development team.
    Phase IV activities will consist of further review of the 
curricular materials by the U.S. and Georgian teams, the printing and 
publication of the materials, and the development of a self-sustaining 
teacher-training program in the use of the civic education materials.

Visa/Insurance/Tax Requirements

    U.S. lecturers and consultants participating in the project must be 
U.S. citizens. Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Please 
refer to Program Specific Guidelines (POGI) in the Solicitation Package 
for further information. Administration of the program must be in 
compliance with reporting and withholding regulations for federal, 
state, and local taxes as applicable. Recipient organizations should 
demonstrate tax regulation adherence in the proposal narrative and 
budget.

Budget Guidelines

    Grants awarded to eligible organizations with less than four years 
of experience in conducting international exchange programs will be 
limited to $60,000.
    Applicants must submit a comprehensive budget for the entire 
program. Awards may not exceed $500,000. There must be a summary budget 
as well as breakdowns reflecting both administrative and program 
budgets. Applicants may provide separate sub-budgets for each program 
component, phase, location, or activity to provide clarification. The 
summary and detailed program and administrative budgets should be 
accompanied by a narrative which provides a brief rationale for each 
line item. The total administrative costs funded by the Bureau must be 
limited and reasonable.
    Allowable costs for the program include the following:
    (1) Administrative Costs, including salaries and benefits, of 
grantee organization.
    (2) Program Costs, including general program costs and program 
costs for each Georgian participant in the U.S.-based curriculum 
development seminar. Also included are program costs associated with 
the field-testing of materials in Georgia and with the initial training 
of Georgian teachers. Please refer to the Solicitation Package for 
complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions.

Announcement Title and Number

    All correspondence with the Bureau concerning this RFP should 
reference the above title and number E/ASU-99-21.

For Further Information, Contact

    The Specialized Programs Branch, E/ASU (as of October 1, 1999, the 
Humphrey Fellowships and Institutional Linkages Branch, ECA/ASU), Room 
349, U.S. Department of State, 301 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20547, tel. 202-619-6492 and fax 202-401-1433, or emathews@usia.gov to 
request a Solicitation Package. The Solicitation Package contains 
detailed award criteria, required application forms, specific budget 
instructions, and standard guidelines for proposal preparation. Please 
specify Bureau Program Officer Erin Mathews on all other inquiries and 
correspondence.
    Please read the complete Federal Register announcement before 
sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFP deadline has 
passed, Bureau staff may not discuss this competition with applicants 
until the proposal review process has been completed.

To Download a Solicitation Package Via Internet

    The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from the Bureau's 
website at http://e.usia.gov/education/rfps. Please read all 
information before downloading.

Deadline for Proposals

    All proposal copies must be received at the Bureau of Educational 
and Cultural Affairs by 5 p.m. Washington, DC time on Wednesday, 
December 15, 1999. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time. 
Documents postmarked the due date but received on a later date will not 
be accepted. Each applicant must ensure that the proposals are received 
by the above deadline.
    Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation 
Package. The original and 10 copies of the application should be sent 
to: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs, Ref.: E/ASU-00-09, Office of Grants Management, ECA/EX/PM, 
Room 336, 301 4th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20547.
    Applicants must also submit the ``Executive Summary'' and 
``Proposal Narrative'' sections of the proposal on a 3.5'' diskette, 
formatted for DOS. These documents must be provided in ASCII text (DOS) 
format with a maximum line length of 65 characters. The Bureau will 
transmit these files electronically to the public diplomacy section at 
the US Embassy for its review, with the goal of reducing the time it 
takes to get Embassy comments for the Bureau's grants review process.

Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines

    Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation, programs must 
maintain a non-political character and should be balanced and 
representative of the diversity of American political, social, and 
cultural life. ``Diversity'' should be interpreted in the broadest 
sense and encompass differences including, but not limited to 
ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic 
status, and physical challenges. Applicants are strongly encouraged to 
adhere to the advancement of this principle both in program 
administration and in program content. Please refer to the review 
criteria under the ``Support for Diversity'' section for specific 
suggestions on incorporating diversity into the total proposal. Public 
Law 104-319 provides that ``in carrying out programs of educational and 
cultural exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom 
and democracy, `the Bureau' shall take appropriate steps to provide 
opportunities for participation in such programs to human rights and 
democracy leaders of such countries.'' Proposals should reflect 
advancement of this goal in their

[[Page 50326]]

program contents, to the full extent deemed feasible.

Year 2000 Compliance Requirement (Y2K Requirement)

    The Year 2000 (Y2K) issue is a broad operational and accounting 
problem that could potentially prohibit organizations from processing 
information in accordance with Federal management and program specific 
requirements including data exchange with the Bureau. The inability to 
process information in accordance with Federal requirements could 
result in grantees' being required to return funds that have not been 
accounted for properly.
    The Bureau therefore requires all organizations use Y2K complaint 
systems including hardware, software, and firmware. Systems must 
accurately process data and dates (calculating, comparing and 
sequencing) both before and after the beginning of the year 2000 and 
correctly adjust for leap years.
    Additional information addressing the Y2K issue may be found at the 
General Services Administration's Office of Information Technology 
website at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov.

Review Process

    The Bureau will acknowledge receipt of all proposals and will 
review them for technical eligibility. Proposals will be deemed 
ineligible if they do not fully adhere to the guidelines stated herein 
and in the Solicitation Package. All eligible proposals will be 
reviewed by the program office, as well as the U.S. Department of 
State's Office of the Senior Coordinator for the Newly Independent 
States and the public diplomacy section overseas, where appropriate. 
Eligible proposals will be forwarded to panels of Bureau officers for 
advisory review. Proposals may also be reviewed by the Department of 
State, Office of the Legal Adviser or by other Bureau 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 or 
cooperative agreements) resides with the Bureau's Grants Officer.

Review Criteria

    Technically eligible applications will be competitively reviewed 
according to the criteria stated below. These criteria are not rank 
ordered and all carry equal weight in the proposal evaluation:
    1. Quality of the program idea: Proposals should exhibit 
originality, substance, precision, and relevance to the Bureau's 
mission, and responsiveness to the objectives and guidelines stated in 
this solicitation. Proposals should demonstrate substantive expertise 
in civic education.
    2. Program planning: Detailed agenda and relevant work plan should 
demonstrate substantive undertakings and logistical capacity. Agenda 
and plan should adhere to the program overview and guidelines described 
above.
    3. Ability to achieve program objectives: Objectives should be 
reasonable, feasible, and flexible. Proposals should clearly 
demonstrate how the institution will meet the program's objectives and 
plan.
    4. Multiplier effect/impact: Proposed programs should strengthen 
long-term mutual understanding, including maximum sharing of 
information and establishment of long-term institutional and individual 
linkages.
    5. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate substantive 
support of the Bureau's policy on diversity. Achievable and relevant 
features should be cited in both program administration (selection of 
participants, program venue and program evaluation) and program content 
(orientation and wrap-up sessions, program meetings, resource materials 
and follow-up activities).
    6. Institutional Capacity and Record: Proposed personnel and 
institutional resources should be adequate and appropriate to achieve 
the program or project's goals. Proposals should demonstrate an 
institutional record of successful exchange programs, including 
responsible fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting 
requirements for past Bureau grants as determined by the grants staff. 
The Bureau will consider the past performance of prior recipients and 
the demonstrated potential of new applicants.
    7. Follow-on Activities: Proposals should provide a plan for 
continued follow-on activity (without Bureau support) ensuring that 
Bureau supported programs are not isolated events.
    8. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate 
the activity's success, both as the activities unfold and at the end of 
the program. A draft survey questionnaire or other technique plus 
description of a methodology to use to link outcomes to original 
project objectives is recommended. Successful applicants will be 
expected to submit intermediate program and financial reports after 
each project component is concluded or quarterly, whichever is less 
frequent.
    9. Cost-effectiveness/Cost-sharing: 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. Proposals should maximize cost-sharing through other 
private sector support as well as institutional direct funding 
contributions.

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 the Freedom of Russia and Emerging 
Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1993 (Freedom 
Support Act). The terms and conditions published in this RFP are 
binding and may not be modified by any Bureau representative. 
Explanatory information provided by the Bureau that contradicts 
published language will not be binding. Issuance of the RFP does not 
constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government. The 
Bureau reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase proposal 
budgets in accordance with the needs of the program and the 
availability of funds. Awards made will be subject to periodic 
reporting and evaluation requirements.

Notification

    Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by 
Congress, allocated and committed through internal Department of State 
procedures.

    Dated: September 9, 1999.
William P. Kiehl,
Acting Deputy Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-24076 Filed 9-15-99; 8:45 am]
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