[Federal Register: February 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 35)]
[Notices]
[Page 9550-9554]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21fe08-52]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information;
International Research and Studies Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.017A.
Dates:
Applications Available: February 21, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 7, 2008.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The International Research and Studies Program
provides grants to conduct research and studies to improve and
strengthen instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, and
other international fields.
Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), these
priorities are from the regulations for this program (34 CFR 660.10,
660.34).
Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2008 these priorities are
competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we
award up to an additional five points to an application, depending on
how well the application meets these priorities.
Competitive Preference Priority 1--Instructional Materials Applications
This priority is:
(a) The development of specialized instructional materials for use
by students and teachers in foreign language and international studies
that are focused on one or more of the following critical language
areas: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, as well as Indic,
Iranian, and Turkic language families; or
(b) The development of tools, technologies and materials to assess
foreign language competency or fluency in one or more of the following
critical language areas: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, as
well as Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language families.
Competitive Preference Priority 2--Research, Surveys and Studies
Applications
This priority is:
(a) The evaluation of instructional materials and foreign language
[[Page 9551]]
assessments, including those instructional materials and assessments
produced with funds from Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965,
as amended, and published in print or electronic media, to determine
their efficacy in improving teaching and learning in one or more of the
following critical language areas: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
Russian, as well as Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language families; or
(b) The update, expansion, or consolidation of existing foreign
language and international studies web-based databases and the
evaluation of the materials that are disseminated through those
databases, including user comments.
Note: You will receive up to an additional five points for
responding to a competitive preference priority in your application.
Applicants are expected to address only one competitive preference
priority in each application, but regardless of how many priorities
are addressed, no more than five points in total can be awarded to a
single application.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1125.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 82,
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 34
CFR parts 655 and 660.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $1,642,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$200,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $117,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 14.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Public and private agencies, organizations,
institutions, and individuals.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Mr. Ed McDermott, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., suite 6082, Washington, DC
20006-8521. Telephone: (202) 502-7636 or by e-mail:
ed.mcdermott@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed in this section.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program. The
International Research and Studies program has two schedules. Research,
surveys, and studies applicants must use the application package for
84.017A-1. Instructional materials applicants must use the application
package for 84.017A-3. Page Limit: The application narrative is where
you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use
to evaluate your application. You must limit the application narrative
to the equivalent of no more than 30 pages, using the following
standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5 x 11, on one side
only, with 1 margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Page numbers and an identifier may be outside of the 1
margin.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, except titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, captions and all text in charts,
tables, figures, and graphs. These items may be single spaced. Charts,
tables, figures, and graphs in the application narrative count toward
the page limit.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch). However, you may use a 10 point
font in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier,
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font
(including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the Application for
Federal Assistance (SF 424); the supplemental information form required
by the Department of Education; Part II, the budget information summary
form (ED Form 524); or Part IV, the assurances and certifications. The
page limit also does not apply to a table of contents. If, however, you
include any attachments or appendices not specifically requested, these
items will be counted as part of your program narrative (Part III) for
purposes of the page limit requirement. You must include your complete
response to the selection criteria in the program narrative.
We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit; or if
you apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: February 21, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 7, 2008.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically, or in paper format by mail or hand delivery
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, please refer to Section IV.6. Other Submission
Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII
in this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the
application process, the individual's application remains subject to
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an
exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in
this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the International Research and
Studies Program, CFDA Number 84.017A, must be submitted electronically
using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at: http://www.Grants.gov.
Through this site, you will be able to download a copy
of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and
submit your application. You may not e-
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mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant application for the
International Research and Studies Program at http://www.Grants.gov.
You must search for the downloadable application package for this
program by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha
suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.017, not 84.017A).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application
if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are
rejecting your application because it was date and time stamped by the
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date.
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. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this program to ensure that you
submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system.
You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to
Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
.
To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
). These steps include (1)
registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf
). You also must provide on your
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
You must attach any narrative sections of your application
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file,
we will not review that material. Your electronic application must
comply with any page limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in this notice and
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
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exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Ed McDermott, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Suite 6082, Washington, DC
20006-8521. FAX: (202) 502-7860.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.017A), 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.017A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you 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
carrier.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.017A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail
or hand deliver your application to the Department--
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the
Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including suffix
letter, if any, of the competition under which you are submitting your
application; and
(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification
of receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this
notification within 15 business days from the application deadline
date, you should call the U.S. Department of Education Application
Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are
from 34 CFR sections 655.31, 660.31, 660.32, and 660.33 and are as
follows:
For instructional materials--
Need for the project (10 points); Potential for the use of
materials in other programs (5 points); Account of related materials
(10 points); Likelihood of achieving results (10 points); Expected
contribution to other programs (5 points); Plan of operation (10
points); Quality of key personnel (5 points); Budget and cost
effectiveness (5 points); Evaluation plan (15 points); Adequacy of
resources (5 points); Description of final form of materials (5
points); and Provisions for pretesting and revision (15 points).
For research, surveys and studies--
Need for the project (10 points); Usefulness of expected results
(10 points); Development of new knowledge (10 points); Formulation of
problems and knowledge of related research (10 points); Specificity of
statement of procedures (5 points); Adequacy of methodology and scope
of project (10 points); Plan of operation (10 points); Quality of key
personnel (10 points); Budget and cost effectiveness (5 points);
Evaluation plan (15 points); and Adequacy of resources (5 points).
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may notify you informally, also.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section in this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as directed by the Secretary
under 34 CFR 75.118. Grantees are required to use the electronic data
instrument International Resource Information System (IRIS) to complete
the final report. Electronically formatted instructional materials such
as CDs, DVDs, videos, computer
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diskettes and books produced by the grantee as part of the grant
approved activities are also acceptable as final reports. The Secretary
may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR
75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html
.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the objective for the International
Research and Studies (IRS) program is to conduct research and support
the development of materials in less commonly taught languages and area
studies to inform international education.
The Department will use the following measures to evaluate the
program's success in meeting this objective.
IRS Performance Measure 1: Number of outreach activities initiated
by IRS projects that are adopted or further disseminated within a year,
divided by the total number of IRS projects conducted in the current
year.
IRS Performance Measure 2: Percent of IRS projects judged to be
successful by the program officer, based on a review of information
provided in annual performance reports.
The information provided by grantees in their performance reports
submitted via the electronic International Resource Information System
(IRIS) performance reporting tool will be the source of data for these
measures.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ed McDermott, International Education
Programs Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW.,
suite 6082, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Telephone: (202) 502-7636 or by
e-mail: ed.mcdermott@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document and a copy of the application package in an alternative format
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on
request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in this notice Electronic Access to
This Document: You can view this document, as well as all other
documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text
or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the
following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
Dated: February 14, 2008.
Diane Auer Jones,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E8-3261 Filed 2-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P