Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information: International Research and Studies Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, CFDANumber 84.017A [OPE]

FR Doc E7-1019
[Federal Register: January 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 15)]
[Notices]
[Page 3123-3127]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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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) 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.017A.

Dates: Applications Available: January 24, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 12, 2007.
Eligible Applicants: Public and private agencies, organizations,
institutions, and individuals.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$5,822,000 for the International Research and Studies Program for FY
2007, of which we intend to use an estimated $1,553,000 for new awards.
The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional
action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to
complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this
program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$200,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $129,420.
Estimated Number of Awards: 12.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

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.
Priority: 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 2007 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
the extent to which the application meets this priority.
These priorities are:

Competitive Preference Priority 1--Instructional Materials Applications

This priority is:
The development and publication of instructional materials that
serve to enhance international understanding for use by students and
teachers 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:
Research, surveys, proficiency assessments, or studies that foster
linkages between K-12 and postsecondary language training.
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.

[[Page 3124]]

Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$5,822,000 for the International Research and Studies Program for FY
2007, of which we intend to use an estimated $1,553,000 for new awards.
The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional
action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to
complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this
program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$200,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $129,420.
Estimated Number of Awards: 12.

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 involve 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 600, 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), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may 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 and instructions for this
program. 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 section of the narrative
that addresses the selection criteria 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, and graphs 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. Applications submitted in any other font
(including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will be rejected.
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the Application
for Federal Assistance face sheet (SF 424); the supplemental
information form required by the Department of Education; Part II, the
budget information summary form (ED Form 524); and Part IV, the
assurances and certifications. The page limit also does not apply to a
table of contents. If you include any attachments or appendices not
specifically requested, these items will be counted as part of the
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 apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
You apply other standards and exceed the Equivalent of the
page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: January 24, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 12, 2007.
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 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.
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
of this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
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 the regulations outlining
funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of 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 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-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.
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 time and date
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date/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/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

[[Page 3125]]

rejecting your application because it was date/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 the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps

include (1) registering your organization, (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 successfully submit an application
via Grants.gov.
For individuals who plan to submit a grant application, you must
follow the registration steps for individuals (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
).

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 typically included on the Application for Federal
Assistance (SF 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED
524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. 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 above
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 an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include 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 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 as described elsewhere in this notice. If you
submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
deadline date, please contact either of the persons listed elsewhere in
this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov,
along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). 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: Extensions referred to 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 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
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., 6th Floor, 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

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.

[[Page 3126]]

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, or
(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, or
(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 Application for Federal Education
Assistance (SF 424) the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if any--of the
competition under which you are submitting your application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment 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 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 programs to others (5 points); Account of related
materials (10 points); Likelihood of achieving results (10 points);
Expected contribution to other programs (10 points); Plan of operation
(10 points); Quality of key personnel (10 points); Budget and cost
effectiveness (5 points); Evaluation plan (15 points); Adequacy of
resources (5 points); Description of final format (5 points); and
Provisions for pre-testing and revision (5 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 also notify you informally.
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 of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of 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 specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118. Grantees are required to use the electronic data
instrument Evaluation of Exchange, Language, International, and Area
Studies (EELIAS) to complete the final report. Electronically formatted
instructional materials such as CDs, DVDs, videos, computer diskettes
and books produced by the grantee as part of the grant approved
activities are also acceptable as final reports.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the objective for the IRS program is to
support the development of materials and conduct of research in less
commonly taught languages and area studies to inform international
education.
The Department will use the following measures to evaluate its
success in meeting this objective.
IRS Performance Measure 1: Number of outreach activities 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 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 Evaluation of Exchange, Language,
International, and Area Studies system 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 telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to one of the program contact persons listed in
this section.

VIII. Other Information

Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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.

[[Page 3127]]

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: January 18, 2007.
James F. Manning,
Delegated the Authority of Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary
Education.
[FR Doc. E7-1019 Filed 1-23-07; 8:45 am]

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