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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

19.300:  Program for Study of Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union

Popular Name:  Title VIII

Objectives:  To sustain and strengthen American expertise on the independent states of the former Soviet Union and countries of Eastern Europe, by supporting graduate training; advanced research; public dissemination of research data, methods, and findings; contact and collaboration among Government and private specialists; and firsthand experience of these countries by American specialists, including on site conduct of advanced training and research.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

19.300 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  Applicants must be nonprofit organizations or institutions of higher education with an established track record in conducting research and training programs on the independent states of the former Soviet Union and countries of Eastern Europe. These organizations must run national programs of: advanced research; graduate training; language training; public dissemination of research data, methods, and findings; contact and collaboration among Government and private specialists; and/or firsthand experience of the area by U.S. specialists.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  Graduate students, individual scholars, nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education active in the study of the Independent States of the former Soviet Union and countries of Eastern Europe.

Credentials/Documentation:  Applications must include vitae of professional staff.

19.300 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  Applicants may call the program office with specific questions in responding to the call for applications. There is no preapplication form or need for preapplication conference. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:  The call for applications is published in the Federal Register. Applications must be prepared and submitted in 20 copies in the form of a statement, the narrative part of which should not exceed 20 double-spaced pages. It must be accompanied by a one-page executive summary, a budget, and vitae of professional staff. Applications must be submitted to the program office by the competition deadline.

Award Procedure:  An Advisory Committee mandated by the legislation reviews the application and rates it according to its responsiveness to the call in proposing a national, competitive program; the organization's established track record in administering a research and training program; its mechanisms for sharing the cost of the program; how it intends to advertise its program to the broad constituency of scholars; how successfully an organization targets individuals most likely to make a career commitment to the study of the region; etc. The Committee makes funding recommendations to the Secretary of State for her approval.

Deadlines:  Contact the program office for application deadline.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  About 2 months following the deadline, the Advisory Committee will meet in public to evaluate applications and make funding recommendations. Assuming the program's funding is in place, the Advisory Committee will forward its recommendations to the Secretary of State who usually will act on them within one or two weeks. All applicants then are notified by mail regarding their funding status.

Appeals:  Not applicable.

Renewals:  Each competition is open and national; applicants are free to apply as often as they wish.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Responsiveness to the substantive provisions set forth in the Call for Applications, Part II, Program Information; the professional qualifications of the applicant's key personnel and their experience conducting national competitive award programs of the type the applicant proposes for the study of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union, and budget, and cost effectiveness.

Examples of Funded Projects:  Fiscal year 1999 grants included programs to award language training fellowships in advanced Russian language and area studies, languages of the NIS program, Central and Eastern European languages and research. Post-doctoral fellowships and pre-dissertation travel grants were funded. Individual advanced research opportunities, dissemination, policy forums, advanced graduate fellowships, U.S.-based language training, short-term scholar programs, internships and professional development fellowships for young professionals in fields related to public service and civil policy in the NIS and Eastern Europe also funded.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  Grants in fiscal year 1999 ranged from $70,000 to $1,300,00. Several were about $200,000.

19.300 RELATED PROGRAMS:

19.300 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

19.300 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH, DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Type of Assistance:  Project Grants.

Obligations:  (Grants) FY 99 $4,800,000; FY 00 est $4,800,000; and FY 01 est $4,800,000.

Budget Account Number:  72-1093-0-1-150.

Authorization:  Research and Training for Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union Act of 1983, Public Law 90-164, Title VIII, 97 Stat. 1948, as amended by Public Law 103-199.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  Current and past calls for applications, and lists of grant recipients are available from the program office.

19.300 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  None.

Headquarters Office:  For program information, contact: Kenneth E. Roberts, Executive Director, or Susan H. Nelson, Program Officer, Program for the Study of Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, INR/RES, Department of State, Room 6841, 2201 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20520-6510. Phone: (202) 736-4572, FAX (202) 736-4851.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

19.300 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  This program has no statutory formula.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Grant recipients have about 3 years to spend their awards depending upon the appropriation legislation. Grant recipients draw down on the grant as needed by requesting funds through the State Department's Program Office.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  For grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education with interest and expertise in conducting research and training programs on the independent states of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. These organizations act as intermediaries for the Federal funds by conducting their own national, open competitions to make awards at the graduate level and above to individual students, scholars or other institutions.

19.300 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  Grant recipients are required to provide quarterly Program Narrative and Cash Transaction Reports (SF-269) and Technical Performance Reports including, a breakdown of expenditures by county and a semi-annual status of obligation reports (SF-270).

Audits:  Under OMB Circular A-133, grant recipients are required to undergo annual programmatic audits.

Records:  Grant recipients are required to keep standard accounting records for 3 years beyond the life of the grant.