The SABIT program awards funding to qualified U.S.
companies for training business executives and scientists from the New
Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. SABIT exposes NIS
business managers and scientists to a completely new way of thinking in which
demand, consumer satisfaction, and profits drive production. Mid to senior
level interns visiting the U.S. for internship programs with public or private
sector companies will be exposed to an environment which will provide them
with practical knowledge for restructuring their enterprises. The program
provides first-hand, eye-opening experience to managers and scientists which
cannot be duplicated by American managers traveling to their territories.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
ITA will reimburse recipient firms for the round-trip international travel of
each intern from the intern's home city in the NIS to the U.S. internship
site. ITA will also reimburse recipient firms for the $34 per day stipend per
intern for the awarded period, up to six months. ITA will reimburse recipient
firms up to $750 per month per intern for housing cost. In general, each award
will have a cap of $13,700 per intern for total cost of airline travel,
stipend, and housing.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: Any profit or nonprofit U.S.
corporation, association, organization or other public or private entity.
Agencies or divisions of the Federal government are not eligible.
Beneficiary Eligibility: Any profit or nonprofit
U.S. corporation, association, organization, or other public or private
entity.
Pre-application Coordination: None. This program is
excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure: Competitive Application
Kit. Standard Forms 424, 424B and the CD-511, Certifications regarding
Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace
Requirement and Lobbying must be completed. These forms are available from the
SABIT program; telephone: (202) 482-0073, or SABIT homepage: www.mac.doc.gov/sabit/sabit.html.
Award Procedure: Each application will receive an
independent, objective review by one or more ITA review panels (composed of
three or four members) qualified to evaluate applications submitted under the
program. Applications will be evaluated on a competitive, "rolling"
basis as they are received in accordance with the evaluation criteria. ITA
review panel(s) reserve the right to reject any application; to limit the
number of interns per applicant; to waive informalities and minor
irregularities in applications received; and to consider other than
competitive procedures to distribute assistance under this program and in
accordance with the law.
Deadlines: Proposals must be submitted by mail or
courier (no facsimile copies will be accepted) to the Sabit Office on or
before 5:00pm (Eastern) on the deadline date which is published in the
applicable Federal Register Notice which will be 30 to 90 days after
publication.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: Approximately
2 or 3months.
Appeals: All award decisions are final. There is
no appeal process.
Renewals: Recipients may be eligible, pursuant to
approval of an amendment of an active award, to host additional interns under
the program.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements: None. Any costs
beyond those covered by the award, including visa fees, housing costs
exceeding $500 (or $750 in high cost-of-living areas) per month, insurance,
and food and incidentals beyond $34 per day, any training-related travel
within the U.S. and provision of the hands-on training will be covered by the
grantee.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: The
cooperative agreement is valid for 1 year. Funds are reimbursed to recipients
upon submission of SF 270, SF 269, Final Report, proof of insurance, and
airline ticket receipt.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: End of Internship Report, Submission of SF
270, SF 269, proof of medical insurance, market survey for the type of housing
provided, and airline ticket receipts.
Audits: The grants officer has the discretion to
require by the terms and conditions of SABIT awards that recipients have an
audit conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. In
Accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24,
1997), recipients that are States, Local Governments, Non-profit organizations
(to include Hospitals), and Institutions of Higher Learning shall be subject
to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996
(31 U.S.C. 7501-7507). Commercial organizations shall be subject to the audit
requirements as stipulated in the award document.
Records: All documents related to the award 3
years after submitting the final financial report, SF 269.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification: 13-1250-0-1-376.
Obligations: (Operations and Administration
Assistance) FY 01 $1,500,000; FY 02 est $1,500,000; and FY 03 est $1,500,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance: $8,400
to 40,400; Average est. $18,000.
To date, the SABIT program has trained over 2,000 interns in over 2,500 U.S.
host companies. Recent survey results indicate that over 75 percent of U.S.
company hosts that participate in SABIT, maintain some form of ongoing
business relationship with their SABIT intern. Not only has the program
exposed managers and scientists to American ways of innovation and management,
but also assisted U.S. business to gain allies who can become their best
customers in the NIS. Over $997 million in business revenues have been
generated by American companies based solely on their SABIT interns.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Federal Register Notice: Docket No. 011123281-1281-01, SABIT brochures, SABIT
Exchange Newsletter, Competitive Application Kit; All can be obtained free of
charge from the SABIT office by telephone: (202) 482-0073 or visiting the
SABIT homepage: www.mac.doc.gov/sabit/sabit.html.
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local Office: SABIT Program, U.S.
Department of Commerce, (FCB) - Fourth Floor - 4100W, 1401 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 20230. Telephone: (202) 482-0073. Fax: (202)
482-2443, SABIT homepage: www.mac.doc.gov/sabit.html.
Headquarters Office: SABIT Program, U.S.
Department of Commerce, (FCB) - Fourth Floor - 4100W, 1401 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Web Site Address: http://www.ita.doc.gov/sabit/sabit.html.
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Three to 6 months training for managers or scientists in areas including
agribusiness, defense conversion, energy, environment, financial services,
construction, medical supplies and services, product standards and quality
control, telecommunications, transportation, and biotechnology. SABIT
specialized programs include Standards, Energy, Technology Commercialization
and Transportation Infrastructure.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Consideration for financial assistance will be given to those SABIT proposals
which: present a realistic work plan describing, in detail, the training to be
provided to the intern(s); exhibit commitment to the intent and goals of SABIT
by providing practical, on-the-job, non-academic, non-classroom, training;
provide a section of application that identifies the logistics of the
internship, the internship coordinator, the divisions in which the intern will
be placed, anticipated housing arrangements, and a statement that notes
applicant's commitment to intern's return to the NIS; and provide a general
description of the profile of the intern(s) the applicant would like to host.
Evaluation criteria are listed in decreasing importance. That is, evaluation
criterion 1 is most important, followed by criterion 2, etc.
