Frequently Asked Questions About Proposals for Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Seminars

1. Are there any dates I should consider when planning a seminar application?
   Yes, please be mindful of all religious and federal holidays, traditionally busy travel days, academic calendars, and inclement weather in your region. 
   
   
2. Is it possible to propose a seminar to take place in the fall?
   Yes, we encourage applicants to submit proposals to coordinate seminars in either the spring or fall semesters.   An ideal time for a seminar in the fall would be the last week of October through the middle of November.
   
   
3. What is the expected duration of the seminar?
   The seminar should include three or four nights lodging at a hotel.  Historically, we have had success with seminars beginning early Wednesday evening (with arrivals throughout the afternoon) and concluding on Saturday by noon (with departures scheduled throughout the afternoon).
   
   
4. How many weekend/weekdays are required?
   For scheduling purposes, we have found that a seminar beginning on Wednesday and concluding on Saturday works well for most scholars.  However, there are no strict rules.  Other seminars have begun on Wednesday and concluded on Sunday with four overnights; a Thursday through Sunday schedule is also a possibility, budget permitting.  Please be mindful that many visiting scholars have lecturing duties or research commitments that would not allow them to be away for long periods.  Similarly, visiting scholars often have family commitments as well.
   
   
5. There are several dates that we can suggest for an enrichment seminar. Can my organization propose more than one set of dates?
   Yes, we encourage you to suggest alternate dates.
   
   
6. When will selected providers be notified?
   Successful applicants will be notified by August 15, 2013.
   
   
7. When will I know which scholars will attend the seminar?
   CIES will send a list of scholar names and contact information to the seminar coordinators at least eight weeks prior to the approved seminar dates.
   
   
8. The proposal states the seminar will include up to 75 participants.  How many should we budget for?
   Please propose a budget to cover 75 participants but that you could adjust downward should numbers decrease.  The exact number of participants may vary depending on scholar schedules.  The goal is to have 75 scholars at each seminar. 
   
   
9. What is the protocol for selecting speakers?
   Keynote speakers must be approved by the U. S. Department of State through CIES, prior to being confirmed for the seminar.  All topics must be presented from bipartisan viewpoints and speakers should represent a diverse cross-section of society.
   
   
10. May dependents of scholars participate in the seminars?
    No.  The seminars are intended only for Fulbright Visiting Scholars, and family members may not accompany scholars to the destination. 
    
    
11. What should the proposed budget include?
    Your budget should include all expenses necessary to deliver the seminar.  This includes staff salaries, scholar travel, ground transportation from the destination airport, hotel (double-room occupancy at government per diem), all meals (also at government per diem travel rates), materials, meeting rooms, local transportation, and entrance fees where applicable.
    
    
12. Can I include other administrative costs in my budget?
    Administrative costs for salaries, benefits, facilities and materials may also be included as direct costs.
    
    
13. Can I include other indirect costs in my budget?
    Only organizations with a published NICRA may declare indirect administrative costs.
    
    
14. How can I obtain a list of Fulbright alumni?
    The Fulbright Association should be your source for information on Fulbright alumni in your area.  They can provide you with contact information for the chapter in your area.   You may contact Shaz Akram, Interim Director, Chapter Relations, at shaz.akram@fulbright.org
    
    
15. May an organization apply for more than one seminar grant topic?
    Yes.  Please submit a separate proposal for each seminar topic that you propose.
    
    
16. Must hotel bookings be at U.S. government rates?
    IIE is not a U.S. Government Agency and is not entitled to government rates. However, applicants should negotiate potential hotel rates as close to U.S. Government hotel per diem rates as possible.
    
    
17. Will Visiting Fulbright Scholars be expected to share hotel rooms at the Regional Seminars?
    Yes. All participants will share a hotel room with another scholar of the same gender. If scholars should wish to stay in a single room, conference funds will cover half of the cost of the single room at the hotel, and the scholar will be responsible for the other half of the cost of the room.
    
    
18. Must proposals for seminars include in their budgets hotel accommodations for CIES and ECA staff?
    No, Enrichment seminar budgets do not need to include hotel accommodations for CIES and ECA staff; however, these staff members should be included in headcounts for the hotel and all activities.
    
    
19. From which regions of the country will the Fulbright Visiting Scholars travel to the seminar location?
    Fulbright Visiting Scholars are placed in all regions and territories of the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam.  Each seminar will include participants from around the country.
    
    
20. Is my organization required to pay for plane tickets for scholars?
    Your budget must include scholar airfare.  If you are selected for a seminar, CIES can advise on a process for booking scholar travel.
    
    
21. What is the average airfare amount for travel to an Enrichment Seminar?
    Please check a travel search engine for a variety of airfares to your destination at the time of year suggested for the seminar.  Depending on your location, average airfares may range from $350 to $550 for round-trip airfare.  It is preferable that scholars be able to travel to the seminar with not more than one connecting flight.
    
    
22. May our organization propose more than one topic?
    Yes.  If you would like to propose more than one topic, please submit a proposal for each topic.
    
    
23. Will the scholars all be coming from one academic discipline?  Should the seminar topic be tailored to specialists in the field or should it be more general?
    Your seminar should be designed to appeal to a general audience. 
    
    
24. How are scholars selected to attend a seminar?
    CIES polls the visiting scholars on their availability for dates and interest in chosen topics early in the Fall semester.  Based on the responses to the dates and topics, CIES then compiles attendee lists, taking into consideration scholar home countries and gender, to help ensure good diversity.
    
    
25. May we propose a variation on one of the topics listed?  Do you require a rationale for the selected topic?  How much flexibility is there?
    We encourage you to think creatively about the topics and how you can enhance a topic by playing to your organization’s strengths.  An example:  There have been three seminars on Diversity in the past two years, and each one handled the topic differently:  in  Chicago, the seminar was built around the history of the city and highlighted diversity and minorities and the importance of diversity to education and the workplace; in Philadelphia, the seminar focused on diversity and conflict resolution in the workplace, in ethnic relations, and in interfaith relations; in Birmingham, the seminar focused on the civil rights struggle in the South.  We expect that each organization will localize these rather general, global themes to illustrate their contemporary relevance.
    
    
26. Can you give any guidance on integrating cultural activities into the program, and what is the proper balance of cultural activities to programming?
    Cultural activities can be integrated into a seminar when and where they make sense.  In general, a good time to have purely cultural activities is on the first and final days of the seminar.  That way, scholars who arrive early or depart late can see something of the local area.  During the program, off-site activities will be generally limited to two types of visits:  a volunteer or service-learning type of activity, or a visit to an organization that illustrates one of the themes of the seminar.  
    
    
27. Can one day of the seminar take place outside the seminar venue and city?
    Yes.  Depending how you structure the activities, one full day could be spent outside the formal seminar venue.  An example that worked well is illustrated during the May 17 webinar. 
    
    
28. Do I need a special cover sheet?
    No.  Please make a cover sheet that includes the full name and complete contact information (mailing address, website, phone, email, social media) for your organization, along with the name, title, and contact details for the designated representative.  Please also list the title of the proposed seminar, location, dates and at least one set of alternate dates.
    
    
29. The RFP states “All meals must be built into the program.”  What does that mean?
    The proposed budget must include money for all scholar meals, from the evening of the arrival day through breakfast of the final morning.  Meals may be provided in different ways, either as a large group at the seminar hotel, in small groups at local restaurants, on a campus or other offsite seminar venue, as box lunches if on a field trip.
    
    
30. How would purchasing each scholar’s airfare work?
    There are a few different ways to do this.  The organization can work with a local travel agency to book scholar tickets directly.  Alternatively, the organization can provide instructions to the scholars to book tickets themselves and be reimbursed upon arrival at the seminar.  IIE/CIES does not book scholar travel to seminars.
    
    
31. How do the per diems work?
    The hotel rate must not exceed the GSA rate for your location and time of year.  Because scholars will be sharing rooms, the allowable hotel per diem will not be exceeded.  The meals and entertainment per diem is the maximum that may be spent in one day on meals.  You may also budget separately for cultural outings, speaker honoraria, and other activities as defined in the budget guidelines and sample budget. 
    
    
32. Does the 25% Administrative Costs include staffing costs and cost-share items?
    25% administration costs refers to the amount of the grant that can be applied to administrative costs (including staff costs, facilities, etc.). Also, you may include indirect administrative costs within the 25% only if you provide your NICRA when you submit your proposal. 
    
    
33. Is it a requirement that we stay at or below the per diem expense amounts, or is it okay to go over as long as our overall proposal stays below $100,000?
    In order for your proposal to be eligible, it must not exceed the maximum grant request of $100,000, so all submitted proposals will be below that threshold.  We strongly encourage you to stay at or below per diem rates; cost-effectiveness is one of the factors the review committee will consider.  We understand that it’s not always possible to meet government per diem rates, especially for meals taken in a hotel; however, we encourage creative programming.
    
    
34. How do I submit the proposal and budget?
    Please submit your proposal as one PDF document that includes all the required components (cover sheet, organization profile, previous funding received, proposed seminar design, budget, budget narrative, and any supporting documentation).  Please also submit your budget separately in Excel.  A total of two documents should be submitted: one PDF that includes all submitted materials, along with the budget separately in Excel.