New Grant Money Available Starting December

SABIT Program Grants Available

Has your organization considered the opportunities available in the new markets of the former Soviet Union? Imagine being able to learn about the possibilities and advantages directly from business leaders in these expandingfree market economies. Or think of the advantages and opportunities that long-term collaboration with Russian companies or members of elite scientific institutes and laboratories throughout the former Soviet Union could offer to your company.

The Department of Commerce's SABIT

Program wants to help you tap that knowledge and facilitate those partnerships. SABIT (Special American Business Internship Training) is an innovative grant program that provides funding to U.S. organizations to conduct stateside training for business executives and scientists from the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (NIS). SABIT helps gifted managers and scientists from the NIS apply their knowledge. Your organization

Starting in early December, 2001, U.S.businesses and organizations in both the for-profit and non-profit communities are invited to apply for SABIT grants to host NIS professionals for periods from three to six months for training. If you're already working with a company located in the former Soviet Union and have someone in particular in mind you'd like to train, SABIT is a low-cost, low-risk way to develop that relationship. If you don't have a company in mind, SABIT can help you identify a potential partner and help you pay for the costs of 'trying out' the relationship.

U.S. host organizations medicalinsurance and the actual hands-on training. SABIT reimburses round-trip international airfare, $30 per diem, and up to $750 per month for lodging (depending on local rental rates).

Organizations that are awarded grants may select one or more NIS professionals from SABIT's pool of eminently qualified candidates, or they may propose their own NIS colleagues for internships. SABIT welcomes applications from organizations involved in many types of business ventures and many areas of scientific inquiry, including agribusiness, biotechnology, computer technology, medical and disease research, environmental protection, industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, power engineering, and waste management.

SABIT internships are rewarding experiences for both interns and
training hosts. New ideas, technologies, and applications are exchanged, and lasting ties created, offering many opportunities for continued collaboration and innovation. Over 70% of SABIT grantees develop business relationships with their interns, relationships that include joint ventures, distributorships, and long-term shared research projects. Additionally, since 1992, SABIT-facilitated business relationships have generated $166 million in U.S. exports.

Intrigued? Then apply for a SABIT grant. For more details, or to receive a packet, please contact Tracy Theisen, SABIT Marketing Officer, by phone (202-482-0073), fax (202-482-2443),
or e-mail (tracy_theisen@ita.doc.gov)
And visit our Web site, at www.mac.doc.gov/sabit/sabit.html.