2020-NIST-MBAMGP-01 NOFO.pdf

Metals-based Additive Manufacturing Grants Program

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce (DoC)

• Funding Opportunity Title: Metals-based Additive Manufacturing Grant Program

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2020-NIST-MBAMGP-01

• Assistance Listing (CFDA Number): 11.609, Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards.

• Dates: Applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time, Thursday, August 6, 2020. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at the following times. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time Monday

June 20, 2020 June 22, 2020 July 18, 2020 July 20, 2020

NIST expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and award processing by October 2020. NIST expects the earliest start date for awards under this NOFO to be November 2020.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b. Attachment of Required Application Documents of this NOFO with great attention. Applicants should carefully follow the instructions and recommendations regarding attachments and use the Download Submitted Forms and Applications feature on www.grants.gov to check that all required attachments were contained in their submission.

Applications submitted without the required documents will not pass the Initial Administrative Review, described in Section V.3.a. of this NOFO.

https://www.grants.gov/

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in SAM.gov (see Section IV.3. and Section IV.7.a.(1).(b) of this NOFO) generally takes between three and five business days but can take more than three weeks; and (3) applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has received the application. (See Grants.gov for full information on application and notification through Grants.gov). Please note that a federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in SAM.gov is not current at the time of the award.

• Application Submission Address: Applications must be submitted using

Grants.gov.

• Funding Opportunity Description: The NIST Metals-based Additive Manufacturing Grants Program is seeking applications from eligible applicants to support significant measurement science research in addressing barriers to wide-spread adoption of metals-based additive manufacturing, such as feedstock, machine, and process characterization; real-time process monitoring and control;

increasing process optimization and throughput; rapid qualification methodologies for processes and parts via characterization of surface quality, part accuracy, material properties as well as model-based approaches; and computational requirements for systems integration.

• Anticipated Amounts: In Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), NIST anticipates funding up to five (5) awards with a maximum amount of $1,000,000 per award. Total funds available are $5,000,000 with a maximum project performance period of two (2) years. The awards will be fully-funded.

• Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreement

• Eligibility: Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to all non-

Federal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments; foreign public entities; and foreign organizations. Please note that individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

http://grants.gov/

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Non-federal cost share is not required for awards issued pursuant to this NOFO.

Table of Contents

I. Program Description II. Federal Award Information III. Eligibility Information IV. Application and Submission Information V. Application Review Information VI. Federal Award Administration Information VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The statutory authority for the NIST Metals-based Additive Manufacturing Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c).

1) Background Information

The U.S. produces approximately 18 percent of the world's manufactured goods and U.S. manufacturing accounts for about $6.5 trillion or 28 percent of national output.

Manufacturing also represented about 16 percent of global GDP, 70 percent of global trade, and 45 million advanced economy jobs in 2010. A number of major trends are shaping the future of manufacturing. Among them are the increase in the variety of products and shorter product cycles required to meet customer needs; greater intelligence in product design and manufacturing; and growing importance of innovative products and services.

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in its 2011 report stated that the Federal Government can promote advanced manufacturing in the U.S. by focusing on three broad areas of opportunity: advancing new technologies, supporting shared infrastructure, and dramatically rethinking the manufacturing process.

Rapid design-to-product transformation as an enabler for U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness promotes such rethinking using new technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM).

AM refers to a class of emerging technologies for producing highly-complex, customized components by building up materials to make objects based on a three-dimensional

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

(3D) computer model, typically built layer upon layer. Parts are fabricated directly from an electronic file representing the 3D part design that is virtually sliced into many thin layers and sent to an AM system where the layers are built up in sequence into a complete part.

Over the past two decades, several AM processes and systems have been developed and their capabilities have grown significantly – ranging from rapid prototyping of simple physical concept models to help in product design, to creation of one-of-a-kind patterns necessary for metal casting processes, and more recently to direct fabrication of functional end-use parts. While early AM systems produced parts primarily in polymer (plastic) materials, systems now exist that produce metal parts. Metals-based additive processes form parts by melting or sintering material in powder form until all layers are completed.

AM provides the agility needed to rapidly make innovative customized complex products and replacement parts that are not realizable by more traditional manufacturing technologies or are required to be produced in low volumes. It offers additional advantages, including reduced material waste, lower energy intensity, reduced time-to-market, and just-in-time production.

Several technical barriers exist, however, that prevent AM processes from reaching their full potential. The recent roadmapping activities for AM outline research recommendations in several areas to advance the industry and emphasize that the ability to achieve predictable and repeatable operations is critical. The issues with surface quality, part accuracy, fabrication speed, material properties, and computational requirements are significant barriers to and/or limitations for widespread implementation of AM processes throughout U.S. manufacturers. To mitigate these challenges, this program focuses on the problems associated with metals-based AM material characterization, real-time control of metals-based AM processes, qualification methodologies and system integration for metals-based AM.

An overview of NIST’s involvement with AM is provided at https://www.nist.gov/topics/additive-manufacturing. The Measurement Science for Additive Manufacturing (MSAM) program, one of several NIST efforts related to AM, addresses measurements and standards necessary to develop and deploy advances in measurement science that will enable rapid design-to-product transformation; material characterization; in-process sensing, monitoring, and model-based optimal control;

performance qualification of materials, processes and parts; and end-to-end digital implementation of AM processes and systems. Reducing the barriers to widespread implementation and use of AM, such as process variability, fabrication speed, part accuracy, surface quality, and material properties is a main goal of the program. The program develops: standardized material characterization methods, exemplar data and databases to accelerate the design and use of AM parts; process metrology, sensing and control methods and algorithms to maximize part quality and production throughput https://www.nist.gov/topics/additive-manufacturing

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020 in AM; test methods, protocols, and reference data to reduce the cost and time to qualify AM materials, processes, and parts; and an information systems architecture, including metrics, information models, and validation methods to shorten the design-to-product cycle time in AM. This programmatic effort will facilitate: accelerated proliferation of AM parts in high-performance applications benefiting from AM's unique capabilities; improved quality and throughput for AM; rapid qualification of AM materials and processes leading to better understanding of AM and more confidence in AM products used in industry; and streamlined design-to-product transformations leading towards more accessible AM technologies for small and medium-sized companies, increasing industrial competitiveness.

The MSAM program focuses on the lack of measurement science capabilities in four areas in AM:

• In the area of characterization of AM materials, the program extends existing standardized methods for characterizing metal powders and mechanical properties of metal parts to develop new AM-specific characterization methods to qualify and quantify the unique attributes of AM materials.

• In the area of real-time AM process control, the program focuses on real-time measurements of process parameters such as melt-pool temperatures, material microstructure, part dimensions and surface finish. To study the AM process as well as to develop and implement measurement systems and control algorithms, a metal laser sintering platform was developed and is being used as a test bed.

• To reduce the need for extensive empirical testing to fully qualify AM processes and parts, this program develops measurement science to support equivalence-based qualification and model-based qualification.

• To improve the performance of AM systems, the program develops standards to support consistent data exchange among AM modeling and simulation tools as well as validation and verification methods for integration and exchange of AM models and data.

NIST is also investigating materials-related issues for both additively manufactured metals and polymers. Projects underway include studying the fracture and fatigue properties of additive manufactured materials, nano-mechanical properties of surfaces and flaws in these materials, modeling of microstructure evolution, and relationships between precursor material and final product quality. NIST’s efforts also extend to studying emissive properties of materials in solid, powder, and liquid states, as well as improved techniques for real-time temperature measurements to support better understanding and modeling of additive manufacturing processes.

Collaboration between NIST’s Additive Manufacturing programs and the Metals-based Additive Manufacturing Grants Program awardees will help to facilitate the measurements and standards that will enable dramatic advances in the additive manufacturing field.

2) Overview

This announcement solicits proposals that address development of measurement science to support high-priority metrology and standards in metals-based additive manufacturing technology. The term measurement science is used in the context of creating critical solution-enabling tools – metrics, models, and knowledge – for U.S.

manufacturers. Measurement science includes the following activities and their associated products and outputs:

1) Development of performance test methods and metrics, measurement methods, predictive models and simulation tools, knowledge models, protocols, technical data, reference materials, and/or test artifacts;

2) Conduct of inter-comparison studies and calibrations;

3) Evaluation of technologies, systems, and practices, including uncertainty analysis; and

4) Development of the technical basis for standards, codes, and practices.

Proposals must identify and address high-priority measurement science research challenges, technical barriers, and related research and development gaps that prevent widespread use of metals-based Additive Manufacturing technologies and systems by U.S. manufacturers and its supply chain. Proposals must identify the applied measurement science solutions and the project’s products and outputs that will be delivered. Proposals should provide a clear description of how the project’s products and outputs will accelerate widespread metals-based additive manufacturing technology transition, including the U.S. metrology equipment-supply industry and commercial activities by U.S. manufacturers.

Proposals must present an organizational structure and technical pathways to realize advancements in measurement science and research across several technical areas, including any of the following, or combinations of the following:

1) Equipment capability and characterization;

2) Process capability and characterization;

3) Materials understanding, testing, and performance;

4) Product quality;

5) Qualification and certification of materials, equipment, processes, and parts;

6) Process measurement, optimization, and real time control;

7) Modeling and simulation; or

8) Open architecture system management and control.

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

A successful proposal will leverage and complement NIST’s expertise and experience in metals-based additive manufacturing. It is expected that in this endeavor the recipient will accelerate the adoption of methods and standards in metals-based additive manufacturing.

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument

The funding instrument that will be used is a cooperative agreement. The nature of NIST’s “substantial involvement” will generally include collaboration with the recipient organization in developing and implementing the approved scope of work.

2. Funding Availability

In Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), NIST anticipates funding up to five (5) awards with a maximum amount of $1,000,000 per award. Total funds available are $5,000,000 with a maximum project performance period of two (2) years. The awards will be fully-funded.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to all non-Federal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education;

non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; state, local, territorial and Indian tribal governments; foreign public entities; and foreign organizations. Please note that individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Matching funds are not required.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

The application package is available at Grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2020-NIST-MBAMGP-01.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Application must contain the following:

(1) SF424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424

(R&R) must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.

For SF-424 (R&R), Items 5, 14, and 19, use the Zip Code + 4 format (##### - ####) when addresses are called for.

For SF-424 (R&R), Item 17, the list of certifications and assurances is contained in the SF-424B (item (3) below).

SF-424 (R&R), Item 18. If the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form (item (6) below) is applicable, attach it to field 18.

Instructions for filling in the SF-424 (R&R) can be found in the 2020- NIST-MBAMGP-01 Application Instructions document found on Grants.gov, as well as at Instructions SF424 (R&R) Application for Federal Assistance.

(2) Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed). The budget should reflect anticipated expenses for the full term of the project, considering all potential cost increases, including cost of living adjustments.

The budget should be detailed in these categories:

A. Senior/Key Person;

B. Other Personnel;

C. Equipment Description;

D. Travel;

E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs F. Other Direct Costs;

G. Direct Costs (automatically generated);

H. Indirect Costs;

I. Total Direct and Indirect Costs (automatically generated);

J. Fee (not relevant to this competition);

K. Total Costs and Fee (automatically generated);

http://www.grants.gov/ https://go.usa.gov/xd2aK https://go.usa.gov/xd2aK

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

L. Budget Narrative and Justification document (item (8) below) should be attached to field L.

A separate detailed R&R Budget must be completed for each budget period during the proposed award (e.g., annual basis). To add additional budget periods (e.g., year 2), click “Add Period” embedded at the end of the form. Instructions for completing the Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) form can be found in the 2020- NIST-MBAMGP-01 Application Instructions document on Grants.gov, as well as at Instructions R&R Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Budget.

(3) SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs (if applicable). The SF-424B is required for all applicants that have not updated their System for Award Management (SAM.gov) entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the Federal financial assistance certifications and representations (certs and reps). If an applicant has updated their SAM.gov entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the certifications and representations, then the SF- 424B is not required.

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2020-NIST- MBAMGP-01” in the Award Number field. Enter the title of the application, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

(5) Research and Related Other Project Information. Answer the highlighted questions and use this form to attach the Project Narrative (item (7) below), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (item (9) below), the Data Management Plan (item (10) below), and the Current and

Pending Support Form (item (12) below). Instructions for completing the Research and Related Other Project Information can be found in the 2020-NIST-MBAMGP-01 Application Instructions document on Grants.gov, as well as at Instructions R&R Other

Project Information.

Please note that the Project Summary/Abstract is not relevant to this competition. However, Grants.gov requires an attachment to field 7 of the Research and Related Other Project Information form to successfully pass through Grants.gov.

Please attach a document to field 7 stating, “A Project Summary/Abstract is not relevant to this competition”.

(6) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable).

https://go.usa.gov/xd2aT https://go.usa.gov/xd2ab https://go.usa.gov/xd2ab

(7) Project Narrative. The Project Narrative is a word-processed document of no more than twenty (20) pages (double-spaced between lines), which is responsive to the program description (see Section I.

of this NOFO) and the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO). The projective narrative should contain the following information:

a. Executive Summary. An executive summary of the proposed approach, consistent with the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.

of this NOFO). The executive summary should include information indicating how each evaluation criterion and its sub-factors are addressed. A table can be helpful in providing this information. The executive summary should not exceed two (2) pages.

b. Proposed Research Program. A description of the core problem that is being addressed and why the area is important. The section should address the Proposed Research Program evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.a. of this NOFO) and should demonstrate how the proposed research program is aligned with NIST metals-based additive manufacturing programs, as presented on the web at https://www.nist.gov/topics/additive-manufacturing, and the objectives of this NOFO.

c. Statement of Work. A complete statement of work covering all aspects of the project, including a schedule of measurable events and milestones as well as measurable performance objectives that can be used to determine the success of the project. The technical plan to perform the work should document the approaches to carrying out the proposed project, and should address the questions “what, how, where, when, why, and by whom” in substantial detail. Measurable success criteria for the proposed efforts should be described and will be evaluated. Appropriate interim and final key quantitative milestones for each year of the technical plan should be provided. A timeline, preferably using a tool such as a Gantt chart, should be used to logically illustrate timing and interrelationships of major tasks and key subtasks. This section should address the Technical Plan evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.b. of this NOFO).

d. Qualifications. A description of the qualifications of the key personnel, the time commitments of the key personnel, and how the project staff qualifications will enable them to conduct the project work. Information on past performance relevant to this

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020 project should be presented. Examples of past experiences of key personnel should be provided and should include experiences working with a wide variety of organizations, including scientific and engineering research organizations; accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; consortia; commercial organizations; standards development organizations and standards development processes. This section should address the Staff and Institutional Capabilities to Perform Work evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.c. of this NOFO).

e. Resumes of Key Personnel must be included. Resumes are not included in the page count of the Project Narrative. Resumes included as part of the application must be a maximum of two pages each. Additional pages beyond the two pages per resume will not be considered during the evaluation of the application.

(8) Budget Narrative and Justification.

There is no set format for the Budget Narrative and Justification;

however, further explanation must be provided for the specific cost categories and line items identified in the Instructions R&R Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Budget, as well as any other information you deem necessary for NIST’s consideration. The Budget Narrative and Justification must be attached to the Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed).

The written justification should include the necessity and the basis for the cost. Proposed funding levels must be consistent with the project scope, and only allowable costs should be included in the budget.

Information on cost allowability is available in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (http://go.usa.gov/SBYh), which apply to awards in this program.

The Budget Narrative does not count against the twenty (20) page limit of the Project Narrative.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Match of Budget to Proposed Work evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.d. of this NOFO).

It will also be reviewed to determine if all costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable under 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart E, Cost Principles.

Information needed for each category is as follows:

http://go.usa.gov/SBYh

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

A. Senior/Key Person – At a minimum, the budget justification should include the following: name, job title, commitment of effort on the proposed project in terms of average number of hours per week or percentage of time, salary rate, total direct charges on the proposed project, description of the role of the individual on the proposed project and the work to be performed.

Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy. The items included in the fringe benefit rate (e.g., health insurance, parking, etc.) should not be charged under another cost category.

B. Other Personnel - Data is requested at the project role level, and not at the individual level for Other Personnel. The budget justification should include the following: job title, commitment of effort on the proposed project in terms of average number of hours per week or percentage of time, salary rate, total direct charges on the proposed project, description of the role of the position on the proposed project and the work to be performed.

Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy. The items included in the fringe benefit rate (e.g., health insurance, parking, etc.) should not be charged under another cost category.

C. Equipment Description – Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more (unless the organization has established lower levels) and an expected service life of more than one year. The budget justification should list each piece of equipment, the cost, and a description of how it will be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of the proposed project. Please note that any general use equipment (computers, etc.) charged directly to the award should be allocated to the award according to expected usage on the project.

Applicants should provide at least two (2) quotes, if available, for equipment costing $25,000 or more. If two (2) quotes are not available, please provide a statement as to why two (2) quotes are not available. Any items that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the Materials and Supplies line item in Section F, Other Direct Costs.

D. Travel - For all travel costs, required by the recipient to complete the project, including attendance at any relevant conferences, the budget justification for travel should include the following:

destination; names or number of people traveling; dates and/or

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020 duration; mode of transportation, lodging and subsistence rates;

and description of how the travel is directly related to the proposed project. For travel that is yet to be determined, please provide best estimates based on prior experience. If a destination is not known, an approximate amount may be used with the assumptions given for the location of the meeting.

E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs – Participant support costs are stipends, subsistence allowances, travel, and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees, who are not employees of your organization, for conferences or training projects. The budget justification should indicate the names or number of participants or trainees, a description and calculation of costs per person, a description and date of the event, and a description of why the cost is necessary for the successful completion of the proposed project.

F. Other Direct Costs – For costs that do not easily fit into the other cost categories, please list the cost, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of cost. Include the necessity of the cost for the completion of the proposed project. Only allowable costs can be charged to the award.

Each subaward or contractual cost should be treated as a separate item in the Other Direct Costs category. Describe the services to be provided and the necessity of the subaward or contract to the successful performance of the proposed project. Contracts are for obtaining goods and services. Subawardees perform part of the project scope of work. For each subaward, applicants must provide budget detail justifying the cost of the work performed on the project.

H. Indirect Costs – Commonly referred to as Facilities & Administrative Costs, Indirect Costs are defined as costs incurred by the applicant organization that cannot otherwise be directly assigned or attributed to a specific project. For more details, see Section IV.2.a.(9) of this NOFO.

(9) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. If indirect costs are included in the proposed budget, provide a copy of the approved negotiated agreement if this rate was negotiated with a cognizant Federal audit agency. If the rate was not established by a cognizant Federal audit agency, provide a statement to this effect. If the successful applicant includes indirect costs in the budget and has not established an indirect cost rate with a cognizant Federal audit agency, the applicant will be required to obtain such a rate in accordance with Section B.06 of the

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, dated April 30, 2019.

Alternatively, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f), applicants that have never received a negotiated indirect cost rate may elect to charge indirect costs to an award pursuant to a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC), in which case a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement is not required. Applicants proposing a 10 percent de minimis rate pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f) should note this election as part of the budget portion of the application.

(10) Data Management Plan. Consistent with NIST Policy 5700.001, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 5701.002, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research”, applicants must include a Data Management Plan

(DMP).

The DMP is a supplementary document of not more than two pages that must include, at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that are expected to generate data, a summary of the types of data expected to be generated by the identified activities, a plan for storage and maintenance of the data expected to be generated by the identified activities, and a plan describing whether and how data generated by the identified activities will be reviewed and made available to the public. As long as the DMP meets these NIST requirements, it may take the form specified by the applicant’s institution or some other entity (e.g., the National Science Foundation3 or the National Institutes of Health4).

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding are required to submit a DMP or explain why data sharing and/or preservation are not within the scope of the project.

For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” at 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(e)(3) (available at http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ).

Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the application.

The inclusion of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative review (see Section V.3.a. of this NOFO); however, the DMP will not be

1 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf 2 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf 3 http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp 4 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/grants_management/policy/documents/Department%20of%20Commerce%20Standard%20Terms%20Conditions%2030%20April%202019.pdf http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/grants_management/policy/documents/Department%20of%20Commerce%20Standard%20Terms%20Conditions%2030%20April%202019.pdf http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm

Notice of Funding Opportunity evaluated against any evaluation criteria.

(11) Subaward Budget Form. The Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment Form is required if sub-recipients and contractors are included in the application budget.

Instructions for completing subaward budget forms are available by visiting the R & R Family section of the Grants.gov Forms Repository and scrolling down to the R & R Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form and selecting “Instructions.”

(12) Current and Pending Support Form. Any application that includes investigators, researchers, and key personnel must identify all sources of current and potential funding, including this proposal. Any current project support (e.g., Federal, state, local, public or private foundations, etc.)

must be listed on this form. The proposed project and all other projects or activities requiring a portion of time of the Principal Investigator (PI), co- PI, and key personnel must be included, even if no salary support is received. The total award amount for the entire award period covered, including indirect costs, must be shown as well as the number of person-months per year to be devoted to the project, regardless of the source of support. Similar information must be provided for all proposals already submitted or that are being submitted concurrently to other potential funders.

Applicants must complete the Current and Pending Support Form, using multiple forms as necessary to account for all activity for each individual identified in the PI, co-PI and key personnel roles. A separate form should be used for each identified individual.

Applicants must download the Current and Pending Support Form from the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/current-and-pending-support and reference the guidance provided as it contains information to assist with accurately completing the form.

b. Attachment of Required Documents

Items IV.2.a.(1) through IV.2.a.(5) above are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov and can be completed through the download application process.

Item IV.2.a.(6), the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form, is an optional application form which is part of the standard application package in Grants.gov. If item IV.2.a.(6), the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/current-and-pending-support https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/current-and-pending-support

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

Activities form is applicable to this proposal, attach it to field 18 of the SF- 424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance.

Item IV.2.a.(7), the Project Narrative, should be attached to field 8 (Project Narrative) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form by clicking on “Add Attachment”.

Item IV.2.a.(8), the Budget Narrative and Justification, should be attached to field L (Budget Justification) of the Research and Related Budget (Total Fed + Total Non-Fed) form by clicking on “Add Attachment”.

Items IV.2.a.(9), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, IV.2.a.(10), the Data Management Plan, and IV.2.a.(12), the Current and Pending Support Form, must be completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 12 (Other Attachments) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Item IV.2.a.(11), the Subaward Budget Form(s), if applicable to the submission, should be attached to the Research & Related Subaward Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Attachment(s) Form in the application package.

Following these directions will create zip files which permit transmittal of the documents electronically via Grants.gov.

Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions at www.grants.gov to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an application was transferred to a system. It does not provide details concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) transferred successfully. Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants are strongly advised to use Grants.gov’s “Download Submitted Forms and Applications” option to check that their application’s required attachments were contained in their submission.

After submitting the application, check the status of your application here:

CHECK APPLICATION STATUS . If any, or all, of the required attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment directions found above, resubmit the application, and check again for the presence of the required attachments.

If the directions found at http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020 https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStar ted.htm are not effective, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk immediately. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S.

territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place outside the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035. E-mails should be addressed to support@grants.gov. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov and does not issue Agency Tracking Numbers.

c. Application Format

(1) Paper, Email, and Facsimile (fax) Submissions. Will not be accepted.

(2) Figures, Graphs, Images, and Pictures. Should be of a size that is easily readable or viewable and may be displayed in landscape orientation. Any figures, graphs, images, or pictures will count toward the page limits for the Project Narrative.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (10-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Page Limit. The Project Narrative is limited to twenty (20) pages double spaced, noting the limit of two (2) pages for the Executive Summary. Resumes are not included in the page count of the Project Narrative. However, if resumes are included, resumes must be a maximum of two (2) pages each.

(5) Page Limit Exclusions:

SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance;

Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed);

SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs;

CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying;

Research and Related Other Project Information;

SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities;

Budget Narrative and Justification;

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement;

Data Management Plan;

Subaward Budget Form;

https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm mailto:support@grants.gov

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Current and Pending Support Form.

(6) Page Layout. The Project Narrative must be in portrait orientation.

(7) Page size. 21.6 centimeters by 27.9 centimeters (8 ½ inches by 11 inches).

(8) Page numbering. Number pages sequentially.

(9) Application language. English. All documents must be in English, including but not limited to the initial application, any additional documents submitted in response to a NIST request, all reports, and any correspondence with NIST.

(10) Typed document. All applications, including forms, must be typed;

handwritten forms will not be accepted.

d. Application Replacement Pages. Applicants may not submit replacement pages and/or missing documents once an application has been submitted.

Any revisions must be made by submission of a new application that must be received by NIST by the submission deadline.

e. Pre-Applications. Pre-applications will not be accepted under this NOFO.

f. Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax Convictions, Unpaid Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent Federal Tax Returns. In accordance with Federal appropriations law, an authorized representative of the selected applicant(s) may be required to provide certain pre-award certifications regarding federal felony and federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax assessments, and delinquent federal tax returns.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM).

Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. part 25, applicants and recipients are required to: (i) be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency, unless otherwise excepted from these requirements pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 25.110. NIST will not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time that NIST is ready to make a Federal award pursuant to this NOFO, NIST may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020 and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

4. Submission Dates and Times Applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, August 6, 2020. NIST will consider the date and time recorded by Grants.gov as the official submission time. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at the following times. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time Monday

June 20, 2020 June 22, 2020 July 18, 2020 July 20, 2020

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in the SAM.gov (see Sections IV.3. and IV.7.a.(1).(b). of this NOFO) generally takes between three and five business days but can take more than three weeks; and applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has received the application. (See Grants.gov for full information on application and notification through Grants.gov.) Please note that a Federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

5. Intergovernmental Review Applications under this Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372.

6. Funding Restrictions

Profit or fee is not an allowable cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements

a. Applications must be submitted electronically.

(1) Applications must be submitted at Grants.gov.

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

(a) Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure that all attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicating an application is received does not provide information about whether attachments have been received. For further information or questions regarding applying electronically for the 2020-NIST-MBAMGP-01 announcement, contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at 800-518- 4726.

(b) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the approaching due date before logging on and reviewing the instructions for submitting an application through Grants.gov. The Grants.gov registration process must be completed before a new registrant can apply electronically. The typical registration process takes three to five business days. If problems are encountered, the registration process can take two weeks or more. Applicants must have a valid unique entity identifier number and must maintain a current registration in the Federal government’s primary registrant database, the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site (also see Section IV.3. of this NOFO). After registering, it may take several days or longer from the initial log-on before a new Grants.gov system user can submit an application. Only individuals authorized as organization representatives will be able to submit the application, and the system may need time to process a submitted application. Applicants should save and print the proof of submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while using Grants.gov, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error message received and (b) call Grants.gov directly for immediate assistance. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S.

territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place other than the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035.

Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, except for Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays. For assistance using Grants.gov, the applicant may also contact support@grants.gov.

(c) To find instructions for submitting an application on Grants.gov, applicants should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the Grants.gov home page. Clicking on the “Applicants” tab produces two exceptionally useful sources of information, Applicant Actions and Applicant Resources, which applicants are advised to review.

https://www.sam.gov/

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under Grants.gov’s “Applicant FAQs,”as it contains information important to successful submission, including essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to applications.

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants’ schedules for delivery of their application.

Applicants are advised that volume on Grants.gov may be extremely heavy leading up to the deadline.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov.

The application is “received” when Grants.gov provides the applicant a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and tracking number, the application has not been received. After the application has been received, it must still be validated. During this process, it may be “validated” or “rejected with errors”. To ascertain whether the application was rejected with errors and the reasons for the rejection, the applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select “Applicants” from the top navigation, and select “Track my application” from the drop-down list. If the status is “rejected with errors,” the applicant may still seek to correct the errors and resubmit the application before the deadline. If the applicant does not correct the errors, the application will not be forwarded to NIST by Grants.gov.

Refer to important information in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times, to help ensure the application is received on time.

b. Amendments. Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through

Grants.gov. Applicants may sign up on Grants.gov to receive amendments by e-mail or may request copies by e-mail from jason.boehm@nist.gov.

V. Application Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating these proposals and assigned weights are as follows:

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-faqs.html mailto:jason.boehm@nist.gov

Notice of Funding Opportunity

June 8, 2020

a. Proposed Research Program. Reviewers will evaluate:

The clarity, rationality, innovation, and feasibility of the proposed research program to determine the project’s scientific and technical merit; and the degree to which the proposal aims to overcome important problem(s), recognized gaps, or exploit promising opportunities in metals-based additive manufacturing. (0 – 30 points)

b. Technical Plan. Reviewers will evaluate:

The extent to which the approaches presented to carry out the proposed project are likely to result in…