2017-NIST-TIG-01 NOFO.pdf

Assessment of Trusted Identities in Cyberspace

State Pilot Awards Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) March 10, 2017

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

State Pilot Awards

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

• Funding Opportunity Title: Assessment of Trusted Identities in Cyberspace State

Pilot Awards

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2017-NIST-TIG-01

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.619, Arrangements for Interdisciplinary Research Infrastructure

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

Eastern Time, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. NIST expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and award processing by July 2017. NIST expects the earliest anticipated start date for awards under this NOFO to be September 1, 2017.

Applicants should be aware, and factor into their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at these times from 12:01 Eastern Time, Saturday, March 18, 2017 until Monday, March 20, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and also from 12:01 Eastern Time, Saturday, April 15, 2017 until Monday, April 17, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b., Attachment of Required Application Documents, found on page 13 of this NOFO, with great attention.

Applicants should carefully follow the instructions and recommendations regarding attachments and using Grants.gov’s Download Submitted Applications feature 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.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are required to have a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (see Section IV.3. and Section IV.7.a.(1).b. of this NOFO) often takes between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; (3) electronic applicants are required to have a current registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants using Grants.gov will receive email 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 http://www.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.

• Application Submission Address: Applications must be submitted using Grants.gov.

• Funding Opportunity Description: NIST invites applications from eligible applicants to assess the benefits and impacts to the public of five projects implementing digital identity solutions for accessing government services. NIST funded these five projects through the 2016 NSTIC State Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program (NOFO 2016-NIST-NSTIC-01). Specifically, NIST seeks to enable adoption of online credentials more broadly for government services through greater dissemination of the impacts and benefits of these solutions to policymakers, state agencies, and the public. The assessment will assist in moving forward the goal of providing the public with more secure online transactions.

• Anticipated Amounts: NIST anticipates funding one award for approximately

$750,000. NIST anticipates a project length of three years.

• Funding Instrument: Cooperative agreement.

• Who Is Eligible: Applicants may be any U.S.-located non-Federal entity. However, an applicant will be deemed ineligible if it had any involvement in any of the 2016 NSTIC State Pilot projects. (See Sections IV.2.a.(12). and V.2.d. of this NOFO).

• Cost Sharing Requirements: This program does not require cost sharing.

• Public Meetings (Applicants’ Conference): NIST will hold a webinar (Applicants’

Conference) to provide general information regarding the funding opportunity, offer general guidance on preparing applications, and answer questions. Proprietary technical discussions about specific project ideas with NIST staff are not permitted at any time before submitting an application to NIST. Therefore, applicants should not http://www.grants.gov/ raise proprietary issues at the Applicants’ Conference or any additional seminars related to this competition. Also, NIST staff will not critique or provide feedback on specific project ideas while they are being developed by an applicant. However, questions about NIST’s Trusted Identities Group, evaluation and award criteria, selection process, and the general characteristics of a competitive application may be submitted at the Applicants’ Conference and by email to trustedidentities@nist.gov. Attendance at the Applicants’ Conference is not required, and will not be considered in the review and selection process. Information on the Applicants’ Conference is available at https://www.nist.gov/itl/tig/funding-opportunities.

Table of Contents

I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

IV. Application Submission Information

V. Application Review Information

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The statutory authority for the Assessment of Trusted Identities in Cyberspace State Pilot Awards competition is 15 U.S.C. §§ 272(b)(1), (b)(4), (c)(12), (c)(14), and Section 504 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 7464).

NIST’s Trusted Identities Group (TIG) collaborates with the public and private sectors to raise the level of trust associated with the identities of individuals, organizations, networks, services, and devices involved in online transactions. Specifically, as stated in Section 504 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014, NIST works to:

continue a program to support the development of voluntary and cost-effective technical standards, metrology, testbeds, and conformance criteria, taking into account appropriate user concerns-- (1) to improve interoperability among identity management technologies; (2) to mailto:trustedidentities@nist.gov https://www.nist.gov/itl/tig/funding-opportunities strengthen authentication methods of identity management systems; (3) to improve privacy protection in identity management systems, including health information technology systems, through authentication and security protocols; and (4) to improve the usability of identity management systems.

This statute codified key elements, including the guiding principles for trusted identities listed above, from the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC)1, a White House initiative with its National Program Office at NIST. The TIG currently carries out the responsibilities of advancing the adoption of trusted digital identities. The TIG’s vision is an Identity Ecosystem that will only be achieved if identity solutions fulfill all of these guiding principles listed above. Achieving these separately will not only lead to an inadequate solution but could serve as a hindrance to the broader evolution of cyberspace.

The drive toward this vision focuses on two high-level goals of government and commercial adoption through foundational activities in standards, technology, and measurement science. To achieve these goals, the TIG employs four primary tactics:

partnerships, publications, market intelligence, and communications.

More information about the NIST’s Trusted Identities Group is available at http://www.nist.gov/itl/tig/.

NIST Funded Projects Advancing Trusted Identities

NIST began funding pilot projects under the NSTIC Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program in 2012 and has made awards for pilot projects through 2016. Descriptions of all funded pilot projects are available on the TIG website at https://www.nist.gov/itl/tig/pilot-projects. As the technology and market evolved and matured, NIST transitioned the Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program from open competitions to competitions intended to fill critical gaps in the Identity Ecosystem. In 2016, the TIG sought to target specific impediments to the use of secure, privacy enhancing, federated identities for state and local government services. NIST made five awards2 from this competition3, which are discussed in greater detail below.

The 2016 State Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program Projects

1 Available at https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/12/08/nsticstrategy.pdf.

2 Announcement of awards to streamline and secure online access to state and local government services is available at https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2016/08/grants-foster-more-secure-online-access-online-government-and-health-care. Note that the Cedars Sinai project mentioned in the press release is part of a separate competition and not one of the five addressing access to state and local government services but instead aims to deliver trusted identities in health care.

3 Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity “National Strategy for Trusted identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) State Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program, https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/2016-nist-nstic-01.pdf.

http://www.nist.gov/itl/tig https://www.nist.gov/itl/tig/pilot-projects https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/12/08/nsticstrategy.pdf https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2016/08/grants-foster-more-secure-online-access-online-government-and-health-care https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2016/08/grants-foster-more-secure-online-access-online-government-and-health-care https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/2016-nist-nstic-01.pdf https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/2016-nist-nstic-01.pdf

As state and local governments increasingly shift enrollment and service delivery processes for State services to a virtual environment, they are challenged to develop effective and secure identity verification solutions. These solutions must support convenient customer access and program integrity across different services and agencies.

The goal of the 2016 pilots is to alleviate this challenge by providing examples of effective solutions. Specifically, the 2016 State Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program required projects to include the following:

1. Enable online access to one or more state, local, or tribal government service(s).

2. Provide for a federated, verified identity that enables multi-factor authentication and an effective identity proofing process meeting the risk needs of the service(s).

3. Align with the Identity Ecosystem Framework Requirements4.

4. Allow for interoperability with other federations in use in the public and private sectors.

NIST issued awards for five pilot projects to streamline and secure online access to specific state and local government services, initially, in nine states (Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Texas, Maine and California) and Washington, D.C.

More information about the projects can be found on NIST’s website at http://nstic.blogs.govdelivery.com/2016/08/25/citius-altius-fortius-announcing-6-new-pilot-projects-across-10-states-and-d-c/.

Assessing the 2016 State Pilots Cooperative Agreement Program Projects

The purpose of the Assessment of Trusted Identities in Cyberspace State Pilot Awards is to enable broader adoption of online credentials for state and local government services by disseminating information about the impacts and benefits of the five pilot projects. The results of these assessments will allow other state and local agencies to learn from these pilot efforts and increase the public benefit from the adoption of trusted identities.

Specifically, NIST intends to award a cooperative agreement to provide assistance to an eligible entity (see Section III.1. of this NOFO) to assess these pilots – examining the benefits and impacts to the government entities and to the users of government services. The assessment would quantify the benefits from these pilots, examine the positives and negatives (i.e. what worked well? what did not?) and lessons learned from these pilots, and provide recommendations on how identity solutions like the ones tested in these pilots can be applied to a broader array of public sector programs and services at all levels of government (e.g., city, county, regional, state, tribal).

Understanding the benefits of trusted credentials from a broader ecosystem as well as

4 https://www.idesg.org/The-ID-Ecosystem/Identity-Ecosystem-Framework/IDEF-Core-Documents.

http://nstic.blogs.govdelivery.com/2016/08/25/citius-altius-fortius-announcing-6-new-pilot-projects-across-10-states-and-d-c/ http://nstic.blogs.govdelivery.com/2016/08/25/citius-altius-fortius-announcing-6-new-pilot-projects-across-10-states-and-d-c/ https://www.idesg.org/The-ID-Ecosystem/Identity-Ecosystem-Framework/IDEF-Core-Documents any problems encountered will provide benefits broadly to organizations considering adopting these credentials.

The assessment will require interacting with the project teams to establish baseline metrics and collect ongoing metrics as the projects implement the pilots. Each State Pilot project has a separate timeline. Some will have pilot systems processing transactions within the first year of their award, others will be in the second or third year.

NIST anticipates that the recipient will release one report for each project and a final report summarizing and comparing the five, which will be issued at the end of the project. Disseminating these findings broadly is a critical component of the project.

Applications must include personnel that possess the education, experience, and training to understand the technical and economic implications of the awarded pilots. In addition, funded applicants must possess a demonstrated record of excellence in conducting assessments and preparing reports.

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 be NIST collaboration and involvement in the direction of the scope of work.

2. Funding Availability. NIST anticipates funding one award for approximately $750,000. NIST anticipates a project length of three years.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Who Is Eligible. Applicants may be any U.S.-located non-Federal government entity. However, an applicant will be deemed ineligible if it had any involvement in any of the 2016 NSTIC State Pilot projects. (See Sections IV.2.a.(12). and V.2.d. of this NOFO).

2. Cost Sharing or Matching. This program does not require cost sharing.

IV. Application Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package. The application package is available at www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2017-NIST-TIG-01.

2. Content and Format of Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Document

The Application must contain the following:

(1) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424 must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.

• SF-424, Item 12, should list the Funding Opportunity Number as 2017-NIST-

TIG-01.

• SF-424, Item 18, should list the total Federal budget amount requested for the entire project.

• For SF-424, Item 21, the list of certifications and assurances is contained in the SF-424B.

(2) SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs. The budget should reflect anticipated expenses for the project, considering all potential cost increases, including cost of living adjustments.

The Grant Program Function or Activity on Line 1 under Column (a) should be entered as “Arrangements for Interdisciplinary Research Infrastructure”. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number on Line 1 under Column (b) should be entered as “11.619”.

These sections of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the first year of the award:

Section A; Section B; Section C; and Section D. The budget estimate for the second year of the award should be entered in Section E, field 16, column (b), and the budget estimate for the third year of the award should be entered in Section E, field 16, column (c).

Further details about this form can be can be found at:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html.

(3) SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2017-NIST-TIG-01” in the

Award Number field. Enter the title of the application used in field 15 of the SF- 424, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

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

(6) Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal is a document of no more than twenty-five (25) pages responsive to the program description (see Section I. of this NOFO) and the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO). The Technical Proposal should contain the following information:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html

(a) Executive Summary. An executive summary of the proposed project, including a list of the proposed project participants, the scope of the proposed work, and an overview of the planned metrics collection effort.

(b) Project Approach. A description of the proposed approach to assessing the pilot projects, sufficient to permit evaluation of the application in accordance with the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.a. and V.1.b. of this NOFO). Assessment includes both quantification and qualification of the benefits of these pilots, and compiling “lessons learned” from each project. This section should include the following:

• specific information about each organization that will be involved in the assessment and how these organizations will work together to compete the assessment;

• the project leadership’s plans to manage the project;

• the proposed methodological approach to the assessment;

• what information (or types of information) will be needed to complete the assessment;

• proposed timelines/schedules for the interaction with the pilots; and

• an overall schedule of specific tasks, milestones and events necessary to complete the assessment.

This section should respond to the Project Approach and Data Elements and Analysis criteria (see Sections V.1.a. and V.1.b. of this NOFO).

(c) Data Elements and Analysis. A description of the proposed metrics and data collection needed to support the selected methodological approach and generate the needed information. This includes the plans to select, define, and collect the data as well as the proposed infrastructure to support the data collection and analysis. This also includes plans to protect proprietary and sensitive information.

Applicants should explain clearly how all proprietary information collected as part of the project will be protected. Applicants also should articulate how their approach will capture baseline information, the impact of ongoing pilots and enable projection of benefits to longer term use.

This section should respond to the Data Elements and Analysis evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.b. of this NOFO).

(d) Communication Plan. A description of how data and results from the project will be disseminated to target audiences including state and local government officials responsible for enterprise IT solutions. This section should specifically explain how the applicant plans to identify target audiences, formulate materials to address target audiences, distribute information, and make information about the effectiveness of various trusted identity choices available to audiences beyond the specified target audiences. This strategy is expected to include publications, presentations, and information on publically available websites.

This section should respond to the Communication Plan evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.c. of this NOFO).

(e) Qualifications. A description of the qualifications, proposed roles, and level of planned effort of the participating organization(s) and key personnel involved. For organizations, this includes the proposed role, relevant past efforts with similar projects, and the organizational capabilities of the project lead and each subawardee, contractor, or other collaborator participating in the project. Include a discussion of the partners’ past experience collaborating with each other, if applicable.

For key personnel, the following should be described, as applicable, and resumes should be included (resumes do not count towards the Technical Proposal page limit but are limited to two (2) pages each):

• any past experience with assessing the economic impact of technology;

• any past experience in the following disciplines: technology assessment, high-tech industry behavioral and structural analyses, microeconomic modeling of complex technology development and commercialization patterns, high-tech industry survey and data collection techniques, and quantitative and qualitative analyses of technology gaps that are inhibiting the advancement of technologies;

• any past experience assessing state and local government programs and experience collaborating with state and local governments, and

• any previously demonstrated ability to achieve positive outcomes in endeavors with program objectives that are similar to those of this NOFO, as described in Section I. of this NOFO.

This section should respond to the Qualifications evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.d. of this NOFO).

(7) Budget Narrative. The Budget Narrative should provide a detailed breakdown of each of the object class categories as reflected on the SF-424A. The budget justification should address all of the budget categories (personnel, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, supplies, other direct costs and indirect costs). 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. Information needed for each category is as follows:

(a) Personnel – At a minimum, the budget justification for all personnel 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.

(b) Fringe Benefits – 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 – 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. Any items that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the supplies line item. 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.

(d) Travel – NIST expects that the award recipient will use teleconference, web conference and video conference capabilities as much as possible to meet with the pilot projects; however, travel to each pilot will likely be necessary.

Applicants should include travel costs for these meetings. For all travel costs, the budget justification for travel should include the following: destination;

names and number of people traveling; dates and/or 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) Supplies – Provide a list of each supply, 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.

http://go.usa.gov/SBYh

(f) Contracts/Subawards – Each contract or subaward should be treated as a separate item. Describe the services provided and the necessity of the subaward or contract to the successful performance of the proposed project.

Contracts are for obtaining normal 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.

(g) 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.

(8) 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 the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions (http://go.usa.gov/hKbj).

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 and budget narrative portion of the application.

(9) Letters of Commitment. Letters are not included in the page count. Letters of commitment should be provided from contractors or subawardees who will be participating in the project, indicating their level of participation. Letters from any of the 2016-NIST-NSTIC-01 recipients or any of the partners on these projects may not be included in the application.

(10) Resumes of Key Personnel. Resumes of all key personnel (maximum of two

(2) pages per individual); note that the resumes are part of the material addressing the Qualifications evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.e. of this NOFO) and do not count towards the page limit of the Technical Proposal (see Section IV.2.a.(6). of this NOFO).

http://go.usa.gov/hKbj

(11) Data Management Plan. In accordance with NIST Policy 5700.005, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 5701.006, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research”, applicants should 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 Foundation7 or the National Institutes of Health8).

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding are required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and 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 sufficiency 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 evaluated against any evaluation criteria.

(12) Statement of Involvement with Participants in the 2016 State Pilots. The applicant and each proposed subawardee, contractor, or other collaborator participating in the project must provide a detailed description of any commercial involvement or other financial ties with participants in the 2016 State Pilot projects within the last three years. These written statements will not be evaluated against any evaluation criteria but will be used to assess whether the applicant has any conflicts of interest that could lead to an impairment of objectivity, real or perceived, in carrying out the scope of work for this award.

(See Selection Factor discussion in Section V.2. of this NOFO).

b. Attachment of Required Application Documents

5 https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/data/Final-P-5700.pdf 6 https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/data/Final-O-5701_0.pdf 7 http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp 8 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/data/Final-P-5700.pdf https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/data/Final-O-5701_0.pdf http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm

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.

Items IV.2.a.(6) through IV.2.a.(12) must be completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for 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 using Grants.gov 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.

The Grants.gov Online Users Guide available at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh) provides vital information on checking the status of applications. See especially the “Check My Application Status” option, found by clicking first on Applicants, and then by clicking on Applicant Actions.

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by following the procedures at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjamz). It can take up to two business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov system to NIST, however, applicants can immediately check that they properly submitted the application in Grants.gov by following the Grants.gov tracking procedures cited above.

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

c. Application Format

(1) Paper, E-mail 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 landscape orientation.

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

http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh http://go.usa.gov/cjamz

(4) Page Limit. The Technical Proposal for Applications is limited to twenty-five

(25) pages.

Page limit includes: Table of contents (if included), Technical Proposal with all required information, including management information and qualifications, figures, graphs, tables, images, and pictures.

Page limit excludes: SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; SF-424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs; SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs; SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities; CD- 511, Certification Regarding Lobbying; Cover Page; Budget Narrative; Indirect Cost Rate Agreement; Letters of Commitment (letters from any members of a pilot project team may not be included); Resumes of Key Personnel, noting resumes are limited to two (2) pages per person; Data Management Plan, and Statement of Involvement with Participants in the 2016 State Pilots.

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

(6) Application language. English.

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. There are no pre-applications with 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 (as the case may be) 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 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, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. NIST expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and award processing by July 2017.

NIST expects the earliest anticipated start date for awards under this NOFO to be September 1, 2017.

Applicants should be aware, and factor into their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at these times from 12:01 Eastern Time, Saturday, March 18, 2017 until Monday, March 20, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and also from 12:01 Eastern Time, Saturday, April 15, 2017 until Monday, April 17, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are required to have a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (see Sections IV.3. and IV.7.a.(1).b. of this NOFO) often takes between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; (3) applicants are required to have a current registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants using Grants.gov will receive email 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 http://www.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 via Grants.gov at www.grants.gov.

(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 2017-NIST-TIG-01 announcement, contact Christopher Hunton by phone at 301-975-5718 or by e-mail at grants@nist.gov.

(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. If all goes well, the registration process takes three to five business days. If problems are encountered, the registration process can take up to 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. See also 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, with the exception of Federal holidays.

Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays. For assistance using Grants.gov, you may also contact support@grants.gov.

(c) To find instructions on submitting an application on Grants.gov, Applicants should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the www.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.

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. Closely following the detailed information in these subcategories will increase the likelihood of acceptance of the application by the Federal agency’s electronic system.

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under “Applicant FAQs,” as it contains information important to successful submission on Grants.gov, including mailto:grants@nist.gov https://www.sam.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to Grants.gov 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 date.

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 know whether the application was rejected with errors and the reasons why, 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 your 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 your 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 from Barbara Cuthill by telephone at (301) 975-3273 or by e-mail to trustedidentities@nist.gov.

V. Application Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria. The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating applications and assigned weights are as follows:

a. Project Approach (0 – 30 points). Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the applicant’s proposed approach clearly addresses the NIST goals (see Section I. of this NOFO) and the extent to which the proposed methodologies will efficiently and effectively assess the impact of the 2016 State Pilot Projects. This includes the following:

• the effectiveness and completeness of the planned methods for interacting with the pilots;

• the appropriateness of the planned timelines and schedule, including specific tasks and milestones; and

• the effectiveness of the plans to manage the project and ensure the realization of the project’s goals and objectives.

mailto:trustedidentities@nist.gov

b. Data Elements and Analysis (0 – 25 points). Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the proposed metrics and data collection are likely to be effective in comprehensively assessing the projects. This includes the plans to select, define, and collect the data as well as the proposed infrastructure to support the data collection and analysis. This also includes plans to protect proprietary and sensitive information.

c. Communication Plan (0 – 25 points). Reviewers will evaluate the likelihood that the applicant’s plans for outreach and dissemination of the interim and final results will impact state and local government decision-making regarding adoption of trusted identity solutions. This includes assessing the appropriateness, quality, and completeness of the applicant’s plans for the following:

• identifying target audiences, including state and local government officials responsible for enterprise IT solutions;

• formulating materials to address the concerns and information needs of this group;

• distributing information to the target audience; and

• making information about the effectiveness of various trusted identity choices available to a larger audience.

d. Qualifications (0 - 20 points). Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the participating organizations and key personnel have the necessary qualifications to complete the project. This includes the following:

• past experience assessing the economic impact of technology;

• past experience in the following disciplines: technology assessment, high-tech industry behavioral and structural analyses, microeconomic modeling of complex technology development and commercialization patterns, high-tech industry survey and data collection techniques, and quantitative and qualitative analyses of technology gaps that are inhibiting the advancement of technologies;

• past experience assessing state and local government programs and experience collaborating with state and local governments; and

• previously demonstrated ability to achieve positive outcomes in endeavors with program objectives similar to those of this NOFO, as described in Section I. of this NOFO.

2. Selection Factors. The Selecting Official, who is the group leader of the Trusted

Identities Group, shall generally select and recommend applications for award based upon the rank order of the applications. The Selecting Official may select and recommend an application for award out of rank order based on one or more of the following selection factors:

a. the availability of Federal funds;

b. whether the project duplicates other projects funded by NIST, DoC, or by other

Federal agencies;

c. complementarity of the evaluation approach to the pilots to be evaluated;

d. whether the applicant has any conflicts of interest that could lead to an impairment of objectivity, real or perceived, in assessing the 2016 State Pilot projects; and

e. alignment with NIST priorities.

3. Review and Selection Process

a. Initial Administrative Review. An initial review of timely received applications will be conducted to determine eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to this NOFO. Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or non-responsive may be eliminated from further review. However, NIST, in its sole discretion, may continue the review process for an application that is missing non-substantive information which may easily be rectified or cured at a later point in the evaluation process.

b. Review of Eligible, Complete, and Responsive Applications. Applications determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive will proceed for full reviews in accordance with the review and selection process below:

(1) Evaluation and Review. At least three independent, objective reviewers, who are Federal employees, knowledgeable in the subject matter of this NOFO and its objectives, will evaluate each application based on the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO) and provide a numeric score. The reviewers’ numerical scores and written evaluations will be provided to an Evaluation Board.

The Evaluation Board, consisting of at least three (3) Federal employees, will rank the applications using the average of the reviewers’ numeric scores (see above paragraph). Board members will then consider the written evaluations against the evaluation criteria and set a numeric score threshold for competitive applications.

Applicants whose applications were deemed competitive (i.e., applications above the threshold) may receive written follow-up questions in order for the Evaluation Board to gain a better understanding of the applicant’s proposal. If deemed necessary, each competitive applicant may be invited to participate in a web conference with the Evaluation Board.

The Evaluation Board will take this information into account and agree on a final rank order of the applications.

(2) Recommendation and Selection. The Selecting Official will select and recommend an application for funding based upon the rank order and the selection factors (see Section V.2. of this NOFO).

NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with the selected applicant.

Negotiations may include requesting that the applicant remove certain costs.

Additionally, NIST may request that the applicant modify objectives or work plans and provide supplemental information required by the agency prior to award. NIST also reserves the right to reject an application where information is uncovered that raises a reasonable doubt as to the responsibility of the applicant. NIST may select some, all, or none of the applications, or part(s) of any particular application. NIST may request that fundable applicants consider working together in a combined project if this approach might effectively advance the program mission. The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the Grants Officer are final.

c. Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants. After applications are proposed for funding by the Selecting Official, the NIST Grants Management Division (GMD) performs pre-award risk assessments in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.205, which may include a review of the financial stability of an applicant, the quality of the applicant’s management systems, the history of performance, and/or the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or…