2020-NIST-COM-RES-COE-RFA.pdf

2020-NIST-COMM-RES-COE-01

Request for Application

October 31, 2019

REQUEST FOR APPLICATION (RFA)

NIST Community Resilience Center of Excellence

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

• Request for Application Title: Request for Application (RFA) NIST Community Resilience Center of Excellence Renewal

• Announcement Type: Initial Announcement

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2020-NIST-COMM-RES-COE-01

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

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

Eastern Time, November 30, 2019. Application 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:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time Monday

November 16, 2019 November 18, 2019

Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

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

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

• Funding Opportunity Description: The NIST is soliciting a renewal application from Colorado State University for the Community Resilience Center of Excellence, in which NIST researchers collaborate with interdisciplinary researchers on development of tools and standardized methods that will enhance the disaster resilience of communities and their built environment through innovations in measurement science and in new modeling, simulation, data, and informatics tools coupled with field studies.

• Anticipated Amounts: NIST anticipates approximately $4,000,000 per year may be made available to award one (1) multi-year award for up to five (5) years. This award will not be eligible for further renewal.

• Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreement.

• Eligibility: The only eligible applicant is Colorado State University.

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Non-federal cost share is not required.

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 Community Resilience Center of Excellence is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b)(4), (b)(8), (b)(10), (c)(17), and (c)(18).

The NIST is seeking an application from Colorado State University for a renewal award for the Community Resilience Center of Excellence, in which NIST researchers collaborate with interdisciplinary researchers on development of tools and standardized methods that will enhance the disaster resilience of communities and their built environment through innovations in measurement science and in new modeling, simulation, data, and informatics tools coupled with field studies.

Progress towards more resilient communities is hindered by a lack of metrics for community resilience, as well as a paucity of validated, science-based tools to evaluate resilience at the community-scale. Community resilience requires consideration of several key dimensions. Resilience goals are based on social needs, which provide the foundation for performance requirements for buildings and infrastructure systems, including (but not limited to) employment, schooling, governance, public safety, and medical services delivery. Performance requirements also need to consider the role of the facility or system, such as whether it is critical to life safety or community recovery. Interdependencies and cascading effects of damage to buildings and infrastructure can result in greatly increased recovery times and costs. Achieving resilient performance at a community level takes time and planning, and requires informed decision making that can prioritize effective investments. To improve community resilience, science-based tools are needed to address all these dimensions. In developing tools that address these dimensions, the NIST Community Resilience Center of Excellence focuses on the role that buildings and infrastructure play in community resilience and their impact on social and economic systems. The models developed by the Center are expected to serve communities, professionals, and researchers by advancing community resilience assessment and planning methods.

By combining NIST’s expertise and experience in community resilience and disaster and failure studies with the successful implementation of the Community Resilience Center of Excellence, the next level of science-based modeling and desired performance levels can be achieved to enhance community resilience. For the renewal period, the Community Resilience Center of Excellence shall address the following thrust areas:

1. Computational Modeling Environment for Community Resilience.

Develop an integrated, multi-scale, computational modeling environment to accelerate development of validated systems-level models and to inform the development of standards and tools for enhancing community resilience, particularly for the built environment. The built environment includes, but is not limited to, buildings and other structures, energy systems, transportation systems, communication and information systems, and water and wastewater systems. Specifically, the modeling environment and tools should support evaluation of the potential impact of natural hazard events to buildings and infrastructure systems, the effects of aging infrastructure, and consequential effects on community social systems, response, and recovery, with solution uncertainty characterization. The modeling environment should include (but not necessarily be limited to) simulation and evaluation tools for:

a. Building and infrastructure interdependencies and cascading effects of failures among infrastructure systems and buildings;

b. Decision-making for planning, risk mitigation, response, and recovery with specific consideration of corresponding infrastructure system performance; and

c. Metrics that quantify the state and improvement of community resilience with regards to the built environment and societal needs.

To achieve maximum benefit to the community resilience research and practitioner communities, the modeling environment should allow for two types of input options: (1) default values where data is available, and (2) user-defined data; the modeling environment models shall remain the same for both input options. Further, the modeling environment output must include user-friendly graphics and tables for visual representation of results with options for output of solution results.

2. Data Science and Validation. Foster the development of data architectures and data management tools to support model development and validation and to enable resilience planning and evaluation for decision-making officials, professionals, and researchers.

a. The data management tools developed should include a resilience data architecture that will accommodate system-level computational models with data for model input and validation. The resilience data architecture should accommodate data types such as mitigation, performance, and recovery information for communities (economics, employment, codes and standards, etc.) and for buildings and infrastructure systems.

b. The modeling environment should be validated through the following steps:

1. Conduct studies to validate resilience data architectures, ontologies, data management tools, and models for a variety of hazard events, such as hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood (rain-induced, storm surge, tsunami, sea level rise), and effects of aging infrastructure.

• Validation studies may include hazard event data from various sources, including previous disaster event studies and field studies conducted by the awardee.

• Because validation studies are an opportunity to exercise the data format and collection methods, the center should develop criteria that can be used to determine when a field study will be preferable for validating the architecture, modeling, and data collection process research.

2. Compare modeling results to data from past events, including assessment of uncertainty; and

3. Conduct sensitivity studies that examine the effect of parameters, such as event sequence, interdependencies, time, or cost, on the outcomes and community resilience.

c. It is expected that the Center of Excellence will conduct field studies, possibly in collaboration with NIST, to collect data and evaluate models and tools. These field studies, involving approximately one week of data collection per study, should be used to develop and test new methodologies and instruments to improve field data collection for community resilience.

d. These data science and validation efforts will require multi-disciplinary expertise and collaboration to develop methodologies that support analyses based on hazard scenarios and should address data needs and data transfer between analysis modules.

Scalability and resolution requirements should be established for interdisciplinary modeling across disciplines such as engineering;

architecture; computer science; informatics; urban planning; social science for disasters; emergency warnings, planning and response;

business continuity; governance; and economics.

3. Decision Support and End-User Engagement. Develop modeling environment capabilities to support resilience decision-making by communities, with consideration of options for mitigation and recovery.

a. Develop community engagement plans that support community interactions with Center and NIST researchers and obtain feedback for metrics and decision support needs for the computational modeling environment.

b. Develop a mechanism, such as user groups, to meaningfully engage individuals that represent communities, professional firms, researchers, and other community resilience stakeholders for testing of interim and final releases of the modeling environment.

c. Develop manuals and training courses for the modeling environment; test their completeness and usefulness with individuals that represent communities, professional firms, researchers, and other community resilience stakeholders.

d. Establish a business plan to ensure continuity of the modeling environment’s continued availability, development, and use by end-users.

It is expected that the Community Resilience Center of Excellence will accelerate the development of tools and standards that will enhance the resilience of communities and their built environment. The Center should establish opportunities for extended collaborations between NIST, partner institutions, and modelers and scientists by employing mechanisms such as staff exchanges, jointly advised graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and senior guest scientists.

It is anticipated that the Center will develop and implement an intellectual property (IP) management plan, consistent with Section C.03., Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, “Intellectual Property Rights,” and authorities referenced therein, which addresses ownership and licensing of all IP created or acquired under the award and pre-existing IP used under the award by any of the award participants, including subawardees, contractors, and/or other collaborators, who participate in the project. It is expected that the awardee will obtain the concurrence of each award participant to the awardee’s IP management plan. Given the objective of providing decision-makers and professionals with methods and tools to support cost-effective infrastructure designs and investments, NIST may require the awardee to transfer to NIST its copyright in a particular work (for example, a data architecture or data management tool) if NIST will undertake the primary dissemination of the work.

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument: The funding instrument used in this program will be a cooperative agreement. The nature of NIST’s “substantial involvement” will generally include collaboration with the recipient in executing the approved scope of work.

2. Multi-Year Funding Policy: When an application for a multi-year award is approved, funding will usually be provided for only the first year of the project. If a project is selected for funding, NIST has no obligation to provide any additional funding with that award. Continuation of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the sole discretion of NIST. Continued funding will be contingent upon satisfactory performance, continued relevance to the mission and priorities of NIST, and the availability of funds. Under this RFA, NIST may elect to fully fund an award or to fund an award in accordance with the Multi-Year Funding policy.

3. Funding Availability: NIST anticipates approximately $4,000,000 per year may be made available to award one (1) multi-year award for up to five (5) years. This award will not be eligible for further renewal.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants. The only eligible applicant is Colorado State University.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching. Matching funds are not required.

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

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package: The application package is available at grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2020-NIST-COMM-

RES-COE-01.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

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

(1) SF-424 (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-COMM-RES-COE-01 Application Instructions document found on Grants.gov, as well as at Instructions SF-424 (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);

http://www.grants.gov/ https://w3auth.nist.gov/file/365086 https://w3auth.nist.gov/file/365086

J. Fee (not relevant to this competition);

K. Total Costs and Fee (automatically generated);

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-COM-RES-COE-01 Application Instructions document on Grants.gov, as well as at Instructions Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) – Budget.

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

COMM-RES-COE-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 questions and use this form to attach the Technical Proposal (item (7) below), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (item (10) below), the Data Management Plan (item (12) below), and the Current and Pending Support Form (item 14 below). Instructions for completing the Research and Related Other Project Information can be found at SF- 424 R&R Other Project Information Form Instructions. Please note that the Project Summary/Abstract field, which has a place to attach an optional Project Summary/Abstract, is not relevant to this competition.

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

(7) Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal is a word-processed document of no more than forty (40) pages responsive to the program description (see Section I. of this RFA) and the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this RFA). It should contain the following information:

https://w3auth.nist.gov/file/365091 https://w3auth.nist.gov/file/365091 https://w3auth.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/05/08/instructions_rr_other_project_information.pdf https://w3auth.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/05/08/instructions_rr_other_project_information.pdf

(a) Executive Summary. An executive summary, describing the Community Resilience Center of Excellence. The executive summary should not exceed one (1) single-sided page.

(b) Statement of Work. A statement of work that discusses the specific tasks proposed to be performed, including a schedule of measurable events and milestones, to achieve the goals outlined in Section I. to serve communities, professionals, and researchers by advancing community resilience assessment and planning methods. This section will be evaluated according to the Rationality and Technical Merit of Contribution evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.i and V.1.iii of this RFA).

The application should describe how the recipient plans to advance the development of R&D tools and standards that will enhance community resilience through activities that support the thrust areas described in Section I of this RFA, specifically: (1) Computational Modeling Environment for Community Resilience;

(2) Data Science and Validation; and (3) Decision Support and End-User Engagement. The application should address how the Center will establish collaborations between NIST, partner institutions and other community resilience stakeholders through mechanisms such as staff exchanges, post-doctoral researchers, and other partnering mechanisms.

In addition to the description of work envisioned in the renewal period included above, the technical proposal should discuss how the proposed research will build on the successes of the first award period.

(c) Experience, Qualifications and Resource Availability. A description of the experience, qualifications and proposed operational or management activities of key personnel, representing relevant engineering and social science equities, who will be assigned to work on the proposed project must be provided, including examples of past experience leading programs similar in nature to those described in this RFA, experience working with state government representatives, industry, academia, independent research organizations, and/or related organizations.

The application should describe how the recipient will manage the funds to support R&D in the area of Community Resilience to achieve the thrusts described in Section I. Specifically, the application should:

▪ describe the resources committed to the proposal, including the allocation of funds to personnel, equipment, and nature of subawards (if any); and

▪ describe how the resources will support the applicant’s proposed work to meaningfully enhance the resilience of communities and their built environment.

The application should also address:

▪ How will the research and the management/governance approach be different given lessons learned from the first period?

▪ What changes, if any, will be made to collaborators and sub-awardees, and why?

▪ What is the plan for preparing for the end of the award in 5 years? That is, how will the Center ramp down activities and/or become self-sustaining at the end of the award period?

The application should illustrate the technical expertise of the applicant relevant to achieving successful outcomes in the thrust areas identified in Section 1. of this RFA including the application of standards, measurement infrastructure, and computational tools in supporting resilience decision-making by communities.

This section will be evaluated according to the Experience, Qualifications and Resource Availability evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.ii. of this RFA).

(d) Success Metrics. Three or more metrics that indicate whether measurable progress is being made towards programmatic objectives that support the three thrust areas (see Section 1 of this RFA) should be described, including meaningful use of research outputs by communities and professionals. Outputs from the Center may be quantified, such as the number and quality of publications; number and types of software and other tools developed; or number and types of data collected, archived, and made publicly available. Impact metric(s) should be proposed that reflect the number and types of communities supported, guidelines developed, or consensus standards submitted.

This section will be evaluated according to the Success Metrics evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.iv. of this RFA).

(8) Resume(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal investigator/project lead(s). Awardees are advised that any changes to individuals deemed ‘key personnel’, including disengagement from the project for more than three months or a 25% reduction of effort, will require prior approval, in writing, by the NIST Grants Officer.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Experience, Qualifications and Resource Availability evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.ii. of this RFA). There are no page limits for resumes.

However, any material considered inappropriate for inclusion in a resume (e.g. supplementary text for another section) will be redacted and not provided to the reviewers.

Resumes do not count against the forty (40) page limit of the Technical Proposal.

(9) Budget Narrative and Justification. There is no set format for the Budget

Narrative and Justification. 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 forty (40) page limit of the Technical Proposal.

Information needed for each category is as follows:

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 http://go.usa.gov/SBYh 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 - 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. For equipment purchases yet to be determined provide best estimates based on prior experience.

D. Travel - For travel costs required by the recipient to complete the project, including attendance at any relevant conferences, the budget justification for known 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. 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 or 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.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Experience Qualifications and Resource Availability evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.ii of this RFA). 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.

(10) 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.

(11) Letters of Commitment.

(a) Letters of commitment to participate, as applicable. If the applicant’s proposal identifies third parties including contractors, subawardees, and/or other collaborators who will participate in the proposed project, effectively forming a team or consortium, then a letter from each, currently known participant, describing its participation should be submitted. Each letter should indicate the organization’s willingness to participate and what they will be doing for the project. A letter should be submitted whether or not the organization is receiving Federal funds.

(b) Letters of Interest, optional. Letters of interest may be provided from parties who might benefit from the technology or knowledge developed as discussed in the proposed project.

Letters of Commitment will be evaluated in accordance with the Experience, Qualifications and Resource Availability evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.ii.) of this RFA). Letters of commitment do not count against the forty (40) page limit of the Technical Proposal.

(12) 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 adhere to 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.

1 https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/05/09/Final-P-5700.pdf 2 https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/05/09/Final-O-5701_0.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://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/05/09/Final-P-5700.pdf https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/05/09/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

The inclusion of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative review (see Section V.3.a. of this RFA); however, the DMP will not be evaluated against any evaluation criteria.

(13) Subaward Budget Form.

The Research & Related Subaward Budget 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.”

(14) 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:

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.

https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository.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

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 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 Technical Proposal, 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.(9), 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.(8), Resume(s), IV.2.a.(10), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, IV.2.a.(11), Letters of Commitment, IV.2.a.(12), the Data Management Plan, and IV.2.a.(14), 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.(13), 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 http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm required attachments.

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

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.

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. Any figures, graphs, images, or pictures will count toward the forty (40) page limit for the Technical Proposal.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (12-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Page Limits. The Technical Proposal is a word-processed document of no more than forty (40) pages (single spaced) responsive to the program description (see Section I. of this RFA) and the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this RFA).

(5) Page Limit Excludes: SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance;

SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs; CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying; SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities; Resumes of key personnel; Budget Narrative; Indirect Cost Rate Agreement; Data Management Plan, and Letters of Commitment.

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 http://go.usa.gov/cjamz

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

(7) Application language. 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.

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

Revisions can only be made by submitting a complete new application that is received by NIST before the submission deadline.

e. Pre-Application. Pre-application will not be accepted under this RFA.

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 RFA, 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 Electronic application must be received at grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time, November 30, 2019. Application 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:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time Monday

November 16, 2019 November 18, 2019

Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.

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

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

6. Funding Restrictions

Application for product development and/or commercialization are not considered responsive to this RFA. Profit or fee is not an allowable cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements

a. Application must be submitted electronically.

(1) Application must be submitted via Grants.gov at 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 2020-NIST-COMM-RES-COE-01 announcement, contact Leon Sampson by phone at 301-975-3086 or by e-mail at grants@nist.gov.

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

Grants.gov. Applicants may sign up on Grants.gov to receive amendments.

http://www.grants.gov/

V. Application Review Information

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

i. Rationality (0 to 20 points). The clarity and likelihood of success of the applicant’s approach to effectively achieve the goals outlined in Section 1 of this RFA to serve communities, professionals, and researchers by advancing community resilience assessment and planning methods.

ii. Experience, Qualifications and Resource Availability (0 to 30 points). The extent to which the applicant has access to the expertise, necessary facilities and resources to achieve the thrusts described in Section I of this RFA. Factors considered as a whole and not given particular weights within the category include: (1) the degree to which resources committed to the proposal (personnel, equipment, and subwards) are appropriate for the project’s scope;

(2) the experience and qualifications of key personnel and the breadth and depth of the multidisciplinary team; (3) the quality of organizational resources proposed to be used on the project; (4) the rationality and potential effectiveness of any planned subawards and/or contracts; (5) the robustness of plans for how the Center will establish collaborations between NIST, partner institutions, and other community resilience stakeholders; (6) rationality of changes to the center (e.g., management, governance, collaborators) based on the lessons learned in the first five years of the center; (7) reasonableness of the plan for preparing for the end of the award in 5 years; and (8) the rationality and effectiveness of plans to manage intellectual property (IP) generated during the award period (as applicable) and to ensure the community resilience modeling environment’s continued availability, development, and use by end-users.

iii. Technical Merit of Contribution (0 to 40 points). The technical merit of the proposed work and the likelihood it will advance the development of R&D tools and standards that support the community resilience thrust areas described in Section 1 of this RFA.

Factors considered as a whole and not given particular weights within the category include: (1) creativity and originality of the proposed approach; (2) plausibility of the technical approach; (3) scope of work, including the development of a computational modeling environment, creation of data tools, and number and type of proposed approaches to decision support and end-user engagements supporting community resilience; (4) the magnitude and reach of potential technical outcomes for community resilience;

(5) linkage between the technical outcomes and community needs for resilience; and (6) degree of integration with NIST programs (consistent with paragraph VII.2.e of this RFA) and capabilities in the areas of Community Resilience (see Section I. of this RFA).

iv. Success Metrics (0 to 10 points). The clarity and quality of proposed metrics and mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of outputs from the Community Resilience Center of Excellence, including but not limited to the potential for utilization by communities and professionals to enhance community resilience.

2. Selection Factors

The Selection Factors are:

a. Results of the merit reviewers’ evaluations.

b. The availability of funding.

c. The extent to which the proposed scope of the research (materials, computational methods, personnel, or equipment) is complementary to the research programs and research goals in these areas at NIST as described at https://www.nist.gov/topics/community-resilience.

d. The relevance to the program as described in Section I. of this

RFA.

e. Whether the project duplicates other projects funded by the Department of Commerce or other Federal agencies.

f. The results of any independent, objective evaluations of the Community Resilience Center of Excellence undertaken by NIST.

g. The results of an overall assessment, consistent with the potential long-term nature and purpose of the program, including programmatic, policy, and responsibility assessments, consistent with Department of Commerce and NIST policies and procedures.

https://www.nist.gov/topics/community-resilience

3. RFA Review and Selection Process

a. Initial Administrative Review of the Application. An initial review of the application will be conducted to determine eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to this RFA and the scope of the stated program objectives. If the Proposal is determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or non- responsive, NIST may terminate review at that point.

b. Full Review of an Eligible, Complete, and Responsive

Application. If the application is determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive, it will proceed for full reviews in accordance with the review and selection process below:

The application will be reviewed by at least three (3) independent, objective reviewers, knowledgeable in the subject matter of this RFA and its objectives and who are able to conduct a review based on the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this RFA). The reviewers may discuss the proposals with each other, but scores will be determined on an individual basis, not as a consensus.

The Selecting Official, the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs, will make the final recommendation to the NIST Grants Office. The Selecting Official will take into consideration the results of the reviewers’ evaluations and the Selection Factors in Section V.2 of this RFA.

NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with the applicant, which 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.

The final approval of selected application and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the NIST Grants Officer are final.

4. Additional Information

a. Proposal 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 by the submission deadline via Grants.gov.

b. Anticipated Announcement and Award Date Review of application, selection of the successful applicant, and award processing is expected to be completed by January 2020. The earliest start date for awards under this RFA is expected to be January 2020.

c. Additional Information

i. Safety. Safety is a top priority at NIST. Employees and affiliates of award recipients who conduct project…