2020-NIST-PSIAP-TABA-01 NOFO.pdf

2020-NIST-PSIAP-TABA-01

May 14, 2020

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSIAP) –

Follow-on Funding for Technical and Business Assistance and Demonstration Projects with Public Safety Agencies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

• Funding Opportunity Title: NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSIAP) – Follow-on Funding for Technical and Business Assistance and Demonstration Projects with Public Safety Agencies

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2020-NIST-PSIAP-TABA-01

• Assistance Listing (CFDA Number): 11.620

• Dates: Applications will be accepted and considered on a rolling basis as they are received. This announcement will remain open until the next version is published. See Section IV.4 in the Full Announcement Text of this NOFO.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (see Section IV.3. of this NOFO) often takes between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; and (3) applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages from Grants.gov over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application. 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.

• Anticipated Amounts: NIST PSCR anticipates funding individual projects in the $5,000 - $25,000 per range for Rapid Prototype Advancement through Needed Technical and Business Assistance and $50,000 - $200,000 per range for Demonstration Project with Partnering Public Safety Agency.

All projects have a maximum one-year project performance period.

• Funding Instrument: Grant or cooperative agreement, as appropriate.

• Eligibility: This NOFO is open to entities that have been awarded a grant or cooperative agreement (including Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer awards originally made in the form of a procurement contract), or received an award as part of a prize challenge, from a federal agency (“entities with a previous award”) for a public-safety focused communication technology innovation.

NIST will only consider one application per applicant, for a single technology innovation, at a time.

Applicants may only request funding for either (1) technical and business assistance or (2) a demonstration project, in a single application. Entities with multiple eligible technology innovation awards may submit multiple applications, but only one application per technology innovation will be considered at a time. After the applicant has completed their proposed technical and business assistance or demonstration project (or been notified that their initial application will not be funded), they may reapply to this NOFO for the other funding opportunity (i.e., the same technology innovation may not receive two technical and business assistance awards or two demonstration project awards, but may receive one of each type).

• Cost Sharing Requirements: There are no cost sharing requirements.

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 Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program is 15 U.S.C. § 3706 and 47 U.S.C. § 1443.

The NIST PSIAP is seeking applications from eligible organizations - entities that previously were awarded a grant, cooperative agreement, prize challenge, including a Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer award originally made in the form of a procurement contract, or subaward by a federal entity (‘entities with a previous award”), such as NIST Public Safety Communications Research Division, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Department of Homeland Security, etc., for a public-safety focused communication technology innovation - to propose activities that will either: (1) more rapidly advance their prototypes through needed technical and business assistance or (2) a demonstration project with a partnering public safety agency, to provide additional testing and research.

A. Background of NIST PSCR

The Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) division, aligned under the NIST Communications Technology Laboratory, conducts research to advance communication technology for public safety. In addition to conducting its own research, PSCR has funded and supported external research through the NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (grants and cooperative agreements) and PSCR’s prize challenges. Acknowledging the technology development and life cycle gap from early-stage research and prototypes to publicly available technology, PSCR is providing these funding opportunities to entities with a previous award in an effort to further propel forward their research and prototypes and more quickly advance needed improvements in communication technology for first responders.

PSCR works in coordination with public safety, industry, academia, and local, State, tribal, and Federal practitioners to identify critical communications technology gaps. As a result of this coordination, PSCR prioritized the following key technology areas and cross-cutting initiatives to drive its R&D program: User Interfaces User Experiences; Analytics; Location-Based Services;

Mission Critical Voice; Security and Resilient Systems. Entities with a previous award should describe how their technology aligns with one of PSCR’s key technology area or cross-cutting initiatives.

B. Funding Opportunities:

(1) Rapid Prototype Advancement through Needed Technical and Business Assistance

With this opportunity, PSCR is looking to provide funding for applicants to receive technical and business assistance that will make a measurable difference in their process to bring their public-safety focused communication technology product to market. PSCR requests applicants to (a) name what type of needed technical and business assistance would assist them in more rapidly advancing their prototypes and/or business/entity; (b) describe why they feel this specific assistance would assist their research/prototype and (c) from where they propose to receive the technical and business assistance.

Applicants interested in this funding opportunity should have technology that, at a minimum, is considered a working proof of concept or prototype, or, on the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale meets or exceeds a TRL 3 rating.

Examples of possible technical and business assistance that PSCR anticipates supporting includes, but is not limited to, the following: assistance with securing intellectual property rights; licensing assistance; conducting market research; technology readiness levels tests; pitch assistance;

business model canvas; business plan assistance; financial planning for businesses;

manufacturing/sourcing assistance; export assistance, customer development, etc.

PSCR encourages applicants interested in this funding opportunity to research other free or low-cost assistance, programs and services provided by federally-funded resource partners, such as Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers; FAST Grant designees for businesses interested in applying for SBIR and STTR funding; federally funded accelerators; Small Business Development Center Centers (SBDC); Women’s Business Centers (WBC); Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) for small businesses on how to apply, find and write successful proposals to government contracts; Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOC); Regional Innovation Clusters (entities focused on connecting tech-based businesses in their regionally competitive industry); and SCORE chapters. To find your local entities, please visit: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/find/.

PSCR also requires applicants to include travel funding to the annual PSCR Stakeholder meeting in their proposed budget to demonstrate their advanced prototypes and how their received business and technical assistance has advanced their technology’s growth towards commercialization.

(2) Demonstration Project with Partnering Public Safety Agency

To advance the research projects, PSIAP invites applicants to propose a user testing and demonstration project in partnership with a public safety entity. PSCR is seeking to support applicants with a prototype that has previously been validated in a laboratory setting or meets a TRL 4 rating. Therefore, through this funding opportunity, applicants should seek to validate or demonstrate their prototype in a relevant public safety environment (TRL 5 or 6 rating) or conduct a prototype demonstration in the public safety field (TRL 7 rating).

The proposal should describe how the proposed demonstration project with a public safety entity will advance their research and better advance and align the technology with their targeted end public safety user. If the applicant previously conducted a demonstration or collaboration project with a public safety entity as part of a previous award, this proposed project should either propose collaboration with a different public safety entity or a different form of demonstration/user testing that will ideally advance their technology to the next technology readiness level.

The PSIAP recognizes that operational demands and limited budgets typically preclude public safety entities from dedicating resources to participate in R&D activities. Therefore, applicants may include https://www.nist.gov/mep/mep-national-network/connect-your-local-mep-center https://www.sbir.gov/about-fast https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/ooi/resources/1438651 https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/find/ funding in their proposed budget for non-federal first responders and public safety personnel to actively participate within their project.

PSCR also requires applicants to include travel funding to the annual PSCR Stakeholder meeting in their proposed budget to demonstrate their advanced prototypes and how their demonstration project has advanced their technology’s path towards commercialization.

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument. The funding instruments used in these programs will be grants or cooperative agreements, as appropriate. Where cooperative agreements are used, the nature of NIST’s “substantial involvement” will generally include collaboration with the recipient in executing the approved scope of work, in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.24.

2. Funding Availability. From FY2020-FY2022, NIST PSCR anticipates funding individual projects in the $5,000 - $25,000 per project range for Rapid Prototype Advancement through Needed Technical and Business Assistance and $50,000 - $200,000 per project range for Demonstration Project with Partnering Public Safety Agency. All projects have a maximum one-year performance period.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants. This NOFO is open to entities that have been awarded a grant or cooperative agreement (including Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer awards originally made in the form of a procurement contract), or received an award as part of a prize challenge, from a federal agency (“entities with a previous award”) for a public-safety focused communication technology innovation.

NIST will only consider one application per applicant, for a single technology innovation, at a time. Applicants may only request funding for either (1) technical and business assistance or (2) a demonstration project, in a single application. Entities with multiple eligible technology innovation awards may submit multiple applications, but only one application per technology innovation will be considered at a time. After the applicant has completed their proposed technical and business assistance or demonstration project (or been notified that their initial application will not be funded), they may reapply to this NOFO for the other funding opportunity (i.e., the same technology innovation may not receive two technical and business assistance awards or two demonstration project awards, but may receive one of each type).

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

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-

PSIAP-TABA-01.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Application must contain the following, based on the applicant’s desired funding opportunity:

(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 on Grants.gov.

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

The budget should be detailed in these categories:

A. Senior/Key Person;

B. Other Personnel;

C. Equipment Description;

D. Travel;

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

G. Direct Costs (automatically generated);

H. Indirect Costs;

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

J. Fee (not relevant to this competition);

K. Total Costs and Fee (automatically generated);

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

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

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

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

(6) Project Narrative. The Project Narrative is word-processed document of not more than twenty (20) pages (excluding the cover page) that describes the proposed project. The components of the Project Narrative depend on the type of assistance being sought:

Rapid Prototype Advancement through Needed Technical and Business Assistance

Demonstration Project with Partnering Public Safety Agency

(a) Cover page: Provide your previous award title, award number, awarding funding agency and a description of the previous work performed or research conducted under the previous award funding. Clearly demonstrate the applicability of your project to public safety communications.

(a) Cover page: Provide your previous award title, award number, awarding funding agency and a description of the previous work performed or research conducted under the previous award. Clearly demonstrate the applicability of your project to public safety communications.

(b) Project Description This is a detailed description of the proposed technical and business assistance and potential impacts for both the team and the technology. This section should include:

i. Detailed description of any previous technical and business assistance you have received or explored to advance the applicant’s technology and/or business.

ii. Detailed description of the technical and business assistance for which the applicant is seeking funding, and how it addresses the goals and requirements of this NOFO, and how the proposed activities will impact

(b) Project Description. This is a detailed description of the proposed project and potential impacts. This section should include:

i. Detailed description of any previous demonstration project completed or explored with a public safety agency.

ii. Detailed description of the approach to address the goals and requirements of this NOFO and how the proposed activities will impact and benefit public safety.

iii. Proposed list of technical outputs, details on how these outputs will be made available to the broader public safety and and benefit the entity, their technology and public safety.

iii. Description of the applicant’s motivation and reasoning for why they feel this specific assistance would assist their research/prototype.

R&D communities, and how their adoption and impact will be tracked.

iv. Access to the necessary staff, equipment, facilities, support, and resources to accomplish the proposed objectives.

(c) Project Plan/Schedule. This section should provide clear and quantifiable goals, milestones, timelines, and methods to assess progress and performance towards achieving the objectives and how the impact of the assistance will be evaluated and tracked.

(c) Project Execution. This section should provide:

i. Clear and quantifiable goals, milestones, timelines, and methods to assess progress and performance towards achieving the objectives in the Technical Proposal.

ii. Description of the cost effectiveness and value of the proposed project in terms of meeting the stated objectives.

(d) Qualifications/Merits of Proposed Technical and Business Assistance

This section should provide the following descriptions:

i. Description of the applicant’s research and reasoning for their proposed selection of the entity/source of which they plan to receive this type of assistance.

ii. Qualifications of the individuals, teams, and organizations that will be executing or providing the business and technical assistance to the applicant. Should the applicant not have a named provider, please list the minimum qualifications the applicant will use to determine the provider.

iii. Demonstrated success executing projects similar in scope and magnitude to the proposed project, including any examples of working with a broad cross-section of public safety practitioners.

(d) Qualifications of Principal Investigator and Key Personnel.

This section should provide the following qualifications:

i. Qualifications of the individuals, teams, and organizations that will be executing or supporting the proposed project relative to the program goals. The applicant should note if listed principal investigator and key personnel are different from their original, qualifying funding opportunity, and the reasoning for the adjustment.

ii. Demonstrated success executing projects similar in scope and magnitude to the proposed project, including any examples of working with a broad cross-section of public safety practitioners.

iv. How the proposed assistance will provide access to the necessary staff, equipment, facilities, support, and resources to accomplish the proposed objectives.

Resume(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal investigator/project lead. 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.

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.

Resume(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal investigator/project lead. 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.

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.

IP Ownership Disclosure. If applicable, include any disclosures required pursuant to Section VI.2.g of this NOFO.

IP Ownership Disclosure. If applicable, include any disclosures required pursuant to Section VI.2.g of this NOFO.

(7) 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 twenty (20) page limit of the Project Narrative.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Budget Narrative evaluation criteria. It will also be reviewed to determine if all costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable under 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart E, Cost Principles.

Information needed for each category is as follows:

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

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

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

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

C. Equipment Description – Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more (unless the organization has established lower levels) and an expected service life of more than one year.

The budget justification should list each piece of equipment, the cost, and a description of how it will be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of the proposed project. Please note that any general use equipment (computers, etc.) charged directly to the award should be allocated to the award according to expected usage on the project. Applicants should provide at least two (2) quotes, if available, for equipment costing $25,000 or more. If two (2) quotes are not available, please provide a statement as to why two (2) quotes are not available. Any items that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the Materials and Supplies line item in Section F, Other Direct Costs.

D. Travel - For all travel costs, required by the recipient to complete the project, including attendance at any relevant conferences, the budget justification for travel should include the following: destination; names or number of people traveling; dates and/or duration; mode of transportation, lodging and subsistence rates; and description of how the travel is directly related to the proposed project. For travel that is yet to be determined, please provide best estimates based on prior experience. If a destination is not known, an approximate amount may be used with the assumptions given for the location of the meeting.

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

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

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

H. Indirect Costs – Commonly referred to as Facilities & Administrative Costs, Indirect Costs are defined as costs incurred by the applicant organization that cannot otherwise be directly assigned or attributed to a specific project. For more details, see Section IV.2.b.(8) of this NOFO.

(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 Section B.06 of the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, dated April 30, 2019.

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

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

(9) Letters of Commitment. (if applicable)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The inclusion of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative review (see Section V.2.a. of this NOFO); however, the DMP will not be evaluated against any evaluation criteria.

1 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf 2 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf 3 http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp 4 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm

(12) Current and Pending Support Form. Any application that includes investigators, researchers, and key personnel must identify all sources of current and potential funding, including this proposal. Any current project support (e.g., Federal, state, local, public or private foundations, etc.) must be listed on this form. The proposed project and all other projects or activities requiring a portion of time of the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI, and key personnel must be included, even if no salary support is received. The total award amount for the entire award period covered, including indirect costs, must be shown as well as the number of person-months per year to be devoted to the project, regardless of the source of support. Similar information must be provided for all proposals already submitted or that are being submitted concurrently to other potential funders.

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

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

(13) Research and Related Other Project Information. Answer the highlighted questions and use this form to attach the Project Narrative (item (6) above); the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (item (8) above); the Letters of Commitment, if applicable to the submission, (item (9) above); the Data Management Plan (item (11) above); and the Current and Pending Support Form (item (12) above). Instructions for completing the Research and Related Other Project Information can be found in the Research and Related Other Project Information form Instructions document found in Grants.gov’s R&R Family Section.

Please note that the Project Summary/Abstract is not relevant to this competition.

However, Grants.gov requires an attachment to field 7 of the Research and Related Other Project Information form to successfully pass through Grants.gov. Please attach a document to field 7 stating, “A Project Summary/Abstract is not relevant to this competition”.

b. Attachment of Required Documents

Items IV.2.a.(1) through IV.2.a.(4) above are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov and can be completed through the download application process.

Item IV.2.a.(5), 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.(5), 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.

https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/current-and-pending-support https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html

Item IV.2.a.(6), the Project Narrative, should be attached to field 8 (Project Narrative) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form by clicking on “Add Attachment”.

Item IV.2.a.(7), 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), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, IV.2.a.(11), the Data Management Plan, and IV.2.a.(12), the Current and Pending Support Form, must be completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 12 (Other Attachments) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Item IV.2.a.(9), Letters of Commitment, if applicable to the submission, should be 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.(10), 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 to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an application was transferred to a system. It does not provide details concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) transferred successfully. Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

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

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

If the directions found at 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 https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm mailto:support@grants.gov clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays.

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

c. Application Format

(1) Paper, 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 towards the 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.

Rapid Prototype Advancement through Needed Technical and Business Assistance

Demonstration Project with Partnering Public Safety Agency

Cover Page: 1 page Cover Page: 1 page

Project Narrative: 20 pages Project Narrative: 20 pages

Data Management Plan: 2 pages Data Management Plan: 2 pages

Letter from Proposed Partnering Public Safety Agency: 1 page

Proposed Project Timeline with Public Safety Agency: 3 pages

(5) Page Limit Excludes: SF-424 Research & Related (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance; Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed);; Assurances for Non- Construction Programs (SF-424B - R & R),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; Budget Narrative and Justification;

Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed); Research and Related Other Project Information; Indirect Cost Rate Agreement; Letters of Commitment; Data Management Plan;

Subaward Budget Form; Current and Pending Support Form.

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

(7) Application language. English.

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

f. Statement of Intent. To assist NIST in gauging interest and planning for the evaluation process all potential applicants are strongly encouraged to send an e-mail to pscr@nist.gov with “Follow-on Funding for TABA and Demo” in the subject line indicating intent to apply. The statement of intent will only be used for competition planning purposes; it will not be used as part of the evaluation process or to eliminate any applicants from consideration under this NOFO. A statement of intent is not required for an applicant to receive full consideration under this NOFO.

g. 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 will be considered on a continuing/rolling basis as they are received. To ensure consideration, applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 31, 2022.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (see Section IV.3. of this NOFO) often takes between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; and (3) applicants 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 mailto:pscr@nist.gov http://www.grants.gov/ not current at the time of the award. Applicants will find instructions on registering with SAM.gov as part of the Grants.gov process at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html.

V. Application Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria

i. Rationality. The rationality and innovation of the application and the fit of the proposed work to the objectives of the either option of the funding opportunity. (0 - 30 points)

ii. Technical Merit of Proposed Activity. The likelihood that the proposed activities will shorten the next phase of development and accelerate the time-to-market for the public-safety focused communication technology innovation. (0 - 30 points)

iii. Proposed Team’s Capability to Perform the Work. The extent of the proposed staff and partners’ relevant experience and the likelihood of achieving the objective of the application. (0 – 25 points)

iv. Match of Budget to Proposed Work. Assessment of the budget against the proposed work to ascertain the reasonableness of the request. (0 – 15 points)

2. Review and Selection Process

Proposals, reports, documents and other information related to applications submitted to NIST and/or relating to financial assistance awards issued by NIST will be reviewed and considered by Federal employees, Federal agents and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel who have entered into confidentiality and conflict of interest agreements covering such information, when applicable.

a. Initial Screening of Applications. All applications received in response to this NOFO will be reviewed on a rolling basis to determine whether they are eligible, complete, and responsive to the objectives of this NOFO. Applications that do not clearly demonstrate that the applicant entity has previously received funding from a federal agency for a public-safety focused communication technology innovation will be deemed ineligible. Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or non-responsive based on the initial screening will 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 that can easily be rectified or cured during the review process.

b. Merit Review of Eligible, Complete, and Responsive Applications. Applications that are determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive will proceed for merit reviews in which at least three (3) objective individuals, knowledgeable about the particular scientific area, will evaluate the merits of each application based on the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1 of this NOFO). The reviewers may discuss the applications with each other, but scores will be determined on an individual basis, not as a consensus.

c. Selection. The Selecting Official, the Director of the Communications Technology Laboratory, or designee, will make final award recommendations to the NIST Grants Officer taking into consideration the results of the reviewers’ evaluations, relevance to the objectives described in the Program Description, and the availability of funds.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html

NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with the applicants that have been selected to receive awards, 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. NIST will follow applicable U.S. laws and policies including for international applications. 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. In some cases, NIST may ask applicants to consider combining projects. The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer.

The award decisions of the NIST Grants Officer are final.

d. Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants. After applications are proposed for funding by the Selecting Official and prior to the issuance of an award, the NIST Grants Management Division (GMD) will conduct an assessment of the risk posed by the applicant 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 other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities.

In addition, prior to making an award where the total Federal share is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000), NIST GMD will review and consider the publicly available information about that applicant in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An applicant may, at its option, review and comment on information about itself previously entered into FAPIIS by a Federal awarding agency. As part of its review of risk posed by applicants, NIST GMD will consider any comments made by the applicant in FAPIIS in making its determination about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards. Upon completion of the pre-award risk assessment, the NIST Grants Officer will make a responsibility determination concerning whether the applicant is qualified to receive the subject award and, if so, whether appropriate specific conditions that correspond to the degree of risk posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates. All awards submitted under this funding opportunity will be made approximately 90 days after the end of the review process.

4. Additional Information

1. Safety. Safety is a top priority at NIST. Employees and affiliates of award recipients who conduct project work at NIST will be expected to be safety conscious, to attend NIST safety training, and to comply with all NIST safety policies and procedures, and with all applicable terms of their guest research agreement.

2. Notification to Unsuccessful Applicants. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified in writing.

3. Retention of Unsuccessful Applications. Copies of each unsuccessful application will be retained in accordance with the General Record Schedule 1.2/021.

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices. Successful applicants will receive an award package from the NIST Grants Officer.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements:

a. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements.

Through 2. C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce adopted the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which apply to awards made pursuant to this NOFO. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.

b. Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions. The Department of Commerce will apply the Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions in effect on the date of award to any award made under this NOFO. The current version, dated April 30, 2019, can be found here. Refer to Section VII.