Compiled - Questions or Clarifications 3-12-25.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 36 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE
About this file
This file is a compilation of questions and clarifications for the Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise (GLCOE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE for Fiscal Year 2026. The BAA seeks research proposals across four themes related to freshwater oil spill preparedness and response, with a maximum budget of $250,000 per project. Key submission requirements include a combined white paper/technical proposal of up to 18 pages, separate price proposal, SAM.gov registration, and proposals must be submitted by March 31, 2025, with an anticipated project start date of January 5, 2026.
The solicitation encourages proposals from small businesses and allows international collaborations, particularly with Canadian institutions, with no specific restrictions on technology readiness levels. Proposals will be evaluated based on operational relevance, with offerors expected to demonstrate how their project could impact field operations. The U.S. Coast Guard anticipates multiple awards across themes, subject to fiscal year 2026 budget availability. Allowable expenses include direct labor, materials, tuition, summer salary, and a mandatory 10% indirect cost rate. Publication of research findings is encouraged, and data sharing arrangements will be determined on a case-by-case basis with selected offerors.
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Q&Rs
| Question # | Reference | Questions | Responses |
| 1 | Themes | Is this opportunity restricted to the water quality aspect of oil spills? | The project you’ve described aligns well with the parameters of BAA 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE, particularly within Theme 2: "Freshwater Oil Spill Response," which includes the subcategories "Spill Response Safety" and "Other Freshwater Oil Spill Response Topics." However, you are welcome to associate your submission with any theme you find most appropriate. |
| 2 | BAA requirement | Are you solely interested in the environmental fate of oil in water, or can it also encompass other environmental components, such as air?” I have a project idea related to the water-to-air transfer of oil spill compounds from Great Lakes’ breaking waves and their impacts on coastal communities, and I was wondering if it falls within the scope of this BAA. | Answered above. We encourage you to apply, but please note that competitiveness is partly based on operational relevance. Offerors should clearly explain how their project could impact field operations. Additionally, our evaluators will assess proposals through the lens of their expertise and may identify further operational relevance based on their experience and understanding. |
| 3 | Other | Can we expect support from GLCOE regarding use of a freshwater wave tank to run tank experiments? What would the associated costs be? | The GLCOE cannot provide offerors assistance/favor regarding access to research facilities. Offerors are expected to detail access plans, costs, and ideally contingency plans in their proposals. |
4 Theme 4 With regards to Theme 4 response ramifications, would projects focusing on human health effects modeling from spilled oil be relevant? A project investigating human health effects modeling from spilled oil does fit with the parameters of BAA 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE. You noted relevance to Theme 4: "Response Ramifications." Additional relevance may exist within Theme 2: "Freshwater Oil Spill Response," which includes the subcategories "Spill Response Safety" and "Other Freshwater Oil Spill Response Topics." However, you are welcome to associate your submission with any theme you find most appropriate.
We encourage you to apply, but please note that competitiveness is partly based on operational relevance. Offerors should clearly explain how their project could impact field operations. Additionally, our evaluators will assess proposals through the lens of their expertise and may identify further operational relevance based on their experience and understanding.
5 Theme and limited submittied of proposals The non-federal BAA says "Offerors cannot submit more than one (1) Technical Proposal per theme" on page 7, b. Eligibility information. I (CIGLR at U, Michigan) am co-PI of two proposals that are led by separate institutions (one is NOAA GLERL, the other is the Planetary Science Institute) to the same theme (Theme 4). We will be a sub of these institutions. Is this allowed since we are not the lead institution? Please advise.
If this is not allowed, I will just be an unfunded collaborator with the one led by the Planetary Science Institute.
A company that will be listed as a subcontractor more than once on a primary proposal is allowed to participate within the contract proposal. As mentioned so as long as you’re not the primary bidding source or conducting more than 51% of the project work.
| Submitting process and foreign eligibility | As we're a Canadian institution, can you please advise of the steps in the submission process (i.e where the proposals are submitted, do we need to set-up an institutional account and if there are any supplementary documents we need to submit). | Your guidance for where to submit a proposal is within the BAA on page (2) two under the information section. All other information begins on page (3) three for what the requirement is and what is required by the contractor including eligibility information3. Canada has an existing agreement with the United States through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in regards with support to each other on products, services, etc. If you are not registers with SAM.gov you may register at Entity Registration | SAM.gov (SAM.gov will determine if you’re an exception once you attempt to register) Once you are registered and either approved for a Unique Entity Information number (UEI) or exempted notify us and ensure you input your assigned UEI or exemption status in your proposal. (This would be considered your institutional account) Your proposal must pricing must be price based on United States currency ( USD) based on the currency exchange rate at the time of your proposal. | ||
| 6 | Themes | Would a proposal on the following topic be considered response to the call for proposals: Computationally guided design, discovery, chemical synthesis, and experimental evaluation of porous organic materials for rapid separation and removal of oil from freshwater | A project investigating improved methods for the separation of oil and water (as might be done for decanting) does fit with the parameters of BAA 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE. The proposal seems to be relevant to Theme 2: "Freshwater Oil Spill Response," which includes the subcategory "Other Freshwater Oil Spill Response topics." However, you are welcome to associate your submission with any theme you find most appropriate. We encourage you to apply, but please note that competitiveness is partly based on operational relevance. Offerors should clearly explain how their project might be scaled to impact field operations. Additionally, our evaluators will assess proposals through the lens of their expertise and may identify further operational relevance based on their experience and understanding. | |
| 7 | budget | Is tuition for graduate research assistants in a university lab an allowable expense in the proposal budget? | Tuition or Stipend is an agrreable and allowable expense. This expense must be listed under indirect cost as this is not a grant. This funding is a different pool of funding. | |
| 8 | budget | Is summer salary an allowable expense for submitters who are university faculty members employed on nine-month contracts? | Labor cost is always allowable regardless of how you identify it. Overall, it's labor and ensure to list it by faculty member individual cost and ensure to provide document or support of the labor cost category to support the labor cost. | |
| 9 | Eligibility | Can you please tell me if this funding opportunity is open to Canadian Universities to apply? | Per the Federal Acquisition Regulation it doesn't state anything of Canadanian University not being able to submit a proposal. It does lean on Universities, but does not specify location. Canada still has an agreement with the United States and therefore, so as long as you are registered in SAM.gov or go through the process to register and are told you're exempt, you may submit a proposal. | |
| 10 | BAA requirement | My understanding is that we simply submit a whitepaper to this email (Jesse.L.Womack@uscg.mil)? Is there no portal on (like PAMS for the DoE) or Grant.gov to submit the proposal? | This is not a grant and is a different pool of funding. This BAA is advertised as firm fixed price and will be fully funded at the time funds are released. There is no portal to submit proposals with the Coast Guard. You must submit a full proposal that is part of your white paper to the provided emails for review. | |
| 11 | BAA requirement | Is a white paper required this year, or just a technical approach? | The white paper is combined with the technical approach. Overall, it's one in the same. | |
| 12 | Other | Are letters of support or collaboration permitted and/or expected this year? If not, do you have any guidance on documenting our partners' support of the proposed project in an appropriate way? | We as USCG cannot state your intent however, collaboration is permitted so as long as your are the primary submitting the proposal. You documentationnn of support can be provided in your proposal based on what assigned task yor company desginates to the company to perform on the project. | |
| 13 | clarification of meaning of white paper versus formal full proposal | The BAA for the above-mentioned project asks for a white paper by March 31. It also mentions an 18 page limit and elsewhere uses the phrase "technical document." Does "white paper" mean a formal full proposal or does it mean a pre-proposal that would be followed by an invitation to submit a formal full proposal? | The past we have a two sptep process and has since been combined to a one step process. The white paepr is combined with your full proposal since the white paper is a short summary without pricing. The technical document is your technical portion of your proposal. | |
| 14 | Other | |||
| Do citations/references count toward the 18-page limit or would they be on a separate document? | Please provide on a separate document | |||
| 15 | Theme requirement | The use and disposal of oil spill materials, such as diesel, jet fuel, and hydraulic fluid, are restricted by EPA. Could you recommend a substitute material for lab experiment purpose? | The GLCOE has not yet identified a suitable oil surrogate for experimentation. To date, all funded partners have properly disposed of oily waste from experiments in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. | |
| 16 | Budget constraint and alternative | With the $250K maximum budget, it would be difficult for an actual field experiment. Do you have requirements regarding the size of the freshwater body (e.g., 100 gallons) and the amount of oil in it (e.g., 10 gallons) for lab experiment purpose? | There are no specific scale requirements; the scale should be appropriate for the experiment. | |
| 17 | Theme requirment | Similarly, do you have requirements regarding water movement (e.g., size and direction of generated wave, wind speed and direction) for lab experiment purpose? | There are no specific requirements regarding water movement. However, since the GLCOE's mandate is to advance oil spill response capabilities in the Great Lakes region, experimental designs should reflect regional conditions. As much as practical, experimental conditions should berepresenatitive of the expected range of conditions known to occur in the Great Lakes. | |
| 18 | Tech page limit | The Technical Proposal has an 18-page limit. Does this page count include figures, tables, detailed cost proposal, and references or can any of these be excluded from the 18-page limit and attached as appendices? | No, the 18 page limit is for the technical proposal portion. Your price proposal and references is separate from the techincal proposal. | |
| 18 | Proposal requriement | For a collaborative proposal with multiple organizations, should each organization submit detailed budget justifications as separate attachments, or must all justifications be included in the body of the technical proposal and counted towards the 18-page limit? | If you are the primary source, you must list all your expenses for the project that will total the proposal cost. USCG does not get invlved with subcnotractors unless it's required in the solicitation for the contract. You may list your detailed budget within your own cost. | |
| 19 | Proposal requriement | The Technical Proposal Cover Page Template requires a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). If an organization is not yet registered in SAM.gov, can they still submit a proposal while registration is pending? | Yes, you may submit a proposal, but please keep in mind if the registration is not approved by the the time of final review, you will be disqualified and therefore removed for consideration. (Please esnrue to provide status from SAM.gov) | |
| 20 | Proposal requriement | The BAA states that small businesses (less than 1,000 employees) are encouraged to submit proposals. How does GLCOE define and verify small business status? Should we self-certify, or is formal registration (e.g., SAM.gov classification, NAICS code verification) required? | There is formal registration within SAM.gov on how you reportbusiness size and is verifed through them from the small business administration. Coast Guard will also verify through the small business admisintration on your size status. | |
| 21 | Cost Proposal & Budget | Can we modify the structure of the CLIN Proposed Price Summary Excel spreadsheet to better reflect our project's budget breakdown, or does it need to stay in its original format? | You may modify the spreadsheet buit please ensure to add the CLION line numbers accordingly. | |
| 22 | Cost Proposal & Budget | For Direct Labor (CLIN 0002), should we break down costs by individual personnel (e.g., Principal Investigator, Research Assistant), or should we provide a lump sum per labor category? | You may breakdown the cost per your example. Please ensure to provide labor jsutification support with your proposal. | |
| 23 | Cost Proposal & Budget | In the Detailed Cost Proposal, is there flexibility in defining 'Materials and Other Direct Costs' (CLIN 0001)? Can we group expenses into broader categories (e.g., 'Sampling Equipment'), or must each item be listed separately with a detailed cost breakdown? | You may list your sampling equipment and breakdown the cost separately. | |
| 24 | Cost Proposal & Budget | Are indirect costs capped at a specific rate for this solicitation, or does GLCOE allow the standard 10% indirect cost rate? | The indirect cost is the mandatory 10% per the federal acquisition regulation for this type of requirement. | |
| 25 | Project Scope & Overlapping Funding | Does the GLCOE anticipate awarding multiple projects per theme, or is there a preference for funding fewer, higher-budget projects? | The GLCOE anticpating a multiple award. The award can be for all some or per theme based on the pending governmental budget for fiscal year 2026. |
| 26 | Project Scope & Overlapping Funding | Our proposed research aligns with both the "Freshwater Oil Spill Response" and "Fundamental Freshwater Oil Spill Science & Technology" themes. Since the BAA states that separate Technical Proposals are required for each theme, should we submit two separate proposals, or can we submit a single proposal that addresses both themes? If two proposals are required, how should we differentiate them while maintaining a unified research approach? | Submit one proposal that addresses each theme. |
| 27 | Project Scope & Overlapping Funding | Is there an expected technology readiness level (TRL) for proposed solutions, or will both early-stage research and field-ready innovations be considered? | Both early-stage and field-ready innovations will be considered, with competitiveness partly determined by operational relevance. While TRL level is a factor, the ease of adoption of an innovation is also a key consideration. For example, an early-stage innovation that is cost-effective and simple to implement may be more competitive than a field-ready innovation that is expensive and requires high technical proficiency. Offerors should clearly explain how their project could be scaled to impact field operations. Additionally, evaluators will assess proposals based on their expertise and may identify additional operational relevance based on their experience and understanding. |
| 32 | Project Scope & Overlapping Funding | Polaris is a small, US-based business, but our project involves conducting research in Canada and collaborating with Canadian institutions. Given that foreign participation is subject to a Foreign Disclosure Review, what are the key factors that determine whether international research activities will be approved? | Canada is already with the trade agreement to collaborate with the United States for products and services. It is up to your organization and the Canadian government or entity if they decide not to participate. |
| 33 | Project Scope & Overlapping Funding | Our proposed research would involve fieldwork in Canada to assess shoreline oil spill impacts. Are there any restrictions or additional requirements for conducting GLCOE-funded research outside the United States? Would there be limitations on sharing findings with international partners | There are no restrictions or limitations regarding funding international partners or experiments conducted outside of the United States. However, since the GLCOE's mandate is to advance oil spill response capabilities in the Great Lakes region, experimental designs should reflect regional conditions. |
| 34 | Project Deliverables | If our project involves developing new shoreline oil spill response techniques, would awardees be expected to provide training or demonstrations to Coast Guard personnel? | Training or demonstrations are neither required nor prohibited. Historically, selected proposals have varied widely, ranging from projects with no training or demonstrations, to those delivering job aids or process guides, to projects that included training or demonstrations. Offerors should clearly explain how their project could be scaled to impact field operations. Additionally, evaluators will assess proposals based on their expertise and may identify further operational relevance based on their experience and understanding. |
| 35 | Project Deliverables | Are there any restrictions on publishing results from GLCOE-funded research in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings? Would prior approval from GLCOE be required before submission? | Publications are encouraged, and while approval is not required, GLCOE project managers are available to assist and answer any questions funded partners may have regarding publication opportunities. Feel free to include anticipated publication costs in your budget. |
| 36 | Award Process & Funding Timeline | Does GLCOE have a required or anticipated start date for awarded projects? If there is flexibility, what factors determine the earliest possible start date? | The anticipate start date is January 5, 2026. |
| 37 | Award Process & Funding Timeline | If awarded funding, when would the earliest disbursement of funds occur? Would it be before or after project initiation? | Funding is only approved 30 days after contract award. Fudnign is not paid in the total amount of the contract. Contractors are encouraged to submit invoices to the approved system at least every thirty days or what suits you best, quarterly or semi annually. |
| 38 | Proposal requriement | While a separate justification narrative for each organization can be provided, should the costs for the prime and any teammates be included in a one Excel file, with the specific costs for each team member clearly identified? | Yes. |
| 39 | Proposal requriement | Under the Prime Contractor – Service Category section of the Excel file, are we permitted to add rows to identify each staff member labor category and their associated rates and costs? | Yes |
| 40 | Proposal requriement | Column E of the Excel file is titled “Unit Price (Per Course)”; could this be changed to “Unit Price (Per Hour)”? | Yes |
| 41 | Other | Is there a tentative date/ period by which the one will be notified on selection of the submitted proposal? | There is no tenative date for selection of a submitted proposal |
| 42 | Other | Is there a tentative date of award in 2026 to consider for this opportunity, as that would be an approximate start date for the 1 year individual contract? | Reference Line 37 |
| 43 | Proposal requriement | The eligibility information section (IV b. In the BAA announcement document) mentions that “foreign participation/Foreign-Owned Firms” may not be allowed. Does this criteria apply to foreign-owned subcontractors who may provide support and employees outside of the U.S. employed by a U.S. company | Foreigned owned firms is recognzied by the United Stated as being owned solely by a company in another country. Example "TikTok, Samsung, Capitol Records". If you own company within another country, the country must qualify on the qualified list of countries that are within a treaty otr agrement with the United States to provide support services and or products to the United States. Please reference the Federal Acquisition Regualtion or Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) |
| 44 | Proposal requriement | For submission on 31st March 2025, Is it required to submit a white paper and a technical paper each (as mentioned in the flyer for non-federal partners, point no.4) ? OR a single technical proposal in the prescribed format/requirements, as mentioned in the BAA announcement document? | Please submit a combined proposal per the BAA. |
| 45 | Theme | Could you confirm if Space/Satellite based Remote Sensing techniques/technology for Oil Spill detection (+volumetric analysis) ,water quality analysis (for freshwater), supported with ground truthing for validation only, will be a part of Theme 4 ( Fundamental Freshwater Oil Spill Science and Response Technology Research) OR Theme 1 ( Freshwater Oil Spill Preparedness ) of Research topics listed ? | The project you’ve described aligns well with the parameters of BAA 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE. You are encouraged to associate your submission with any theme you deem most appropriate. More importantly, offerors should clearly explain how their project could be scaled to impact field operations. Evaluators will assess proposals based on their expertise and may identify additional operational relevance based on their experience and understanding. |
| 46 | Proposal requriement | Is there a tentative date/ period by which the one will be notified on selection of the submitted proposal? | No. |
| 47 | Proposal requriement | Is there a tentative date of award in 2026 to consider for this opportunity, as that would be an approximate start date for the 1 year individual contract? | Please referecne line 37 |
| 49 | Proposal requriement | Can you confirm if sub-contractors can be hired for the current opportunity? | Yes, sub-contractors can be used. |
| 50 | Techincal | Is there a minimum or maximum threshold number of test sites , or total area of test site to be selected, as a sub part of the Great lakes AOI? | There are no specific scale requirements; the scale and replication should be appropriate for the statistical and experimental desgin of the project. |
| 51 | Techincal | Are there any notable recommendations or criteria on choosing a test site in Great lakes by the opportunity proposers? | There are no specific recommendations regarding test sites. However, given the GLCOE's mandate to advance oil spill response capabilities in the Great Lakes region, experimental designs should reflect the conditions of the region. |
| 52 | Technical | For any space based Remote Sensing analysis for Oil spill detection in fresh and icy waters , is there a recommended temporal and spatial resolution to consider ? | There are no specific recommendations regarding temporal or spatial resolutions. However, given the GLCOE's mandate to advance oil spill response capabilities in the Great Lakes region, proposals should focus on regional applicability. Proposals should also consider the historical range of spill sizes in the Great Lakes. |
| 53 | Technical deliverables | With the final report as one of the main deliverables, how is it planned to submit other digital datasets or web based outcomes if any? | Data transfers are arranged on a case-by-case basis between selected offerors and GLCOE project managers. Depending on the size of the dataset, we offer several options and do require eventual public access to the data. Proposals may include the offerors' preferred method of data transfer. |
| 54 | Technical | we would be curious whether your current NOFO re: oil spill response will consider autonomous solutions? | Autonomous solutions align with the parameters of BAA 70Z02326RBAAGLCOE. Importantly, offerors should clearly explain how their project could be scaled to impact field operations. Offerors are encouraged to consider the cost to the end user to obain and operate autonomous solutions. |
| 55 | Budget | Would USCG be open to us proposing use of grant funds for planning and feasibility of research rather than execution? | |
| No, USCG for this type of project has a specific pool of money for use and cannot use grant funds. | |||
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&"Times New Roman,Regular"Questions and Clarifications Form Attachment # 3
70Z02326RBAAGLCOE
Table 1
| 2024-2025 Months | Pages Imaged | Documents Processed | Average Pages per Document | Daily Average Pages Imaged | Daily Average Documents Processed |
| SEP | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| OCT | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| NOV | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| DEC | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| JAN | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| FEB | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| MAR | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| APR | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| MAY | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| JUN | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| JULY | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| AUG | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| SEP | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | 0 | 0 | ERROR:#DIV/0! | - 0 | 0 |
Table 2
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