Amendment 0002 Responses to Timely Questions Received.pdf

Request for Proposals 91990021R0002 Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I -Special Education

Closing Date: January 21, 11:00 a.m. ET

U.S. Department of Education’s (Department or ED) responses to clarification questions submitted by January 4, 2021, 11:00 A.M. ET:

WARNING! Offerors must note that there are email attachment size restrictions. The Department of Education cannot accept attachments larger than 25 MB. The Government is not responsible for attachment size restrictions that may exist on offerors' email servers! Offerors are advised to check with their provider for information on email size restrictions and plan accordingly.

If offerors attempt to submit a proposal to Tracey.Perry@ed.gov and receive an error message, they MUST contact Tracey Perry (or Thomas.Smith@ed.gov) PRIOR TO THE CLOSING OF THE SOLICITATION during standard business hours (8:00 A.M. ET to 5:00 P.M. ET, Monday through Friday). The solicitation closes promptly at 11:00 a.m. ET, on January 21, 2020. Late proposals will not be accepted.

1. Our project targets users who are transition age students (16‐21) and/or post‐secondary students with developmental disorders. Are these populations of students included in the

“learners” mentioned in priority 1 of the RFP?

Response: See the Priority Areas.

Special education products must be designed for use by or with individuals (i.e., infants, toddlers, or learners) with or at risk for disabilities in early intervention, preK‐12, or postsecondary settings where educational or related services are provided to improve outcomes in one of more of the following areas:

Developmental outcomes for young children pertaining to cognitive, communicative, linguistic, social, emotional, adaptive, functional, or physical development

School readiness, including pre‐reading, language, vocabulary, early‐STEM (science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics)

Reading, writing, language development

STEM including computer science, coding, web design, other digital competency skills aligned with industry standards and professional certifications

Social studies, history, geography, civics, economics

Technical or vocational skills to increase career readiness

English language learning

Social, emotional, and behavioral competence

General study skills

Functional outcomes that support learning

Transition outcomes for employment, independent living, and postsecondary education for secondary learners with disabilities

Postsecondary outcomes, including: access to, persistence in, progress through, and completion of postsecondary programs that lead to occupational certificates, associate’s, or bachelor’s degrees; learning, achievement, and higher‐order thinking in postsecondary courses; and employment and earnings outcomes such as hours of employment, job stability, wages, and benefits

2. Our project may be applicable to both general education and/or special education. I'm writing for help determining if we should be applying to special ed or gen ed.

Response: Offerors must determine if a proposal is appropriate for one or the other.

3. Many of our students have received Early Intervention or have a diagnosis of Autism or other social, behavioral, or communication disabilities. Our product is to support classroom teachers, assistants, and paraprofessionals to help a child develop social motivations and skills for their inclusive group settings, which is often their gen ed classroom facilitated by an aide. I noted the warning on the special education application to choose the right application thread. Can you clarify if our work, intended for supporting educators working with students who are receiving services in an inclusive classroom, still qualifies as a special education project or if we should apply to gen ed?

Response: Yes, proposals to the Special Education Solicitation 91990021R0002 may focus on special education practitioners.

4. I am currently considering applying for both the regular and special education opportunities and wanted to know if it’s possible to apply for both in the same year.

Response: Yes, a small business is permitted to submit a proposal under both solicitations.

5. For Phase 1 do we need to have the academic partner lined up and would that person be the “principal investigator?”

Response: The Principal Investigator is required to be with the small business 51% of his/her time.

Otherwise, the offeror must determine who will serve as the principal investigator.

6. I see that it is now divided into General Education and Special Education innovations. My innovation could be considered either, as it is intended for use with at‐risk readers (e.g., those with learning disabilities, language delays, students living in poverty, English language learners, etc). I know that you may not give proposal‐specific advice. However, can you advise re: which SBIR solicitation would be wiser to submit under if my product could fit the criteria for General OR Special Ed? Does one offer a better chance of success due to fewer proposals received or a greater percentage of proposals awarded?

Response: The offeror must determine the appropriate solicitation under which to submit a proposal.

7. Based on my understanding of Phase 1, its intent is to prove feasibility more than a statistically significant outcome, which would be rather difficult to accomplish with a low‐ incident population in just 8 months, considering the building the prototype takes about 5 months. Is this correct?

Response: That is correct.

8. I have a confusion about section 3b. Pilot Research at the End of Phase I. Are you looking for that pilot research to be done within the 8 months, or do we simply describe what steps we would take next (either as part of a Phase 2, or research that we undertake on our own, in both cases, after the Phase 1 has ended)?

Response: As is detailed in the solicitation, pilot research is required during Phase I.

9. Can the small business applicant use IES SBIR funds to hire a software development firm as a

"fee‐for‐service" to build a mobile app? I would like to contract out this work without it

"counting" toward the 30% that is allowed to be contracted (I want to reserve that 30% so I can partner with consultants.) Asked another way: can I "bucket" the cost of the mobile app development as part of the 70% that the small business would conduct? If the answer to the first question is yes, then do I need resumes from the staff (the software development firm)? And, do I need to attach a scope of work of what they will cover?

Response: A minimum of two‐thirds of the budget must be budgeted for work by employees of the small business. It is up to the offeror to determine how to ensure how to structure the budget to meet this requirement.

10. Regarding the conflict of interest certifications: is it considered a financial conflict of interest if a consultant I want to use will receive royalties from the licensing of a pending patent that

I plan on incorporating in my app? The patent has not been awarded, so there is not a current financial conflict of interest, but the language indicates "potential conflicts" as well. I am curious as to how you guide applicants in these situations? Should it be disclosed as a potential conflict of interest, and if so, how do you suggest we address it?

Response: Without more information, it is not possible to provide guidance in response to this question.

11. If we want to ask for the technical assistance funds ($6,500) do we have to specify who/what it will go towards, or can we simply ask for it and say "for technical assistance"?

Response: Refer to Appendix F for the requirements for planning to use TABA funds during Phase I.

12. Page 3 of the RFP describes what is expected of a Phase 1 project. It says: This solicitation is for proposals to develop education technology products..." Does the term "technology" refer to a computer application or does the term refer to a broader definition of

"technology" meaning more like an innovation? In other words, must the "technology" be computer based? Later, on page 4, the RFP refers to a "technological approach."

Response: The solicitation does not require technology to be computer‐based.

13. In regards to the Letters of Support, having a letter with multiple teachers/schools supporting our project. We're under the impression that either the Letter of Support or Letter of Agreement for Participation should be from an individual school. Should our Letter of Agreement of Participation or Letter of Support be signed off by multiple teachers/schools?

Response: Offerors must determine what letters and how to structure the letters of support to include in a proposal.

14. A big piece of our commercialization process is our partnership with a major commercial software provider. Should we be adding an additional consultant or partner in this space?

Response: Offerors must determine the project team and partners that will be added to or contribute to the proposed project.

15. Given that we have a commercially available product, I wanted to confirm that we should apply under the category: "for R&D to add new and unique components to a special educational technology product that is already fully developed", rather than applying under the prototype category (while we are commercially launched, we continue to work on new improvements and features)

Response: From the question that is provided, it appears that is the correct category to select.

16. I'm hoping for clarification on what "Special Education Interventions With Evidence to be Used at Scale..." means, and whether we can apply under Priority Area 2 or should stick to Priority Area 1. This would be relevant if we decide to submit multiple proposals, such that one or two proposals could go to Priority Area 1 and another to Priority Area 2. Would you recommend applying multiple times with different projects in mind, or to focus on one highest impact project? Is it possible to win more than one grant, if multiple projects are approved? Any guidance on how to approach multiple different project options would be appreciated.

Response: No guidance can be provided on which category to submit a proposal. Offerors are permitted to submit multiple proposals, provided the proposals are to develop different products. It is possible that offerors can be awarded multiple SBIR contracts.

17. We're working on a medical device technology. This would be used in a school setting (by a school nurse) for screening and medical referrals. I assume this is not something that the

Department of Education would be interested in for this solicitation?

Response: The offerors must determine whether or not a proposed special education technology product is appropriate given the priority areas within the solicitation.

18. How many awardees will receive the grant for both Topic number 91990021R0001 and

91990021R0002?

Response: As stated in the solicitations, ED/IES SBIR anticipates making 15 Phase I awards for education technology products through solicitation 9199002R0001 and 5 Phase I awards for special education technology products through 91990021R0002.

19. Are there certain groups such as age range that proposal should focus on?

Response: The offeror should refer to the priority areas within the solicitation.

20. Are there other limiting factors to proposals?

Response: No response can be provided to this question based on the question provided.

21. Are there any specific needs that the contracting offices would like to see proposals to focus on?

Response: No response can be provided to this question based on the question provided.

22. Is human subject research discouraged in Phase I’s?

Response: Human subject research is neither encouraged nor discouraged. The Notice About Research Activities Involving Human Subjects is provided if applicable.

23. Are companies required to request Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) funding only at the time of application submission? In case they miss to do so, can they request for it retroactively once they have been awarded?

Response: If offerors submit a proposal without a TABA plan and are awarded a Phase I contract, the awardees can request that funds be used for TABA to the Contracting Officer during the project.

24. Regarding TABA: Do the companies have to identify vendor(s) along with the request for funding? If needed, can they change their requested vendor(s) during the course of the award?

Response: Offerors must identify the key project members and partners within a proposal who will conduct the work to develop a prototype of an education technology product and prepare for commercialization. Awardees may request changes or additions to a project to the Contracting Officer during the project period.

25. Is TABA funding supplemental or an included portion of the maximum awarded amount? i.e. Is the Phase I maximum award $200K or $206.5K, upon including TABA?

Response: TABA funding is included within the $200K.

26. What is the eligibility timeframe for Phase I awardees to apply for Phase II? For e.g. NIST requires them to apply for Phase II only in immediate submission date whereas USDA allows companies to apply within 5 years of Phase I award.

Response: ED/IES SBIR Phase I awardees are eligible to apply for a Phase II award at the end of the Phase I project.

27. While we will certainly have a DUNS number before January 21, I am uncertain whether our applications to incorporate (and obtain an EIN) will be approved by that date. Is there a work‐around for this issue?

Response: If selected for award, offerors must be in full compliance with all RFP requirements at the time of award.

28. We would like to submit a proposal for the Special Education SBIR call, but wanted to confirm that our population would fit within priority 1. We are targeting 16‐21 year old learners with ASD (transition age) and/or postsecondary students with ASD.

Response: See the response to question 1. above.

29. Do I need to notify IES of my intent to apply? If so, what is the format of that notice?

Response: There is no letter of intent through any solicitation released by the ED/IES SBIR program.

30. As we just got the EIN from IRS, it will take about 5 weeks to register our entity in SAM. As the RFP deadline is Jan 21st, can we send the application before the entity formally gets registered in SAM.

Response: If selected SAM registration must be current at the time of award.

31. Please let me know if there is any further information needed beyond the 100‐page solicitation I received through the US Department of Education.

Response: No response can be provided in response to this question.

32. Would the Department of Education consider/reconsider any technologies it previously considered as emerging technologies?

Response: The offeror can refer to the priority areas with the solicitation. No other response can be provided in response to this question.

33. Does the Government anticipate implementing a physical product such as hardware or tools, or an electronic or non‐physical product, such as software?

Response: The offeror can refer to the priority areas with the solicitation. No other response can be

34. Would the Government consider using a combination of both physical and non‐physical solutions for this requirement?

Response: The offeror can refer to the priority areas with the solicitation. No other response can be

35. The instructions list that “In Appendix G, offerors should provide one letter of agreement from a representative of a special education setting that will participate in the Phase I research.” What sort of individuals can be considered a representative of special education setting? Does this include grade school teachers, professors of special education, and or principals? Also should Letter of support should only be from commercialization partners?

Should we also include LOS from consultants or technical partners?

Response: Offerors are required to include a letter in Appendix G to demonstrate to the reviewers that the project has access to conduct research to inform and iterative development process and a pilot study.

36. I had a question in regard to applications for the SBIR Phase I request for proposals in Education and Special Education. When the Special Education category describes "products for infants, toddlers or learners with, or at risk for, disabilities," does "learners" refer to learners of any age — such as high school and college students, adult leaders, etc.? Or is the

Special Education category more ideal for innovations geared toward early childhood? More specifically, my team is looking to use the award for the research and development of an education technology prototype primarily for college students both with and without disabilities who need to write research papers. Would this fit better in the Education or

Special Education category, or could it essentially go either way?

Response: See the response to question 1. above.

37. I am inquiring on the TABA for this proposal. Do we use our TABA providers only or do you have providers if we don’t propose one? The solicitation doesn’t state one for you so I’m just checking.

Response: Offerors who select to use funds for TABA are responsible for selecting the provider of their choice.