Responses to Timely Questions Received Direct to Phase II 91990022R0002 Amendment 0001.pdf

AMENDMENT #1

Request for Proposals 91990022R0002

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) DIRECT TO PHASE II Closing Date: February 1, 2022 11:00 A.M. ET

U.S. Department of Education’s (Department or ED)

Responses to Clarification Questions Submitted by January 10, 2022

NOTES:

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 Krisi.Rhodes@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 February 1, 2022. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Potential Offeror Questions and Responses by the Department of Education:

1. Could the non‐profit educational foundation serve as the small business entity for this grant working in conjunction with the National Math Science Initiative NMSI for planning and implementing large scale dissemination and evaluation?

Response: No, as stated in the eligibility requirements, the offeror is required to be a for‐ profit small business. See page 51 of the solicitation for eligibility requirements.

2. Do we need a commercial entity involved or can this be accomplished by a collaboration of non‐profits with extensive experience?

Response: As stated in the eligibility requirements, the offeror is required to be a for‐profit small business. See page 51 of the solicitation for eligibility requirements. Non‐profit organizations are allowed to participate as sub‐contractors on a projects, providing the budget allocates 50% or more of the funds to small business.

3. Is qualitative feedback, such as teacher reviews or design/functionality suggestions, acceptable when asked for research outcomes that support the new education technology product?

Does such feedback need to be published as a part of a paper or study to be present in the narrative? If not, should it be attached as an appendix, and would that count toward the page count?

Response: The solicitation presents the guidelines for offerors to present research on the evidence based of the existing education innovation to support the new education technology product on page 16 and 17. Offerors must determine the most appropriate research to present in support of the proposal.

Offerors may include links to published research studies in the proposal narrative and in the reference section outside of the 15‐page narrative.

4. Could you please clarify who and what roles you're hoping to see listed as Key Team

Members beyond the required PI and Data Security Liaison?

Response: The solicitation describes the areas of expertise that individuals who make up a team to carry out a project on page 25. No further guidance can be provided.

5. Can startups apply to the direct to phase 2 program?

Response: The offeror in response to this Direct to Phase II solicitation is required to be a for‐profit small business. See page 51 of the solicitation for eligibility requirements and the remainder of the solicitation for additional information on the potential role of researchers from universities research and education research organization in projects.