APEX Accelerator Notice of Supplemental Funding Opportunity_10 August.pdf

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DoD)

APEX Accelerator Program

Supplemental Funding Request for Existing FY 23

Award Recipients Only

Announcement Type: Initial Announcement

Funding Opportunity Number: DOD-2023-APEX-ACCELERATOR-SUPPLEMENTAL-

FUNDING

Assistance Listing Number: 12.002

Anticipated Funding Purpose: Business and Commerce

Key Dates: Statement of Interest Submissions are required to be submitted via email no later than: 5:00PM Eastern Time, 17 August 2023

If selected to submit a full proposal, you will have 15 days from the date the Grants Officer requests the full application to submit to Grants.gov. This announcement will be open to receive applications for Supplemental Funding Requests until Cooperative Agreement awards until 5:00PM Eastern Time, 15 September 2023.

Agency Contacts: Joke (Yoka) Bohall, APEX Accelerator Program Analyst:

johanna.g.bohall.civ@mail.mil

Monica Wideman, APEX Accelerator, Team Lead-Agreements Officer:

monica.k.wideman.civ@army.mil

Date Issued: 11 AUG 2023

I. Program Description

A. Short Description of Funding Opportunity

The Department of Defense (DoD) seeks applications from existing APEX Accelerator FY23 award recipients who are seeking one of the below:

1. To return funds that cannot be expended during the FY23 program year.

2. To receive supplemental funding to increase their cooperative agreement for the FY23.

This announcement will be handled in a two-step process. In step 1, current APEX Accelerators may submit a Statement of Interest identifying if they are looking to return funds or to receive additional funding. In step 2, current APEX Accelerators who have submitted a Statement of Interest requesting additional funds may then be invited by the Grants Officer to submit an application.

Applications should include documentation described in Part IV of this document. Specifically excluded are individuals and entities not presently operating an APEX Accelerator.

B. Background:

The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) was established by section 1241 of the Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1985 (Public Law 98-525) to expand the number of businesses capable of participating in government contracts. Under this announcement, the Department of Defense will award cost sharing cooperative agreements to eligible program participants who will establish or maintain APEX Accelerators. The APEX Accelerators serve as a resource for businesses to obtain information and training related to contracting opportunities with DoD, other federal agencies, state and local governments and with government prime contractors. Procurement professionals at the APEX Accelerators provide critical assistance to businesses seeking to participate in government contracts and most of the assistance they provide is free.

C. Program Description/Objective:

Award recipients must establish and maintain an APEX Accelerator with physical location(s) to serve as a resource for large and small businesses to obtain procurement technical assistance.

Procurement technical assistance means professional, specialized assistance provided to clients that enables them to identify potential contractual opportunities and obtain or perform under contracts, innovation and technology grants, and other DoD-funded instruments, with DoD, other Federal agencies, State and/or local governments, and with Federal, State and/or local government contractors. Clients may include any business pursuing or performing these types of contracts or subcontracts at any tier. As used in this part, the terms “State” and “local government” have the meanings provided in 10 U.S.C. 4951. Innovation and technology grants refer to awards issued pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Research and/or Small Business Technology Transfer programs. You must collaborate with DoD and other Federal agencies and work cooperatively with them to accomplish the work under this award.

D. Authorization

The authorization to make awards under this funding opportunity may be found via the Assistance Listing (CFDA) Number 12.002 on sam.gov.

E. Legal Requirements

Each cooperative agreement awarded under this announcement will be governed by the general terms and conditions in effect at the time of the award that conform to DoD’s implementation of OMB guidance applicable to financial assistance in 2 CFR 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards,” as implemented by 2 CFR 1104. This is generally 2 CFR 1126 – 1140Subchapter D—Administrative Requirements Terms and Conditions for Cost-Type Grants and Cooperative Agreements to Nonprofit and Governmental Entities. APEX Award Specific Terms and Conditions Version 3.0 and Apex Accelerator General Terms and Conditions Version 2.0 which are located at Grants.gov, are incorporated by reference in this announcement.

II. Federal Award Information

The following information applies to awards issued under this announcement:

We expect to award multiple modifications to cost sharing cooperative agreements as a result of this announcement; however, we are not obligated to make any awards and reserve the right to revise or cancel this announcement.

Cooperative agreements differ from grants in that substantial involvement is expected between the recipient and the Federal agency when carrying out the award. Should you receive an award, we expect you to collaborate with DoD and other Federal agencies to accomplish the work set out in the APEX General Terms and Conditions. DoD will be involved in shaping the strategy used by the applicant to ensure relevant, high-quality service to businesses at a reasonable cost and applicants should expect negotiations where part or all of proposed costs are included in awards.

Applicants should propose a period of performance that begins 15 September 2023 and concludes on 31 March 2024. Applicants may include subrecipients/subawards in their application and may propose direct and indirect costs.

The Federal funding limitations per fiscal year are listed below:

$750,000 in the case of an entity that operates an APEX Accelerator providing less than statewide coverage;

$1,500,000 in the case of an entity that operates an APEX Accelerator providing statewide coverage;

$1,000,000 in the case of an entity that operates an APEX Accelerator wholly within more than one service area of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). This means an APEX Accelerator that provides procurement technical assistance to all the federally recognized Indian tribes or Alaska Native entities in one of the BIA regions and at least half of the tribes or Alaska Native entities in a second BIA region; or https://www.dla.mil/SmallBusiness/PTAP/Resources/

$450,000 in the case of an entity that operates an APEX Accelerator wholly within one service area of the BIA. This means an APEX Accelerator that provides procurement technical assistance to federally recognized Indian tribes and/or Alaska Native entities but does not meet the standard for an entity that operates an APEX Accelerator wholly within more than one service area of the BIA as described above.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Only those entities listed in this section are eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible.

Disclosures of current and pending support made in this application may render an applicant ineligible for funding. Prior to award and throughout the period of performance, DoD may continue to request updated continuing and pending support information, which will be reviewed and may result in discontinuation of funding.

Religious organizations are entitled to compete on equal footing with secular organizations for Federal financial assistance as described in E.O. 13798, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.”

States. State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, a territory or possession of the United States, an agency or instrumentality of a State, and a multi-State, regional, or interstate entity having governmental duties and powers (refer to 10 U.S.C. 4951(4).

Local governments. Local government means a unit of government in a State, a local public authority, a special district, an intrastate district, a council of governments, a sponsor group representative organization, an interstate entity, or another instrumentality of a local government (refer to 10 U.S.C. 4951(4).

Private nonprofit organizations. Private nonprofit organization means an entity which is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, and no part of its earnings inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and no substantial part of its activities is carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation or participating in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office (refer to 10 U.S.C. 4951(1)(C)).

Economic enterprises. Economic enterprise means any Indian-owned (as defined by the Secretary of the Interior) commercial, industrial, or business activity established or organized for profit purposes or for nonprofit purposes. Provided, that such Indian ownership constitutes not less than 51 percent of the enterprise (refer to 10 U.S.C. 4951(1)(D)).

Tribal organizations. Tribal organization means the recognized governing body of any Indian tribe; any legally established organization of Indians which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body, or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of Indians in all phases of its activities. Provided, that in any case where a cooperative agreement is made to an organization to perform services benefiting more than one Indian tribe, the approval of each such Indian tribe shall be a prerequisite to the making of such cooperative agreement (refer to 10 U.S.C. 4951(1)(D)).

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing requirements. All APEX Accelerator awards require you to provide cost sharing.

Allowable contributions towards cost sharing requirements are discussed in the “Financial and Program Management” part of the APEX General Terms and Conditions. You are required to submit documentation to verify that you have the necessary commitments to meet cost sharing requirements and, if applicable, that your proposed service area is a distressed area.

Cost share ratio. For modifications awarded as a result of this announcement, the Federal Cost share of the total agreement is limited to no more than 75 percent unless you provide procurement technical assistance in a distressed area, in which case our share is limited to no more than 85 percent. You are required to share the cost of operating your PTAC and match our funds accordingly. In accordance with 48 USC 1469a, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are entitled by statute to waiver of cost matching funds up to $199,999.

Distressed area. Distressed area means an area of local government (i.e., usually a city or county) that has a per capita income of 80 percent or less of that State’s average or an unemployment rate that is one percent greater than the national average for the most recent 24-month period for which statistics are available. In addition, Reservations listed in BIA regions are distressed areas.

C. Conflict of Interest

a) General Requirement for Disclosure

You and your organization must disclose any potential or actual conflict of interest(s) to us. You must also disclose any potential or actual conflict(s) of interest for any identified sub recipient you include in your application. We may have to ask you more questions if we need more information.

At our discretion, we may ask you for a conflict-of-interest mitigation plan after you submit your application. Your plan is subject to our approval.

D. Other

a) Licensure or Certification

i. Certifications, representations, and assurances

1. To apply for grants and other funding opportunities the applicant entity must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Applications will not be accepted through Grants.gov or other methods unless the entity is registered in SAM. Registration in SAM now includes the acceptance of

Certifications and Assurances. See https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html for details on how to register in SAM, and Grants.gov

2. The Federal Assistance Certifications Report is an attestation that the entity will abide by the requirements of the various laws and regulations; therefore, as applicable, you are still required to submit any documentation, including the SF- LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable), and informing DoD of unpaid delinquent tax liability or a felony conviction under any Federal law.

3. When you check “I Agree” on the SF-424 Block 21 you certify compliance with the following DoD requirements:

As the duly authorized agent for my organization I certify that said organization does not require any of its employees, contractors, or subrecipients seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting those employees, contractors, subrecipients from lawfully reporting that waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information;

As the duly authorized agent for my organization, I certify that all key personnel have disclosed the amount, type, and source of all current and pending support received by, or expected to be received by, the individual as of the time of the disclosure;

As the duly authorized agent for my organization, I certify that the disclosure is current, accurate, complete;

As the duly authorized agent for my organization, I agree to update such disclosure at the request of the agency prior to the award of support and at any subsequent time the agency determines appropriate during the term of the award;

As the duly authorized agent for my organization, I agree to update such disclosure at the request of the Department of Defense prior to the award of support and at any subsequent time the Department determines appropriate during the term of the award; and

As the duly authorized agent for my organization, I certify that any entity applying for such award has been made aware of the certification requirements above.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Submission Date and Time:

Statement of Interest

Statement of Interest submissions must be submitted via e-mail to the Grants Officer and OSBP Program Analyst on or before 17 August 2023, 5:00 p.m.

Monica Wideman, APEX Accelerator, Team Lead-Agreements Officer:

monica.k.wideman.civ@army.mil

Joke (Yoka) Bohall, APEX Accelerator Program Analyst:

johanna.g.bohall.civ@mail.mil

Applications

DoD will only accept full applications submitted on or before 15 September 2023, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Full applications are only to be sent once requested by the Grants officer.

Read the instructions in https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor- standard-language.html about registering to apply for DoD funds. If you experience difficulties with your submission, Grants.gov provides support via the toll-free number 1-800-518- 4726 and email at support@grants.gov. This ticket number will allow DoD to verify your issue if it cannot be resolved by the application date.

For questions related specifically to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO), contact the number for the program or grants office listed below.

B. Address to Request Application Package

The application package for Notice of Funding Opportunity is available on Grants.gov.

C. Application Procedures and Requirements

Organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), active System for Award Management (SAM) registration, and Grants.gov account to apply for grants and other assistance awards. Please see https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html for details on how to go through this process.

Full application packages must be submitted electronically to Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 01 March 2024. Applicants are responsible for submitting their applications in sufficient time to allow them to reach Grants.gov by the date and time specified in this announcement. It is strongly recommended that applications be uploaded at least 2 days before the closing date and time. This will help avoid problems caused by https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html mailto:support@grants.gov mailto:support@grants.gov high system usage or any potential technical and/or input problems involving the applicant’s own equipment. It will also allow any application errors detected by Grants.gov to be corrected in time for the application to be resubmitted. If the application is received by Grants.gov after the exact time and date specified as the deadline for receipt, it will be considered “late” and may not be considered for review.

Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt by Grants.gov includes documentary evidence of receipt maintained by Grants.gov, and Grants.gov e-mails to the applicant confirming receipt. These e-mails will indicate 1) the application was received on time, 2) application was rejected due to errors, 3) application was received after the deadline. Note that this Grants.gov response may occur over several e-mails, e.g., one acknowledging on- time receipt, and a later e-mail rejecting for errors the system detected. Applicants can also track the status of their applications at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track- my-application.html.

D. Application Withdrawal:

An applicant may withdraw an application at any time before award by email. Notice of withdrawal shall be sent to the grants officer identified in this announcement.

Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice by the grants officer.

E. Intergovernmental Review

This opportunity is subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” You are reminded that you may have to contact your state's Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to find out about and comply with your state's process under Executive Order 12372. The names and addresses of SPOCs are listed at The Office of Management and Budget’s website., https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf. .

F. Content and Form of Submission:

See https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-standard-language.html for information on how to complete the application using Workspace on Grants.gov.

● Documentation submitted under this NFO are expected to be unclassified;

classified applications are not permitted.

● All documents must be submitted in PDF format.

● All proposals will be evaluated by Government personnel. The names and affiliations of reviewers are not disclosed.

● All submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with applicable law and DoD regulations. You are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information.

G. Component-specific requirements.

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track-http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track-https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf

Statement of Interest Sections Required- Due NLT 17 August 2023 o SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance. Complete the SF 424 and attach your proposed service area listing in block 14. You may use the template for the Proposed Service Area Listing available in the package posted to grants.gov, which provides an example of the information that we need in this attachment.

It is important that the amount you enter in block 18.a. of the SF 424 accurately reflects the amount of DoD funding that you are requesting with your application. By signing the SF 424, you are providing the certifications and assurances in the funding opportunity announcement.

For the statement of interest submission, the SF 424 may be unsigned.

o Applicants shall use one of the two required templates posted to Grants.gov to provide a response to this announcement.

Template 1- Returning Funds. This template shall be utilized for APEX

Accelerators who have identified obligated funds that are not projected to be disbursed by 31 March 2024.

Template 2- Requesting Supplemental Funds. This template shall be utilized for APEX Accelerators who have identified obligated funds that are not projected to be disbursed by 31 March 2024.

Full Application Sections Required if requested by Grants Officer o SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance. Complete the SF 424 and attach your proposed service area listing in block 14. You may use the template for the Proposed Service Area Listing available in the package posted to grants.gov, which provides an example of the information that we need in this attachment.

It is important that the amount you enter in block 18.a. of the SF 424 accurately reflects the amount of DoD funding that you are requesting with your application. By signing the SF 424, you are providing the certifications and assurances in the funding opportunity announcement.

o SF 424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs. Complete the SF

424A using the instructions for the form available at the Notice of Funding Opportunity posting on Grants.gov. The SF 424A should be completed carefully to be consistent with other components of your application.

o SF LLL, Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying. Appendix A in 32 CFR Part 28 requires you to complete and submit the SF LLL if you engage in certain types of lobbying. Review 32 CFR Part 28, “New Restrictions on Lobbying,” and attach the SF LLL if it is applicable.

o Attachments. Ensure that you follow grants.gov rules in naming and attaching files because attachments that do not follow the rules may cause the entire http://www.grants.gov/ application to be rejected or cause issues during processing. Limit file names to 50 or fewer characters and use only the following characters when naming attachments: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore ( _), hyphen (-), space and period.

Attachment 1: If an additional Cost Share is required, provide information that attests to the commitment of matching funds to your program.

Attachment 2: If a new Third party in-Kind Contributions are required provide information to support any proposed third-party in-kind contributions, if applicable. You shall use the third-party-in-kind contribution form template that is available on the Notice of Funding Opportunity posting, ensure the third-party donor completes and signs the form.

H. Funding Restrictions

Per 2 CFR § 200.216, funds may not be used to procure telecommunications equipment or video surveillance services or equipment produced by:

• Huawei Technologies Company,

• ZTE Corporation Hytera Communications Corporation,

• Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company,

• Dahua Technology Company

• any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities

V. Application Review Information

A. Selection Criteria. We will use the factors below to evaluate your application. We will make awards to the applicants whose applications we determine to be the represent the best value to the Government.

i. Benefit to the APEX Accelerator program

ii. Level of risk associated with your ability to execute additional funding.

B. Review and Selection Process:

Review of applications. We will review applications conforming to this announcement in accordance with the procedures in this section. We may provide you the opportunity to cure a flaw resulting from an irregularity in your application or may waive the flaw. We reserve the right to request any additional information we need to evaluate your application and your failure to provide the information in the time frame requested may result in rejection of your application.

Selection process. We contemplate that we will make multiple awards; however, we may not make awards to all acceptable applicants. We will make award decisions to optimize the use of program funds while at the same time maximizing the availability of procurement technical assistance. We will make funding decisions on an agreement-by-agreement basis and in the best interest of the overall program. In making selections among otherwise acceptable applicants, we will generally give funding priority to those applicants that are operating established APEX Accelerators.

C. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates:

Decisions are expected to be announced via email. Awards are expected to be issued between 31 August 2023 and 10 March 2024. All awards are expected to be in place by the last day of the existing award period of performance.

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

The notification e-mail regarding a selection is not authorization to commit or expend DoD funds. A DoD grants officer is the only person authorized to obligate and approve the use of Federal funds. This authorization is in the form of a signed Notice of Award. Applicants whose applications are recommended will be contacted by a DoD grants officer to discuss any additional information required for award. This may include representations and certifications, revised budgets or budget explanations, or other information as applicable to the proposed award.

The award start date will be determined at this time.

VII. Administrative and National Policy requirements.

Refer to the “National Policy Requirements”, subdivision C of the APEX Accelerator General Terms and Conditions, which is located at Grants.gov, for national policy requirements that will apply to awards.

VIII. Reporting Requirements

The terms and conditions of the award will provide the specifics on how to submit the reports and any required sections for those reports.

IX. Federal Contacts

Questions regarding program policy, program content, administrative problems, grant administration or technical issues should be directed to: DoD APEX Accelerator Program Office:

osd.pentagon.ousd-a-s.mbx.apex-accelerators@mail.mil

Questions regarding Grants.gov should be directed to: the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov.

X. Other Information

The Federal government is not obligated to make any Federal award as a result of the announcement. Only grants officers can bind the Federal government to the expenditure of funds.

Applicants are advised to monitor Grants.gov for potential amendments to this Notice of Funding Opportunity. You can also elect to be automatically notified by Grants.gov whenever there is a change to the opportunity.

Applications must not include any information that has been identified as classified national https://www.dla.mil/SmallBusiness/PTAP/Resources/ mailto:osd.pentagon.ousd-a-s.mbx.apex-accelerators@mail.mil mailto:support@grants.gov mailto:support@grants.gov security information under authorities established in Executive Order 12958, Classified National Security Information.

H. Funding Restrictions