APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION.pdf

APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION (ONE-STEP BAA PROCESS)

A. Application and Submission Process

Interested proposers may submit full technical and cost proposal in response to any of the topics areas identified above. Interested proposers may submit proposals under more than one topic of interest and there is no limit to the number of technical proposals a single interested proposer may submit. However, interested proposers may not submit the same technical proposal to more than one warfare center or activity identified in this BAA. Additional topics of interest may be added to the BAA via an amendment at any time during the open period of this BAA.

Proposers shall submit full proposals in accordance with the instructions below. The technical proposals will be evaluated in accordance with Section I of this BAA.

B. Content and Format of Proposals

Proposals submitted under this BAA are expected to be unclassified. Do not put proprietary markings in or on the Statement of Work. For proposals containing data that the Proposer does not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except of evaluation purposes, the Proposer shall mark the title page with the following legend:

This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed – in whole or in part – for any purpose other than to evaluate the proposal. If, however, a grant is awarded to this Proposer as a result of – or in connection with – the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting grant. This restriction does not limit the

Government’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in (insert numbers or other identification of sheets).

Also, mark each sheet of data that the Proposer wishes to restrict with the following legend:

Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.

Titles given to the proposals should be descriptive of the work they cover and should not be merely a copy of the title of this BAA or a research area of interest noted above. Additionally, proposers may not submit the same proposal to more than one warfare center or activity identified in this BAA.

a. SF 424 (R&R) Application for Federal Assistance Form

The SF 424 (R&R) Application for Federal assistance form must be your cover page. No pages may precede the SF 424 (R&R).

Complete all required fields in accordance with the “pop-up” instructions on the SF

424 (R&R) form. The completion of most fields is self-explanatory. You can turn on Grants.gov “Help Mode” to provide additional instructions for forms. “Help

Mode” is turned on by the icon with the pointer and question mark at the top of the form.

Specific instructions for completion of SF 424 (R&R) are provided:

Block 4a, Federal Identifier – Enter N00178

Block 4b, Agency Routing Number – Enter the abbreviation for the warfare center the proposal is being submitted to and the Technical POC’s name, last name first, in brackets. The abbreviation and Technical POC’s name can be obtained from the chart of technical POCs on page 13 of this BAA. Failure to provide the technical POC in this block could deem your proposal invalid.

Block 4c Previous Grants.gov Tracking ID – Enter the Grants.gov tracking number of the previous proposal submission if this submission is for a changed/corrected application; otherwise, leave blank.

Select “I Agree” to:

Certify (1) to the statements contained in the list of certifications* and (2) that the statements herein are true, complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I also provide the required assurances * and agree to comply with any resulting terms if I accept an award. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject me to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001)Agreements are true, complete, and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

You may have to attach the completed D.3.c. SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities if you have lobbying activity that you must disclose.

Attach your Publicly Releasable Abstract using form Project Abstract Summary.

Attach your Project Technical Proposal using form Research and Related

Other Project Information via the attachment in section 8.

Attach your Bibliography and References Cited using form Research and

Related Other Project Information via the attachment in section 9.

Attach a Facilities and Other Resources description document here if you need to supplement your facilities and resources section using form.

Research and Related Other Project Information via the attachment in section

10. You may supplement your Budget Justification by attaching an Equipment

Justification here. Do not duplicate information included on your budget justification. If you attach an Equipment Justification, make sure you reference the attachment in your budget justification.

Attach the Sub-award Budget Attachments Form (if applicable) and not attached elsewhere. You should have budgets and justifications for all sub-awards proposed attached within this form before attachment.

b. Publicly Releasable Project Summary /Abstract

You must attach the Project Summary / Abstract to field 7 of the R&R Other Project Information form.

You must submit the “NEEC Abstract” an attachment with the proposal submission. You must provide concise abstract of 300 words or less with your proposal (no more than 2000 characters). You must mark this abstract publically releasable. Your abstract should use terms the public can understand to describe the research objective, technical approach, anticipated outcome, and potential impact of the specific research.

Your abstract header should include the Topic number from Section F above along with the technical POC.

If you receive an award, we must publish your abstract to a searchable website available to the general public in accordance with Public Law 113-235. The website address is https://publicaccess.dtic.mil/search/#/grants/simpleSearch.

c. Technical Proposal

Technical proposals are limited to ten (10) pages. The cover page, table of contents, and resumes are excluded from the page count.

Paper Size – 8.5 x 11-inch paper

Margins – 1 inch

Spacing – single or double spaced

Font – Times New Roman, 12 point

Cover Page: This should include the words “Technical Proposal: and the following:

o BAA Number: N00178-25-0003 https://publicaccess.dtic.mil/search/#/grants/simpleSearch o Title of Proposal;

o NEEC Technical POC (Listed on page 10) & Topic Number o Identity of prime Proposer and complete list of sub-awards, if applicable;

o Technical contact (name, address, phone/fax, e-mail address) and;

o Proposed period of performance (identify both the base period and any options, if included).

Table of Contents: An alphabetical/numerical listing of the sections within the proposal, including corresponding page numbers.

Technical Approach and Justification: The major portion of the proposal should consist of a clear description of the technical approach being proposed. This discussion should provide the technical foundation/justification for pursuing this particular approach/direction and why one would expect it to enable the objectives of the proposal to be met.

Project Schedule and Milestones: A summary of the schedule of events and milestones.

Reports: Proposers are to identify all reports to be provided as deliverables.

The following are sample reports that are typically required under a research effort:

Technical and Financial Progress Report

Final Report

Management Approach: Identify which personnel and Sub-awardees/sub-recipients (if any) will be involved. Include a description of the facilities that are required for the proposed effort, along with a description of any

Government furnished equipment/hardware/software/information required, by version and/or configuration.

Qualifications: A discussion of the qualifications of the proposed Principal

Investigator and any other key personnel. Include resumes or curricula vitae for the Principal Investigator, other key personnel and consultants. The resumes/curricula vitae shall be attached to the proposal.

Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM): Identify the estimated cost of the project. The ROM is the best guess of the anticipated cost of the effort. Do not include a cost proposal or any of the material that normally accompanies a cost proposal.

d. Bibliography and References Cited

You must attach your narrative Bibliography and References to field 9 of the R&R Other

Project Information Form.

e. R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form

You must attach a short biographical sketch and list of significant publications (vitae) for each

Senior/Key Person. You must also attach a list of current and pending support as discussed in

Principal Investigator (PI) and Senior Personnel Time including title and objectives; the percentage per year to be devoted to the other projects; the total amount of support the individualism receiving in connection to each of the other research projects or will receive if other proposals are awarded; name and address of the agencies and/or parties supporting the other research projects; and period of performance for the other research projects.

You must list all key persons proposed for the research on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile

(Expanded) Form. Key persons are generally the PI, any Co-PIs, and senior staff. We use this information to evaluate the qualifications of you and your research team.

f. R&R Budget Form

You must provide all information requested. You must estimate the total research project cost.

You must categorize funds by year and provide separate annual budgets for projects lasting more than one year. A budget justification must be included.

You must include enough budget related information in your proposal to support your costs as reasonable and realistic, and in compliance with 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles.

Not having enough information in your proposal to understand if your costs are reasonable and realistic is the most common reason awards are delayed.

g. Budget Justification

Use the following notional schedule to determine proposed period of performance and associated budget:

Estimated Award Date: 01 May 2025

Estimated Approximate Award amount: $100,000 to $400,000 base (typically a base and 2 option years). If funded for all three years, the total would generally be $300,000 to $1,200,000.

You must provide a detailed budget justification for each year that clearly explains the need for each item. The entire budget justification and supporting documentation must be combined into single file and attached to field L of the R&R Budget Form. The budget narrative submitted with the application must match the dollar amounts on all required forms. Please explain each calculation and provide a narrative that supports each budget category. This detailed budget justification must match the proposed budget categories. Each year of the budget justification narrative must stand alone; lump sum budget justifications are not allowed. If options are proposed, option detailed budget justifications must stand alone as well, no lump sum justifications allowed.

(1) Direct Labor: The budget justification must identify the basis for proposed labor (hours and unburdened labor rates). A clear breakdown of direct labor is required for each proposed period. If escalation is provided for out years, the escalation rate shall be identified. If proposed labor rates are based on actual salary, this should be stated in the budget justification.

Verification of salary may be requested if selected for award.

(2) Administrative and Clerical Labor: Salaries of administrative and clerical staff are normally indirect costs (and included in an indirect cost rate).

Direct charging of these costs may be appropriate when a major project requires an extensive amount of administrative or clerical support greater than normal and routine levels of support. Budgets proposing direct charging of administrative or clerical salaries must be supported with a budget justification which adequately describes the major project and the administrative and/or clerical work to be performed and associated salary.

Number of hours per person/labor category and unburdened rate for each period is required.

(3) Fringe Benefits and Indirect Costs: The proposal must show the rates and calculations of the costs for each rate category. If the rates have been approved/negotiated by a Government agency, provide a copy of the memorandum/agreement. If the rates have not been approved/negotiated, provide sufficient detail to enable a determination of allowability, allocability and reasonableness of the allocation bases, and how the rates are calculated. Additional information may be requested, if needed. If composite rates are used, provide the calculations used in deriving the composite rates.

(4) Fully Burdened Rates: If a proposer includes a fully burdened labor rate in excess of $187 per hour (with indirect rates applied), then the proposer shall provide a narrative to justify any such Labor Category.

(5) You must itemize travel. Estimate the cost and purpose of each trip proposed, the number of trips, the number of travelers, the destination, the duration, and the basis for calculating costs such as airlines and hotels. Provide the basis of your travel costs

(university travel policy, Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), etc.)

(6) You must itemize materials/supplies. List all material/equipment by type and kind with associated costs. Indicate what your costs are based on, such as vendor quotes, historical data and/or engineering estimates. You should include vendor quotes and/or catalog pricing data.

(7) Proposals including request to purchase equipment must include equipment quotes or vendor agreements. "Equipment" is nonexpendable, tangible personal property with a unit cost of $5,000 or more having a useful life of more than 1 year, unless determined otherwise by recipient’s internal policy. Items that do not meet the

"equipment" definition can be included under supplies. List each piece of equipment to be purchased and provide description of how it will be used in the project. Budget narrative should explain why the equipment is necessary for successful completion of the project. Provide quotes in U.S. Dollars if available, or indicate the basis of equipment cost. If you have any sub-award(s), you should describe how you determined sub-award costs were determined fair and reasonable. Your business office usually makes this determination.

(8) Other Direct Costs: Provide an itemized list of all other proposed other direct costs such as Graduate Assistant tuition, laboratory fees, report and publication costs, and the basis for the estimate (e.g., quotes, prior purchases, catalog price lists, university policy, etc.).

(9) Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Office of Naval Research

(ONR) Rate Agreement: If you use a Government rate agreement to propose indirect cost rates and/or fringe benefit rates, you must attach a signed DHHS or

ONR copy of the agreement you used. You must provide the latest signed rate agreement with your proposal.

C. Significant Dates and Times

A full technical and cost proposal shall be submitted by 12:01 PM EST, 06 January 2025.

D. Submission of Late Proposals

The Government reserves the right to not review proposals submitted after 12:01 PM EST, 06

January 2025, or after a successor to this BAA is issued, whichever occurs first. Grants.gov recommends submitting your application package at least 24-48 hours prior to the close date to provide you with time to correct any potential technical issues that may disrupt the application submission.

E. Submission of Grant Proposals through Grants.gov

This section provides the application submission and receipt instructions for applications.

Please read the following instructions carefully and completely.

a. Electronic Delivery

NEEC is participating in the Grants.gov initiative to provide the grant community with a single site to find and apply for grant funding opportunities. All applicants must submit their applications online through Grants.gov.

b. How to Register to Apply through Grants.gov

Instructions: Read the instructions below about registering to apply for NEEC funds. Applicants should read the registration instructions carefully and prepare the information requested before beginning the registration process. Reviewing and assembling the required information before beginning the registration process will alleviate last-minute searches for required information.

The registration process can take up to four weeks to complete. Therefore, registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact your ability to meet required application submission deadlines.

Organization applicants can find complete instructions here:

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

(1) Obtain a UEI Number: All entities applying for funding, including renewal funding, must have a Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov. Applicants must enter the UEI number in the data entry field labeled "UEI" on the SF-

424 form.

(2) For more detailed instructions for obtaining a UEI number, refer to:

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

(3) Register with SAM: In addition to having a UEI number, organizations applying online through Grants.gov must register with the System for

Award Management (SAM) https://sam.gov/content/home. All organizations must register with SAM in order to apply online. Failure to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html register with SAM will prevent your organization from applying through

Grants.gov.

(4) For more detailed instructions for registering with SAM, refer to:

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

(5) Create a Grants.gov Account: The next step in the registration process is to create an account with Grants.gov. Applicants must know their organization's UEI number to complete this process. Completing this process automatically triggers an email request for applicant roles to the organization's E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) for review. The

EBiz POC is a representative from your organization who is the contact listed for SAM. To apply for grants on behalf of your organization, you will need the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) role.

(6) For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-

(7) Authorize Grants.gov Roles: After creating an account on Grants.gov, the

EBiz POC receives an email notifying them of your registration and request for roles. The EBiz POC will then log into Grants.gov and authorize the appropriate roles, which may include the AOR role, thereby giving you permission to complete and submit applications on behalf of the organization. You will be able to submit your application online any time after you have been approved as an AOR.

(8) For more detailed instructions and information on roles and creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to:

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

(9) Track Role Status: To track your role request, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html

(10) Electronic Signature: When applications are submitted through

Grants.gov, the name of the organization's AOR that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html the electronic signature. The EBiz POC must authorize individuals who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as an AOR;

*THIS STEP IS OFTEN MISSED AND IT IS CRUCIAL FOR VALID AND TIMELY SUBMISSIONS.

c. How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Grants.gov applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), you can create individual instances of a workspace. Below is an overview of applying on Grants.gov.

For access to complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html

d. Create a Workspace

Creating a workspace allows you to complete it online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.

e. Complete a Workspace

Add participants to the workspace, complete all the required forms, and check for errors before submission.

(1) Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out web forms you can download individual PDF forms in Workspace so that they will appear similar to other Standard or administering agency forms. The individual PDF forms can be downloaded and saved to your local device storage, network drive(s), or external drives, then accessed through

Adobe Reader. NOTE: Visit the Adobe Software Compatibility page on Grants.gov to download the appropriate version of the software at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe- software-compatibility.html

(2) Mandatory Fields in Forms: In the forms, you will note fields marked with an asterisk and a different background color. These fields are mandatory fields that must be completed to successfully submit your application.

(3) Complete SF-424 Fields First: The forms are designed to fill in common required fields across other forms, such as the applicant name, address, and DUNS number. To trigger this feature, an applicant must complete the SF-424 information first. Once it is completed, the information will transfer to the other forms.

f. Submit a Workspace http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-

An application may be submitted through workspace by clicking the Sign and Submit button on the Manage Workspace page, under the Forms tab. Grants.gov recommends submitting your application package at least 24-48 hours prior to the close date to provide you with time to correct any potential technical issues that may disrupt the application submission.

g. Track a Workspace

After successfully submitting a workspace package, a Grants.gov Tracking Number

(GRANTXXXXXXXX) is automatically assigned to the package. The number will be listed on the Confirmation page that is generated after submission.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support via the toll-free number 1-800-

518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. For questions related to the specific grant opportunity, contact the number listed in the application package of the grant you are applying for.

If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to call the Grants.gov

Support Center and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the administering agency with tracking your issue and understanding background information on the issue.

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html mailto:support@grants.gov