BAA-11-03-HPW-Amd02.doc

BAA-11-03-HPW - Amendment 02

22 Aug 11

FY12 Questions & Answers

1. Question: Do the budget amounts listed under Section II. Award Information, Item 2 and Item 3 represent the Total Award Amount (i.e. Total Direct Costs plus Total Indirect Costs) or do the amounts listed only represent Direct Costs?

Answer: The budget amounts listed represent the Total Award Amount. These costs should include all costs that would be necessary to fund the research (direct/indirect/materials/travel, etc.).

2. Question: Does indicating more than one Modernization Thrust Area (MTA) in the White Paper (WP) pose a problem?

Answer: No. However, based on the nature of the research, the offeror should make an assessment as to the most appropriate thrust area under which the white paper will be submitted. If more than one MTA is identified; the reviewers will make a determination where the proposed solution would be most suitable to meet the Government’s needs.

3. Question: Will the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) support basic science research proposals that are directly related to one of the five MTAs?

Answer: It is anticipated that the research under this BAA will utilize funds for applied and advanced research efforts, not basic research.

4. Question: Do the focus areas 5.4 and 5.4.1 both need to be addressed in one submission?

Answer: No. The offeror may address any one section in the BAA they feel their solution would apply to.

5. Question: Does this solicitation include projects for the pediatric population or adults only?

Answer: The BAA is applicable to both the pediatric and adult population.

6. Question: Section III. Eligibility Information indicates that Foreign Participation is not anticipated. The question is: Can a foreign entity be included in a white paper that an offeror submits?

Answer: If an offeror is selected for award, a Government Foreign Disclosure form would be completed to make the final determination that would allow/disallow foreign participation. Foreign participation is typically only an issue if the technology involved is ITAR sensitive or considered classified by the Government. If a foreign firm is interested in making a submission, they must contact the Contracting Officer before making a submission.

7. Question: Does the BAA announcement require that the population in potential research studies be active duty air force or National Guard personnel, or can a civilian population be proposed for the research trial?

Answer: It is not a requirement to use only AF active duty or National Guard personnel in the research.

8. Question: What is the meaning/implication of "in-garrison care" - would this require the intervention to be conducted at an air force or National Guard facility?

Answer: "In-garrison" care refers to care given in a military hospital/medical treatment facility in CONUS. It is not a requirement for the intervention to be conducted at an air force or national guard facility.

9. Question: The instructions state a three-page white paper is due on 8/31/11, is this in addition to a submission through grants.gov?

Answer: Three page White Papers and one page Quad charts are not to be submitted through Grants.gov. All white papers must be submitted to the following e-mail address only: det1.afrl.pkhb@wpafb.af.mil Grants.gov will only be utilized for the second step of the BAA (Full Proposal Request).

10. Question: If an offeror proposes to work with another offeror, should a separate budget be created for each offeror or should they be combined together as one?

Answer: The research should either be proposed with one of the offeror’s as a prime and the other as the sub with a combined total costs or each offeror should submit separately.

11. Question: Per the BAA, the Government anticipates making 10 to 20 awards per year for this announcement. The estimated value of each award is $100K to $1M annually, with total contract values of up to $3M over 3 year periods. Are there any limitations to indirect cost rates for the offeror?

Answer: There are no specific limitations to the indirect cost rates as long as the rates are consistent with the offeror’s standard rates.

12. Question: The BAA lists the potential types of contract/assistance instruments as follows: Firm Fixed Price, Cost (no fee) or Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Cost Share contracts/Cooperative Agreements or Grants. Does this mean the offeror can choose the type of instrument?

Answer: The offeror should propose the type of contract/assistance instrument they feel is appropriate; however, the Government contracting officer will ultimately select the instrument that is appropriate for the effort.

13. Question: In addition to having a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number would the offeror need to be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR)? Would this requirement be applicable for submission of this white paper or only if selected for submitting a full proposal?

Answer: CCR is only required before submitting the actual proposal.

14. Question: When writing the white paper for the BAA, should the first page only include the contact information, or should Section B be started on this page? Is there a sample for the white paper?

Answer: Due to the short page limit on the white paper (3 pages) plus the quad chart (1 page), feel free to immediately proceed into the next Section. The Government does not have a sample white paper for use.

15. Question: Do white paper submissions need to utilize military clinical data or can they use data from other sources?

Answer: White Papers are not required to only utilize military clinical data.

16. Question: How does one gain access to the military clinical data warehouse?

Answer: The offeror will need to utilize a Data Use Agreement (DUA) to request Military Clinical Data. Refer to the following website for additional information: http://www.tricare.mil/tma/privacy/DataUseAgreements.aspx