DA COE FOA Pre-White Paper Q&As.docx

FY24 DATA ASSIMILATION

CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

FOA # FOAAFRLAFOSR20240005

Pre-White Paper Q&A’s

Q1: I'm forming a team with several colleagues. We hope to add another Co-PI from Naval Postgraduate School, but we are unsure whether Naval Postgraduate School is eligible to apply for this FOA. Could you please let me know asap? Then we can quickly finalize our team.

A1: Please refer to the list of ineligible entities on pgs. 17 & 18 of the FOA AMD1 which states:

“None of the following entity types are eligible to submit proposals as primary or subaward recipients under this announcement:

0. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs)

0. Foreign entities.

0. Military universities, warfare centers, and DoD and civilian agency laboratories are not eligible to receive an award under this announcement and must not submit either white papers or applications in response to this announcement.

0. For-profit institutions.

Ineligible entities may collaborate on the research but may not receive DA CoE funds directly or via subaward.”

A military university is an ineligible entity to receive funds directly or via subaward under the FOA announcement. They may collaborate on the research, but their receiving funding under any resultant COE grant award is unallowable.

Q2: I understand that "Ineligible entities may collaborate on the research but may not receive DA CoE funds directly or via subaward." But are they eligible for travel reimbursement and time coverage if they visit the Center and contribute to the research directly during their stay in the Center?

A2: As per pg. 18, Section C.I.3. of the solicitation, ineligible entities may not receive DA CoE funds. They may collaborate on the research, but ineligible entities will not be eligible for travel or time/labor funding reimbursement under any resultant DA COE award.

Q3: Is it encouraged or discouraged to describe the team structure or name the team members in the white paper?

A3: While the team structure is not an evaluation criterion for the White Paper submission, given the highly multidisciplinary nature of this research, providing the lead PI and all co-PIs’ names and their universities can help substantiate the – How -- aspect of collaborative research which supports the technical objectives.

Q4: Is a visiting professor (e.g., a US citizen from a national lab) eligible to participate in the proposal as co-PI or senior personnel?

A4: As per pg. 17, Section C.I.1. of the solicitation, the DA CoE competition is open only to, and proposals are to be submitted only by, U.S. institutions of higher education (universities) with degree-granting programs in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. A national lab professor would be ineligible for funding reimbursement under any resultant DA COE award.

Q5: Is it encouraged or discouraged to have non-paid collaborators from national labs to collaborate on the team as senior personnel?

A5: One of the principal evaluation criteria in the solicitation as per pg. 49-50, Section E.I.1.ii is the relevance of the proposed research and development to Air Force, Space Force, and Department of Defense Missions which will be evaluated based on the merits of the proposed collaboration plan and the potential for transition to AFRL (AFOSR, RQ, RV and RW) development efforts and the “targeted engineering problems” listed in Section A.III. of the DA CoE FOA. Collaboration within the scientific community is encouraged, but please keep in mind that only eligible entities as per pg. 17, Section C.I who submit a proposal and receive a resultant DA COE award are eligible for funding reimbursement.

Q6: Are letters of support permitted in the white paper?

A6: They are not prohibited, but please keep in mind that as per pg. 23, Section D.II.2. of the solicitation, White Papers summarizing the proposing team’s scientific approaches are limited to a four (4) page limit, single-sided, and shall contain: