DA COE - FOAAFRLAFOSR20240005 - AMD1.docx

$6,000

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA) #

FOAAFRLAFOSR20240005

for the

AFRL FY24 DATA ASSIMILATION

CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

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Reference Key Dates

OVERVIEW INFORMATION

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) describes a newly proposed initiative of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) concerning standing up a University Center of Excellence (CoE) for “Data Assimilation (DA) Driven by Mathematical Features Representing Physics” with educational institutions in the United States. The University CoE is defined as a joint effort among multiple technical directorates (TDs) of the Air Force Research Laboratory to include: the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Aerospace Systems Directorate (RQ), Space Vehicles Directorate (RV), and Munitions Directorate (RW), referred to collectively as “we, our, or us,” in this FOA, and an outstanding university or team of universities that will perform high priority unclassified and collaborative basic / applied (6.1/ 6.2) research which addresses the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) research needs in the DA area with relevance to high-speed flows and combustion.

AFOSR anticipates making at least one grant award to a team comprising of about 5-7 members, with an award value not to exceed $1,200,000 per year, for a maximum of five (5) years. The grant award will consist of a three-year basic funding period and a two-year optional funding period depending upon the success of the basic period, with a potential total funded ceiling on the grant of $6,000,000. Depending upon proposal quality and funding availability, additional grant awards from this announcement may be issued.

All funding decisions are at the Government’s discretion and are subject to the availability of funds. The AFOSR reserves the right to fund all, some, a portion of a proposal, or none of the proposals received under this FOA. The total amount of funding and the number of teams funded may vary based on the quality of the proposals received, and the availability of funds. AFOSR will provide no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and budget proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this FOA will not be returned. It is the policy of AFOSR to treat all white papers and proposals submitted under this FOA as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

Submission of a white paper is required to be eligible to receive an invitation to submit a proposal submission. See Section D below for further instructions on white paper submission requirements.

AFOSR and the AFRL TDs will provide feedback on white papers reviewed and will share responsibility for ensuring the success of the CoE.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

No direct communications with AFOSR and AFRL TD personnel related to this announcement will be permitted after the Zoom event on Thursday, March 21, 2024 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern Time, all questions after the Zoom event must be submitted in writing as per the instructions and cut off dates in the Key Dates table.

To register to attend the DA CoE Scientific Discussion Zoom event go to this website: https://community.apan.org/wg/afosr/w/researchareas/39678/2024-afosr-da-coe-scientific-discussion/

A video recording of the Zoom event will be made available on the registration site after the event.

Applicants should be alert for any amendments that may modify this announcement. Amendments to this original funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will be posted to the Grants.gov Webpage: https://www.grants.gov/.

SUMMARY FUNDING OPPORTUNITY INFORMATION

FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY NAME

Air Force Office of Scientific Research 875 North Randolph Street, Suite 325, Room 3112 Arlington VA 22203

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE

CENTER OF EXCELLENCE: Data Assimilation (DA) Driven by Mathematical Features Representing Physics

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). This is the initial announcement.

FOA NUMBER

FOAAFRLAFOSR20240005

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER(S)

12.800 – Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program

KEY DATES

DA CoE Scientific Discussion Zoom event

Register here: https://community.apan.org/wg/afosr/w/researchareas/39678/2024-afosr-da-coe-scientific-discussion/

A video recording of the Zoom event will be made available on the registration site after the event.

Cut-Off Date for Q&A’s to AFRL Technical personnel

Submit questions by email to: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil

Please include in the subject line “DA CoE Pre-White Paper Inquiry”

Your questions will generally be consolidated with other questions and posted on Grants.gov so everyone gets the same information. AFOSR may provide an individual response by email if your question does not apply to anyone else.

11:59 PM

Pre-White Paper Q&As published as an amendment to the solicitation on Grants.gov

(After the Zoom event, no direct communications with AFRL Technical personnel related to this announcement will be permitted until award selection and non-selection notices are issued)

White Paper Due Date.

Submit White Papers by email to: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil

Please include in the subject line “DA CoE White Paper Submission”

White paper submissions should clearly articulate the logic and key elements of the proposed approach as per the instructions set forth in Section D.II.2.

(White papers shall have a four (4) page limit, single-sided)

White Paper Feedback provided and Notice of Selection or Non-Selection of White Paper for a Proposal Submission Invitation.

Provided by email from the Grants Officer to the Applicant email addresses cited in the White Paper submission

Monday, 6 May 2024

Approximately

Cut-Off Date for Pre-proposal Q&As prior to Submission

Submit questions by email to: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil

Please include in the subject line “DA CoE Pre-proposal Inquiry”

Your questions will generally be consolidated with other questions and posted on Grants.gov so everyone gets the same information. AFOSR may provide an individual response by email if your question does not apply to anyone else.

(NLT) 11:59 PM

Proposal Submission Due Date (by invitation only from White Paper Selection notice)

Submitted electronically on the Grants.gov website

Notification of Selection or Non-Selection for Award

Provided by email from the Grants Officer to the Applicant email addresses cited in the Proposal Submission SF 424.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

I. SUMMARY

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) seeks unclassified research proposals from educational institutions in the United States for a University Center of Excellence (CoE) for “Data Assimilation (DA) Driven by Mathematical Features Representing Physics.” Proposals must not contain any confidential, or proprietary / privileged information.

This CoE is a joint project among multiple technical directorates (TDs) of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL): Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Aerospace Systems Directorate (RQ), Space Vehicles Directorate (RV), and Munitions Directorate (RW), referred to collectively as “we, our, or us” in this funding opportunity announcement (FOA), and an outstanding university or team of universities to perform basic / applied (6.1 / 6.2) research in nature to address the needs of United States Air Force and United States Space Forces in the DA area with relevance to high-speed flows and combustion.

II. BACKGROUND

Data assimilation (DA) integrates observables, physics models, numerical simulation, and computational power to improve model predictability and usefulness. For example, DA has been responsible for making near-term (0.5 - 2 days) and mid-term (2 - 5 days) weather forecasts meaningfully accurate, with practical impacts such as providing actionable predictions of weather phenomena like hurricane trajectories. DA’s potential extends far beyond temporal-trajectory type problems, such as weather forecasting. The combination of physics-informed data / observables and modeling / simulation enabled by DA can provide powerful tool sets, leading to insights of unprecedented scientific depth and unparalleled engineering predictability, as well as enable data-driven decision making. DA is also an integral part of digital twins of physical assets, where the digital model is continuously updated by observables. The central aspect of DA is how to assimilate data and observables into the modeling and simulation tools. This CoE intends to explore new, innovative approaches in the context of high-speed flows, combustion, and propulsion problems of interest to the United States Air Force and United States Space Force.

III. OBJECTIVES AND KEY SCIENTIFIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESEARCH CONCENTRATION AREAS, WHITE PAPER, AND FULL PROPOSAL EVALUATION

The overall objective of this CoE is to push the research frontier of DA and its underlying mathematical foundation, as well as enable numerical, computational, and learning methodologies to extend the potential of DA in science and technology areas relevant to the United States Air Force and United States Space Force.

The central theme of this CoE is to explore multiple innovative DA approaches and formulations for assimilating diverse types of observables into modeling and simulation, driven by well-defined mathematical features.

These mathematical features should be closely relatable to key physical and chemical attributes relevant to space propulsion, space vehicles, hypersonics, and munitions. Such attributes include but are not limited to:

1. Property boundaries or discontinuities, flame fronts, shocks, and detonations which can be abstracted into Heaviside functions at a limit with accompanying jump conditions.

2. Shear or boundary layers approximated by hyperbolic tangent profiles where some boundary conditions are known.

3. Chemical reactions represented by exponential / Arrhenius profiles, or others of USAF and USSF interests.

These problems are usually highly nonlinear, likely non-Gaussian in nature, containing evolving regions of sharp gradients. Experimental observations can be sparse and potentially inconsistent among themselves or with underlying models in multiple ways. We seek proposals that focus on this central theme, exploring multiple innovative, possibly new, DA approaches within the team, and advancing relevant aspects of mathematics, scientific computing, and learning, to expand existing DA capabilities and establish new ones.

These methods are to be demonstrated in analyzing and solving scientific and engineering problems focusing on the mathematical features closely related to the physical and chemical attributes mentioned above, to address participating AFRL TDs’ mission needs.

Targeted engineering problems of interest include:

1. High-speed Aerodynamics: Highly compressible, external / internal, supersonic / hypersonic, re-entry / ionizing flows with shocks, boundary layers and shear layers.

2. Propulsion: Detonation and other forms of shock-induced combustion in rotating detonation and/or scramjet engines.

Central theme elements to be included in proposals:

1. Multiple DA approaches and formulations within the proposing team (including sequential, variational, physics constrained learning, and hybrid) incorporating mathematical features as discussed above.

2. Innovative approaches for observation operators and formulations dealing with diverse types of observables.

3. Demonstration of two or more targeted engineering problems of interests listed above, preferably one for high-speed aerodynamics and the other for propulsion. Other engineering problems may be considered with strong justifications of their relevance to the CoE central theme and key considerations discussed above.

Enabling aspects that can be additionally addressed in the context of the CoE central theme include:

1. Innovative algorithms for improving computation robustness and speed on computer resources of relevant architectures and platforms.

2. Multi-scale, Multi-fidelity, and Reduced Order Model (ROM)-based approaches.

3. Quantification of impacts of stochastic nature and uncertainty of observables.

4. Analysis of possible deviations and inconsistencies between the mathematical representation and physical reality such as conservation laws and thermodynamics etc.

IV. UNIVERSITY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

Proposals for this multidisciplinary CoE are sought that articulate the technical details of the proposed research and the planned mechanisms to educate a new generation of professionals. In implementing the CoE, multi-investigator teaming across departments and disciplines is highly encouraged with a particular emphasis on transformative concepts over incremental efficiency gains. Developing students with cross-expertise and the ability to effectively communicate between technical communities is paramount.

We expect researchers from the CoE to work collaboratively with AFRL researchers to address critical USAF and USSF challenges. The CoE researchers will coordinate research projects with AFRL researchers, share information and best practices, author joint studies and publications, and provide a number of learning opportunities and applications for students and the defense community overall. Regular interactions, joint conferences, workshops, and other research exchange activities are expected. AFRL is open to leveraging the existing resources at AFRL TDs as well as at AFOSR, including the National Research Council (NRC) Summer Faculty Fellowship and Post-Doctoral programs. In this manner, educational institution staff and students with the appropriate credentials can be hosted at AFRL with minimal additional administrative overhead, in a coordinated fashion with the existing visiting faculty and summer research programs. Applicants are encouraged to consider providing personnel exchange opportunities that can foster AFRL activities that parallel graduate research groups at universities, i.e., closely integrated researchers under research advisors geared toward journal and conference paper publication and thesis / dissertation accomplishment.

AFRL is seeking both traditional and innovative approaches that strengthen and result in long term research collaborations with academia. Described below is what a strong proposal should provide.

1. Technical Details of Proposed Research

A strong proposal should outline, as specifically as possible, the technical details of the proposed research. In addition, proposals should articulate how research goals align with the research objectives outlined in the previous section. Proposers can enhance or deviate from these topics if they provide reasonable technical arguments and if they are still addressing the required objectives. Efforts integrating a variety of approaches are preferred to those using a single approach, especially as these may provide increased opportunities for information and technology transfer to AFRL.

2. Investigator Qualifications

In line with the basic research vision of this CoE, proposals should highlight the following qualifications of the proposed academic collaborators:

i. Strong history of published research that is both principled and foundational in scientific areas relevant to the CoE objectives as defined in Section III above.

ii. Expertise within the academic team covering scientific areas relevant to the CoE objectives as defined in Section III above.

iii. Strong history of applying scientific principles in research areas relevant to the CoE objectives as defined in Section III above.

iv. Willingness to collaborate on and commit resources to jointly defined projects with AFRL scientists and engineers (S&Es).

3. Interactions and Information Exchange

Proposals should address plans for the following interactions between AFRL S&Es and academic collaborators:

i. One or more research projects, jointly defined by the academic collaborators and S&Es at AFRL that are in line with collaborators’ expertise, AFRL interest, and the goals of this proposed CoE.

ii. Commitment from academic collaborators of graduate students and/or post-doctorate associates to work on the aforementioned project(s) both at the academic institutions and embedded with S&Es at AFRL, working on USAF and USSF data and learning tasks.

iii. Regular workshops, independent of annual meetings, where topics are jointly defined by the academic collaborators and AFRL S&Es. Such workshops would be organized by the academic collaborators, include invited speakers, and be located at an AF / DoD facility.

iv. If applicable, how the CoE will leverage other institutional resources to expand the participation of students and postdoctoral fellows in the CoE, and establish dedicated facility and office space, and/or other means of promoting research.

Leveraging other institutional resources to increase the participation of students and postdoctoral fellows in the CoE and / or to promote research and relationships with AFRL to benefit the CoE would enhance the collaboration plan that will be evaluated as part of the DoD relevance criterion for proposals under this announcement.

4. Access to DoD Resources

Proposals may request access to AFRL facilities or DOD high performance computing resources in order to conduct the proposed research. Proposals should make this request in accordance with the instructions given in Section D.V.5.iv of the proposal narrative section of this announcement.

Applicants are advised that routine access of educational institution researchers to AFRL buildings and facilities is limited to U.S. citizens. Individuals eligible for access are subject to background checks. Section C.I.4 - Research Personnel Facility Access Requirements and Restrictions provides more information.

Award(s) under this announcement are not restricted to U.S. citizens, but access to DoD facilities is limited for non-U.S. citizens, which could add coordination challenges. An objective of this CoE is to establish relationships between researchers at the performing universities, AFOSR, and the relevant AFRL Directorates. If relevant, proposals should include information on U.S. and non-U.S. personnel, describing their roles in the research effort.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

I. AWARD INFORMATION

AFOSR anticipates making at least one grant award, potentially additional grant awards based on proposal quality and funding availability from this announcement. Any award(s) made under this competition will support a University Center of Excellence (CoE) in “Data Assimilation (DA)” driven by mathematical features representing physics and is subject to the availability of funds. AFOSR executes discretionary research and development funds appropriated to the USAF and the USSF for awards. AFOSR can only make award(s) if sufficient funds are available.

AFOSR anticipates the grant award(s) will be to a team(s) comprising of about 5 - 7 members, with an award value not to exceed $1,200,000 per year, for a maximum of five years. The grant award will consist of a three-year basic funding period and a two-year optional funding period depending upon the success of the basic period, with a potential total funded ceiling on the grant award(s) of $6,000,000. The determination whether to exercise the two-year option will be dependent upon the CoE passing a midterm “go / no-go” review at the 2.5-year point. All funding decisions are at the Government’s discretion and are subject to the availability of funds.

The AFOSR reserves the right to fund all, some, a portion of a proposal, or none of the proposals received under this announcement. The total amount of funding and the number of teams funded may vary based on the quality of the proposals received, and the availability of funds. AFOSR will provide no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs.

The award start date is determined at the time of the award but is most likely projected for a mid July 2024 start date.

Authority for award under this competition is established at 10 U.S.C. 2192(b)(1)(B) for improvement of education in technical fields, and 10 U.S.C. 4001 for basic and applied research.

Technical and budget proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this announcement will not be returned. It is the policy of AFOSR to treat all white papers and proposals submitted under this announcement as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

II. KEY DATES

Reference the key dates table in the Summary Funding Opportunity Information section.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

I. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

1. Qualified and Responsible United States Educational Institutions

This 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. To the extent that it is part of a U.S. institution of higher education and is not designated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) is eligible to submit a proposal to this DA CoE competition. No other entities are eligible to submit applications under this competition. Any entities receiving subawards must meet these same criteria.

2. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) / Minority Institutions (MI), Tribal College and University Applicants Encouraged

Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities are encouraged to submit research proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no funds under this announcement are reserved or otherwise set-aside for any specific entity type.

3. Ineligible Entities

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

i. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs)

ii. Foreign entities.

iii. 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.

iv. For-profit institutions.

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

4. Research Personnel Facility Access Requirements and Restrictions

A key aspect of this CoE is workforce development. It is envisioned that students and post-docs working under this CoE be able to collaborate with AFRL personnel at AFRL laboratories and facilities. As such, we require that any students and post-docs funded by this CoE be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Additionally, AFRL contains facilities and equipment that could be useful to the CoE. Access to these facilities is restricted to U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

5. Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants

i. We must review information available about you and entities included in your proposal through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualification and financial integrity information. Our risk review is required by 31 U.S.C. 3321 and 41 U.S.C. 2313 and includes both public and non-public information. You must be qualified and responsible as described at 32 CFR 22.415 Standards to receive a grant award.

ii. We must consider the non-public segment of the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) within the System for Award Management (SAM) for all awards exceeding the current simplified acquisition threshold of $250,000.

iii. At a minimum, the information in the system for a prior Federal award recipient must demonstrate a satisfactory record of executing programs or activities under Federal grants, cooperative agreements, or procurement awards; and integrity and business ethics. We will consider any comments you provide, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, when making our risk judgment about your integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards.

AFOSR may make an award to a recipient who does not fully meet our standards as described at 2 CFR 200.206(a)(2) if it is determined that the information is not relevant to the current Federal award under consideration or there are specific conditions that can appropriately mitigate the effects of the non-Federal entity's risk in accordance with 2 CFR 200.208 Specific conditions.

iv. We must comply with the guidelines on government-wide suspension and debarment described in 2 CFR 200.213 and must require you to comply with these provisions for all work we fund.

These provisions restrict Federal awards, sub-awards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal programs or activities.

II. DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST (COI) / CONFLICT OF COMMITMENT (COC)

1. Disclosure of COI / COC for covered individuals

This announcement requires that all current and pending research support for each covered individual listed on the application, must be disclosed at the time of proposal application, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6605(d)(2), and enacted as part of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act.

Each covered individual listed on the proposal application must:

i. Disclose the amount, type, and source of all current and pending research support received by, or expected to be received by, the individual as of the time of the disclosure;

ii. Certify that the disclosure is current, accurate, and complete; and

iii. 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; and

Any entity applying for this announcement must certify that each covered individual who is employed by the entity and listed on the application has been made aware of the requirements under paragraph (1) of 42 U.S.C. 6605(a).

Such disclosure will be updated annually during the performance of any research project selected for funding, and whenever covered individual are added or identified as performing under this project. Covered individuals are those who are listed as key personnel on proposals including but not restricted to the principal investigator or co-principal investigator.

Any decision to accept a proposal for funding under this announcement will include full reliance on the applicant’s statements. Failure to report fully and completely all sources of project support and outside positions and affiliations may be considered a material statement within the meaning of the Federal False Claims Act per 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 – 3733 and constitutes a violation of law.

2. Pre-award Conflict of Interest / Conflict of Commitment review

The funding agency may conduct a pre-award conflict of interest / conflict of commitment review of any proposal selected for funding, as defined in National Science and Technology Council Guidance for Implementing National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33) and any subsequent update. Offerors are advised that any significant conflict of interest / conflict of commitment identified may be a basis for the rejection of an otherwise awardable proposal.

3. Codes of Conduct

Applicants for assistance are required to comply with 2 CFR 200.318(c), to prevent real or apparent conflicts of interest in the award and administration of any contracts by which a recipient or subrecipient purchases property or services, supported by federal funds.

4. General Requirement for Disclosure

You and your organization must disclose any potential or actual scientific or non- scientific conflict of interest(s) to us. You must also disclose any potential or actual conflict(s) of interest for any sub recipient you include in your proposal. You must provide enough information for AFOSR to evaluate your disclosure. AFOSR may have to ask you more questions if more information is needed.

At AFOSR’s sole discretion, you may be asked for a conflict of interest mitigation plan after you submit your proposal. Your plan is subject to AFOSR approval.

5. Scientific Conflict of Interest

Scientific collaborations on research and development projects are generally the result of close collaboration prior to the submission of applications for support. Accordingly, virtually all these collaborations might be considered to include a potential conflict of interest. The potential conflict is mitigated by the disclosure of these collaborations, and the list of current and pending support you provide for senior and key researchers.

III. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

Cost sharing or matching is neither required nor an evaluation criterion for proposals under this announcement.

IV. OTHER

1. Acknowledgment of Support and Disclaimer Requirements

You must acknowledge support provided by the Government in all materials based on or developed under our awards. The requirement extends to copyrighted and non-copyrighted materials published or displayed in any medium.

The following language must be used unless the award document provides different instructions:

“This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award number FA9550-24-X-XXXX”.

Some materials based on or developed under our awards must include special disclaimer language. You must include this language in all materials except scientific articles or papers published in scientific journals unless your award document provides different instructions:

“Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Defense.”

You must require any sub-recipients or subcontractors under a resultant award from this announcement to include this acknowledgment, too.

You are not eligible to submit a proposal if you cannot accept these terms.

2. Expectation of Public Dissemination of Research Results

AFOSR expects public dissemination of research results if you receive an award. This is a basic requirement for unclassified research results.

AFOSR intends, to the fullest extent possible, to make available to the public all unclassified, unlimited peer-reviewed scholarly publications and digitally formatted scientific data arising from research and programs funded wholly or in part by the DoD as described in the OUSD, AT&L Memorandum, “Public Access to Department of Defense-Funded Research” dated 9 July 2014.

AFOSR follows DoD Instruction 5230.24 and DoD Instruction 5230.27 policies and procedures to ensure broad dissemination of unclassified research results to the public and within the Government. The DoD Instruction 5230.27 policy and procedures allowing publication and public presentation of unclassified fundamental research results will apply to all research proposed under this competition unless you are given an explicit, written exclusion to these policies from the AFOSR Program Officer and Grants Officer. All exclusions must be authorized or required by law and must cite a valid legal authority.

You are not eligible to submit a proposal if you cannot accept these terms.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

I. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION PROCESS

The application and submission process are completed in two-stages:

1. White Paper submission by email to AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil. (Required)

2. Proposal Submission Package via grants.gov. (Required) (This is by invitation only)

II. WHITE PAPER TECHNICAL Q&A’S AND WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION

1. Pre-white paper Inquiries

All pre-white paper Q&A’s related to the technical requirements of this announcement shall be submitted in writing only to the following email address: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil by the cut off date listed in the Key Dates table. Please include in the subject line “DA CoE Pre-White Paper Inquiry”.

Please note: After the DA CoE Scientific Discussion Zoom event, no direct communications with AFRL Technical personnel related to this announcement will be permitted until award selection and non-selection notices are issued. All questions and inquiries shall be submitted in writing to the email address: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil by the cut off dates listed in Key Dates table.

Your questions will generally be consolidated with other questions and posted on Grants.gov so everyone gets the same information. AFOSR may provide an individual response by email if your question does not apply to anyone else.

Pre-White Paper Q&A’s will be posted/emailed per the date identified in the Key Dates table.

AFRL technical personnel do not have the authority to make commitments for the government. Only Grants and Contracting Officers acting within their warranted capacity are the people authorized to make commitments for the Government.

2. White Paper Content

White Papers summarizing the proposing team’s scientific approaches are required to be eligible for the next stage in this two-stage solicitation, are limited to a four (4) page limit, single-sided, and shall contain:

i. What – the scientific objective is;

ii. Why – what is being proposed is scientifically interesting and relevant to the CoE objectives, and;

iii. How – the scientific approaches will be investigated with the supporting logic and key elements of the proposed scientific approaches identified.

3. White Paper Evaluation Criteria

White Papers will be evaluated in accordance with the two principal evaluation criteria in Section E.I.1. The third additional evaluation criterion will not be used to evaluate White Papers.

4. White Paper Submission

White papers are a MANDATORY component for this two-stage application and submission process to minimize the labor and costs associated with the production of detailed Proposal Submission Packages that have very little chance of being selected for funding.

If you do not submit a White Paper before the due date and time, you will not be eligible to participate in the remaining Proposal submission process and are not eligible for funding.

White Papers shall be submitted by email to the following address: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil by the cutoff date listed in the Key Dates table. Please include in the subject line “DA CoE White Paper Submission”.

AFOSR and the AFRL TDs will provide feedback on white papers reviewed and will share responsibility for ensuring the success of the CoE.

White Paper Feedback and Notice of Selection or Non-Selection for a Proposal Submission Invitation will be provided by email from the Grants Officer to the Applicant email addresses cited in the White Paper submission by the date listed in the Key Dates table.

III. PROPOSAL APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package

All the application forms you need are available electronically on Grants.gov. From the “View Grant Opportunity” page, select the “Application Package” tab to download the application package.

You can find the electronic application package on Grants.gov by searching for the announcement number shown on page one. Paper copies of this announcement will not be issued.

2. Pre-proposal Inquiries

All pre-proposal Q&A’s related to this announcement shall be submitted in writing only to the following email address: AFRL.AFOSR.DACOE@us.af.mil by the cutoff date listed in the Key Dates table. Please include in the subject line “DA CoE Pre-Proposal Inquiry”.

3. The Proposal Application as a Whole

You must submit your proposal electronically through Grants.gov. AFOSR will not accept or evaluate any proposal submitted by any means other than through Grants.gov. AFOSR must receive your proposal electronically through Grants.gov by the cutoff date listed in the Key Dates table to be considered for selection. This is the final due date. We recommend you submit your application early.

You must use the electronic Standard Form (SF) 424 Research and Related (R&R) Form Family, OMB Number 4040-0001. The SF 424 (R&R) Application for Federal assistance form must be your cover page. No pages may precede the SF 424 (R&R).

You must mark your application with the announcement number.

A summary of what is required for a complete proposal is summarized below:

· We require the forms and attachments in bold text with all applications.

· Some applications require the attachments in italic if applicable.

· More instructions are provided in the Section titled Component Pieces of the Application.

SF 424 (R&R) Application for Federal Assistance, including an authorized Signature (Required)

(If Applicable)

R&R Senior / Key Person Profile Form (Expanded) (Required) Biographical Sketch (Required)

Current & Pending Support (Required)

(If Applicable)

The SF 424 (R&R) must include the signature of an authorized representative from your organization. The signature is affixed electronically by Grants.gov upon submission.

This signature is considered the signature for the application as a whole.

4. Proposal Format

i. Paper Size – 8.5 X 11-inch paper

ii. Margins – 1 inch

iii. Spacing – 1.5 line spacing

iv. Font – Times New Roman, 12 point

v. Page Limitations – Reference table below.

vi. Attachments – Electronic Portable Document Format (PDF)

vii. Content – As described below

5. Proposal Length / Page Limitations

You must not include elaborate brochures, reprints, or presentations beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal.

We created this table to help you understand how to calculate your page count.

INCLUDED

IN PAGE COUNT

NOT INCLUDED

IN PAGE COUNT

Publicly Releasable Project Abstract (Required) must not exceed 300 words

Project Narrative (Required) As a whole, must not exceed thirty-five (35) single-sided pages

Within the Project Narrative – the Statement of Objectives (Required) Must not exceed one (1) single-sided page

Data Management Plan (Optional) must not exceed two (2) single-sided pages

Everything else

6. No Confidential or Proprietary / Privileged Information

You must not include confidential or proprietary / privileged information in your proposal. AFOSR will not consider your proposal if you include confidential or proprietary / privileged information, or place restrictive markings on any part of your proposal.

7. Electronic Form and Proposal Attachments

Your application and proposal attachments must be in electronic file formats. You should use the Portable Document Format (PDF) for your attachments. DO NOT password protect any attachments. The following website https://www.grants.gov/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility provides additional important instructions.

IV. GRANTS.GOV APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND RECEIPT PROCEDURES

1. How to Register to Apply through Grants.gov

Instructions: Read the instructions below about registering to apply for AFOSR 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/applicants/applicant-registration

i. Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number: All entities applying for funding, including renewal funding, must have a UEI. As of April of 2022, the federal government stopped using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). At that point, entities doing business with the federal government will use a UEI created in SAM.gov. They will no longer have to go to a third-party website to obtain their identifier. Active registrants will have their UEI assigned and viewable within SAM.gov; there is no action for registered entities to take at this time.

This transition allows Federal Agencies to streamline the entity identification and validation process, making it easier and less burdensome for entities to do business with the federal government.

For more detailed instructions for obtaining a UEI number, refer to: https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.

ii. 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). All organizations must register with SAM in order to apply online. Failure to register with SAM will prevent your organization from applying through Grants.gov.

For more detailed instructions for registering with SAM, refer to: https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.

iii. 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.

For detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to:

https://grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration

iv. 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 in to 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.

For detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to:

https://apply07.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom#callingApp=custom&t=Register%2FAddProfile.htm

v. Track Role Status

To track your role request, refer to: https://grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration

vi. 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 the electronic signature.