ED-IES-14-R-0003_Amendment_0001.pdf

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30. (Rev. 10-83) Previous Edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Page of Pages AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. Contract ID Code

2. AMENDMENT MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (if applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6) CODE

(x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., Street, Country, State and ZIP Code)

CODE FACILITY CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning ______ copies of amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OR OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

Check One

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Attachment Page

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ED-IES-14-R-0003: SBIR Fast Track Comprehensive Question & Response List

Questions received as of February 20, 2014:

1. Will the review committee(s) have subject matter experts on them?

Response: Please refer to details provided in Section IV. Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria.

2. With respect to Human Subject Research, is it indeed the case that offerors do not need to provide assurance or IRB approval to submit a proposal? Could you describe how the decision to require IRB approval prior to the grant award would be made?

Response: That is correct, IRB approval is not to needed until after an award is made.

Nonetheless, offerors must provide the requested information in Appendix F. Human Subjects Information.

3. I'm working through the SBIR Grant for 2014 and am a little confused by what a certification is. NOTE: While biographical summaries must be included within the 15-pages, Appendix B must also include two certifications and a 1-page résumé for each of the key personnel listed above in 4. Project Team. Are certifications the same as a "Letters of Recommendation" from a supervisor for expertise in the grant-related relevant field? Or Are they certifications, such as a professor having a short letter from a department chair stating that: "I certify that _____ is a professor at _____ in the field of ____ for the last ___ years."? Or, is there a more technical format / document for what is needed? If an example exists, that would help answer my question as well.

Response: First please note that this question references a 15 page limitation stated in the SBIR Phase I solicitation rather than the 25 page limit of SBIR Fast Track. Additionally, Appendix C must include two certifications and a 1-page résumé for each of the key personnel listed above in 6. The solicitation provides an example certification in Appendix C and discusses letters of endorsement in Appendix H. The solicitation does not reference a “Letter of Recommendation.” Please review the solicitation document for Appendix C certifications.

4. For our proposed project, we will be working with our academic partners on both R&D and testing phases. So some teachers will be consultants for us. Does this situation present a conflict of interest? How can we resolve this issue?

Response: No guidance can be provided.

5. P. 7 of the RFP shows a definition for Eligible States. Is Minnesota an eligible state?

Response: Yes.

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6. P. 13 (Section D.2) refers to Appendix G certifications, then states it should be submitted as a separate document from the Proposal. Are the certification to be contained within the proposal itself or submitted as a separate document?

Response: Please refer to Section VI. Proposal Submittal Information on page 38 of the solicitation. The Department has asked all offerors to submit one cohesive PDF or DOCX file as its full and complete submission. All offerors must submit the certifications required in Appendix G.

7. Are Sections G.10 thru G.17 regulations that apply after a company has received a grant award? Or do they need to be addressed in our Proposal?

Response: G.10 through G.17 apply during both the solicitation and proposal phase. All final contracts will include the clauses cited in G.10 through G.17.

8. Per Priority 1 on the SBIR RFP, do after-school programs held at the school qualify as an authentic education setting, or is time in classrooms during the regular school day solely considered an authentic education setting for Priority 1 consideration?

Response: After school programs could apply, so long as the outcomes are relevant to those listed in the Priority Areas.

9. I presume this is for any discipline. In the past STEM was clearly noted and our focus is STEM instruction?

Response: Please review Section IX. Priority Areas.

10. In the past an upper grade level of grade 16(terminal year of college) was specified. This does not seem to be the case for this year. Is there an upper grade limit?

Response: Please review Section IX. Priority Areas.

11. We plan to partner with [REDACTED] and perhaps a local Community College and or School District. They would be subcontractors but clearly not small businesses. We understand the amount of internal work that must be done as specified in the solicitations.

They would be part of the portion that can be done outside the company. Is this allowed?

Response: A minimum of two-thirds of the funds must be spent by the small business in Phase I. A minimum of one-half of the funds must be spent by the small business in Phase II.

12. On the Fast Track we might partner with a foreign University and or Foundation as a Sub-contractor. Work would be done in the US as noted but they might be a user and research subject. Is this allowed?

Response: Foreign involvement will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be thoroughly justified in the proposal. In rare and unique circumstances, for example, if a hardware component or some element for use in the research is not available in the United States, ED may allow a small portion of the R&D to be performed by a foreign organization. However, foreign investigators must come to the United States to perform the work. Whenever possible, non-SBIR funds should be used for other work outside of the United States that is necessary to the overall completion of the project.

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13. In priority 1, parents appear to be specifically excluded. Furthermore, does the home qualify as an "authentic education setting"?

Response: Under Priority 1, products are for student or teacher use, not parents. Products may be used at home, so long as the product aligns to work being done in the classroom.

14. In priority 2, parents are explicitly mentioned as a user, however, while our services are used by many families with children with disabilities, we don't focus exclusively on those students.

Response: No guidance is provided.

15. Is it possible for one company to apply for more than one SBIR in different capacities?

On one application, my firm would be the principal investigator, and on the other, I would be one of a group of contractors working on a larger project.

16. I have a question for you regarding the 2014 Small Business Innovation Research

Program (SBIR). It has two priorities and my question is pertinent to the first one (1 R/R&D of products used by students or teachers (or other instructional personnel) in authentic education settings) [REDACTED]. Would implementation of a technology tool at the university level for courses offered for K-12 teachers be acceptable for the 2014 SBIR competition?

Response: Yes, from the information provided is appears this would be acceptable.

17. There is an error in the grant call page 51 – Should the school letter should go in Appendix

B? I assume even though it says A and B.

18. For our propose project, we are considering to use a [REDACTED] at a large school district as a sub-contractor to help [REDACTED] because the project would involve a large number of schools and students. However, in the grant requirement document, it states that sub-contractors cannot provide Letter of Support. But the applicant needs the Letter of Support from its academic partner because the academic partner will be the most natural first customer post-grant.

What’s your advice on this?

“There Letters of interest or endorsement may come from investors, … or from school practitioners who would purchase or use the product if it were available… Offerors shall not include letters of interest or endorsement from members of the project team, including consultants or subcontractors… ”

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Response: Response: Generally, if the partner organization is part of the proposal - then this in itself provides an endorsement of the proposed product. However, there may be times where a letter from an organization speaks to a different role at a later point in time.

Hence, in the above example, a different individual from the organization (other than the individual listed in the project team) could provide a letter of endorsement.

19. While the review period is FY-14, we should be expecting disbursement of any potential funds by FY-15 (weeks following July 5, 2014).

Response: All funds will be disbursed in Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14). This procurement follows the Federal Government’s FY14 which commenced on October 1, 2013, and will conclude on October 1, 2014.

20. In the Fast-Track RFP, page 4, par 3 states (referring to Phase I): “Furthermore, the total of all consultant fees, facility leases or usage fees, and other subcontracts or purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the total contract price.”

Yet, on the Phase I budget template on page 53, the note “(no more than 33% of the total Phase I price)” is placed to only refer to Subcontractors. The same information regarding Phase 2 contains this inconsistency also. Which reference contains the correct information?

Response: The information provided on Page 4 is correct. For Phase I, the proposing firm must perform at least two-thirds of the research and/or analytic effort. The total of all consultant fees, facility leases or usage fees, and other subcontracts or purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the total contract price. For Phase II, the proposing firm must perform at least one-half of the research and/or analytic effort.

Furthermore, the total of all consultant fees, facility leases or usage fees, and other subcontracts or purchase agreements may not exceed one-half of the total contract price.

The language on the budget sheet should appear beneath the final total column, and all offerors should adhere to the language contained in Page 4 of the solicitation document.

US Dept of Education, 550 12th St SW - 7th Floor Washington DC 20202-4230