Amendment 2--CC DROIDS Call-QandA--18 Aug 2023.pdf

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA):

FA2391-23-S-2403

Pioneering Aerospace Capabilities, Engineering, and Research (PACER)

CALL Name:

Collaborative Center for the Design and Research Of InterDisciplinary Systems

(CC DROIDS)

AMENDMENT 2

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Broad Agency Announcement FA8650-23- S-2403, Call for “Collaborative Center for the Design and Research Of InterDisciplinary Systems (CC DROIDS)”

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RQ Aerospace Systems Directorate

GRANTS POCs:

Chris DeLaet Grants Specialist E-mail address: Christopher.DeLaet.3@us.af.mil

Susan Lee Grants Officer E-mail address: Susan.Lee.1@us.af.mil

The Broad Agency Announcement FA2391-23-S-2403, Pioneering Aerospace Capabilities, Engineering, and Research (PACER), CALL Name Collaborative Center for the Design and Research Of InterDisciplinary Systems (CC DROIDS), is hereby amended to make the following clarifications:

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (continued numbering from Amendment 1)

2. QUESTION: The CC DROIDS Call states that the anticipated award date for this

Cooperative Agreement is 23 November 2023; what is the earliest state date if awarded?

ANSWER: The anticipated award date of 23 November 2023 is just an estimate for planning purposes; the actual award date is subject to change. Once the award has been fully executed, the recipient may begin work on the effective date located in box 2 of the Cooperative Agreement Award which is typically the same date as the award date.

3. QUESTION: Will the project period be 6 years OR 7 years?

mailto:Christopher.DeLaet.3@us.af.mil mailto:Susan.Lee.1@us.af.mil

ANSWER: Per the Schedule section on page 3 of the CC DROIDS Call Announcement, The Cooperative Agreement Period of Performance (PoP) will be 72 total months, with 69 months for the Technical Period and 3 months for delivery of the Final Report.

4. QUESTION: If two or more universities establish a prime and subcontract relationship, is that appropriate for this announcement?

ANSWER: Yes, a university may partner with another university or Industry to complete this acquisition. In a Cooperative Agreement, the university partner would be considered a sub-recipient, similar to a subcontractor in FAR-based acquisitions.

5. QUESTION: What margins and font are recommended/required for the 25 pages of the proposal and the 5 pages of the SOW?

ANSWER: Thank you for identifying this accidental omission. The font and margins are as follows:

Font: 10-point business font Arial

Margins: 1” minimum on both sides, top, and bottom

6. QUESTION: Does the language in Section III.b, “ Cost Sharing is not required but is highly encouraged and will be considered favorably,” apply to all offerors?

ANSWER: Yes, Cost Sharing applies to all offerors.

7. QUESTION: Can the cost sharing component include in-kind contributions (e.g., offeror-furnished equipment, software, labs, student salary, overhead, etc.)?

ANSWER: The Government prefers cash contributions; however, in-kind contributions may be proposed as well.

8. QUESTION: Section 2.1 states that any proposal should address all three technology areas (TAs) listed in 2.1.1; does the AF require or prefer that proposals address each bullet under the TAs in 2.1.1 (TA1 has three bullets, TA2 has three bullets, and TA3 has four bullets)? In other words, should the proposal address all 10 bullets or would proposals that address a significant majority but not all 10 bullets still be responsive and of high interest to the AF?

ANSWER: The 10 bullets describe details of technical areas under this effort that are of importance to the Air Force. Proposals will be assessed on their technical merit in addressing these technical areas.