Faculty Immersion.pdf

Document Type: Request for Proposal – Special No ce

Contrac ng Office Address: Department of the Army, Army Contrac ng Command, ACC - APG (W911NF) Research Triangle Park Division, 800 Park Office Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Reference: Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) W911NF24S0009, Research and Educa on Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universi es/Minority-Serving Ins tu ons issued August 2024, which can be found at h ps://www.grants.gov.

Title: Army-HBCU/MI Faculty Immersion Program

Synopsis: In a concerted effort to a ract novel perspec ves, the Army seeks unclassified proposals from covered educa onal ins tu ons (i.e., HBCU/MIs) to par cipate in a Faculty Immersion Program. To be executed under authority 10 U.S.C. Sec on 4144, the intent is to direct funding to ins tu ons that have not otherwise received a significant amount of funding from DoD RDT&E programs suppor ng the na onal security func ons of the Department. Unless otherwise stated here, all requirements for proposal submission, to include eligibility are defined in FOA W911NF24S0009. A copy of the Department of Educa on le er dated February 2024 or later, cer fying the ins tu on’s eligibility for Title III or Title V assistance must be included with a proposal submi ed under this special no ce. The purpose of this program is to foster collabora on, enhance research capabili es, and encourage par cipa on in the programs and ac vi es of the Department of Defense by covered educa onal ins tu ons. The Army is seeking applicants with junior faculty members who are currently performing research in the field of environmental science (ES).

The junior faculty members selected for the Faculty Immersion Program must be U.S ci zens and be able to meet Government research facility access requirements in order to a end visits and mee ngs.

Proof of ci zenship, which will require two (2) forms of iden fica on, must be provided for junior faculty members. One form of iden fica on must be include a picture, such as a current driver’s license or passport. The second form of iden fica on does not require a picture, such as a Social Security Number (SSN) card or a birth cer ficate). Addi onally, all junior faculty members must be willing to submit to a Na onal Crime Informa on Center (NCIC) check. Proof of ci zenship is NOT required as part of the applica on. However, ci zenship will be verified by the government prior to award.

The full program descrip on including research topic areas follows.

PROGRAM TITLE: Army HBCU/MI Faculty Immersion Program

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Army seeks unclassified proposals from covered educa onal ins tu ons for par cipa on in a Faculty Immersion Program. In accordance with objec ves set forth in 10 U.S.C.

Sec on 4144 and eligibility defined in FOA W911NF24S0009, the intent is to direct resources to ins tu ons that have not otherwise received regular a en on for DoD RDT&E programs suppor ng the na onal security func ons of the Department. A copy of the Department of Educa on le er dated February 2024 or later, cer fying the ins tu on’s eligibility for Title III or Title V assistance must be included with a proposal submi ed under this special no ce. The purpose of the program is to foster collabora on, enhance research capabili es, and encourage par cipa on in the programs and ac vi es of the Department of Defense by covered educa onal ins tu ons. The Army is seeking applicants with junior faculty members who are currently performing research in the field of environmental science (ES).

An applicant’s proposal must iden fy a junior faculty member to par cipate in the program and their proposed research in the field of ES. The concept is a two-year program executed in three phases. Phase one places an HBCU/MI junior faculty in an Army laboratory for a minimum of 10 consecu ve weeks for training and collabora on with Army in-house researchers. Phase two places the HBCU/MI junior faculty member at an R-1 Ins tute of Higher Educa on (IHE) for a semester of training and experience working with Army and the R-1 IHE researchers. Phase two also includes the further development of an Army relevant research proposal for con nuing research into phase three of the program. Phase three entails eighteen months conduc ng the proposed research at the junior faculty member’s home ins tu on (i.e., the HBCU/MI) with con nued collabora on with Army and R-1 IHE teammates. This program will require the applicant to iden fy an R-1 IHE as a subawardee. This R-1 IHE should be involved with both mentoring the junior faculty member and working with the HBCU/MI to further the proposed research in the field of ES. Under this award, collabora on can then be supported with the HBCU/MI, the R-1 IHE and the Army in furtherance of 10 U.S.C. Sec on 4144. The Army will provide an ini al lis ng of current Army-sponsored R-1 IHEs for considera on as subawardees, see A achment A. However, an applicant is free to work with any R-1 IHE that supports their proposed research.

An R-1 ins tu on is a doctoral university with very high research ac vity (e.g., Carnegie Classifica on of Ins tu ons of Higher Educa on h ps://carnegieclassifica ons.iu.edu/index.php)

For the purposes of this Program, Junior Faculty is defined by an academic rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, and the candidate having held a faculty appointment at their home ins tu on, for no more than seven years.

The Government will evaluate proposals through a review process in accordance with evalua on criteria listed in the FOA. An applicant with the proposal that offers the best value to the Government may be awarded a Coopera ve Agreement with a performance period not to exceed two years. Up to two awards will be made and the an cipated funding for each award will not exceed $250 thousand per year, with the period of performance of two years. An amount of the first-year award is an cipated to cover ‘ me-away’ costs so the junior faculty member can be 100% engaged in the program for phase one and phase two of the program. “Time-away” costs include release me (costs to the ins tu on to accommodate the temporary absence of the par cipant), travel, and per diem. The subaward to the collabora ng R-1 IHE for research expenses is allowable for up to 30 percent of the annual budget. A discussion of collabora on between the HBCU/MI, the R-1 IHE and the Army must be included in the proposal.

The junior faculty members selected for the Faculty Immersion Program must be U.S ci zen and be able to meet Government research facility access requirements in order to a end visits and mee ngs.

Proof of ci zenship, which will require two (2) forms of iden fica on, must be provided for junior faculty members. One form of iden fica on must be include a picture, such as a current driver’s license or passport. The second form of iden fica on does not require a picture, such as a Social Security Number (SSN) card or a birth cer ficate). Addi onally, all junior faculty members must be willing to submit to a Na onal Crime Informa on Center (NCIC) check. Proof of ci zenship is NOT required as part of the applica on. However, ci zenship will be verified by the government prior to award.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Enhance the research capabili es at HBCU/MIs.

2. Increase the diversity of the research and idea pool to address one or more priori es listed in the

FOA.

3. Encourage research and educa onal collabora ons between HBCU/MIs and other ins tu ons of higher educa on and strengthen Army research networks.

4. Encourage par cipa on in the programs and ac vi es of the Department of Defense by HBCU/MIs.

5. Expose HBCUs/MIs to R-1 IHE research and procurement ‘best-prac ces’ and provide an opportunity to engage in research opportuni es at an R-1 IHE.

6. Increase the number of graduates from such ins tu ons engaged in disciplines important to the na onal security func ons of the Department of Defense.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION BY THE HBCU/MI

1. If the Department of Educa on le er is not submi ed with the applica on, the applicant will be deemed ineligible and the applica on will not be considered by Army.

2. Full- me commitment by the junior faculty member to the program (no instruc on or research commitments during phase one and phase two.

3. Ability of junior faculty member to par cipate in research at an R-1 IHE and an Army laboratory.

4. Commitment to comple ng research at home ins tu on.

5. Willingness to allow Army and R-1 IHE observers to con nue support and assistance during ‘at-home’ phase.

6. Proposals are not to exceed 25 pages (to include technical interest/capability, ins tu onal le ers of support and cost proposal).

FUNDING:

The following expenses are allowable within the $250K per year award.

1. ‘Time-away Costs’ for phase one and phase two to cover the junior faculty member’s travel and per diem and for the HBCU/MI to cover the junior faculty member’s absence.

2. Funding to con nue research at the home ins tu on (phase three).

3. Subaward to the R-1 IHE not to exceed 30% of the award.

ARMY-HBCU/MI FACULTY IMMERSION PROGRAM – SPECIAL NOTICE PROPOSAL

REQUIREMENTS:

Proposals must be compliant with instruc ons provided in this special no ce and with the associated FOA. The principal purpose of a coopera ve agreement is to support and s mulate research. It is not for the acquisi on of property or the provision of services for the direct benefit or use of the Government.

Proposals must indicate how the HBCU/MI will interact and collaborate with the Army and with the R-1

IHE.

RESEARCH TOPIC AREA(S):

The junior faculty member must have exper se relevant to environmental science, in general, and have specific exper se and experience in one of the following topic areas listed below.

Ultrawide Bandgap III-Nitride Materials for Electronics Research – Design and fabrica on of improved UWBG, specifically AlGaN and diamond, structures. Inves gate ionizing radia on (alpha and beta par cles) damage effects on UWBG energy conversion devices. Characterize material proper es that impact device growth, device design, fabrica on, and eventual applica on.

Causal Reasoning for Ar ficial Intelligence - Create a causal reasoning computa onal model to support detec on, iden fica on, and analysis of causal factors to generate es ma ons for decision making. The research thrust include:

Exploring Reasoning – Causal Reasoning Pipeline: explore reasoning-based framework for decision making leveraging causality across mul ple factors and criteria.

Model Causality-Causal Computa onal Model: generate algorithmic model for dynamic decision recommenda ons based on causal interven on for es ma ons Iden fy Analy cs-Experimenta on of Methods of Analysis: experimenta on to assess and refine methods and results

Genera ve AI for Uncertainty of Informa on - Uncertainty adds complexity to results and recommenda ons for and from AI systems. This causes difficulty in explaining, interpre ng and leveraging outcomes from these intelligent systems. Beyond quan fica on is the ongoing challenge to iden fy the impact of uncertainty and poten al influences on risk and decep on.

The research thrust include:

Exploring Genera ve Models: explore architecture and tokeniza on of data and uncertainty of informa on; Model Uncertainty of Informa on: expanding computa onal model for uncertainty of informa on concept; and Founda on Model Analysis: inves ga ng founda on models suscep ble to uncertainty

INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT

Proposals must include a discussion of the commitment, support, and involvement of the junior faculty member’s home ins tu on.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria outlined in the referenced FOA.

Proposals must be submi ed in accordance with instruc ons provided in referenced FOA and must be received no later than 4:00 PM (ET), 31 July 2025. An award announcement is expected by September 2025. The recipient of an award will be contacted by a Contrac ng Officer/Grant Specialist of the Army Contrac ng Command.

Ques ons regarding the intent or scope of this special no ce must be submi ed to h ps//www.hbcumiresearch.army.mil. The deadline to submit ques ons is 4:00 PM (ET) 18 June 2025.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLY APPLICABLE TO THIS SPECIAL NOTICE

A) Privacy Statement

With the applica on submi ed under this special no ce, the Applicant must provide the following “Privacy Act Statement” consent form for each Covered Individual in the proposal. This form must also be signed by the Applicant as that Individual’s Sponsor.

Privacy Act Statement

Army Futures Command or Department of the Army

Applica on for Federal Assistance

Authority: Government Paperwork Elimina on Act (Pub. L. 105-277, 44 U.S.C. 3504); Execu ve Order 12372, Intergovernmental review of Federal Programs (47 FR 30959); 42 U.S. Code § 6605 – Disclosure of funding sources in applica ons for Federal research and development awards; Public Law 117-167, CHIPS and Science Act; Public Law 116-92, Na onal Defense Authoriza on Act for Fiscal Year 2020; 5 U.S.C.

9101, Access to Criminal History for Na onal Security and Other Purposes 5 CFR §1320.8, Agency collec on of informa on Responsibility; 18 U.S.C. § 1001, False Statements, Concealment; E.O. 13478, Amendments to Execu ve Order 9397 Related to Federal Use of social Security Numbers; NSPM-33, Na onal Security Presiden al Memorandum 33 on Na onal Security for United States Research and Development; DoD-D 5240.01, DoD Intelligence Ac vi es; DoD-I 5200.02, Department of Defense Personnel Security Program; Army Regula on 381-10, U.S. Army Intelligence Ac vi es

Purpose: The informa on collected may be used in processing, inves ga ng, and maintaining records relevant to Federal Assistance awarded by the Department of the Army. Records in these systems will be used to ensure Army sponsored and/or awarded federal grants, assistance, contracts, and/or benefits are awarded to responsible par es, en es, and individuals.

Rou ne Uses: To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, coopera ve agreement, or other assignment for the Federal Government when necessary to accomplish an agency func on.

To the appropriate Federal, State, local, territorial, tribal, foreign, or interna onal law enforcement authority or other appropriate en ty where a record, either alone or in conjunc on with other informa on, indicates a viola on or poten al viola on of law, whether criminal, civil, or regulatory in nature.

DoD Blanket Rou ne Use (h p://dpcld.defense.gov/privacy)

Effect of not providing informa on: Providing informa on to the Department of the Army is voluntary.

However, 42 U.S. Code § 6605, which imposes certain disclosure requirements in connec on with Federal research and development awards, provides various enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance. One such mechanism, which the Department of the Army intends to pursue here, is rejec on of such applica ons.

Proposal Title (or grants.gov number): ____________________________

Acknowledgment of consent:

Covered individual (Signature): ______________________________ Date: ___________

Covered individual (Name print): ______________________________

Ins tu on’s Authorized Representa ve (Signature): _______________________ Date: ___________ Ins tu on’s Authorized Representa ve (Name print): ______________________________

Ins tu on Name: ________________________________

B) Addi onal Review and Selec on Informa on

a. Upon receipt of a proposal, ARL staff will perform an ini al review of its scien fic merit and poten al contribu on to the Army mission, and also determine if funds are expected to be available for the effort.

Proposals not considered having sufficient scien fic merit or relevance to the Army's needs, or those in areas for which funds are not expected to be available, may not receive further review.

b. All proposals are treated as procurement sensi ve and are disclosed only for the purpose of evalua on. Proposals having sufficient scien fic merit or relevance will be subject to a peer review by highly qualified subject ma er experts, both Government employees and non-Government employees.

While the applicant may restrict the evalua on to Government employees, to do so may prevent review of the proposal by other qualified experts in the field of research covered by the proposal. The applicant must indicate on the appropriate proposal form (Form 52 or 52A) any limita on to be placed on disclosure of informa on contained in the proposal.

c. Each proposal will be evaluated based on the evalua on criteria in accordance with W911NF24S0009.

Each evaluated proposal will receive a recommenda on of “select” or “do not select” as supported by the evalua on.

d. Upon comple on of an evalua on against the criteria in BAA, W911NF24S0009 a proposal selected for possible award will be analyzed for the realism and reasonableness of costs and funds availability.

Proposal costs must be determined reasonable and realis c before the Government can make an award.

e. Army Research Risk Assessment. Each proposal with a recommenda on to “select” in accordance with 2.c above, whose costs have been determined to be reasonable and realis c in accordance with 2.d above, for which funds are available, and where a grant or coopera ve agreement will be the award instrument type, will be subject to an Army Research Risk Assessment prior to award.

i. The Army Research Risk Assessment Program. The Army Research Risk Assessment Program (ARRP) is an adap ve risk management security program applied to Army funded research designed to help protect Army Science and Technology (S&T) by iden fying possible vectors of undue foreign influence. In order to iden fy and mi gate undue foreign influence as required by federal law and policy, the Army will perform a research risk assessment of each proposal selected based on the criteria above for considera on of a fundamental research grant or coopera ve agreement award. ARRP risk assessments for these subject proposals will be developed for all proposed Senior/Key personnel, (also referred to as “Covered Individuals”).

These risk assessments will be based on informa on disclosed in the Standard Form (SF) 424, “Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded),” any of its accompanying or referenced documents, publicly available informa on, and informa on contained in internal Army databases. Na onality or ci zenship is not a factor in the risk assessment. 35 ARRP has a risk matrix which iden fies risk factors and resul ng risk ra ngs. The matrix generally looks at four factors, or risk areas:

par cipa on in foreign talent programs; denied en ty list affilia on or associa on (see h ps://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/the-denied-persons-list and h ps://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/lists-of-par es-of-concern/en tylist);

funding sources to include conflict of interest or conflict of commitment, or funding from a strategic compe tor; and foreign influence showing a pa ern or history of affilia on, associa on, or collabora on with a foreign ins tu on, person or en ty from a U.S. strategic compe tor.

The matrix is set forth below:

Rating Iden fied Specific Ac ons of the Senior/Key Personnel

Foreign Talent Program

Denied En es Funding Foreign Institutions

Indicators of Indicators of an Indicators of ac ve Indicators of ac ve ac ve (ongoing) ac ve (ongoing) (ongoing) conflict of (ongoing) direct par cipa on or affilia on or past interest, conflict of affiliation, HIGH sponsorship in a affilia on or commitment, or associa on or strategic present pa ern of direct collabora on with competitor associa on with funding from a a foreign Foreign Talent an en ty on the strategic compe tor ins tu on, person, Program U.S. Gov’t or country with or en ty from a denied en ty or history of targe ng strategic person list or EO U.S. research or competitor 13959 or technology subsequent similar issuances

Indicators of past

Indicators of past

Indicators of any Indicators of a par cipa on in a associa on with history or history or pa ern Foreign Talent an en ty nonconsecutive of associa on or

MODERATE Program with a iden fied in the pa ern of, conflict of collabora on with

U.S. strategic U.S. Gov’t interest, conflict of foreign ins tu on, compe tor, or denied en ty or commitment, or person, or en ty country with a person list or EO funding from a from a strategic history of 13959 or strategic compe tor compe tor or targe ng U.S. subsequent or country with country with research or similar issuances history of targe ng history of targe ng technology U.S. research or U.S. research or technology technology No par cipa on No indicators of No indicators of past No indicators of an in a Foreign past or current funding from a associa on or

LOW Talent Program associa on or strategic compe tor collabora on with affilia on with or country with a foreign an en ty on the history of targe ng ins tu on, person, U.S. Gov’t U.S. research or or en ty from a denied en ty or technology strategic person list or EO compe tor or 13959 or country with subsequent history of targe ng similar issuances U.S. research or technology

Affilia on is academic, professional, or ins tu onal appointments or posi ons with a foreign government-connected en ty, whether full- me, part- me, or voluntary (including adjunct, visi ng, honorary, or lectures/visits) where direct monetary or non-monetary reward is involved.

- Associa on is academic, professional, or ins tu onal appointments or posi ons with a foreign government-connected en ty, whether full- me, part- me, or voluntary (including adjunct, visi ng, honorary, or lectures/visits) where no direct monetary or non-monetary reward is involved.

- Collabora on is academic, professional, or ins tu onal agreement to jointly work together with a foreign government- connected en ty, whether full- me, part- me, or voluntarily, in an official or unofficial capacity. Co-authorship in research endeavors is an example of collabora on.

- Strategic compe tors are those adversaries iden fied in the current year Annual Threat Assessment report from Director of Na onal Intelligence. The 2021 assessment was published on April 9, 2021 and can be found at h ps://www.dno.gov/.

- Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment are defined in NSPM-33 and in the CONOP as well as the ARRP Policy memorandum. - Senior/Key Personnel are those who (a) contribute in a substan ve, meaningful way to the scien fic development or execu on of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a Federal research agency; and (b) are designated as a covered individual by the Federal research agency concerned.

ARRP risk ra ngs range from LOW to HIGH depending on the amount, type, and ming of foreign associa ons or affilia ons that could cons tute a foreign-influenced “Conflict of Interest” or “Conflict of Commitment,” as defined by Na onal Security Presiden al Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33). Once the research risk assessments are performed, the Army risk acceptance authority has several courses of ac on available for considera on. These courses of ac on are as follows: Course of Ac on 1 - The Army risk acceptance authority may accept the risk ra ng that results from the risk assessment process and proceed with the award. This typically happens with proposals with risk ra ngs of “LOW” but could also happen with the other risk ra ngs.

In Course of Ac on 1, the applicant will not be required to do anything related to the risk assessment process or the assigned risk ra ng.

Course of Ac on 2 - The Army risk acceptance authority may accept the risk ra ng with some research protec on requirements added to the grant or coopera ve agreement award. This typically happens with proposals with risk ra ngs of “MODERATE” but could also happen with the other risk ra ngs. Also, typically, these added research protec on requirements could include, but be limited to the following in the grant or coopera ve agreement award:

The University's Security Office shall provide the Principal Inves gator and key personnel related to this award training on foreign talent recruitment programs and threat awareness and repor ng requirements.

The University shall disclose to the Army Research Laboratory Security Office and Grants Officer all interna onal travel, i.e., all interna onal travel completed as part of any university business, by the Principal Inves gator and key personnel related to this award instrument prior to travel.

The University shall report to the Army Research Laboratory Security Office and Grants Officer all inquiries by foreign opera ves or suspected foreign opera ves into research associated with the award.

The University is encouraged to u lize students without poten al conflicts of interest or conflicts of commitment as iden fied in U.S. Na onal Security Presiden al Memorandum (NSPM-33).

Under Course of Ac on 2, the applicant will be asked to sign the grant or coopera ve agreement prior to award, confirming agreement to these added requirements. Should the applicant not agree to these added research protec on requirements, the Army risk assessment authority may decide not to award.

Course of Ac on 3 - The Army risk acceptance authority is not willing to accept the risk assigned as a result of the assessment process. In this case, the applicant will be provided an opportunity to provide a risk mi ga on plan. This typically happens with proposals with risk ra ngs of “HIGH” but could also happen with the other risk ra ngs. In Course of Ac on 3, the applicant will be informed of the risk ra ng assigned during the risk assessment process as well as the block(s) on the matrix where the review resulted in some type of finding that contributed to the assigned risk ra ng. Should the applicant choose to not submit a risk mi ga on plan, the Army risk assessment authority may decide not to award. Should the applicant choose to submit a risk mi ga on plan, the Army will review such plan. As a result of this review, the Army risk acceptance authority may then be willing to accept the risk assigned with the mi ga on plan and proceed with the award or the Army risk acceptance authority may not be willing to accept the risk and may decide not to award. Further, should the risk mi ga on plan include proposal revisions that affect those aspects of the proposal included in the review or selec on process under 2.c, the original proposal evalua on will be reviewed and revised as appropriate based on the proposal revisions.

ii. Ac ons Required by Applicants.

(1) By submission of this applica on and authorized signature on the SF 424 (R&R) Form, the Applicant agrees to comply with the following requirements:

To cer fy that each covered individual who is listed on the applica on has been made aware: (1) of all relevant disclosure requirements, including the requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 6605; and (2) that false representa ons may be subject to prosecu on and liability pursuant to, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C.

§§287, 1001, 1031 and 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729- 3733 and 3802. See Na onal Science and Technology Council Guidance for Implemen ng Na onal Security Presiden al Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33) on Na onal

Security Strategy for United States Government-Supported Research and Development (January 2022), at p. 7 (available at h ps://www.whitehouse.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2022/01/010422-NSPM33- Implementa onGuidance.pdf).

To establish and maintain an internal process or procedure to address foreign talent programs, conflicts of commitment, conflicts of interest, and research integrity.

To exercise due diligence to iden fy Foreign Components or par cipa on by Senior/Key Personnel in Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs and agree to share such informa on with the Government upon request.

(2) With the applica on, the Applicant must provide a completed “Privacy Act Statement” consent form for each Covered Individual that is also signed by the Applicant as that Individual’s Sponsor.

(3) During the award period of performance:

If, at any me, during performance of this award, the Recipient learns that its Senior/Key Research Personnel (including any subawardee personnel who receive this designa on) are or are believed to be par cipants in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have Foreign Components with a strategic compe tor or country with a history of targe ng U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer, the recipient will no fy the Government or Grants Officer within 5 business days of awareness.

This disclosure must include specific informa on as to the personnel involved and the nature of the situa on and rela onship. The Government will review this informa on and conduct any necessary fact-finding or discussion with the Recipient. The Government’s determina on on disclosure may include acceptance, mi ga on, or termina on of the award.

Failure of the Recipient to reasonably exercise due diligence to discover or ensure that neither it nor any of its Senior/Key Research Personnel involved in the subject award are par cipa ng in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have a Foreign Component with a strategic 44 compe tor or country with a history of targe ng U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer may result in the Government exercising remedies in accordance with federal law and regula on.

The provisions concerning this disclosure will be included in each award.

The Recipient will be required to flow down this provision to all sub awardees who have personnel designated as Senior/Key Research Personnel as a result of their involvement in the performance of the research.

iii. Ac ons Required by Covered Individuals

Federal law requires that all current and pending research support, as defined by 42 U.S.C. §6605, must be disclosed at the me of proposal submission, for all covered individuals. The Government may require an updated disclosure during the performance of any research project selected for funding. The Government will require an updated disclosure whenever covered individuals are added or iden fied as performing under the funded project. See defini on of “Covered Individuals” below.

Covered Individuals are also required to sign the “Privacy Act Statement” and provide such signed statement to the applicant for submission with the proposal.

Any decision to accept a proposal for funding under this announcement will include full reliance on the individual’s statements. Failure to report fully and completely all sources of project support and outside posi ons and affilia ons may be considered a material statement within the meaning of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729, and cons tute a viola on of Federal law.

iv. Privacy Act Compliance. All informa on collected and developed for the purpose of conduc ng ARRP risk assessments will be maintained in accordance with the following authori es:

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) System of Records No ce (SORN) GOVT-1.

This SORN governs informa on collected from federal grantees for the purpose of conduc ng a na onal security inves ga on or carrying out other lawful statutory, administra ve, or inves ga ve purposes of the agency, to the extent the informa on is relevant and necessary to the reques ng agency’s decision.

Department of the Army (DA) SORN A0381-20b-DAMI (Feb. 10, 2009, 74 F.R. 6596).

This SORN applies to informa on contained in systems used by the Department of the Army to develop ARRP risk assessments.

32 C.F.R. Appendix A to Part 310, Paragraph N: DoD Blanket Rou ne Uses.

Pursuant to this provision, a record from a system of records maintained by a Component may be disclosed as a rou ne use outside the DoD or the U.S. Government for the purpose of counterintelligence ac vi es authorized by U.S. law or Execu ve order or for the 45 purpose of enforcing laws that protect the na onal security of the United States.

v.Defini ons

Covered Individual. An individual who contributes in a substan ve, meaningful way to the scien fic development or execu on of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a Federal research agency; and is designated as a covered individual by the Federal research agency concerned. See 42 U.S.C. § 6605, Defini ons. (For purposes of this BAA, “covered individuals” are all Senior/Key Personnel.)

Senior/Key Research Personnel. This term includes the Principal Inves gator (PI) and other individuals who contribute to the scien fic development or execu on of a project in a substan ve, measurable way, whether or not they receive salaries or compensa on under the award. These include individuals whose absence from the project would be expected to impact the approved scope of the project. (For purposes of this BAA, “Senior/Key Personnel” are all considered “covered individuals.”

Foreign Associa ons and Affilia ons. Associa on is defined as collabora on, coordina on or interrela on, professionally or personally, with a foreign government connected en ty where no direct monetary or non-monetary reward is involved. Affilia on is defined as collabora on, coordina on, or interrela on, professionally or personally, with a foreign government-connected en ty where direct monetary or nonmonetary reward is involved.

Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs.

In general, these programs include any foreign-state-sponsored a empt to acquire U.S.

scien fic-funded research or technology through foreign government-run or funded recruitment programs that target scien sts, engineers, academics, researchers, and entrepreneurs of all na onali es working and educated in the U.S. Dis nguishing features of a Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program may include:

Compensa on, either monetary or in-kind, provided by the foreign state to the targeted individual in exchange for the individual transferring their knowledge and exper se to the foreign country. In-kind compensa on may include honorific tles, career advancement opportuni es, promised future compensa on or other types of remunera on or compensa on.

Recruitment, in this context, refers to the foreign-state-sponsor’s ac ve engagement in a rac ng the targeted individual to join the foreign-sponsored program and transfer their knowledge and exper se to the foreign state. The targeted individual may be employed and located in the U.S. or in the foreign state.

Contracts for par cipa on in some programs that create conflicts of commitment and/or conflicts of interest for researchers. These contracts include, but are not limited to, requirements to a ribute awards, patents, and projects to the foreign ins tu on, even if conducted under U.S.

funding, to recruit or train other talent recruitment plan members, circumven ng merit-based processes, and to replicate or transfer U.S.-funded work in another country.

Many, but not all, of these programs aim to incen vize the targeted individual to physically relocate to the foreign state. Of par cular concern are those programs that allow for con nued employment at U.S. research facili es or receipt of U.S. Government research funding while concurrently receiving compensa on from the foreign state.

Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs do not include research agreements between the University and a foreign en ty, unless that agreement includes provisions that create situa ons of concern addressed elsewhere in this sec on; agreements for the provision of goods or services by commercial vendors; or invita ons to a end or present at conferences.

Conflict of Interest. A situa on in which an individual, or the individual’s spouse or dependent children, has a financial interest or financial rela onship that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, repor ng, or funding of research.

Conflict of Commitment. A situa on in which an individual accepts or incurs conflic ng obliga ons between or among mul ple employers or other en es. Common conflicts of commitment involve conflic ng commitments of me and effort, including obliga ons to dedicate me in excess of ins tu onal or funding agency policies or commitments. Other types of conflic ng obliga ons, including obliga ons to improperly share informa on with, or withhold informa on from, an employer or funding agency, can also threaten research security and integrity and are an element of a broader concept of conflicts of commitment.

Foreign Component. Performance of any significant scien fic element or segment of a program or project outside of the U.S., either by the University or by a researcher employed by a foreign organiza on, whether or not U.S. government funds are expended. Ac vi es that would meet this defini on include, but are not limited to: involvement of human subjects or animals; extensive foreign travel by University research program or project staff for the purpose of data collec on, surveying, sampling, and similar ac vi es; collabora ons with inves gators at a foreign site an cipated to result in co-authorship; use of facili es or instrumenta on at a foreign site; receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign en ty; or any ac vity of the University that may have an impact on U.S. foreign policy through involvement in the affairs or environment of a foreign country.

Strategic Compe tor. A na on, or na on-state, that engages in diploma c, economic or technological rivalry with the United States where the fundamental strategic interests of the U.S are under threat.

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