FAQ_CMO_Session_SUNSPOT_2.21.2025.docx

SUNSPOT

FAQs: CMO sidebar on 2/7/2025 1Q: Do you have a template for the transmittal letter?

1A: There is no official format or template for the Transmittal Letter, required within Attachment B – Sub.1. The proposer is welcome to submit the transmittal letter using company’s format deemed suitable from your organization.

2Q: Is there specific info in the transmittal letter that is required?

2A: There is no specific information that DARPA is requesting from proposers. It is typically a brief, signed statement from an official at the submitter's organization (perhaps a Director of Research or Sponsored Programs) in support of the research proposed. Please reach out to your University’s Office of Sponsored Research for further information and guidance.

3Q: For Attachment C - please provide examples of required back up documents for Direct and Indirect Rates.

3A: Proposers have the flexibility to submit any types of support documentation that could provide support to justify the submitted direct and indirect rates within the proposal. DARPA received different forms of support documentation, and these could be actual support facts or agreements among stakeholders. The most common examples for direct rates are related to salary information of the same or similar labor categories such as pay stuffs, actual salary information, salary schedule, etc. Indirect rates can be supported using negotiated rates agreement such as forward rates agreement (FRA) or similar agreement issued by DCMA, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), etc.. If there is no negotiated rates agreement, proposers can submit notional rates agreement or documentation supporting actual rates from company’s internal process/websites.

4Q: Can backup documents be provided as an attachment(s) to Attachment C, or do they need to be embedded in the template under each section?

4A: There is no page limit to the cost volume, so backup documentation can be provided as attachment(s) to each of the questions within Attachment C or as separate attachments. Regardless of how the backup documentation is provided, please make sure there are sufficient details to crosswalk the support documentation to the costs being supported.

5Q: Is there a distinction between a Subcontractor and a Material Vendor?

5A: A Subcontractor is a business that carries out work, research, tasks for the prime contractor, in support of the overall program goals and objectives, while a material vendor is a business that only provides supplies, materials or equipment and has no direct impact to the performance of the program. Although material vendors are required to be identified under the material tab within Attachment D, they are not subcontractors and do not perform the work as highlighted within the Statement of Work.

Attachment D DARPA Standard Cost Spreadsheet requests subcontractors to submit their own individual cost spreadsheet, supporting their proposed works for the program. The spreadsheet requires inputs for procured supplies/materials/equipment in support of their tasks/research (including the vendors that supply the materials/equipment). For example, if prime A is teaming with subcontractor B to accomplish goals and objectives for SUNSPOT, then for this proposal, DARPA must receive at least, one Attachment D for the prime and one Attachment D for the subcontractor.

6Q: Is a prime's subcontractor required to submit their cost or pricing data in support of this effort? Is it required only if the subcontractor above the TINA threshold ($2M)? Or is it required for all listed subcontractors?

6A: Per FAR 15.403-4, certified cost or pricing data shall be required if the proposer is seeking a procurement contract award per the referenced threshold, unless the proposer requests and is granted an exception from the requirement to submit cost or pricing data. DARPA does not consider adequate price competition to exist under BAAs.

Certified cost and pricing data is required for requirement above the TINA threshold both at the prime and subcontractor(s) level. If the work being performed by a subcontractor exceeds the TINA threshold, then the subcontractor must also provide certified cost and pricing data in accordance to FAR 15.403-4.

7Q: What OTA is being utilized? Is the prime required to be a member before submission?

7A: The SUNSPOT BAA offers proposers the flexibility to recommend the most suitable award instrument including Other Transaction Agreement (OTA). Proposers can select to propose under an Other Transaction for Prototype (OT-P) or Other Transaction for Research (OT-R). Please visit Proposer Instructions: Other Transactions and BAA for eligibility requirement and submission instructions for proposers requesting Other Transactions.

OTA under SUNSPOT is not a consortia type agreement, and as such, the Agreement is directly between DARPA and the prime proposer. No membership is requirement in order to submit.

8Q: Does the prime need to provide support of suggesting the best award instrument? For example, if prime suggests the procurement, do we need to provide a reason why we believe this is best? If so, where do we insert this justification?

8A: The proposer should select and recommend an award instrument that is most suitable to accomplish the goals and objectives for SUNSPOT program, in order to submit the required documentation for the selected award instrument as part of the proposal package. Proposers do not need to provide justification regarding why a certain award instrument was recommended. The Government will review the proposal and the information being provided to support the recommended award instrument but reserves the right to determine most suitable award instrument during award negotiation, given the size and status of the proposer and complexity of the project.

9Q: Are either FFP and Cost reimbursable type contracts allowed in the OT or FAR type of contracts.

9A: The SUNSPOT BAA offers multiple types of award instruments including Cooperative Agreements, Procurement Contracts, Other Transaction Agreements for Research, and Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype. Procurement contract can be cost-type or firm-fixed-price (FFP). OT can be either expenditure or fixed-price based and is invoiced when a milestone is accomplished and completed.

Please visit Proposer Instructions: General Terms and Conditions for general Terms and Conditions for all requested contract types. Visit Proposer Instructions: Procurement Contracts for submission instructions for proposers requesting Procurement Contracts. Visit Proposer Instructions: Other Transactions for submission instructions for proposers requesting Other Transactions. Visit Proposer Instructions: Grants/Cooperative Agreements for submission instructions for proposers requesting Cooperative Agreements. (Proposers requesting Procurement Contracts or Other Transaction Agreements must submit proposals through the Broad Agency Announcement Tool. For proposers requesting a Cooperative Agreement, proposals must be submitted through grants.gov.)

10Q: Are progress payments allowed to be proposed in a FAR type contract.

10A: Proposer may request progress payment per FAR 32.5 Progress Payment Based on Costs, and a justification is required, providing sufficient information for the Government to review and assess for approval.