FOA_FA8650-24-S-5210_rev1.pdf

FA8650-24-S-5210

2-Step Funding Opportunity Announcement

Overview Information

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NAICS Code: 541715 (Research and Technology in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), and the small business size standard is 1,000 employees.

Federal Agency Name: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RX, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Title: Lab-to-Orbit: Accelerating the Development and Testing of Materials for Low Earth Orbit

Funding Opportunity Announcement Type: This is the Initial Announcement

Funding Opportunity Announcement Number: FA8650-24-S-5210

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program

THIS WILL BE A TWO-STEP SOLICITATION:

First Step: WHITE PAPER DUE DATE AND TIME: 20 December 2023 and Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 2:00 PM EST. Only white papers are due at this time.

Second Step: PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: To be provided in the Requests for Proposals sent to recipients that submit White Papers considered to meet the needs of the Air Force.

NOTE: Any white paper, proposal, modification, or revision received at the Government Office designated in this FOA after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered except at the Grants Officer’s discretion. It should be noted that this installation observes strict security procedures to enter the facility. These security procedures are NOT considered an interruption of normal Government processes, and proposals received after the above stated date and time as a result of security delays will be considered “late.” Furthermore, note that if recipients utilize commercial carriers in the delivery of proposals, they may not honor time-of-day delivery guarantees on military installations. Be advised, if the U.S. Postal Service is used, this building only receives U.S. Postal Mail twice a week and delivery by that means may not meet the proposal due date and time. Early white paper/proposal submission is encouraged.

Delivery Instructions: The AF requests electronic proposals be submitted using BOTH DoD SAFE (primary method) and email (backup method) to Jay Phillips, Contracts Negotiator and Mark Smith, Grants and Agreements Officer at the following:

jay.phillips.4@us.af.mil mark.smith.142@us.af.mil The maximum email file size the Government can receive is 20 MB.

If the contractor needs a DoD SAFE drop-off invite from the AF, please send that request to jay.phillips.4@us.af.mil and mark.smith.142@us.af.mil no later than 7 days prior to the due date of proposals to ensure a drop off code is provided in a timely manner.

If the contractor chooses to submit a hard copy proposal, the availability of personnel to physically receive it will be limited. Proposals shall be submitted to the Contracting Point of Contacts identified below at the following address. Proposals sent via facsimile will not be accepted.

AFRL/RXKMC

Attn: Mark Smith 2130 8th Street, Bldg. 45 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541

Solicitation Request: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RX, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright Patterson Air Force Base is soliciting white papers on the research effort described below.

Type of Instrument: Awards under this FOA will be Cooperative Agreement(s) (CA) governed by 2 CFR §200. Cooperative Agreements require successful recipients to have an accounting system considered adequate for tracking costs.

The effort may be cost shared as addressed in Part III.2.

Estimated Program Cost: The Government anticipates a Base Award Cost of $4.8M with an Option Period Cost of $3.2M. Costs will be shared as follows:

- Base Award, 36 Months, Government Share: $3.3M

- Base Award, 36 Months, Recipient Cost Share: $1.5M

- Option, 24 Months, Government Share: $2.2M

- Option, 24 Months, Recipient Cost Share: $1M

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates awarding one (1) award for this announcement. However, the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more Cooperative Agreements for all, some or none of the solicited effort based on the recipient’s ability to perform desired work and funding fluctuations.

Brief Program Summary: This program is anticipated to be a single phase consisting of a 36 month base technical effort with a 24 month optional period, plus mailto:Mark.smith.142@us.af.mil mailto:jay.phillips.4@us.af.mil mailto:mark.smith.142@us.af.mil

3 months for the final report. The technical effort of the program will focus on development of a combined computational and experimental approach for materials discovery and development low-earth-orbit applications through strong, organic collaborations between the Recipient and USAF researchers. The program will seek to grow these collaborations by funding graduate students at the Recipient institution(s) performing exceptional basic research in materials problem spaces to advance materials for space and spacecraft systems. Research under this program should produce actionable, quantifiable information that furthers fundamental knowledge of materials systems.

The Recipient is expected to consist of an interdisciplinary team including researchers with expertise in materials science, aerospace systems, and data analytics. As such, multi-investigator teaming across departments, disciplines, and institutions (if applicable) is highly encouraged. Emphasis should be placed on transformative concepts, over incremental efficiency gains, to demonstrate the capacity to accelerate technology development for space applications. Developing students with cross-expertise in the areas listed above and the ability to effectively communicate between these technical communities is paramount. To ensure the collaborative effort, graduate students participating in the CoE are expected to perform research under the direction of an AFRL S&E for approximately 8-12 weeks each year on site at AFRL, Wright-Patterson AFB. Additional quarterly visits between the Recipient and AFRL S&Es involved in the program are expected.

Communication Between Prospective Recipients and Government Representatives: Dialogue between prospective recipients and Government representatives is encouraged until submission of proposals. Discussions with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Only Grants Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.

Address technical questions to the Technical POCs:

Joshua Kennedy Program Manager

AFRL/RXEEC

2977 Hobson Way, Bldg. 655, Rm. 251 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433 william.kennedy.21@us.af.mil 937-255-9987

Matthew Cherry Program Manager

AFRL/RXNW

2977 Hobson Way, Bldg. 655, Rm. 175 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433 matthew.cherry.2@us.af.mil 937-255-9171 mailto:william.kennedy.21@us.af.mil mailto:matthew.cherry.2@us.af.mil

Address assistance questions to:

Jay Phillips Grants Negotiator

AFRL/RXKMC

2130 8th Street, Bldg. 45 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541 jay.phillips.4@us.af.mil mailto:jay.phillips.4@us.af.mil

Full Text Announcement

I. Program Description: Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL/RXCM is soliciting technical and cost proposals on the following research effort: Lab-to-Orbit: Defining the Science for Cost Effective Proliferated Satellite Systems in Low Earth Orbit (LTO CoE)

1. Statement of Objectives/Description of Technical Area(s): The

Statement of Objectives (SOO) for the Lab-to-Orbit: Defining the Science for Cost Effective Proliferated Satellite Systems in Low Earth Orbit effort can be found in Attachment 5 of this announcement. A detailed technical narrative and description of technical area(s) can be found in Attachment 6 of this announcement.

2. Within Scope Modifications: Potential recipients are advised that due to the inherent uncertainty of research and development efforts, awards resulting from this announcement may be modified during performance to make within scope changes, to include but not limited to, modifications which increase overall Cooperative Agreement amount.

3. Deliverable Items:

a. Final Performance Report

i. Draft is due 30 days after completion of technical work

ii. Final is due 90 days after completion of technical work

b. Quarterly Interim Performance Reports

c. Quarterly Financial Reports

d. Technical Data: Data, presentation materials, and data management plan, as required. Additional information on technical data can be found in Part 6.d.

e. Software

4. Schedule: The anticipated period of performance for technical effort of this award consists of a 36-month base period plus a 24-month option period. A Final Report will be submitted within 3 months of the technical effort end date (base or base plus option).

5. Other Requirements:

a. Program security classification: Unclassified

b. Security: See attached SOO for Security guidance.

c. Export Control: Information involved in this research effort may not be subject to Export Control (International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) 22 CFR 120-131, or Export Administration Regulations (EAR) 15 CFR 710- 774). If effort may be subject to export control, then a Certified DD Form

2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, will be required to be submitted with proposal.

d. Export-Controlled Items: Article 6.02, “Export Control” of Model Cooperative Agreement is contained in this solicitation. This article shall be contained in ALL resulting cooperative agreement(s).

6. Other Information:

a. Government Furnished Property (GFP) availability: GFP is not anticipated.

b. Base Support/Network Access: The Government will provide working space and network access to graduate students during their extended summer research efforts at AFRL. See Attachment 4 for the Base Support List.

c. Data Rights Desired:

(1) Technical Data: Unlimited

(2) Non-Commercial Software (NCS): Unlimited

(3) NCS Documentation: Unlimited

(4) Commercial Computer Software Rights: Customary License

The Air Force Research Laboratory is engaged in the discovery, development, and integration of warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace forces. As such, rights in technical data and NCS developed or delivered under this agreement are of significant concern to the Government. The Government will therefore carefully consider any restrictions on the use of technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation which could result in transition difficulty or less-than full and open competition for subsequent development of this technology.

In exchange for paying for development of the data, the Government expects technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation developed entirely at Government expense to be delivered with Unlimited Rights.

Technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation developed with mixed funding are expected to be delivered with at least Government Purpose Rights. Offers that propose delivery of technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation subject to Government Purpose Rights should fully explain how the data was developed at private expense. Specifically, offers must explain what technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation developed with costs charged to indirect cost pools and/or costs not allocated to a Government agreement will be incorporated, how the incorporation will benefit the program, and address whether those portions or processes are segregable.

Recipients that propose delivery of technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation subject to Limited Rights, Restricted Rights, or Specifically Negotiated License Rights will be considered. Proposals should fully explain what technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation developed with costs charged to indirect cost pools and/or costs not allocated to a Government agreement will be incorporated and how the incorporation will benefit the program and whether those portions or processes are segregable.

If Recipient plans to submit other than Unlimited Rights, see Attachment 7 for submission format.

II. Award Information The Government intends to award a Cooperative Agreement (CA). CA(s) are governed by 2 CFR §200.

A Model CA, along with other sample documents, are attached to this FOA, see Attachment 2.

1. Anticipated Award Date: May 2024

2. Anticipated funding:

FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 Total Government (1 award) $1.1M $1.1M $1.1M $1.1M $1.1M $5.5M

Recipient Cost Share (1 award) $500K $500K $500K $500K $500K $2.5M

Total $1.6M $1.6M $1.6M $1.6M $1.6M $8M

This funding profile is an estimate only and not a contractual obligation for funding. All funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. Potential recipients should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Recipient: This is being solicited IAW DoDGARs 22.315(a) and is restricted to educational institutions within the United States.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: The Government is anticipating cost sharing from the Recipient to the maximum extent practicable. The Government’s share is $5.5M. Types of Cost Share proposed must be in accordance with 2

CFR §200.306.

3. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers: Federally

Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs) are not eligible to receive awards under this solicitation or team with a recipient prior to award of the Grant.

4. Government Agencies: If a Government agency is interested in performing work, contact the Program Manager identified in the FOA. If those discussions result in a mutual interest to pursue your agency's participation, the effort will be pursued independent of this announcement.

5. Other:

a. Foreign participation: Not at prime contractor level.

Graduate students participating in this effort must be U.S. citizens.

Foreign Nationals (FNs) can be employed by the US Prime Contractor or Sub-Contractor; however, FNs will be limited to Public Domain information unless the contractor has obtained the proper License or Technical Assistance Agreement that authorizes disclosure of CMI and/or CUI to foreign entities pursuant to the Department of State’s ITAR or Department of Commerce’s EAR.

Public Domain information is defined as information that is releasable to the general public and sometimes referred to as open source material.

Examples include but are not limited to newspapers, magazines and information posted on the internet.

Any proprietary information will have to be appropriately protected.

b. There are no limits on the number of proposals a recipient may submit.

c. Recipients may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal due date as identified above.

IV. White Paper / Proposal and Submission Information

1. Overview: This Announcement consists of a Two-Step Process described in detail below. White Papers/Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. The Government intends to review white papers/proposals and award some, all, or none of the proposals received without negotiation/discussion; however, the Government reserves the right to negotiate with those recipient(s) whose proposal is selected for funding.

ONLY WHITE PAPERS ARE BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Recipients should be alert for any FOA amendments that may change proposal requirements or permit extensions to the proposal submission date.

Note: If you intend to submit a proposal for an assistance instrument, go to Attachment 1 which discusses how to find the assistance opportunity, prepare the cover page, and complete the certification.

2. First Step (White Paper) Instructions:

a. General: The FIRST STEP requests a white paper and a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost to include cost share if proposed. The white paper shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the recipient’s proposed technical approach. The Government will review the white papers in accordance with the FIRST STEP Peer or Scientific Review criteria, set forth in Section V below. Based on this review, the Government will determine which of them have the potential to best meet the Air Force’s needs. Recipients will be notified of the disposition of their white paper. It is anticipated that Government review of the white papers submitted will take 20 working days. Those recipients submitting white papers assessed as meeting Air Force needs will be asked to submit a technical and cost proposal. Those recipients not requested to submit a technical and cost proposal will be notified by the Contracting Team. A recipient submitting a proposal without first submitting a white paper will not be eligible for an award. The cost of preparing white papers in response to this Solicitation is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other Cooperative Agreement; however, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost.

b. Page Limitations: The following describes white paper page limitations:

1) The White Paper shall be limited to 5 pages. White Papers must be provided in Microsoft Word. Signed pages may be submitted in Adobe.

2) Font shall be standard 10-point business font Arial.

3) Character spacing must be “normal,” not condensed in any manner.

4) Pages shall be double-spaced (must use standard double-space function in Microsoft Word), double sided (each side counts as one page), 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom.

5) All text, including text in tables and charts, must adhere to all font size and line spacing requirements listed herein. Font and line spacing requirements do not have to be followed for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams. These exceptions shall not be used to circumvent formatting requirements and page count limitations by including lengthy narratives in such items.

6) Pages shall be numbered starting with the start of the White Paper being Page 1, and the last page being no greater than Page 5. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion) tables, charts, appendices, attachments, resumes, etc.

7) Please Note: The Government will check the White Paper for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages in excess of the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered for review purposes.

c. Format: The white paper will be formatted as follows:

(1) Section A: FOA Number, Title of Program, Name of University/ies, University’s Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, Contracting POC and Technical POC with appropriate telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses for the POCs. Add the following information;

(2) Section B: Period of Performance and Task Objectives;

(3) Section C: Technical Summary and Proposed Deliverables; and

(4) Section D: Cost of Task (Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) – including cost share if proposed).

d. Technical Portion: The technical portion of the white paper shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the recipient’s proposed technical approach/solution. It may also include any proposed deliverables. Resumes, descriptions of facilities and equipment, a proposed Statement of Work are not required at this point.

e. Cost Portion: The cost portion of the white paper shall include a ROM cost estimate. No detailed price or cost support information should be forwarded; only a time-phased bottom line figure should be provided.

f. Other Information: Multiple white papers within the purview of this announcement may be submitted by each recipient. If the recipient wishes to restrict its white papers, they must be marked with the restrictive language.

g. White Paper/Proposal Content Summary: You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal due date.

3. Second Step (Proposal) Instructions:

Note: If you intend to submit a proposal for an assistance instrument, go to Attachment 1 which discusses how to find the assistance opportunity, prepare the cover page, and complete the certification.

a. General Instructions:

(1) The SECOND STEP consists of recipients submitting a technical and cost proposal to be determined in the Request for Proposal (RFP) after receipt, proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the award criteria in Section V. below. Proposals will be categorized and subsequently selected for negotiations.

(2) Recipients should consider proposal instructions as provided in Attachment 1.

(3) Technical/management and cost/business data should be submitted in separate documents and must be valid for 180 days.

(4) Proposals must reference the announcement number:

FA8650-24-S-5210.

(5) Electronic submissions should be in Microsoft Office or Adobe format containing. The cost file(s) spreadsheets must be in Microsoft Excel and include the formulas for calculating cost element bases (i.e., G&A, O/H, etc.)

(6) Recipients are advised that only Grants Officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the Government.

(7) The cost of preparing proposals in response to this FOA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other cooperative agreement, however it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in 2 §CFR 200.460.

(8) No classified technical proposals or cost volumes are expected.

Recipients are encouraged to keep all elements of the proposal package unclassified. In the rare case where a recipient has a need to submit a classified appendix, please contact the technical POC for delivery instructions.

b. Technical/Management Proposal:

i. Page Limitations: The following describes proposal page limitations:

a) The Technical/Management Proposal shall be limited to 35 pages.

A Statement of Work shall also be provided, up to 10 pages. A Cover Page and Table of Contents shall be included. The proposal page limit does not include the Statement of Work, Cover Page, or Table of Contents. Technical/Management proposals and Statements of Work must be provided in Microsoft Word. Signed pages may be submitted in Adobe.

b) Font shall be standard 10-point business font Arial.

c) Character spacing must be “normal,” not condensed in any manner.

d) Pages shall be double-spaced (must use standard double-space function in Microsoft Word), double sided (each side counts as one page), 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom.

e) All text, including text in tables and charts, must adhere to all font size and line spacing requirements listed herein. Font and line spacing requirements do not have to be followed for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams. These exceptions shall not be used to circumvent formatting requirements and page count limitations by including lengthy narratives in such items.

f) Pages shall be numbered starting with the beginning of the Technical Discussion being Page 1, and the last page being no greater than Page 35. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion) tables, charts, appendices, attachments, resumes, etc.

g) The proposal page limit does not include the recipient’s proposed Statement of Work (SOW); however, the same formatting rules apply to the SOW, which is limited to 10 pages.

h) Please Note: The Government will check the proposal and SOW for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages in excess of the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered for review purposes.

ii. The Technical/Management proposal(s) shall include a detailed discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information on prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment and data, facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as attachments to the technical proposal. This volume shall include a SOW(s) detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for agreement incorporation. Do not include any proprietary information in the

SOW.

iii. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Technical or POC.

c. Cost/Business Proposal:

i. Separate the proposal into a business section and cost section.

a) See Attachment 2 for the Model Cooperative Agreement. Note that the document awarded may include articles/attachments in addition to those in the model, and/or some of the articles/attachments in the model may be deleted, depending on the specific circumstances of the individual award. Any additions or deletions will be negotiated with the recipient prior to award.

b) The business section should contain all business aspects to the proposed Cooperative Agreement, such as type of assistance instrument, any exceptions to terms and conditions of the announcement including the model Agreement, any information not technically related, etc. Provide rationale for exceptions.

c) Identify any technical data that will be delivered with less than unlimited rights.

d) Completed Certifications and Representations (Attachment 3) are due with the proposal.

e) If a recipient proposes the use of Government Furnished Property (GFP), the offer must specifically identify each piece of GFP in the Cost/Business Proposal. Include the following information in the proposal:

(i) A list describing all Government property that the recipient or its subrecipient propose to use on a rent-free basis. The list shall identify the accountable assistant instrument under which the property is held and the authorization for its use (from the grants officer having cognizance of the property);

(ii) The dates during which the property will be used and, for any property that will be used concurrently in performing two or more assistant instruments; and

(iii) The voluntary consensus standard or industry leading practices and standards to be used in the management of Government property, or existing property management plans, methods, practices, or procedures for accounting for property. Refer to 2

CFR §200.316.

ii. Cost Element Breakdown: Clear, concise, and accurate cost proposals reflect the recipient's financial plan for accomplishing the effort contained in the technical proposal. As a part of its cost proposal, the recipient shall submit the information outlined below, together with supporting breakdowns. All direct costs (labor, material, travel, computer, etc.) as well as labor and overhead rates should be provided by recipient fiscal year (CFY). Detailed cost element breakdowns by Government Fiscal Year or calendar year are not required. The supporting schedules may include summary level estimating rationale used to generate the proposed costs. The cost element breakdown(s) should include the following if applicable.

a) Direct Labor: Direct labor should be detailed by number of labor hours by category of labor.

b) Labor and Overhead Rates: Direct labor hours, with their applicable rates, must be broken out and the bases used clearly identified. The source of labor and overhead rates and all pricing factors should be identified. For instance, if a Forward Pricing Rate Agreement (FPRA) is in existence, that should be noted, along with the Administrative Contracting Officer’s (ACO's) name and telephone number. If the rates are based on current experience in your organization, provide the historical base used and clearly identify all escalation, by year, applied to derive the proposed rates. If computer usage is determined by a rate, identify the basis used and rationale used to derive the rate.

c) Material/Equipment: List all material/equipment items by type and kind with associated costs and advise if the costs are based on vendor quotes, data and/or engineering estimates; provide copies of vendor quotes and/or catalog pricing data.

d) Subrecipient Costs: Submit all subrecipient proposals and analyses with your cost proposal. If the subrecipient will not submit cost and pricing information to the recipient, this information must be submitted directly to the Government for analysis. On all subrecipients and interdivisional transfers, provide the method of selection used to determine the subrecipient and the proposed agreement type of each subrecipient. An explanation shall be provided if the recipient proposes a different amount than that quoted by the subrecipient. The recipient’s proposal must:

(i) Identify principal items/services to be subcontracted.

(ii) Identify prospective subrecipients and the basis on which they were selected. If non-competitive, provide selected source justification.

(iii) Identify the type of contractual business arrangement contemplated for the subrecipient and provide rationale

(iv) Identify the basis for the subrecipient costs (e.g., firm quote or engineering estimate, etc).

(v) Identify the cost or pricing data submitted by the subrecipient.

(vi) Provide an analysis concerning the reasonableness, realism and completeness of each subrecipient’s proposal. If the analysis is based on comparison with prior prices, identify the basis on which the prior prices were determined to be reasonable. The analysis should include, but not be limited to, an analysis of:

materials, labor, travel, other direct costs and proposed profit or fee rates.

e) Special Tooling or Test Equipment: When special tooling, and/or test equipment is proposed, attach a brief description of items, and indicate if they are solely for the performance of this particular agreement or project and if they are or are not already available in the recipient's existing facilities. Indicate quantities, unit prices, whether items are to be purchased or fabricated, whether items are of a severable nature and the basis of the price.

These items may be included under Direct Material in the summary format.

f) Consultants: When consultants are proposed to be used in the performance of the agreement, indicate the specific project or area in which such services are to be used. Identify each consultant, number of hours or days to be used and the consultant's rate per hour or day. State the basis of said rate and give your analysis of the acceptability of the consultant's rate.

g) Travel: Travel costs must be justified and related to the needs of the project. Identify the number of trips, the destination and purpose. Travel costs should be broken out by trip with number of travelers, airfare, per diem, lodging, etc.

h) Computer Use: Detail the amount and kind of computer usage, the cost, and how the costs were derived.

i) Project Funding Profile: Recipients should include a project funding profile by Government Fiscal Year (GFY) (1 Oct through 30 Sept) for budgetary purposes. This will enable the Government to easily identify program funding needs by GFY.

j) If a recipient takes exceptions to the requirements called out in the announcement (e.g., base support, Government-furnished property (GFP)), the exceptions should be clearly stated in the cost proposal.

k) Forward Pricing Rate Agreements: Recipients who have approved rates should submit them with their proposal.

l) Cost/Business proposals have no page limitations.

d. Proposal Content Summary: You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal due date.

V. White Paper / Proposal Review Information

1. FIRST STEP – White Paper Peer or Scientific Review Criteria: The Government will review White Papers to determine which of them have the potential to best meet the Air Force’s needs based on the following criteria, which are listed in equal order of importance:

a. Unique and innovative approach proposed to accomplish the technical objectives. New and creative solutions and/or advances in knowledge, understanding, technology, and the state of the art.

b. The recipient’s understanding of the scope of the technical effort.

c. Soundness of the recipient’s technical approach, including the composition of the proposed multi-disciplinary team.

d. Affordability (Proposed ROM Cost Estimate), including any proposed recipient cost share.

2. SECOND STEP – Proposal Peer or Scientific Review Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated using the criteria listed below in descending order of importance. Risk will be assessed as part of the below criteria.

a. Technical merits of the proposed research and development (sub-factor order of importance in descending order):

i. The recipient’s qualified multi-disciplinary team of key technical personnel.

ii. The recipient’s technical approach to integrating projects that address the four major research thrust areas.

b. Potential relationship of the proposed research and development to DoD missions.

c. The realism of the proposed cost, amount of recipient cost share, and consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles. Cost sharing, while not required, will be viewed favorably by the US Government in the proposal evaluation process (which will indicate a strong commitment to and self-interest in the success of the project).

3. SECOND STEP / PROPOSAL - Review and Selection Process

a. Categories: Based on the Peer or Scientific Review, proposals will be categorized as Selectable or Not Selectable (see definitions below). The selection of one source for award will be based on the Peer or Scientific Review, as well as importance to agency programs and funding availability.

i. Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available.

ii. Not Selectable: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded.

Note: The Government reserves the right to award some, all, or none of proposals. When the Government elects to award only a part of a proposal, the selected part may be categorized as Selectable, though the proposal as a whole may not merit such a categorization.

b. No other criteria will be used.

c. Prior to award of a potentially successful offer, the AgreementsOfficer will make a determination regarding price reasonableness.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: Recipients will be notified whether their proposal is recommended for award on or about 22 March 2024. The notification is not to be construed to mean the award of a cooperative agreement is assured, as availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: See Section I.

VII. Other Information

1. Support Recipients: Only Government employees will participate in Peer or Scientific Reviews. Recipients are advised that employees of commercial firms under agreement to the Government may be used to administratively process proposals, monitor agreement performance, or perform other administrative duties requiring access to other recipients' proprietary information. These support agreements include nondisclosure agreements prohibiting their recipient employees from disclosing any information submitted by other recipients or using such information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished.

2. Informal Feedback Sessions: When requested, an informal feedback session will be provided. The process will follow the time guidelines outlined in the award notice described in Part VI.1.

3. Wide Area Work Flow: NOTICE: The Basic Agreement award resulting from this solicitation will contain the Article 4.01 – Payment Reimbursement, which allows electronic submission of all payment requests. Any Agreement resulting from this solicitation will establish a requirement to use WAWF-RA for invoicing and receipt/acceptance, and provide coding instructions applicable to this Agreement. Recipients are encouraged to take advantage of available training (both web-based and through your local DCMA office), and to register in the WAWF-RA system. Information regarding WAWF-RA, including the web-based training and registration, can be found at https://wawf.eb.mil/. Note: This WAWF-RA requirement does not apply to Universities that are audited by an agency other than DCAA.

4. Contractor Business Systems: Financial Management Systems: IAW 2 CFR §200.302, is hereby incorporated by reference.

5. Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters: Any contract or assistance award that exceeds $550,000; and when recipient checked “has” in paragraph (b) of the provision FAR 52.209- 7, shall contain the clause/article, FAR 52.209-9 “Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (JUL 2013).”

6. Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Sub-Contract/Sub-recipient Awards: Any agreement award resulting from this announcement may contain the award term set forth in 2 CFR, Appendix A to Part 25.

7. White Paper / Proposal Reminders: You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal due date.

https://wawf.eb.mil/

a. Step One: White Papers are due to the Contracting POC.

b. Step One: White Papers are due no later than the due date and time specified in this announcement.

c. Step One and Step Two: White Paper and Proposal page limits are strictly enforced.

d. Step One and Step Two: White Papers and Proposals must be submitted in the format specified.

e. Step Two: Proposals are due to the Contracting POC.

f. Step Two: The Cost/Business Proposal must contain all information described in the Cost/Business Proposal Submission Section.

g. Step Two: Recipients who have Forward Pricing Rate Agreements

(FPRA’s) or Forward Pricing Rate Recommendations (FPRR’s) should submit them with their proposal.

h. Step Two: This effort is subject to export control, recipients must submit a Certified DD Form 2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, with proposal.

ATTACHMENTS

List of Attachments:

1. Supplemental Instructions for Assistance Instrument Proposals

2. Model Cooperative Agreement

3. Representations and Certifications

4. Base Support List

5. Statement of Objective(s)

6. Technical Background

7. Data Rights Submission Format

8. S&T Protection Initial Risk Review